Typically the hike into any given climbing area entails a peaceful stroll through the woods burdened only by a nominally fair distribution of gear. This one was exactly the same, except it was behind - BEHIND - a shooting range that was in active use. This made us nervous, some of us anyway, me and Ashley (who had just returned from a conference in LA and was a little jumpy anyway) for example. Lara and Martijn seemed curiously relaxed about the sound of cracking rifle-fire.

After a little back-and-forthing, waiting for what sounded like a protracted gun-fight to simmer down (it would soon stop for the day, thankfully), we found the correct trail and headed up to the wall. Today would mark, for all of us, the first real outdoor climbing of the season. Ashley hadn't climbed at all since mid-way through last year, so he announced his intention of doing the least amount of leading as possible. I wasn't feeling totally confident either, so I thought that he and I could stick to the less challenging lines while Lara and Martijn monstered up more serious routes.

And that pretty much describes our day. Early on we furrowed our brows struggling to remember what real rock was all about. But things became a little easier as time passed and the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The most memorable exchange came when Lara was encouraging Ashley to repeat an attempt on a scary traverse, and his reply was something like "I'm just waiting for my trousers to calm down!"

Later Ashley would demonstrate his penchant for natural pole-dancing and an ability to levitate a few inches off the ground. After climbing we retired to a nearby restaurant where we received medium quality service from Heidi clones, but the ice-cream was more than acceptable.

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- travel - life - climbing -