Project On!

The summer of being-a-climbing-bum has given way to the autumn of having-to-work-like-a-normal-person. I’m working at The Quay, the new climbing wall in Exeter, which means that I now spend 99% of my life surrounded by climbers. This is all well and good until I have to make conversation with non-climbers...

The Arch at The Quay

Conversation with a climber:

Climber: You been up to much recently?

Me: Yeah man! Been getting on the trad’s, cos trad’s totally where it’s at, you know? I got on this route up at Wintour’s at the weekend, mainly jug pulling with like good gear but then there’s this fierce crux. You gotta get this slopey sidepull like this and yard up to this crimp, and I was pumped out of my skull man!

Climber: Narly dude!

Me: Yeah and there’s this, like, fierce mantle at the top and your only gear’s this dodgy RP and I brought my mate up and he was all like “Send it!”...

Conversation with a non-climber:

Non-climber: You been up to much recently?

Me: Yeah I’ve been climbing a fair bit...

Non-climber: Cool, was it good?

Me: Yeah.

Non-climber: Great... (long awkward pause)

With four days off work and a poor forecast Anstey’s seemed the place to be. I thought it was about time to find a new project (in much the same way that an alcoholic thinks it’s about time for another drink) and Tuppence seemed to be the most popular suggestion.

The session went well in my opinion, I got about halfway up and there were only a couple of moves I couldn’t do. I’m going to bask in some unfounded optimism safe in the knowledge that the pessimism will kick in 3 months down the line when I still can’t do the same two moves. Project On!