Perspectives on life

You may have thought that this blog had gone a little quiet of late, but there was good reason: 17 days ago, my climbing partner fell 9 m from our final route of the evening. He is lucky to be alive. What happened is not my story to tell and I am not the one with 12 months of recovery ahead of me, but the event and the aftermath have had a profound effect on the way I view myself and my place in the world. 

So the name of this blog has changed. I found out, on that night, when my first instinct was to administer first aid, that I am stronger than perhaps I believe myself to be, I found out subsequently that I am a loving, caring and compassionate person, willing to do all they can for those they care about. I am not a donkey, I am a relatively new climber, constantly learning and improving.  So I changed the name of this blog. The ingrained negativity which has dogged me throughout my life, frankly, can do one now.

But other things have changed too, I feel that from this horrible accident, only good should come, so I have decided to run a 10K trail race (the one my friend was training for) to raise funds for the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association who came, en mass, to his aid that night.  They are funded entirely by donations but do an absolutely fantastic job for those who get into difficulties in the outdoors.  

So this blog may change direction too, as I document my training.  Of course I will keep climbing and I will keep writing about climbing, but it's funny how, without warning, life has a way of unexpectedly changing direction. And apparently my direction now involves a lot of time running through a bog.

Stream wading, bog trotting legs

The accident was reported in the local paper and you can find out more about the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association here and should you, like me, feel that the work of the fell and mountain rescue teams across the UK is invaluable, you can sponsor my endeavours here. 

And if you see a long-legged lady puffing her way over the moors of West Yorkshire, be sure to give her a shout of encouragement...