Hang on a minute!

Image: Kev Marnane, stolen without permission from Colm O Riain

So yesterday I wrote a piece about my first send of a 7a...

I took it down because 7a is a big deal to me and I don't want there to be any question over the first one I complete!

However, the fun I had on Chillax Left yesterday should be noted!!

To recap:

Most of the super strong boulderers I have the good pleasure of climbing with do Chillax Left with a massive throw backwards from the starting jug. It's a really impressive move! When we arrived at the Chillax boulder yesterday in Glendalough I really wanted to see if I could piece this problem together.

The three of us, Myself, Kev Marnane and Colm O Riain all had a go on Chillax and several attempts later, Colm sent it at last! Smiles all around as he stood on top of the boulder and said, 'about bloody time!'

Great effort from him though and I told him to enjoy it!!

In the meantime, Kev and I were trying this legendary throw backwards from the opening jug with no success. Along came Kev Griffin and John Howard.

Perfect I thought - I can get some beta on this seemingly impossible opening throw!

Alas there was no magic foot placement, no trick to it. It was just nails, though John made it look like playtime! The point was then made that after the climbing gods hit this massive throw, they heel hook the opening slopers of Chillax!

Well, if the slopers are in for your heels they're in for your hands! THEM'S THE RULES!

So I didn't throw for the opening for Chillax, nor did I throw backwards for the start hold that the boulder gods use! I used an intermediate sloper as my opening throw and caught it!

Moving my left hand along then to the next hold I brought my heel up to the slopers on Chillax and carefully caught the next crimp with my left hand, quickly crossing my right hand over to the adjacent crimp. Heel was bomber, hands felt good and I heard Kev Griffin shout 'Go!' as Dec had done on White Stick the day before! I threw for the jug above my head and caught it! I was on and I thought... 'I can top this out!'

I love that, when you know you have it in you, and everyone's shouting 'c'mon', and 'go!' and you and you alone know you have the trump card and can do it! I always get a little wry smile on my face when I know I have fuel left in the tank to finish a problem, it's the best feeling!

so I slapped again with my left hand to the final jug and DISASTER! my feet cut loose to my suprise and as I swung around they brushed the mat on the way by! 'DAB!' was shouted by someone... ehem John ehem! I topped it out anyway cause I knew I hadn't used the mats, I'd simply brushed by them... I knew what I was in for though!

Sitting on top of Chillax Left I got the following praises from those below:

"Well done, if you can live with yourself!"

"That dab... I just don't know..."

"You should be happy... if you can sleep tonight!"

and so on!

I deserved all of it though and I knew it! So down off the rock I came and got straight back on Chillax left. Moved well through the opening sequence and though I tried not to cut loose as I caught the final jug, the inevitable happened and to my delight there was a deafening sound of silence as I glued my knees to my chest in an all out effort to keep my feet from hitting the mat just below as I swung through the air and re-established my feet on the rock!

Squeaky clean send!

Twice in a row, and I sat on top of what was, at the time, my first 7a. I was on top of the world, and chuffed to bits!

...

There have been more than a few people since, saying that in their opinion Chillax Left is not really 7a material and that's cool, it's their opinion. Yes, It's probably a soft grade, but it is noted in our shiney new guides as a 7a which is why I targeted it!

7a for me is a benchmark, it's a mental thing, like: 'I've got one in the bag, I can do another!' I'm not convinced that I've done a 7a now, so the quest continues, and I've no doubt having had more success bouldering this weekend than ever before, that it won't be too long before I get to the top of a problem baring that elusive grade!

Like the big girl I am, I got upset last night when the questions came up about the grade of Chillax Left. But today I had to think to myself...

Hang on a minute! Why do I climb... is it purely to top out a 7a? and after that... what next?!

Surely that's not all there is to it for me...

Climbing doesn't mean 7a to me, it's just where I'm heading at the moment. In the meantime I have to take stock and remember what climbing does mean to me:

Everything.