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

Lou introduced the Frenchies, as she called them, to our climbing community.  Denis and his brother Pierric, were both lovely people and obviously very tolerant from the start, not being upset with Lou’s affectionate name that was used for some time by quite a few.  While Pierric went back to France, Denis has settled down here.  They were self-confessed bolt-clippers and sport climbing was where they were at.  Above Denis is enjoying the delights of the slabs of Moses Rocks during one of the first trips out, and bring trad the top rope was required.  While his preference is bolts he is not assertive about this and is happy to simply get out.  That said I have only ever got him to place a couple of trad pieces on lead, and only because it was required on mixed routes:

Tall and lanky, he is another person with an unnatural reach that allows him to bypass those sections that are more tricky for us shorter climbers.  But his reach isn’t what makes him a good climber, it takes more than that.  He was willing to give most (bolted) things a bash and I would point him to routes.  He, like so many others, would be trusting enough to tie in and give it a go.  He is however probably the person that I have pushed the hardest, relative to his level, and he has taken a fair few falls as a result.  In view that he clips bolts that didn’t worry him so much, and he seemed to actually enjoy the thrill of going until he would peel off:

Denis is a social person, he would enjoy getting together both to climb and not.  He was a regular at our boulder nights at Glen’s and on occasion would bring a friend.  One of them being young Tom.  We all knew Tom and having him turn up at these sessions was potentially dangerous, as he could have changed the fun nights into nights of torture as he inflicted impossible problems on us.  Tom however was and still is mature beyond his years and didn’t do that.  I haven’t got a post on him, as I really didn’t climb outdoors with him much but I just simply had to mention him.  Tom is the strongest climber I have met, insanely talented and powerful.  Denis and he shared a house and of course they built a boulder wall to train:

In-between his sessions outdoors Denis would be training hard with Tom and became very strong.  While he climbed very well and was super safe on single pitch bolted lines where you could get lowered off, it took a bit of time for him to get the hang of setting up belays.  On one such occasion he climbed a small slab at Welly Dam and I followed up, all I can say is that I’m glad I didn’t fall off!  He doesn’t get hung up on rope work, the art of placing protection or the scenery so much.  For Denis it is the climbing, and there have been times that the great outdoors has detracted from his enjoyment.  I can still hear, and start to laugh at, his wailing when he was besieged by March Flies at Well Dam:

Denis climbs for the pure enjoyment of being on rock, it doesn’t need to be a clean ascent it just needs to be technically enjoyable.  I’ve never seen him get upset or frustrated, if he does he has an impressive way of masking it.  I get the feeling that he approach life in that way too, always seeking a positive and enjoying the moment.  It has been a while since Denis and I have been on rock, almost two years, and in this time he has found Kyla.  Hopefully he will resurface and entertain us once more, as I point him to more routes I reckon he’ll enjoy with at least one he will fall off:

It was during the cold winter months of 2014 that I got the chance to meet the climbing crew in the South West and more particularly, as he is the subject of this story, how I got to meet Krish.

I use to live in a van back then, working on vineyards during the day, getting rained on. And almost every day, after work, I would go to the climbing gym in Dunsborough with my brother and we would climb with the familiar crew that would travel down from Bunbury and Busselton.

I was lucky enough that these people would offer to take us outdoors, on the actual rock, to amazing places like Willyabrup or, maybe my favourite, Welly Dam.

Krish of course was always one of the more avid and keen climbers and I remember those days where he would take us on the most epic routes, leading on trad like it was a fun warm up and belaying from the top. My brother and I, both working really hard, struggling to make it to the top cleaning behind Krish.

I guess that is how I first think of Krish…

While racking my brain here, trying to put words together for his blog, my first thought is how easy he makes it look. Whether it’s on the rock placing gear, leading a technical sports route or doing a “follow on” on a boulder wall at someone’s house.

But when I think more about it I guess I like climbing with Krish for the energy he gives you suggesting climbs, describing them and adapting his decision making to your capabilities. But also for the patience he shows while belaying you for a long time because it’s a hard climb or encouraging you and helping along the way. And finally, when I think of Krish I think of his generosity along the whole process and throughout the entire climbing day.

I haven’t climbed in a while and I haven’t seen Krish in ages but, writing those words, I remember some particular routes I climbed with him and the classic ritual of meeting at the car parks, pulling gear out of each others trunks and getting psyched and I miss it. I hope we’ll soon be able to climb together again.

