Going Solo

I was in Sheffield last weekend visiting some mates. You don't realise how much you miss people until you see them again. It was amazing to spend a couple of days with the people I spent a couple of years (at least!) of my life with until uni got in the way. I didn't realise how easy Sheffield was to get to, so I'll probably be back there when I have the money, and there's no excuse for them not to come to Leeds now either!

Of course, whilst in Sheffield, there's really no reason not to go to the Peak and do some climbing. So two friends and I joined a cousin to go climbing at Birchen Edge near Chesterfield. My cousin hadn't climbed for a few years, but it took him about thirty seconds to get back into the swing of it, and the four of us were soon tearing up the crag (well almost).

Over the last few weeks, I've also been doing a bit of soloing. Climbing without ropes has always been something I've found hard to understand, but the more I climb on certain crags, the more I see how it can be fun, practical, or even necessary. A lot of the climbs on Gritstone, a type of rock peculiar to northern England which is great to climb, are short, and almost impossible to protect. Climbing things solo takes a lot of worry out of the equation. You don't need to hang around in a place that you otherwise might not to place gear, and you don't need to think about anything other than the two square feet of rock in front of you. After a while you don't even worry about falling, as it's simply not an option. I would never solo something that was out of my comfort zone, but sometimes you just have to.

Related posts:

1. Clubbing or Climbing?
2. Two down, one to go
3. Sitting, Waiting, Writing
4. Let’s talk about the weather…
5. Migration