Origin Story: The Rope Used to Make Our First Leash

The climbing rope we upcycled into our first dog leash literally saved my life.

Every upcycled leash has a story

It's amazing to think the rope for our leashes was used to secure the lives of numerous climbers.

We had many adventures with the climbing rope that turned into our first upcycled dog leash. The story that sticks out most for me is not one of triumph or adventure, but rather of

a near-disaster.

I was climbing a route in the Middle Earth section of Mission Gorge crag in San Diego. Kelly, my then-girlfriend, now wife, was new to belaying. Although I had spent years scaling big rocks, I was still finding my footing as a lead climber. The day was golden—sunlight streaming over stone, the air vibrated with possibility.

Nerves buzzed through me as I neared the top. The bolts suddenly seemed miles apart, the ground a distant memory. I called out for more slack, my voice trembling just enough to betray the adrenaline flooding my veins. I reached for the next bolt—the safe haven just out of reach. In that split second, everything changed.

The climbing rope used to make our first leash

I was oddly calm as I plummeted through space. I can barely piece together the memory of leaving the wall—one second I was clinging to earth, the next I was weightless, dropping like a stone. I forcibly exhaled as I bounced to a jerking halt. The rope had miraculously snagged in the belay device leaving me upside down and dangling headfirst over broken boulders. It was a millisecond of relief. For a split second, I hung suspended in the air before I began falling again. I had time to think “I’m dead.”

Kelly, instead of braking when I fell, was trying to reel in the slack she had just given me. When I began to fall again, with quick-thinking agility, she seized the rope and braced herself, launching from the ledge in a desperate attempt to save me. Gravity yanked me downward, but her leap counterbalanced my momentum. I came to a stop a few feet away from the ground. I was alive!  My body tingled with the aftershock of survival, adrenaline and gratitude tangling in my veins.

From gratitude to re-use

When it came to retire my rope, I found myself having a hard time parting with it. Our dog at the time, Kona, was in need of a new leash. I used that rope to create it for her. Years later, North Peak Pets was born!

Kona with our first upcycled leash