One of the great things about staying with my brother is that he is much better at getting out and about than I am. He has all the gear, he knows people, he has lived there for years and knows where to go and so on. It's ace :)
Rock climbing is always on the agenda when we meet up, and this time was no exception. James gave me space at his house to get some studying done, and then when he had some time we headed off to a nearby crag. Living near the Gower in south Wales, he really is spoilt for choice in this regard.
It was late afternoon after work, so we didn't venture too far in order to make the most of the daylight. We met up with James's friend Joel and Joel's friend Phoebe at the side of the road outside a cute little farm and holiday cottages, and got to know each other as we walked along the cliff paths to the crag we were aiming for. We had a nice little sociable group at the crag, selected by Joel to be kind to beginners as it was Phoebe's first time climbing real rock.
James and Joel were sharing out the gear between them as they would each have a go at lead climbing and setting up the top belay. Having travelled from a Queensland summer to a British spring I was feeling the chill, but my down jacket and a silly hat helped me out...
James knew the area, so he picked out the first route to lead, and Phoebe had her first go at belaying in trad style climbing while I supervised and gave tips - all her previous experience has been at an indoor rock climbing wall.
When it was my turn I was too cold to take off my warm jacket, so I was very cautious not to rip it on the sharp rocks. It meant my climbing wasn't too great at first, but the stiffness from the cold and my current extra heaviness wasn't helping that anyway!
Phoebe is much slimmer, and she does yoga. Despite not being very experienced at all she moves so gracefully over the rock and looks like a real climber in her balance and the fluidity of her movement. If she enjoys climbing and keeps at it, I reckon she could get really good really quickly. Joel and I watch her with good-natured envy, calling up suggestions for hand- and foot holds if she ever looks a bit stuck. She does brilliantly well, and when we catch up with her afterwards she is really buzzing with an excited climbers high. Awesome!
It's great being out here, and when I'm not climbing or belaying I just soak up the views and relish the peacefulness of the outdoors.
Joel leads a climb, and my brother James goes up to check out his ropework at the top belay before I second the route. It begins with a bit of an overhang so I have to finally remove my warm jacket in order that I can focus on climbing without worrying about ripping anything. I definitely don't have as much strength as I would like, but my technique is still there and I find the overhang section a fun challenge rather than an impossible obstacle. I feel great to have accomplished this early crux in the route, but there are no photos until much higher up, as James and Phoebe had been busy watching me and forgot (I think they were as surprised as I was that I managed it as well as I did!).
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| Carrying my trainers - my feet were getting way too cold in just my rock shoes, and scrambling back down to the base of the crag was getting tricky! |
Inevitably, the light eventually deserted us and we packed up our gear. I particularly enjoyed the sunset, soaking up the magnificence of the slow descent, painting the sea and rocks a deceptively cosy shade of peachy orangey pink. Tropical sunsets are very quickly over - the sun just kind of plops out of sight with very little fanfare, so I made the most of this display before we got back on the path to cars, arranging where to meet for some real ales and a pub dinner before going our separate ways. Marvelous :)
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