skymasters 2010

I used to compete internationally, for Britain on the British Lead Team. It was fun, but not for me, I’m an outdoor climber, not a competitor. Maybe I just can’t cope with the stress and rise to the challenge; not good enough. It’s a skill I lack, staying cool under pressure, being able to perform 100% right there and then. Looking down from the viewpoint on the climbers about to race head to head in the final of Skymasters 2010 it made me shiver, what was in their heads? What happened next, win or lose, was probably my fault as I set the routes.

Lead climbing competitions are basically dull for the audience: someone comes out, inches their way up the wall until getting stuck and shaking out forever like a piece of washing hanging from a line hoping to get stronger until eventually sagging onto the rope. Skymasters is different, 2 competitors race head to head on mirror image routes over spectacular horizontal terrain. It’s very easy to see who is winning and the race only takes between 1.5 and 3 minutes. For the spectator it’s awesome, and that’s why this was the third year of the event. Even the climbers love it.

But I’m glad to be just the setter! When speed is everything and a human being can blast this route in less than a minute and a half the tiniest of mistakes count, a poor clip, the rope round the leg, wrong handed on a hold; game over! It has to be perfect and there is no time to think. The men’s final was amazing, a blaze of precise movement right to the end with only a photo to split the result! Awesome. But I’ll stick with the setting!

Full results at

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=52675