It is always interesting where clients find out about you. Often it is word of mouth, sometimes directly from the website but for the first time Ali met Paul via a back issue of Trek & Mountain when Monsterclimbs ran their Learning to Climb Series.Paul is quite new to climbing and came via the walking/scrambling route. He is a keen scrambler, but up until now has only seconded when a rope has been involved.
His main aim of the day was to improve his footwork, develop his climbing techniques and have a better understanding of gear and ropework, so they began with a 4 pitch ascent of Snoozin’ Suzie at Symonds Yat. Ali initially showed Paul how to lead belay, and how to remove and rack the gear .Paul was quite nervous to start, but became more relaxed as he got used to the exposure and began to trust the belays. He also found the climbing shoes that Ali had supplied, enabled his footwork to be more precise and accurate.
The second half of the day saw Paul building his own belays, following slightly more technical routes to focus on his footwork and becoming an independant abseiler. It was an intense day for Paul, and he gained lots of knowledge that he will hopefully have the opportunity to put into practice. Ali thinks that this won’t be the last she sees of him and that he may just become obsessed with climbing, whilst scrambling takes a bit of a back seat. He was talking of buying his first bits of kit as they parted company……..