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

I have a feeling that I have climbed with Eric far more than my images indicate.  My earliest memory is of Eric on Fat Chance, when I took a bunch of images of him. One almost made the cover the new guide book, until it was pointed out that it looked too similar to the cover of the new Perth climbing guide. Eric climbed with Eric, his mate, and they were both quiet unassuming people happy to just go about climbing. One day we met them at Wallcliffe, I was there with Rob and he had a tag along with him.  I asked the Eric’s if they were happy for the tag along to run up their rope on Borrowed Souls, which we had recently established, and they were very happy to do this.  As the tag along neared the top I heard a faint noise and then a loud shout, he had knocked a rock off and it landed squarely onto the big toe joint of Eric bare foot 20m below:

The way Eric dealt with that situation speaks volumes about his character.  There was no carrying on and a few polite words and us offering our sincerely apologies, which he shrugged off saying it was an accident and they happen. It didn’t break his toe but severely damaged it and he wasn’t able to put a climbing shoe on for months and months.  He held no malice and eventually got back out on rock.  The Eric’s were not part of the crew at the time.  I found out only a month back that Eric’s mate Eric had gone to the Middle East, but I kept in touch Eric and we headed out together a few times.  There is no stress with Eric, everything happens at a relaxed pace and he’s happy to take whatever the day allows, as and when it comes:

As long as we got out he was content.  Ram who didn’t make my list, is another occasional outdoor climber and while he has led a few bolted routes it was Eric and I that taught him the ropes with trad.  Eric showed a lot of patience and a natural ability to calm situations down, which was great as leading on trad certainly made Ram very nervous and uncomfortable.  In fact I can only recall Ram leading on trad twice, and each time he hated it. In those days Eric seemed to run up most routes, he is also the only person that I have ever seen climb Hired Gun direct.  Most people traverse in from the left to avoid the long dynamic moves that get you small crimps, which you have to yard up on:

The two Eric’s had a boulder wall and kept themselves strong.  Eric had great finger strength and great body coordination, which isn’t always the case for tall lanky people.  After a few years Eric disappeared from the local climbing scene, but he was still not too far away.  He still got my write-ups and we occasional chatted via email.  Finally a few years back he dusted off the cobwebs and came back out, not quite as strong but just as chilled and open for adventure.  I found out that he had dismantled their boulder wall and was looking to sell the holds off.  Great timing and the 150 odd holds complemented what I had bought for my new wall perfectly:

We managed a few outings, and at Boomer Crag I discovered that he was scared of spiders.  He came across a huntsman tucked away in the crack of Boomer Crack.  Managing to hold it together, he still had that ability to stay composed and finished the route.  A week or so later just before departing on his holiday to the Blue Mountains things changed.  He was unexpectedly offered a job over there and it became a job interview and house hunting trip.  So our planned next trip out just before Christmas never happened. He is however still going strong on the many Blue Mountain crags and keeps asking when I might get the chance to come over.  I’ve not managed it yet, but will one day:

My memory is a bit skittish… my first memories of climbing Western Australia, after migrating over in 2011 was texting a guy from the motel in Bunbury where I lived for the first month. I got in touch with Rhys via a forum on the Climbing Association of Western Australia website, and he invited me to join in for bouldering at a buddy’s place, which turned out to be Rongy’s shed.

I remember being a bit shy, and I’m not sure if actually went over in the first week, I think I made and excuse that I couldn’t go ha ha. I recall going to the PCYC with my friend, also called Eric, and bumping into you, Rongy and Howsie. The first thing we had to do was fill out the waiver forms, and either you or Rongy welcomed us to “the land of paperwork”. I still remember these words when filling in tedious forms today!

You kept encouraging us to climb and try harder and harder routes until we fell off, which is something that you like to do in general isn’t it? We didn’t climb outdoors together much, but met at the PCYC once in a while.

Then one day we bumped into each other again at Wilyabrup, and when I climbed Fat Chance I took a few whippers, including one huge one. You were taking some pictures, one of which ended up in the guidebook that I never bought until years after. Now I’m very proud and eager to show this image in the guidebook to others. It is a very cool picture, maybe even my best climbing image to date. So thanks for that.

Up to this point, we still haven’t actually climbed heaps together. Then, the day I shall never forget! At Wallcliffe while belaying a new climber on a newly bolted route that was not very well cleaned, a half fist size rock came down and landed on my big toe. It was quite a memorable few shitty seconds, you guys were there and gave me some sympathy. Luckily not too much, as you then encouraged me to climb a few more lines which I did.

