Monkey talks about Lead Climbing

Yep, not scary at all.

Let's get this straight, I'm a pussy. Lead fall practice is something I still suck at doing. I hate the rollercoaster rush, even if I feel obliged to jump on them to prove my manliness.

Almost every one will tell you that you need to practice enough falls to get the fear out of you. Get to the top of the wall, don't clip in at the screwgate and just jump.

When you fall enough times, you'll learn to trust the rope and the safety etc. You want to know your belay slave partner is good at their job as well to be confident with your falls.

I call bullshit on that theory.

Monkey ignores his Lovebird

Lovebirds are smug creatures,
just look at the background...

According to Skip (what a suitable name for a climber), I'm at the disadvantage with rock climbing; according to Gravity (which I may name my son one day), I'm at the advantage, so it all balances out I guess.

Like most climbers, I didn't understand the concept of climbing with your feet. What I lacked in skills, I made up for with my unfound confidence in my climbing abilities my the early days of climbing.

Monkey thinks with his brain

So that's where all the climbers went.

Winter is a funny season. You've got the annual winter-clean for your bank account Christmas, snow, daylight saving, scarfs, Darwinian punishment for clubbers who don't believe in cloak rooms, and excessive consumption of food & drinks with people you see once a year. Happy days.

I have no data to validate this, but I'm confident staff at RedPoint would confirm that client level tends to dip with the temperature during the festive period.

Monkey decides to start a blog

This wall was dedicated to Skittles

Yep, the first post introduction, explanations of the whys and whats, yadi yada ya (that's not Chinese, before you ask).


Let's talk history. I was born in the Year of the Monkey under the Chinese zodiac (I'd have preferred Panda but apparently that only comes round like once every 127 years), and just like everyone else who were born in the same Lunar Year, I was born slim and agile like a monkey and I 'Entertain' others with my antics, sometimes with horrific consequences.

I'll be honest, climbing hadn't always been 'my thing'. You see, I've got this slight handicap where I shit bricks at high altitude. It's not exactly vertigo or acrophobia, I guess height isn't the issue, the idea of falling is - and there's nothing irrational about that.