After a first session back in February in glorious weather, Jani has been reluctant to go back outdoors climbing, and I guess I haven’t stopped trying to persuade her ever since. To my delight she decided to have another go this evening after I finished work. I wanted somewhere near-deserted so that she wouldn’t feel anxious or self conscious in front of others, and a sports crag with bolts and loads of intermediate routes. I decided on Marian Bach near Colwyn Bay. The weather was hot & humid and we were climbing in shorts. She was super-anxious about the whole thing & I noticed her nerves even as she fought her way through the brambles and nettles on the narrow path to the crag.
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Jani has been climbing SO well indoors recently so I didn’t question top-roping her on an overhanging 5C (first two pix) for her first climb. In hindsight this was a mistake BUT she was tenacious & determined even though she really hasn’t learned to ‘read’ the textures of real rock yet. By her 3rd climb I watched her confidence grow as she started to get used to real rock. Unfortunately a bunch of club climbers turned up just after she’d started and I knew this would put her off due to her anxiety but again after a short while she started to focus on the climbing rather than them.
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At one point after telling me that it wasn’t the most fun thing to do, I thought she’d never come climbing again but in the Mulberry afterwards, drinking a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, she admitted she’d actually quite enjoyed it, and that she promised she would go climbing outdoors again. I am desperately hoping this becomes a reality, as it would be life changing for us both as we’d be able to climb together even on holiday!