After a month of climbing 3s and 4s the first 5A happened.

It was a normal day, We were doing our normal walls to improve our wallreading techniques.

A man asked us if he could join us, He was clearly more experienced but he didn't have anyone to secure him.

After climbing together for about 40 mins the man asked why we restrict ourselves to 4's max.

We explained that the technique needed for 5A is still too hard for us.

The man said, just try it. Climbing is all about making it harder for yourself, if you only do the walls that you are comfortable with you'll never improve fast.

And so, I went on the wall.

After about 4 meters I came to a point where I got stuck.

I had to put my leg over an obstruction to get higher, but while trying to do that my grip kept getting weaker, so I kept slipping off.

As said in my introduction, I'm afraid of falling, that is still a problem, even today.

I was about to say 'let me go down'.

But the man said, You are doing great! Move your other foot to the side of the wall.

I was thinking 'Is he crazy? there are no blocks to put my foot on'

I learned about a techique called back stepping that day.

I got past that hard stop and with some more guidance I made it to the top.