Upping my Game

Getting coaching is a bitter sweet experience, and last Saturday, I had a coaching session at Glenmore Lodge.  I have always thought of myself as quite a keen climber, but on reflection, my commitment has been a bit sporadic.  It's becoming clear that if I want to climb at the level that I aspire to climb, I really need to up my game.

Admittedly, the end of the climbing season is quite an odd time to get coaching.  There were four of us keen beans: Kai - a camp manager from Malaysia with little experience, bionic Dave who is an experienced mountaineer, hill runner and climber all round, Steve the tree surgeon who is a regular winter climber and has done rock climbing with his mountain-rescuer father in his youth and me.  After a brief chat about expectations, Nick, our instructor soon put us through a day of bouldering and climbing, indoors and outdoors.

It had been a day of revelations:
- climbers of different sizes and climbing abilities often have similar limitations in their climbing
- lots of bouldering, especially outdoors, is critical to success
- I may only be 165 cm tall, but when I'm climbing outside, my arms are not as short as I'd imagine
- jelly babies are the best way to refuel on a long climbing day

Overall, the verdict is - I'm good at fluidity but pretty bad at efficiency.  It seems there is much work to be done.