After last weeks Great Glen walk I went to Glencoe to stay for the weekend as a base for some mountain biking. However Saturday was very wet and windy and when we arrived at the chair lift for the Nevis Range (near fort William) it wasn’t open at the top and the route was damaged! Not only that, a lady reversed her big Volvo and tow bar into my friends car doing some serious damage!
Hoping for an improved day we headed to the indoor climbing and ice climbing centre at Kinlochleven -the ice factor and got an hour and a half lesson along with 3 fearless kids! First we learned to get roped up properly and how to belay. Then we climbed up in the smaller route area using any holds or features of the wall to get to the top so we could get a feeling for what we were doing. The next climb was more challenging… Only using the yellow holds. It was rated a 4 and I found myself having to do more balancing on my feet and plan the next couple of moves. Being only 5’2″ this tactic worked a treat and I got up to the top 🙂
Over the next 3 climbs we got up to level 5+ and went into the much higher route in the bigger room up to 50 ft (shakes and vertigo at the top with sweaty hands meant I wasn’t hanging around to look at the view!).
I came home for my dads birthday yesterday and after a nice dog walk hampered by cleggs (horse flies) spent most of Monday catching up on sleep after spending the previous night camped out my neighbours back garden with her daughter as I promised her we would before the school holidays were finished!
Back to the training plan tomorrow! Cycling it is!