“Sorry u feel so full of energy tho”.
That was the message from my boyfriend showing a huge depth of understanding. After 4 (and a bit) climbing days in Boven, where we often walked out in the dark, I should feel happily broken. Yet I was bouncing around and having to face the prospect of an 8 hr car ride home. This was bad in so many ways. But mostly it meant that I hadn’t pushed myself hard enough. And that was where he truly revealed how well he knows me.
He knew I’d be kicking myself for coming all this way and not milking out every last drop. True, we’d had long days at the crag and I had even tried to onsight in the fading light of the day, only giving up when it became impossible to see the next hold. True, we’d had a few days where we climbed 2 or 3 different crags and I then went for a jog. While everyone around me was complaining of cramping forearms and tired shoulders – the way I usually felt after a day or two in Boven – I felt as if I’d just come off a few rest days. Even though I had clambered up a number of harder lines I was loathe to project on this trip. I had gone for mileage rather than thrashing myself on projects.

Jerome keeping a close eye on me on the balancey and awkward moves on Be Quick or Be Dead
Photo by Tony Lourens
I had felt an enormous sense of satisfaction on climbing the heady feel good lines and, as always, had gained answers to questions I didn’t realise I was asking. By day 4 I was feeling invincible and bomber solid on the rock. Perhaps it was that “I’m a superhero” feeling that was juicing me with so much energy. This was aided by that warm fuzzy feeling I got that final morning – the Durbanites had rushed out to the crag at 7am in the wind and mist determined to climb till the very last minute.
I found it ever so heart-warming to see 3 Durbanites at a time scrambling up the golden orange rock, psyched to be out there. By the time I got into that car and kissed my boyfriend goodbye I was thinking “I’ve just gotten warmed up. Bring on the projects!”