Inspired to be better

Last week I started writing a blog post about teaching kids climbing etiquette, in the text I got on my high horse and moaned about kids pushing in on bouldering problems at walls and having no manners, I politely asked that walls and parents considered adding etiquette to their coaching sessions. I have now paid the price for my nagative moanings, karma has come up and bitten me on the bum, well the ankle to be more accurate. Before publishing said post I went back to the offending kids haunt, the same wall where the kids had pushed in between my friend and I as we took it in turns to solve various problems. A few climbs in and I was reaching for the last hold of a climb on an overhang, I was pretty sure I was going to get it but I missed and came tumbling down. I landed on the outside of my right foot and felt it go pop! I have never broken anything, or torn ligaments, I’ve been pretty lucky. I can’t describe the pain, but I remember waiting for it to ease, I could hear my friend and the guy from the wall asking me questions and I was thinking ‘I’ll just wait until the pain goes before I respond,’ but it didn’t go anywhere. I think I then started repeating my friend’s name, just to say something, looking back on it now I probably sounded like a bit of a weirdo.

Four days later and I’m sitting on my sofa, leg propped up; at the hospital they said it was inconclusive, it could be a fracture or a bad sprain. Either way I’ve got a week of not doing anything with my ankle, three weeks of not walking outside (a mean feat for an Outdoor Education Instructor) and then a further eight weeks of no ‘adventurous activities’. I didn’t ask for a definition of ‘adventurous’ what is adventurous for a doctor who had never heard the word ‘bouldering’ before is most certainly different to what I consider to be adventurous. I’m skiing in February no matter what they say.

The worst bit is having to ask people to do things for me, some friends are great and just help you without you even noticing, others have to be asked and I hate asking for help. Without wanting to sound too dramatic, I feel like a burden, I’m usually very independent. If I was reaching for something and there was a tall guy around the corner, I’d much rather stand on a chair balanced on a table, with a yard brush in my hand and get it myself than have to ask. This week I’ve had to ask. I was in a shop yesterday on my crutches and I wanted to buy something, I sheepishly asked the woman on the counter if she wouldn’t mind picking up the bits that I wanted, she could tell I was a bit ashamed to do it. When we got to the counter she quietly said to me ‘Don’t’ worry, lots of people ask me to do this for them when there is nothing wrong with them at all!’

So if I can’t climb, or walk outside, what am I going to do for the next three and a half weeks? I remember seeing a stop motion video made by a climber who had broken his toe. He recorded himself campusing on the underneath of the stairs on a road bridge, his upper body strength improved massively over the time of the video; I need to improve my upper body strength but I’m a bit afraid of landing on the offending ankle and making it worse. I’m sure I’ll think of something, in the mean time I’m reading, starting with ‘Annapurna: The great adventure of our time’ and I’ve got a pile of other books. Perhaps they will inspire me.

If there is one thing this experience has already inspired me to do, it is to be a better climber… and practice my landing.

All female?

In the past I have consciously kept away from all women’s events, I remember going to the ladies only night at a local swimming pool and being frustrated by the rows of women swimming and talking simultaneously. The same week I went to the mixed night and there were only two people there, I never looked back. I’d rather just jump in the pool and get some proper swimming done that fuss over men seeing me in my cossie and have to crowd dodge. I’ve always kind of pitied women who need an all female environment to feel comfortable, maybe because I’ve always had close male friends and worked with men and women with no particular problems. I tend to think that if guys had all male events then we would all be making a fuss.

So when a few weeks ago at work, I was offered the opportunity to attend an all women’s Level One Coaching course in Paddlesport, I cautiously accepted the offer. I wanted to do the course but I had visions of posters with kayaks turned into high-heeled shoes like the Women’s Climbing Symposium, but how wrong I was. Initially I was a little confused when I got confirmation of the course and it turned out that a guy was going to be teaching it. If you were going to go to the trouble of holding an all female course why on earth would you have a guy teach it? As soon as we arrived on the first day it was explained to us why, because apparently there weren’t any women qualified enough and willing to teach it. That was a shame and I think this should be rectified; although I have to say Phil Hadely who taught the course was an amazing instructor and very knowledgeable. Phil explained that they felt the need for the all female element because they were concerned that women on mixed courses sometimes felt shy or overpowered by the bolshie 20-30 something year old guys that take over and compete. During the course I learnt a lot from the instructors and the other women on the course, there was a lot of knowledge and ability in the room and on the water. It certainly didn’t feel girl orientated and whilst I have no way of knowing if the course was better or worse than it would have been if it were a mixed course, I certainly wouldn’t change the course that I attended.

I’ve in no way been converted to attending only all women events, I’ll still be keeping clear of ladies night at the local pool, but that ug feeling has gone away when I see them advertised. At the end of the day an opportunity is an opportunity and the people that find reason to complain, be it because of badly designed advertising posters or because they think it is in breach of equal opportunities, well they are just going to miss out aren’t they.