words by Gavin Raubenheimer
pic by Photo Cesar de Carvalho
Gerald inched up a little higher and gained the Thank God rail for a well needed rest; he then grabbed two medium hexes and shoved them into the gear-sucking crack. Soon it was evident that the rail was a working rest only; the crux was just above. With caution pushed to the back of his mind he did the next move, then a forearm-stretching lay-away to the right. Suddenly this easy route had got him into position for a 4-metre lob. He moved up now to more lay-away moves, easy ground ahead someplace . . . shuuuuuuut! Gerald took the lob, the biggest in his nine-month climbing career and I caught my first ever leader fall. The year was 1986 and we were fast learning what F3 at Monteseel was all about.
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