Not the shape of things to come
Round one had taken place three weeks previously. Looking for something to do from my winter wants list, I went for what I had assumed would be the easiest one. A quick route tick to satisfy the ego, in amongst a couple of months of bouldering. My progress had faltered at an impasse which required more than I was willing to give: more in the way of commitment. Maybe due to a lack of recent time on a rope, maybe from the gear which is more ‘okay’ than ‘good’, maybe in my desire for a quick-tick I had underestimated the difficulty. As you can tell, the one thing I had in spades was a willingness to resort to a string of excuses. I came back armed with Dan. His talent and enthusiasm tends to bring out the best in me. His superior ability provides sufficient competition to make me try a little harder, but any seriousness is avoided by the nature of friendship. The emphasis is always on fun. Plus I had my knowledge from the previous attempt. I had already meticulously explored ...