Lou – the student

If you are keen click on this link to find out what Lou said about me.  While not essential reading to find out about Lou, there may be some cross referencing in my words about her.

Lou emailed me in the early days asking about days that the PCYC were open.  She would come along with Jake (Gino) her husband and daughter Ella who was just a year or so older than Elseya.  At times the girls would be off playing on the other equipment while we climbed or cracked on with a busy bee.  From the early days Lou was one of the crew, she enjoyed climbing but loved the social side of it all.  The PCYC was perfect for providing both sides in equal balance.  We have been out many times and I think it is reasonable for me to say that while she is more than capable, she has never been a confident leader.  She is also one of the late starter people, trying to convince her to get out early really is a waste of time:

Put her on bolts and her confidence goes up, and while she says she likes trad there have been many a time when she has not had the confidence in the most bomber pieces.  Some routes I’ve seen her stack five pieces within a meter or two, claiming none are any good when in fact they are all great.  She can however climb, she is very fit and active and despite her whinging at our weekly evening boulder sessions she can pull off the hard moves when others flail.  She’s also followed me up some solid routes, and I can recall taking her to Smiths Beach when the swell was up.  Despite raging white waters below her she was still focused and climbed well.  I’ve always tried to encourage Lou to go for it, and her finest moment came from when without any prompting she decided that she liked the look of an unclimbed wall:

Climbing a first ascent on sight with no prior inspection is impressive, you really have no idea what to expect.  It felt out of character for her but she went for it and even when she came across a large loose handhold still held it together and worked round it.  So became New Kids on the Block.  While it wasn’t her hardest lead, it was her most impressive moment on rock and showed an ability to trust her gear and focus on the route.  Lou has never really liked camming devices, a bit like me in my early years.  She would rarely place them and this was to her detriment when she should have and took a nasty fall that put her out of action for a very long time.  She’s been unable to truly shake that experience and while she still climbs, she is even more nervous leading now than ever:

We’ve certainly given it a go and she says she’s keen to get back on the horse, but it is slow going and she manages to find other distractions.  With long breaks in-between it feels like each time we go out she is back to basics, there is a need to go through the process of relearning the art of trad.  She is still an active member of our crew and loves the social side, as such she is better suited to being out there in a group.  Fitness wise she is still strong and comes to our boulder sessions, at which she will still pull it out of the bag.  The hard part is finding a morning when she can get outdoors, as study and work consumes most of her time, brain power and drive:

The best time to grab her is in-between uni semesters, but these periods are not long enough and too far apart to rebuild that confidence.  So Lou will forever be the student and will continue to get out occasionally, it’s just at a relaxed and enjoyable pace with plenty of banter.  She is also the one that puts forward the most ideas for social nights, with theme meals that will bring out the diehard climbers as well as the occasionals and tag-alongs, and all of our partners and kids.  She’ll continue to boulder, socialise and occasionally get out on rock, and at the end of the day as long as you enjoy the moment that is all that counts.