Friday glee is contemplating broken ankles

[rydra_wong]

Climbing? Training? Boosted? Beyond even trying to process what's happening in the world?

Video: Teaching New Tricks to Old School Legend -- Louis Parkinson coaches Neil Gresham in how to climb "comp style" parkour-influenced boulder problems.

Context: Neil Gresham has excelled at sketchy trad among other climbing disciplines. He is one of the very small club of people who've climbed Indian Face. He put up a new and terrifyingly dangerous E11 last year.

So the sheer level of NOPE in his face in his face at the prospect of skipping along some large holds a very short distance above a mat is extremely charming to me. That's how I feel about moves like that (though I learn far slower than Neil does).

I empathize with his instinctive certainty that he's going to break his ankle and/or faceplant into the wall, and have great respect for his willingness to show how anxious and uncertain he is. And Louis is a very very good coach.

Comments

[wpadmirer]

I did not get to climb last week as my belay partner was out of town. WAH!

[ivy]

Seriously! Highly relatable, hahaha.

[rydra_wong]

Also I feel I can confirm that Neil's not hamming it up because I learned half the climbing techniques and trad skills I know from various instructional DVDs he's made, and bless him, he hits "deeply uncool mid-80s BBC TV children's science programme presenter" every time; performing skills are not his strong point.

[hermionesviolin]

Having not climbed in a month, D and I managed to make it out to the gym last night and each climbed 4 walls. I even finished a wall she noped out of halfway through \o/

[superborb]

What an excellent video!! That... is also how I feel about the parkour style stuff, even though I'm primarily a gym climber haha.

[juliet]

I watched this with L to show him someone Grownup And Competent being scared and nervous and keeping on trying anyway :) (we both really enjoyed watching it).

[rydra_wong]

Yes! I spammed my sisters with links to it for the niblings! Neil is being a Good Role Model.