Saturday, 12 December 2009

aww, it was misty

Hope these dumbuck posts aren't bugging you. Don't mean to bug ya. Headed back there today with Nic and Dave. SBI is still out of reach and it's easy to blame conditions. Think I'm also really weak; on Dave's porta-fingerboard I could only manage a handful of pull ups. The route had a wet bottom which made for wet hands and shoes once again. Got the feeling the crag was out to get us when I slipped off clipping the 3rd bolt. Hit the floor on rope stretch and crushed Boost's supply of chocolate peanuts for the day. Chocolate peanuts are a sort of secret weapon to use against Dumbuck. The fall also ripped a flapper on a crucial bit of skin. I have no doubt the crag knew what it was doing. Like a moody teenager, Dumbuck was sneering. It got to me, and I couldn't help but feel sick on my next go. What I was doing there, man?

The mist rolled in and I pulled out the classic joke about what causes mist "...I haven't the foggiest" which lightened the vibe, obviously. The top bit of the route is brilliant fun, reckon there's equally as many toe-hooks, heel hooks and regular feet, along with a great drop knee move. The last heel hook keeps slipping on links which is a bit worrying. As the mist became thicker and the afternoon gloomier, the chalked up holds looked like constellations in the nights sky. I joined the dots of So Be It and got a snake which probably wasn't that imaginative.

So it's a relationship of contrast that I've got going with Dumbuck. I left the crag filthy with mud and with pretty cold feet, and that's that. Would rather be in Spain, but whatcha gonna do?

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