Bloody hands forgive the pain,
To reach the top, a higher plain,
And if you fall, forget the shame,
It's all about the climbing.
Jamming pro into the crack,
pulling through the nice lieback,
Chalk and cliff bars for a snack,
It's all about the climbing.
Overhanging, painful pump,
Highball topout, then you jump,
Smack the crashpad with a thump,
It's all about the climbing.
Flag the crimper for the clip,
Oops, you're sketching, then the slip,
Just sit back and take the whip,
It's all about the climbing.
People ask just why it's done,
They don't think it looks like fun,
And my answer, there's just one:
It's all about the climbing.
Something there that drives us all,
Men and women, tall and small,
Something calls us to the wall,
It's all about the climbing.
To reach the top, a higher plain,
And if you fall, forget the shame,
It's all about the climbing.
Jamming pro into the crack,
pulling through the nice lieback,
Chalk and cliff bars for a snack,
It's all about the climbing.
Overhanging, painful pump,
Highball topout, then you jump,
Smack the crashpad with a thump,
It's all about the climbing.
Flag the crimper for the clip,
Oops, you're sketching, then the slip,
Just sit back and take the whip,
It's all about the climbing.
People ask just why it's done,
They don't think it looks like fun,
And my answer, there's just one:
It's all about the climbing.
Something there that drives us all,
Men and women, tall and small,
Something calls us to the wall,
It's all about the climbing.
Writing these blogs
get’s harder and harder every month, mainly since I moved up North, no longer
do I have the mad rush to get up North when the weather is good, no longer am I
pushed for time, trying to get absolutely everything out of that one weekend,
no longer do I spend 8 hours in a car, totally wrecked…all for the climbing. Now
I’m here, in the heart of God’s own rock, looking out of the window to check
the weather, having a lie in, deciding what to do when each day comes…life is
pretty sweet and so much more chilled than it used to be, which means writing
these blogs is becoming harder, it’s not that life is less entertaining than it
used to be, I guess I’ve just settled…for now at least ;)
The last blog was a
hard one to write due to the mixed bag of emotions that came with August, so
since then I’ve taken a step back from training and taken each day as it came. Deciding
whether to train and what to train, even if to train at all, on the day, rather
than in advance. It’s chilled my mind out a lot more, but also put me in a
state of “where is my climbing going and what do I want out of it”. This
weekend was a weekend of no climbing, despite being in North Wales, it was a
weekend of eating a lot of food and consuming large amounts of beer, among
other things and whilst it was an awesome weekend, it got me thinking about the
fact that it’s all about the climbing and maybe I’ve gone too far over to the
other side
After the weekends
events I popped into the Llanberis Pass to see how conditions were, I didn’t
have time to venture any further from the roadside stuff, but as soon as I was out
into the Pass, looking at the mountains, touching the (wet) rock and looking at
the stunning water falls, it reminded me about the climbing and where I want to
be.
September has made
life up here a little more exciting, with the conditions dry and getting
cooler. There has been the odd morning where the first signs of frost can be
seen, glistening branches, that chilly breeze, the other dogs walkers huddling
and slightly grumpy at the change in the season, with that one dog walker…smiling,
frantically texting those who will share the excitement…it’s all about the
climbing.
Drooping in the Cold
A chilling breeze roars through the now
Fall trees
Sending adrift the barely held orange and red leaves
Nature's breath begins swirl in my direction
Unsettling the ground as it unravels
Freezing its audience and crowd during its travels
Hell bent flower drooping over in the cold
Tear drops freezing as the stem begins to fold
The ice envelopes around each piece of life
Re-fortifying our short amount of time
Sending adrift the barely held orange and red leaves
Nature's breath begins swirl in my direction
Unsettling the ground as it unravels
Freezing its audience and crowd during its travels
Hell bent flower drooping over in the cold
Tear drops freezing as the stem begins to fold
The ice envelopes around each piece of life
Re-fortifying our short amount of time
North
Yorkshire’s climbing
is different to that of the Peak District, it’s edgier, meaning you can get
away with slightly warmer conditions, so the season has begun. Our first stop…Earl
Crag. The last time I was there was for my 25th Birthday, which
involved a lock in at the local, copious amounts of the local brew and a bit of
punting around. Which means I can’t remember anything from that trip, so I was
keen to go back and check it out.
Previously I’d been
told to go to Earl with someone who is psyched as it’s a tough crag. “Bah” I
thought, “I’ve got enough psyche – how hard can it be that you need more
people?!”…well…after the first visit I was wrong to underestimate this comment.
Earl Crag is brutal, not only physically but mentally. It requires power and
technique, it’s a little like font, things are desperate, unless you know the
way, which can be a frustrating and exhausting path!
It’s been awesome
though, after three weekends in a row there, I’ve become a little more stubborn
and bull headed J and it’s been so much fun feeling like I was
learning to climb all again and taking satisfaction in a climb, no matter what
the grade.
I am back to learning
to climb again, back to the start – as odd as that sounds, those of you who
know will know I lost my way, I’m not back on track yet, but I’m getting there
and Earl Crag has been an awesome way to get back to it.
There are some amazing
lines there, the one that’s stood out of me so far is lager lager. An awesome slopey
rail line along a flat wall, requiring technique, power and precision along
with some super strong shoulders J It’s also a ground up problem…my favorite! So
it’s been awesome throwing myself on this and totally destroying myself!
The
spring flowers, the autumn moon;
Summer breezes, winter snow.
If useless things do not clutter your
mind,
You have the best days of your life.
It’s
all about the climbing and when people ask why I climb, I do find it hard to explain
to non climbers why I do it and love it. So those of you who are reading this
and are climbers will know of those rare moments when you are climbing, you
complete something and when you get to the top you have no idea how you got
there. You were in the present, not thinking about the past or the future and
it’s the only real time you are free. I had one of these rare moments at Earl
on Ron’s Arete, it’s a huge swooping slabby arête and I’m a lover of scaring
myself, so thought I’d jump on it. From the moment I stepped on, everything
else was forgotten and before I knew it I was at the top, the whole climb just
flowed from one move to the next and it was beautiful.
Handy
Andy is another “classic” at Earl Crag and is a pretty cool line, I’m keen to
go back to this for the stand, it was odd starting off a block!
Handy Andy Video
One
of the advantages of being so close to everything is the opportunity to explore
other crags and go to places which may only have one or two cracking lines. Goldsborough
is one of these crags. Situated in County
Durham, it’s one of the most remote Yorkshire locations and is an amazing peaceful, tranquil
place. A must for anyone's list!
I
went to Goldsborough to try Beth’s Traverse, a long (in my world) mega crimpy
traverse. It’s a cool line, but more lock off strength and skin is a must
before a return visit!
It’s
now October and about four weeks before a two week trip somewhere, as usual I
have no idea where and will think about it nearer the time, all weather dependent. I have to admit it’s crept up on me, work has been mental and I’ve
been working long hours and it’s worn me out mentally, and I think it’s this
that has made time pass so quickly, so it’s another mental week ahead, then I’ve
decided to become and unsociable recluse for a while and get a bit more focus,
I need to find that line and not sway too much either side. Before the Swissie
trip last year I spent the two months leading up to it with lots of training,
and weight dropping and I think it paid off, so I’m a little nervous to see how
my “preparation” for this trip is going to go…
For
now, it’s every day as it comes…but all about the climbing
Happy
Days!
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