Borrowdale

Last weekend was a pretty big deal for me, climbing. Here's how it went.

C and I had been looking forward to doing Troutdale Pinnacle for ages. Several weeks ago we picked last Saturday as the date for it. In the last few days before it I got extremely nervous. It was graded Severe and I'd seen a video of it which made me feel it would include quite a few moves that I would find extremely strenuous, and quite likely just impossible. I wasn't too bothered by the downward traverse because I knew that even if I found this very scary, I'd enjoy that - in its own way.

Thinking back, I don't know why it bothered me so much, because even if I had indeed found it impossible, the solution to that is pretty simple - you either don't get off the ground, or you go back to it, one way or another. I wasn't scared of a fall or anything like that.

Anyway I was so scared that I came very close to postponing it. I felt I wasn't good enough because I'd failed to get up two 4s in Redhill a few days previously. I pulled out of the last indoor climb before going. B encouraged me to go and I didn't fancy trying to tell C I didn't feel up to it so off I went.

We got there, C racked up, we tied in, and up he went. He made the first pitch seem neither very easy nor very hard. I didn't get the horrible feeling of looking at it and having no idea at all how to make even a single move. But despite that, when it was my turn to set off, I nearly wet myself with nerves. They went as soon as I started but I did make heavy weather of that pitch.

After that it went better, in terms of nerves. I dropped my belay plate, the ropes got tangled, and the route was crowded after a while, but other than that it went very well. I did find the traverse scary - enjoyably so - and the more difficult bits were especially enjoyable. I liked having other people around actually but I need to get slicker at the rigmarole of climbing - that will come with practice no doubt.

On the way down I said to C that I'd loved it, but had been psyched for something harder, and I wondered what something one grade up would be like. The weather was great, the little car was near us, we had a lovely bed sorted for the night which I'd already slept in and money for a decent dinner out, and the walk down was short. So those issues were covered: I could afford to focus on technical stuff and I was up for a big challenge. (I should say here that I love camping and relish long walks - they're not a problem, but they do take up energy.)

I'll put the other climb in another post.