After my toe had healed, which took some time, we had a few sessions up at Welly Dam together before I stopped for a few years. We didn’t get back in touch until you bought a bunch of plastic holds for your home wall. There were a few trips to Wilyabrup and one up to Perth before I moved over East.

The one thing I’ll always remember about you mate is your eagerness just to climb and be outdoors and enjoy nature and climb, climb, climb. You are one of the most efficient climbers I’ve seen moving on rock and rigging gear, I have to say sometimes it looks like you are flying not climbing!

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

Glen is another one that came from the State Emergency Services fold, I’m not sure how he came upon our climbing crew but I’m certain it wasn’t via Andrew.  Glen is the clown or larrikin and the one you can count on to do something not very sensible.  He never climbs too hard on lead, but will give harder stuff a go if there is a rope above him.  His preference is trad, and with trad the risk of something going wrong is conceivable greater.  However, he does place good gear and when a route permits plenty of it.  So much so that he might wear himself out placing it all:

He’s certainly capable and has been out heaps with us, but he is inconsistent.  Despite having had the encouragement to climb with his mate Leigh at places like Arapiles over east, his well-intended training programs can easily be unhinged by the temptation of a beer or two.  He likes the social side of climbing, isn’t overly keen on early starts and is quite vocal about it.  I have managed to get him to the crag at first light once and he confessed it was very worthwhile, but not so much that he ever wanted to repeat the experience:

He is probably the one that will push hardest for a pit stop at the beer farm after a mornings climbing.  Some are easily swayed by this but I have only succumbed once, with Lou’s insistence that the veggie burger was to die for.  They must have been good as they were sadly sold out and I have not been back since.  Glen is one of the more active people on our local social media group, continually throwing all kinds of random stuff at us.  Needless to say while he loves to get out for a climb he is easily distracted, and if the weather is looking dicey, the start is too early or if the salmon are running he is quick to bail:

The want is certainly there, proven with his mass of climbing equipment and his boulder wall. We went through a few years where we would meet at least one evening a week at either Glen or Lou’s wall. These events became less about training and more about a catch-up and general play on the wall. This suited Glen as he could make use of Lou’s brain to assist with his study, enjoyed jumping on the wall and to boot for a period we started to bring food along too. These session could include copious amounts of raw unrelenting banter. Glen would dish it out in bucketful’s. He could certainly give it out, but he could also take it when the tables were turned and they often were:

One reason that Glen has not been very consistent on rock, is his accident prone nature.  The first major incident I knew of was when he slipped on his boat, which was in his front yard, while wearing thongs.  He cracked his knee and eventually needed surgery.  This started to come good until he kicked a tail gate to close it and aggravated the injury.  He was finally coming good again when down at Cosy Corner poorly thought out protection led to an unfortunate fall, and he broke his foot.  Now I must confess this happened to be on the route I mentioned in Steve’s write-up, and which Dan and I suggested may only be a grade 9.  Having been on it several times now it is probably fair to say it is four or five grades harder.  After he fell and knowing what the likely prognosis was he had the ability to compose and self-rescue himself up the rap line, which was pretty impressive to witness:

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

While everyone I’m writing about is keen to climb, for some it is more in their thoughts.  Howsie is definitely one who wants to physically get out as much as possible.  He climbed at the PCYC with his brother Mikey, Dazza and Mark.  While I climbed with all of these guys outdoors for a short period, Howsie is the one that this has continued with.  His love for nature and exploring is something that I can relate too, we both get just as much fulfilment from finding interesting animals or weird plants, as we do from our time on rock.  The images in our adventures are testament to that:

Howsie is calm, collected and cool on rock.  Composure and focus are maintained on seemingly blank faces with no protection, or when bolted routes have scary ground fall potential.  Many say that I show this quality, and maybe there have been times, but they are not so frequent these days.  So it is great to get out with someone who will go for it so I can do so with the safety of a rope above me.  Howsie mentioned our early morning before work Welly Dam trips.  The big year was 2016 when we climbed almost every week enduring not just the dark starts and wetness of winter but also sub-freezing temperatures when you couldn’t feel your fingers.  And regardless of this we never walked away from those trips wondering why we bothered:

In fact no conditions are bad conditions for Howsie.  We have been on many trips away.  The thrill of a new location and different rock brings out the kid in Howsie and a childlike excitement begins to surface.  One that can’t be dampened by conditions or fear.  That said while we have both taken risks we have also moderated each other’s, at times, overly confident approach and have never had a bad experience.  Howsie like me will extract every possible moment of climbing out of a day.  That said Howsie will be the one to say he needs to top up his energy levels and have a break, so we would always be prepared with plenty of food and drink to keep us going:

