hike
Last night, I met with a new activity partner to take up what I see as something I’d like to improve in: wall climbing.
Stef has faced this before, and I have too, that when you look for someone to do something with, they rarely look for what they say there are. So it came as no surprise when my partner looked visibly disappointed as I stepped through the door.
When I shook Irina’s hand, I sensed a mild hesitation about hitting the climbing courses with me. I shot a grin and talked about the one place we had in common: Edmonton. She came out here very recently so I let her tell me about how my old stomping grounds had changed.
“You have done your belay test, haven’t you?” she asked.
“Why of course,” I replied. “I wouldn’t have offered to do so if it wasn’t so.”
“Just making sure,” she answered, “I don’t want to die.”
I sighed.
We did the last second check, and I’d noticed that she hadn’t fully tied her knots. It was enough to support her, and tempted as I was to point out that she needed one more loop, I allowed her to climb while I proceeded to belay.
Irina is highly skilled at climbing, leaving me a lot to learn through observation. Self-professed at being out of shape, she proved her ability to finish the 5.9 course with little difficulty. She pivoted and adjusted herself at points where I would have been stumped, and she nimbly made her way between large distances between the rocks.
As I lowered her down, I praised her skill and asked her how often she climbed.
“My partner and I used to climb five days a week,” she answered. “He was pretty hard core.”
And so she referred to him as such in non-climbing related chat.
I surmised that perhaps she was working through something, but it wasn’t my place to say.
As we traded off, I fastened my knots carefully and slowly completed the loop that Irina was missing. I would later see that she did the same.
The night bore on with her explaining that she had already made it out to the chief outside of Whistler, and that this was the only sport she’d done outside of work. I asked for advice and pointers, and she gladly obliged.
By the time it was time to part, I had the impression that we would not see again, but that was fine by me. I came her hoping to make a new friend, and if it failed at least I managed to get some advice on climbing.
The next day, I received an email. Anytime, I’m up for climbing, I could call on her.
Separated
We visited the local islands for a day hike. However our group was separated and we went on in two separate groups. It was less a hike than it was a walk, but I had a good group today and we had a great time.
We sang 80s music, gabbed about cooking, and shared our thoughts about art and nature.
I explored fallen trees, and moss covered rockfaces.
The gang were a fun bunch to be stranded with as we sometimes strayed off the path.
Tags: August 2008, May 2009
