I’ve been reading Andy Kirkpatrick’s Psycho Vertical and it’s making me very excited about getting back out climbing after my sprain. I’m going skiing in Italy in Feb and have already fantasised about taking in a climb while I’m there. My fantasies however were stalled when I heard the news about the six climbers in Scotland. How tragic for the climbers and their families.
The news article took me back to last winter when I went up to Scotland with some colleagues for a week over February half term. I’d never done anything beyond sledging in the snow before, so I was a bit nervous. I’d borrowed some crampons and an ice axe and we headed off to the Cairngorms, staying in a log cabin that was really just a glorified static caravan. On the first day one of our party slipped whilst learning to use crampons and damaged her ankle, it was scary how quickly an injury like that can happen.
The following day five of us climbed Fiacaill Ridge. As we got up high the view disappeared behind clouds and mist and there was a strong wind. We opted for a gulley climb instead of a scramble and kitted up, attached by a rope to four guys I hardly knew and only my second time using crampons and an ice axe I stepped out onto possibly the steepest face I’ve ever walked on (well it felt that way given the conditions). There wasn’t much of a view but it was one of the most exciting walks/climbs of my life. At one point I was concentrating so much on my hands and feet I didn’t notice how high and steep the slope we were on was until a strange sound caught my ear, I looked across and saw a small bit of snow tumbling down hundreds of meters of slope to a very rocky coire bottom. I quickly shook myself back to the task at hand but I’ll never forget that stomach churning moment.
The trip was so much fun it was easy, I even earned the name ‘the iron lady’ from the guys we were with, luckily not because they thought I look like Maggie Thatcher but because apparently I am, and I quote, ‘nails!’
The most fun part was getting the down hill directions wrong and ending up sliding down the side of a red ski slope on our bums!
When taking part in these kinds of activities there is always a risk, but sometimes that is what makes it so exciting to do. Andy K describes it as a fire, one that burns inside you and is only satisfied with exciting and usually dangerous activities. Admittedly my fire burns at a slightly lower temperature than Andy K’s, I can’t see myself solo climbing El Cap, but the feeling is addictive none the less. Although my fantasies were stalled by the tragic news, stalling is all it is, the risk will never stop me dreaming up new adventures and doing the things that I love.