Many of our trips out have been overnight, and camping out is all part of the experience.  Howsie loves a banter in the evening after a day out, and this is one area we do differ as I’ll crash early and then get up early.  While I can sense he is keen to keep talking at night, he has never complained when I’m up first and making a brew!  At times there is a need to cram in just one days climbing, and when you are seeking out new locations the travel time begins to increase.  We have been known to spend a big day at a crag, one for which the round trip travel time has been in excess of six hours.  Getting to the crag for first light and getting home in the dark.  On the journey home feeling weary behind the wheel his keenness to have a chat is very welcome:

It may seem that he spends all of his free moments climbing.  And then some more again as he is always being keen to squeeze just one more climb in before we pack up and head home, something I have not been known to discourage on our trips.  However, he does an impressive job of balancing many passions.  Music takes a lot of his time being an active member in a band, and he also works in the environment profession and does a lot of volunteering.  Then added to that he has Nadia, Fergus and Frank to consider.  Occasionally Nadia has to be the voice of reason that will rightly make Howsie reconsider and adjust where he spends his time:

I first met Krish, probably in 2008 or 09 which was the year I moved back to Bunbury after Uni. I had a little exposure to climbing, mostly top-roping at Churchmans Brook, bouldering at Blackwall Reach and indoor climbing at Rockface (sorry this isn’t about me is it).

I discovered the PCYC in Bunbury and quickly made an appearance down there. Here I found Krish very welcoming and encouraging, not just towards myself, but to any newcomer to the gym – anyone who went there would agree. Krish worked really hard to keep that place alive and he was definitely part of the energy that was felt there, and that we all miss now.

We managed to get outdoors a few times over that period but the real chance I got to form the relationship with Krish was our 5 day adventure to the South Coast with Rongy and Andrew. This opened my eyes to the humbling crags and also was my first real taste of a multi-day adventure on the rock and allowed me to form solid relationships with the three guys. It also exposed me to Krish’s incredible efficiency and planning. In the weeks leading up to the trip there were multiple emails with lists and spreadsheets, arranging the gear list and the ‘who-brings-what’ as well as our itinerary nailed!  

In 2016 Krish and I worked in the same building. This allowed us to indulge in weekly before-work visits to Welly Dam. We barely missed a week, rain, hail or shine and we got to see each other perform on good days, bad days and otherwise in all conditions – the routes stayed the same but the human dynamics are huge. I think this gave us a great opportunity not only to get fit together but to develop a good respect for each other on and off the rock.

Krish has indulged my little challenges I like to set myself, including my desire to get to a new crag each year. This has taken us off on a few weekend missions to new places where we’ve been able to work through the adventures that come along with entering new crags for the first time. Together we find a good balance of enthusiasm and ‘sensibleness’ so that we always make it out unscathed to climb another day.

What it’s like climbing with Krish: The obvious one is his incredible enthusiasm for the activity. It is hard not to get caught up in his immense passion for everything about climbing. He’s always up for challenges, adventures and diversity. Krish’s energy and efficiency is also something which I enjoy. I know when at the crag, we will maximise every minute which both suits my needs (having family life to return to) and gives me maximum enjoyment.

Krish also has a knack for reading peoples patterns and body language. He can tell when you are at certain limits in energy, confidence or otherwise and he throws just the right amount of ‘encouragement’ at you to make you try things you didn’t think you could. This may be calling out ‘come on’ while you are struggling at a crux or he may actually be physically clipping gear to your harness and tying your figure eight for you when you haven’t actually decided whether you are going to try the route or not!!

One thing I’m used to is looking down from the first few metres of a route and seeing the absence of a belayer… a quick glance to the nearest vantage point and there you’ll find him happily snapping away with his camera. Better yet, he may even rig up complex systems so that he can safely belay you from said vantage point!

That said, Krish has a very caring nature, he likes to ensure everyone’s needs are met. Sometimes to his detriment, he cares too much and will take it personally if things don’t go particularly well at the crag. You can see this in the way he sticks by people who have suffered injury like Lou and Steve, Krish checks in regularly and helps wherever he can. Lastly, his ability to capture the ‘vibe’ of a climbing trip and present it in a story is impressive and I’ve enjoyed reading about his adventures (even the ones I’m not on) and look forward to many more.

