My memory goes back to a buddy of mine who went to Yosemite when he was a teen, about 30+ years ago. He "thought" he was a climber and decided to try going up a steep formation. I vividly remember him telling me how easy it was going up......and how embarrassing it was having the Park Personnel rescue him!
I'm just a hiker, but I can relate to this. I was hiking in Death Valley (winter) a few years ago and hit a rock wall formation in one of the canyons of about 15 feet height and maybe a 70-degree slope. It looked do-able and I scrambled up it pretty easily and continued my trek. On the return I just stared at that 15-foot downclimb and couldn't quite figure out how I was going to negotiate it in reverse. Those rock nubs that looked so wide and supportive and perfectly placed going up seemed to have disappeared. I hadn't seen another soul during the hike and studied the problem for about half an hour before I eventually managed to get down it without damaging anything.
Minor event, but it gave me an appreciation of the need to be sure I can get down a scramble before I get too far up it. There is definitely a seperate skill to downclimbing that isn't evident during an ascent.
