A Slice of Life

Mark Katz enjoys a rare day on rock, bouldering at Brimham

Life as a climber in Britain can be frustrating and rewarding in equal measures. The winter season is a funny one (with much time being spent training in the wall,) whilst occasionally being able to grab a day on the rock if the weather allows. For me this time of year normally follows a pattern. I try to get a week abroad every 6 weeks (I'm lucky as my job allows this) and in the time in between I try and stay as motivated as I can so I can be in good shape when I hit foreign soil.

And it's the same for many. Going to one of the many indoor walls on a weekday evening or weekend and you will find the place packed with people trying to get their fix. The only motivation will be that upcoming week away where the weather will be kind and the rock dry.

Compare this to climbers in France and Spain who can climb at world-class crags all winter and it sounds like we've got a raw deal. But things aren't that bad. The scene is generally good, people are keen to train and improve, there is always some lively social in the pub, some banter and some bickering.

I often think it would be better if I lived abroad (being mainly a sport climber these days) but the grass is always greener. I live within 30 minutes of some of the best limestone and gritstone in the UK but familiarity breeds contempt as they say. So who's to say the same wouldn't happen if I lived in Catalunya?

It can't be that bad here and actually it's not. The difficulty of the weather makes us appreciate it when we can get out. We also have some incredibly diverse climbing in such a small area, oh and there's the grit...

Which leads me on. The first thing I think when I hear of a group of talented foreign wads coming to the UK is "why?"

But actually it's great. It seems like many come for the grit, to taste this dark art and try to emulate the English mastery of it. Although this time our visitors "Team America" are showing us who the real masters are! It's great to see too. It would be nice to see some other beasts come and tackle our sport or mountain trad routes in similar style. But maybe they never will, I mean would you fancy 15 days a month at the climbing wall and 2 on the crag when at home those stats are reversed? Tough decision hey?