Ok, so my knee is now black and pink and sore to touch. I did think this morning, however, that ti was a good idea to go and play squash and then to go and try the new climbing wall at the gym. My limbs were already sore from an hour's squash and here I was, learning to do some basic bouldering and then some proper climbing.
The bouldering was hard. I don't know how M does it. Walking home from out occasional evenings out, he'd climb everything, like a little monkey- signposts, doorways, traffc lights. Nothing was safe, he'd hang off form his fingertips and do pull ups like a show off. Always greedy for praise but wholly deserving of it and disguising it with genuine gratitude. Anyway, the fellow said I ought to try to make my way from one end of the room to the other, sideways.
Easier said than done.
I was only 1 foot off the ground (Squishy matting stuff) but I fell off twice over a 10 m journey. Then I had to climb vertically, that was easier, using orange footholds. I got up in record time but then couldn't manage one which was on a corner. Although by this point, my legs were properly weary and my nails obviously too long for proper grip to be allowed. So we moved on to high climbing.. I got my harness on, clipped on the safety rope and up I went, I loved this one, I climbed the 10 m up on only the purple holds, which involved a tricky shift of weight and a high reaching step for one leg. I made it to the top and was rewarded with an abseil down. The next one was harder, with shallower holds and my forearms and fingers were aching by this point. I got half way up and my leg started to wobble uncontrollably. I thought I would fall but I took up my weight on the other leg and re-negotiated the turn. Finally, aching and trembling, I hauled myself onto the top stone and gratefully fell back to abseil down.
Climbing is exhilirating, mentally sharpening and challenging. I think I understand M's eagerness to fly away, he's about the personal challenge, his interior focussing wants to discard extraneous distractions, doesn't want to be weakened by unpoliced streams of conciousness. I think I've found my new hobby.. I'll just have to accept the bulging arms that come with the job. That or lose about 400lbs.
