Alone in the woods

The Bible (the Yorkshire Gritstone Bouldering book) said it was rather esoteric. It didn't lie. But there was something quite cathartic about being alone in the woods, with only the occasional dog walker and some very green boulders for company. It has to be said that I love esoterica and the under explored, so a place for which the best topo is still a couple of PDFs online, was right up my street. A bit like being back in Orkney!

Lost in my own, rather melancholy, thoughts, I bimbled back and forward trying a few things, as ever, with little success. There seemed to be some nice doable stuff but it was so green I was loathe to try on my own (although I have subsequently been told that here green does not equal slippery). Having warmed up my body and my confidence, I tackled a problem so easy, it probably isn't even a problem, but I was pleased to have topped out something. This was, I must not forget, only my 3rd outdoor bouldering session.

Admiring the view from the top

I tried, without success, a few things on Ground-Up Wall, guided by the chalk marks I suspect belong to the Facewesters, and on the incredibly green Flaky Wall.  Eventually I moved on to another f -1 slab, doing rather a lot of climbing up and climbing down, before I manned up and topped out through the vegetation (tactical knee, tactical tree). 

Contemplating life in front of Ground-Up Wall

Buoyed on by this very minor success, a couple of days later I made a return to 'home ground' and visited some easy problems I previously hadn't found.  These, it transpired, were directly beneath where I had parked my car, but somehow I managed to wander round in the woods, get the wrap stuck under trees and fall over in the mud trying to find them...

The low 'warm-up' area - just perfect for Donkeys

I started with the lowest graded problem in the book and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was easy in reality, although I was still a little shaky with nerves.  I topped out with an inelegant, but efficient, tactical knee, before repeating for consolidation. Moving on to something slightly harder, the nerves really began to show. Having down climbed once, I cited the mantra (Man Up, Stand up and Just Commit) and did exactly that, reaching the top out with only a slight feeling of nausea. But fear then overtook sense and I invoked the full-on seal top out, which was inelegant, inefficient and next to a carpark, most definitely embarrassing.  I was wired.  

Visibly shaking, I wasn't sure if repeating was a good idea, but I did it anyway and that's where the fun began. This time my top out was not just that of a seal, it was more of a beached whale wildly thrashing for freedom. Grasping hopelessly at the grass and even the mud, frankly, I was shitting myself.  Fearing I was about to slither back down the wall, with a high chance of injury, my foot suddenly struck something solid and although unsure what that was, it seemed a better option than breaking a leg. I pushed myself further onto the rock and managed to haul the rest of me over the edge. And then I checked that no one was watching.

Returning sheepishly to the bottom, I had a go on a few more problems but had scared myself sufficiently that my heart wasn't really in it.  Always wishing to finish on a positive note, however, I repeated the first problem, more elegantly than the first two times, but still with a tactical knee. 

Looking at the time, I realised there was a while before I had to get to Leeds Wall, so I wandered over to the easy-problem-with-the-stupid-top-out to give it another go.  Giving it a couple of tries, I got further than on previous occasions, but faced with the tricky top out, I backed off - I had already avoided breaking a limb once that day.  Removing my shoes on the mat, it was warm, sunny and peaceful.  There was no excuse not to lay down for a while and drink in the warmth.

Airing one's hooves in the sunshine

Recounting my experiences later on at the wall, The One Who Runs suggested that lone bouldering was a sure fire route to an injury.  Perhaps he is right and certainly I have felt that I would have achieved more in my lone sessions with the input of another, but there is also something rather enjoyable about trying things at your own speed, in your own way and being able to take the time to soak in your surroundings.  

The shared experiences, banter and good fun that comes from climbing with your friends can never be surpassed, those are the days that memories are made from, but climbing on your own, if marginally more risky, is certainly better than not climbing at all.

A beautiful day shared with friends

And as for the near-death seal-like top outs?  Well Three Minute Egg says he'll teach me how to do it properly...