There are times around the Christmas
period when I start to feel a little down. Now this is not because I
am a sad sack who has no family or mates to pass the festive season
with. Its more to do with the weather. Whilst you Northeners are
passing the days in blissful conditions, sub zero, dry hands, sticky
rock type stuff, it starts to get really hot down here in the So Hem.
It's not unusual to have a Christmas where the mercury peaks at
around 40degrees. In other words, it's terrible conditions for
climbing. Now, it's bad enough that its fucking hot already, but to
make matters worse, this year, for the first time in 7 or 8 years, I
have to work all summer. So, not only do I miss out on climbing, I
can't go travelling, I can't hang on the beach all day and party all
night, Well I guess I can party all night, but fronting up to work
hung over in your own restaurant all summer is probably not a great
look, not to mention a shitty way to pass the days. So, yeah, I'm
feeling a little low, well I was until I started thinking about trips
for this year, the trips I have taken in the last 12 months and all
of the other amazing opportunities and experiences that climbing has
afforded me.
I think as a group, climbers often
forget just how blessed we are. We live in a sub section of society
that is barely governed by rules. We travel extensively, we meet
incredible people, we stay in incredible places, we skive, we chill,
we discover, we live... I look at people who 9 to 5 their lives away
and I genuinely feel sorry for them. No matter how much money they
have, no matter how big their houses or nice their cars are, I
wouldn't trade them a single day of the outlaw lifestyle. For over 20
years I have been gifted with the opportunities to climb and travel,
I have met people from all facets of life who will remain friends
until my last day. All of these thoughts will keep me going for the
next few months as I slave the days away over a hot stove (always
wanted to say that) churning out paella, linguine and snapper for the
masses, or swallow the fierce retort (for which I am infamous) as I
deal with some unpleasant little shit sack from Melbourne in
overtight jeans who doesn't think that the milk is hot enough in his
half strength decaf soy mocha.
For this summer I will have to content
myself with living vicariously through others. I will have to make
the fingerboard my best friend. I will up my jiu jitsu training to
everyday, because I can't sit still, but through all of that I will
be dreaming of the next time that I grasp cold rock, the feeling of
tension that passes through my body as I desperately cling on through
the outward force at the end of a deadpoint, the laughter that will
be shared as I fall off a delicate slab move, (much to my friends
mirth) and the unspoken love and camaraderie that is an omnipresent
companion wherever I go in the climbing world.
So, where will it be in 2014? Do I head
to an old favourite, such as Switzerland, check out Magic Wood and
all that it has to offer? Or maybe this trip it will be Norway and
Sweden, taking in the fjords from a boat and scoping out new lines.
Perhaps we will join the masses and head to the wilds of South
Africa. Then there's always the Grampians, my playground. I could
always just pass a couple of months there, putting up new problems,
walking, brushing and crushing. Who knows? Whatever happens, my
enthusiasm for climbing, travelling and meeting new people and
experiencing new cultures remains undiminished. And as always, it is
with a huge thanks to all of my sponsors for all the help that they provide me in
continuing to live the dream, always nice to know that someone
understands you...
Bullshit, don't believe you
ReplyDeletea) would swallow a retort if someone ordered that joke of a coffee
b) would serve him it either