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

When Lisa and I went for a walk one day we stumbled across the zawns at Smiths Beach, actually I might have driven there directed the walk in that direction on purpose because of rumours I’d heard.  I was gobsmacked, how could this location have gone unnoticed.  Well it hadn’t Kym had already put up a line of two and my first introduction to Kym was via emails about this location.  We never climbed here together and it took close to two years before we finally got out on rock, this was at Moses Rocks and we put up Rude Awakening.  Since then I feel like I have become a part of Kym and his family, when picking him up for a trip out his daughter Tess wouldn’t let us go until I had done some art or read a book or two with her:

On our return Tess and her mum Meg would have done some baking so it would be time for a cup of tea an cake.  His second daughter Claire is equally lovely, as is Beau who by no fault of his own put them through some stressful times during his first year.  In fact Kym and Meg are troupers who seem to cut through challenges together and have always come out the other side ready to carry on with a positive attitude.  Kym is as passionate about rock as I am, I would dare say even more so.  Always keen to explore and find new locations.  Occasionally our rock finding missions wouldn’t have a lot of climbing, but we did get to some great locations.  Kym is very caring and considerate, I would even say he is selfless even when it comes to climbing offering up those elusive first ascents to others when he has bolted a new line:

While I have done a bit of bouldering, it’s not really what I enjoy.  But Kym has an energy about him that is hard not to get caught up in.  Any and every line is great, worth the time and effort, no progression goes unnoticed and he encourages people like no other.  It’s almost like he is living the experience that whoever is climbing is actually having.  He loves the classics and we’ve climbed some epic routes together, but his real desire is continually searching for something new to try.  Definitely not afraid of pushing himself and he will work a route like no one else I’ve seen no matter how steep, exposed or sustained:

He moved down to Albany a few years back, it was a great move for him and his family and they are doing really well there.  To be honest they are the sort of family that would make the best of any location and situation.  But what Albany does have is endless rock and endless untouched rock.  And where he is located it is practically on his doorstep.  Every week Kym manages to find a new boulder or a new possible crag, he’s always putting up first ascents whether boulder problems, sport routes or gnarly trad.  Even when he says to me that he isn’t really feeling it, the next day I’ll get a message about some impressive new route or problem he’s completed.  I’ve not been down to Albany half as many times as I should have, not just to climb but also to say hello to the family:

But when I have we have gone hard, whether classic routes at the Mount Gibraltar or new ascents on amazing crags.  Not only Kym but the local Albany crew are very welcoming and I’ve been taken to many a new location and offered up the sharp end on new projects.  The days can’t start early with a young family, but once we are out we keep going until our arms are busting, legs are jelly and our finger tips are tingling.  While he has all this energy and passion for climbing he still manages lots of quality time with his family for whom he would do anything, and is also studying full time and impressively smashing that out.  Kym is without doubt the most driven person I climb with, but is also capable of changing the pace to match whoever he is climbing with:

I think it was around 2010 that I got a tip off from a friend who was looking for surf breaks and spotted a small cliff at Smiths Beach in the South West. I put a post up on the Climbing Association of Western Australia website, asking if anyone had done any climbs there. Shortly after I received an email from Krish who was keen to put some time into developing it. I hadn’t met him yet and only heard of him through a local climbing instructor, Mick, who told me that he was a bit of a trad climbing beast.

I hadn’t been rock climbing all that long and I could tell straight away from the email that he had the sickness for putting up new routes. Before I knew it he had snaked all of my projects at Smiths and uploaded a mini-guide of the area. It was obvious this bloke didn’t muck around.

The first time we actually climbed together was at Moses Rock. He took the first lead on a brand new route and I could tell he was fairly experienced. Unfortunately I did notice tri-cams on his rack which had me a little concerned, was this a sure sign of boldness? It seems that it was. He survived all those scary English crags as well as outback Australia and isn’t scared of flaring cracks, choss or runouts. We topped out on “Rude Awakening” and established a handful of new lines that day. Over the next few years we climbed loads of South West classics and sniffed out new routes around Smiths Beach, Welly Dam and of course Willyabrup including establishing a whole crag.

Krish has no problem taking the lead if you aren’t up for it and is always in high spirits. His psyche is infectious and it’s hard to find anyone more stoked on climbing than he is. I feel privileged to have met him, his friends and his family. Krish is one of the most genuine people I’ve known and he’s taught me many things about climbing (and life).

Since I live in Albany now we don’t climb together as often as we once did but when we do it’s usually pretty exciting, especially when we rack up at the base of a new route on the South Coast to try for some on-sight glory. Sometimes we get it and other times we get our arses kicked, but every time we try hard.  Here’s to many more great days out on the rock mate stay psyched! 

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.