As some of you know this year has not been the easiest mentally for me and not to go on too much about (which I have) the road to recovery has truly been found. One of the interesting aspects of the whole process has been to confront issues that hold me back. The biggest challenge for me has been to accept failure, see it as a challenge and see the positive of the failure learning process. Not easy, considering I just found out I have a sort of failure complex going on in my head. Anyway, I have been challenging myself through... wait for it.... yes climbing to over come this failure complex.
Every time I go climbing, just before I start I get this image of failure, or for that matter anything I do, so its easy not to put yourself in those situations, just ignore this aspect of your life, but this just means you end up sliding round this and that, and before you know it life is just being bypassed due to the fear of failing at every turn. Same with climbing, to compete the climb, there is always an risk that you will fail. In climbing this might just mean you fall, or in my case I just give up way before this point. I have therefore been putting myself in positions that I do fail, and even practice failing. The result has been quite unexpected. For the last few years on sport routes I have been just about climbing -6 but this year I have lead some -7, and on trad routes I have climbed -6 and guided on 9 multi pitch routes, 2 of which were ice climbs. I still feel the same fear of failing, and still struggle with those little mind monkeys that dance in my head drinking fizzy pop, but have decided to ignore them or push them aside and continue.
Well anyway boasters corner this week! Ever since I stated climbing on Sotra, especially Laifjell I have walked past Liafjell Syd and seen this expanse of granite that just looked sparse of anything. The central section held a route called "Python eminentia". The route holds a mythical status for me, as every time I pass, I would think I wonder... So one day I decided to give it a go. Mate Perry, former E5 British climb tried a route on this cliff years a go, I think it was called Den nakne egg, and said, Nails! No gear, down climbed ran away! So when I stepped onto Python eminentia, I was a little apprehensive, especially as the guide said, difficult securing possibilities in the lower section! I headed off, Keith belaying; it was hot, almost to hot for slabs. Straight up at first, good gear, then the traverse left, easy, awkward but good gear. They I tried to follow the curving overlap, but the granite slab just felt so gritty and the hot sun was melting my smears away. I saw some chalk, lots of chalk from another persons attempt, but it’s just suddenly stopped at the point I could not continue. I reversed, faffed, talked myself out of the howl things, ignored it all, and took an alternative traverse to a crack that broke in to the upper slabs. Good gear at first, then a micro cam under a bulge brought me to a good ledge, but no real confidence inspiring gear. I spent at least 15 mins on the ledge arranging gear, testing, failing, and retesting. Eventually I clipped an old rust bolt, and back with a couple of micro wires, and slowly moved up, easy-ish climbing, but rockovers above small micro wires isn’t fun. Again no wires, more bulges with blind moves, small wires and eventually a good hold. I arrange three bits of gear in seconds, traversed madly right and set up a belay. Keith followed. The next pitch looked really great and not to hard. A crack! Good gear, and so I headed off to find it was nails! One move was way harder than anything we had climbed before. Thin fingers crack, with a hidden foot hold to foot smears! I was amazed I got on the smears, and then shot up jubilant to the top, to be met by the glorious evening sun!
