Climber in a flat land

Search This Blog

First Timer

August 06, 2018

Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Comments

Incompatible Wants and Needs

Incompatible Wants and Needs. This might not be the experience I've wanted this weekend, but it might just be what I need. I didn't imagine heading for a big fall onto suspect trad gear, I wanted to spend the weekend cruising stylishly to victory over climb after climb. But the first thing I need to do is survive it, and that's going to depend, mainly, on something I've done a minute or two before. Placing a tiny piece of gear, a lump of metal the size of a wine gum... He's looking shaky... And as I pad my feet uselessly around, bunched up, unstable and out of balance, I look for handholds, try out my options, then return to what was inadequate a few seconds before. The handholds -as I find them- don't change but they seem to get worse, as my strength runs out. Finally, they spit me off in disgust. Curbar has no tolerance for the weak, the clumsy or the cocky. Forget all that shit about falls lasting forever: I'm dropping through t

Salmon Curry

Salmon Curry. Mike and Serge sat down at the hostel table in front of me. I looked at them frosty, my skin tight after a day in the wind. I was still waiting for my dinner, Steve was over in the kitchen behind us, cooking. “Alright, Pete,” said Mike, deadpan. He was holding a plate piled up with glistening pasta, a creamy, cheesy sauce over the top. As he put it down on the table, he did a little drumroll with his knife and fork. Steve Gaines on the summit of Beinn a'Chaorainn “Alright, Pete,” said Serge, who stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth and grinned. As he went to put his plate down on the table, he casually swirled it underneath my nose, so the steam and the smell rose up. The sauce was shop-bought, out of a jar, with cheddar roughly grated over the top. “You are a pair of bastards,” I said and they both cracked up laughing Serge, while he was laughing picked up a forkful of pasta and put it in his mouth, but couldn’t chew it through

The shape of things to come

The Shape of Things to Come: a warning from History Climbing looks like its getting more popular. Its now being considered for inclusion in the Olympics: although running behind Squash. But what would the future be like if climbing actually entered the 'mainstream'... Here are my predictions 1. Climbing hits the big time worldwide after becoming the most thrilling 'minority' event in an otherwise tawdry 2020 Olympics, characterised by drug-cheat scandals and uninspiring 'big player' gamesmanship. In the post-Olympic analysis, the phrase 'well, the climbing was big success' is repeated over 400 times on camera, by 47 different Olympic officials. 2. Record numbers of advertising deals are struck during 2021 by a feverish advertising industry. At one point it is estimated that everyone in the UK who has climbed 7c+ has been offered at least a Nike Goodie bag in return for saying the word 'Nike' while climbing. One relatively unk

Powered by Blogger

First Timer

Comments

Post a Comment