Rejuvenation

The snow in Bergen finally departed, thankfully while I was away in Mosjøen. It began again; climbing. During the week there was a couple of trips to Sotra again, the usual haunts and although a little shaky the winter training paid off, bagging as I went a couple of 5+’s and nice set of 6- and three 6’s. I rested on the last 6 as it was overhanging for most of the way. The weather has been up and down, some day’s lovely t-shirt weather sun and others back with the down jacket and shivers while belaying. A trip to Nemesis-veggen or as it is in the guide book Møtteveggen started with a fall, but I soon recovered and struggled up a 6+, followed by another 6+ with was being liberally doused with rain. The next day, post redundancies at work (12 of the 18 geo’s have lost their jobs completely now) I headed out alone. On the way to Nemesis-veggen, there are these outcrops or mini scarps rising between 4-8m from the ground. They offer good micro routes / highball bouldering. I needed some time alone, and so headed with bouldering mat to investigate. Awhile back a friend and I tried some routes on one of the crags and we felt they were of good quality and way easier than nemesis-veggen. Alone at the mini crag I set the boulder mat down, it looked really small and the crag quite high. Shuffling with the climbing boots and nervously committed to a line, and just started climbing up and down, trying to see if I could down climb if things got to scary high up. It felt free, extending slick moves, no hesitation just free. After awhile following horizontal breaks and a crack I made a tentative step some 6 m up to the left and topped out. I was walked back round to the gear, the ground was so water logged I had to take off my climbing boots and squelch back. The water was cold and my feet became numb, but it felt so refreshing. Back at the mat I dried my feet, I felt like a child again and looked at another line. It court my eye several time when passing, before on the way to Nemesis-veggen. fingery at first on horizontal break before a short crack more accommodating know brought me to a few high steps and a rock over and the top. Regeneration pulsed through my veins; I scampered back to the base of the crag, bouldered about for a while and decided on another line, steeper, maybe even overhanging for a short while. The start was fingery, the foot more precise, my arms felt stronger than before, I was scared but able to set that in a box to one side. Far from the road, off the beaten track nobody would hear me fall, hear my screams, but all that was in a box, like a film playing, partitioned to one side, I can see it but the sound is turned down. I needed to search, then a high step, then a committing steps onto the face, long reach to a horizontal break and rock over. Feeling a bit jittery I scampered back to the gear, traversed a few times until I am tired and bored and walked home in the evening sun. Rejuvenated like the old days, bringing back old memories of going out to Craigmor just outside Glasgow to solo autobahn, getting to the high point on the route, sometimes being able to commit to the move sometimes now and down climbing with the taste of fear in the mouth. Solo climbing rejuvenates the body, the sole anything else is just cheating.

The next day I went out again with Jess to Uteveggen, it was cold, really cold. We climbed some 5+ I nearly fell off on the lead, my hands were so cold. We tried another, I felt sick, and I fell off, my hands so cold. It rained, Jess struggled up but she gave up halfway when it rained too hard for her to see the way forward. Good effort all the same.