Lessons for 2024

“What have you learnt this year?”

I usually ask the questions, but the tables were suddenly turned on me. A day out with clients is a safe day for me. I will have a plan, in fact I will have several possible plans, and I will know a little bit about you. My task is to learn a lot more, quickly, so I can set you the right challenge and walk the precarious line between surpassing your expectations and everyone having a bit of a meltdown… At the end of the day I may gently push you to reflect on what you have learnt. So I should probably do the same for myself.

Three things I have learnt in 2024

What to do when it rains: the answer to me is obvious: adjust the goals and still go climbing! I can see the doubt scurry across your face, followed by growing terror as you realise that I’m serious. This is not based on a blinkered approach to delivering on a promise. Years of heading out in less-than-optimal conditions has taught me that you can still have a great day out even if you are wrapped up in 8 layers and the top of the crag is swirling in mist.

Three things are key: wear the right clothes (i.e. all of them), check the wind direction (vertical rain is much nicer than horizontal rain), and know your rock types. The Lake District crags may all look grey and mossy to the untrained eye but there is a very big difference between the rock of Duddon and Dow – the former is so grippy that if you knew about it you would never climb anywhere else, while the latter mysteriously forces you to switch from elegant footwork to hugging the rock in mild panic as the clouds roll through the valley.

Those of you lucky enough to head out with me on a day with ‘weather’ get free insight on my dynamic decision making. As the conditions deteriorate, I change down the gears from coaching, to instructing, to very directive guiding. I will still have a grin on my face though – I’ve been here before and if you do as I say we should still make it to the café before it closes.

How I climb: I have never set a goal of climbing a particular grade, so I have never analysed how I climb to see where there is room for improvement. It has been a genuine delight to unravel this as I have coached a host of people who are younger, older, stronger, weaker, taller, even taller, more nervous, or more fearless than me. Between you, you have helped me identify three things that help me climb well: stability, efficiency and relaxation – of mind and body.

For the first, the key is to work out which limb needs to move next. Having done this, I shift my body position so that I can release this limb without anything else moving – that’s the stability part – then I have all the time in the world to carefully place that foot, hand (elbow, knee …) on the next hold. The efficiency part comes from having a really good understanding of how long my limbs are, and the best way to use them – based on a good understanding of how friction works. When I’m feeling lazy, I will also throw in a spot of momentum, to save on using my muscles.

Lastly, the relaxation part. This is the hardest to get right on any given day, but some combination of a supportive belayer, the correct amount of pre-climb caffeine/porridge, and an empty mind will set the scene for me. Everyone is different, and a good starting point is to understand why you have gone climbing (walking, exploring) in the first place…

Why I climb, walk, run, scramble, orienteer, and generally grub around in the outdoors: the main reason is because it makes me feel alive – I wonder if this is the same for you? The sensation of being responsible for my own safety, and my own level of (dis)comfort, quietens my mind and gives me space to check in with how I am. I love the constant discovery of new places, new crags, new ways to suffer, and new things that make me smile. A day on the hill is filled with my decisions, on my terms. I get to manage my own expectations and set my own rules.

I’d love you to experience the same feeling of childlike exploration and discovery, but that is tricky to facilitate and I don’t always get it right. My role is to create an environment where you have some ownership of the day’s adventures. I want you to feel comfortable enough to step out of your comfort zone – maybe with a little encouragement, or reassurance that I’ve got you. The best moments are when you suggest we try something I hadn’t even thought of!

I have thoroughly enjoyed supporting a whole host of people to explore the outdoors in 2024 – you gave me a reason to get out the door, even when cake and coffee seemed more inviting! Thank you also to everyone who has reminded me how to have fun (as ever: questing up a rock face with no clear plan), how to embrace failure (particularly memorable was the day when I backed off a route and decided to climb sideways across the cliff, hoping to attach myself to a small tree that was growing out of the rock, only to find that the tree was a dead…), and how to take time to appreciate the world around me. Here’s to another year of exploration in 2025.