Just Hanging Around

The Bristol Climbing Centre

Drumroll please. So this is it, my first big challenge. First, let me get you in the picture. I am TERRIFIED of heights, even stepladders bring me out in a cold sweat. Recently my mother unveiled a collection of memories she had stored away in the attic and, thanks to my brother’s handiwork, now has an attic stairs to access it. I was of course excited to see what treasures my 22 year old self had left behind for me. One snag however, the stairs seemed more like a ladder on a hinge and to a coward like me it was a challenge to get on it. Going up wasn’t too bad, probably because of the excitement of what was in those dusty boxes. Coming down was the difficult bit, the world looks so far down from the top of a ladder. It’s ludicrous to be so afraid of such a thing. So when I decided to challenge myself more there was only one thing I could think of - climbing.

Since moving to Bristol I’ve met more people who climb than anything else. It seems to be a really popular pastime, one that I never thought I would be a part of. That sense of exclusion made me feel that my fear of heights was holding me back. Surely it’s not that difficult, the website has a child on it for crying out loud. So I went guns blazing along to the climbing centre in St. Werburghs. Fearing I might crumble and turn back I barely stopped for traffic, I was like a crazed loon on a mission.

I arrived and was given a harness and a helmet...”Oh dear, so I’m really doing this then”, I thought. I was teamed up with two other novices and we took turns in scaling the wall. I assumed that everyone would be as cagey as me on this taster session. How wrong I was. The other two were up and down faster than I could say ‘nausea’ and suddenly it was my turn. Not wanting to appear a wimp (and faster than my brain could calculate what was coming next) I got on that bugger and climbed. I got to halfway and looked down. Eek! It was dizzying and on my first attempt I argued that I had come far enough and wimpered to come back down. While the instructor saw to a more daring climber on his descent I had to wait...just wait. Thinking “Flippin' ‘ell how long do I have to dangle here?”, I clung to the wall until my fingers stiffened. Fearing that I may hurl I closed my eyes and thought of England. It seemed like an eternity before the instructor gave me the go ahead to safely come back down. “Wait a minute, you want me to WHAT?”, I shrieked. He had instructed me to LET GO OF THE WALL. I questioned his sanity for a moment and wondered what I had done to deserve to die, right here in St Werburghs. Claiming back a scrap of rationality, I gave in and let go of the wall. In comparison to scaling up, abseiling down was a breeze. I didn’t expect to enjoy that part, what a relief. Job done....almost.

The next wall was a tad more difficult and I’m sure you can sense the pattern emerging here. Each climb was more of a challenge than the last. The bits jutting out from the wall (that you cling to for dear life) got a little harder to negotiate, thus the skill developed when embarking on climbing as a pastime. The instructor described it as a giant puzzle. I had no idea it was a mental workout aswell as a physical one, yet another reason to do it. However, the one reason against was still trumping the many for.

Five minutes to the end of the session, I thought, “nice one, nearly there” but I wasn’t. I had not yet completed a full wall. I decided it was time to strap on a pair (so to speak). I scaled the wall and got to about three quarters of the way when a voice from below provided guidance. I responded “Is that you God?" No, it was the instructor. Good, don’t really fancy a visit from Himself while I’m hanging off a wall. Step by step he guided me up until I touched the ceiling. I never expected to get to the top but here I was looking down on the tops of everyone’s hard hats. That familiar dizzying sensation washed over me so I closed my eyes and abseiled down to terra firma, this time with an amazing feeling of accomplishment. Okay so I’m still a coward when it comes to heights but at least I know I can do it if I really try...I’m even considering a course.

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Image courtesy of Undercover Rock.