For the last few weeks on OUTDOORSmagic we've been reading your tales of snapped ropes, premature nightfalls, and over-excitable journalists. Whether they rival the climbing stories of Neil Gresham and Tim Emmett remains to be seen by the competition winner, who will receive a copy of 'Preposterous Tales'. Before we announce the name of that privileged OMer, we have one final 'epic' to round off the competition. (And this time, we've probably all been there ...)
David Thompson reports:
"It was a freezing cold morning at the car park in Keswick; three inches of
snow were lying on the ground. As I put my fourth and final layer on (North
Face down jacket) I thought to myself “this is gonna be one big climb - better
put my brand new Grivel crampons on”. I then set off, ice axe in hand
contemplating the mammoth task ahead.
"What was the best way to tackle the climb? Which would be the best arête? Would
there be a risk of avalanches? These things I would find out in due course but
for now I was picking the best route around to the start of my ascent.
Using all my map reading skills and walking on compass bearings I
made it to the first part of my climb. My heart was in my mouth.
"My crampons dug firmly into the snow giving me the confidence to up my pace a
little. I looked up and saw my first goal for the day. I pushed on hard
against the biting wind and half an hour later burst through the door of
an outdoor store. All of a sudden, when I was looking at the price of a new Gore-Tex jacket,
I came over all dizzy. Was it the altitude? Had I not acclimatised enough?
No, it was the price of the jacket that was making me feel ill. “Time to get
on with rest of my walk,” I thought.
"Battling onwards I could eventually see my goal shining through the blizzard
that now enveloped my surroundings. I couldn't wait to get there; the thought
of it made my hunger pains even worse. “I should have brought my Jet boil to
make a cup of tea on such a long trip”. At last I was there but to my
surprise there was a queue. Could they not see a true climber was in need of
food after such an ordeal? Finally, I reached my destination - the checkout - and sat down with my coffee and scone. I felt proud to have at last conquered Keswick high street."
For those who may doubt the veracity of such a dramatic and life-threatening epic, David Thompson would like to reassure us that this really is a true story!
Finally, to announce the winner of the competition ... drum roll ... we've decided that Andy Taylor's story of hyperactive journalists reporting on his Nepal trek kept us the most amused. Admittedly, his hard-won mountaineering skills weren't all put to the test to enable him to survive his ordeal. Still, a sense of humour comes pretty high up most people's kit list, whether it's kit for climbing a multi-pitch E1, or for dealing with journalists who publish headlines like "Donald Where's Yer Troosers Saved My Life!"
Congratulations Andy.
Thanks to everyone who sent in stories. Paradoxically, the best way we can show our appreciation is to hope you don't have any more of them to report. Happy (and safe) climbing!
