Tuesday 15 May 2012

Sore tips before the rain. Gotta love rock climbing :-)

Had a day pass today and with some sun floating around between the showers I went online looking for someone to get some climbing with. Kev Shields responded and I agreed to go to [lay belay bunny for him working a little on his new project.
Kev's commitment and psyche always impresses the hell out of me so I was happy to go and hold his rope. We headed west on the Mallaig road and this being my first visit to the crag I was super impressed by what a great piece of rock this is. As Kev put his toprope up I traversed along the base admiring the individual minute flakes of mica glittering on the steep schist slab.
Kev nailed the route first time on the top rope and suggested I have a bash at the neighbouring E5 as he rested. E5. Looking up it I couldn't see much to go at at all. My fingers haven't had a proper work out in...  months. But I'd seen Kev on the first bit (common with his line) and the moves looked lovely and he assured me it was all on the feet. Anyway I got up it with 3 or 4 rests much to my own shock and the pleasure of the movement was a fantastic reminder of a major ingredient in my enjoyment of rock climbing. You know one of those routes that the sequence and shapes you make just leave you with a big grin on your face? Even on a toprope it made me really wanting to get on more routes like that.
Then it rained. Hard. And we sacked it.
Now my tips are pink and tender from those tiney sharp schist edges and my distal phalanges feel like they've been shoved through the first joints of my fingers. Feels good :-)
 lovely rock
 squeaking up
 Kev working it
Rain stops play

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