Tales from the climbing centre

My first climb was somewhat of a purple blur, mixed with thrilling excitement and a pinch of fear. The next day I clearly remember waking up to painful muscles, which had been dormant since the dawn of time. As I walked down my parent’s staircase, looking similar to C-3PO, my foot slipped and next came a fractured coccyx.

Ouch!

It was a year later before I would return to TCA. This time I had developed a fear of falling. This was quickly quenched with my friend who had just left the army. Most of my climbs involved him shouting at me to get my gluteus maximus up the wall before he would come up there and drag me to the top hold. Thinking the bouldering mats where a safe place to walk, I found myself flat on the mat starfish pose. After being rugby tackled to the chalky ground, I quickly got over my fear of falling or dismounting safely from the wall. TCA felt less like a boot camp and more like bouldering centre.

It was a few years later I became seriously unwell, it was the hardest time in my life. Complications with my health which led to serious mental health issues led me to hit rock bottom with quite painful thud.

Climbing helped find my inner peace, a place where I could turn off my fears about my health and turn it into something positive. I was embraced by the climbing community and my loved ones with support. Eventually my health issues where finally resolved by many doctors. It wasn't easy, in fact it was the hardest fight I’ve ever had, emotionally, mentally and physically. Climbing was key to fixing this. Climbing made me stronger and more proactive about everything in my life.

A year or so later my health had improved greatly and so had my climbing. I had peace with the past and my life was filled wonderfully with happiness. I was on my second date with a man who had never climbed. The next day I got a message from him 'Just bought some climbing shoes and a chalk bag' he was completely buzzing about climbing. Just like that, my partner was converted to the way of the boulder. TCA, The Castle, Stronghold, Arch Wall, Yonder, Brighton Boulder and Eden Rock became our regular climbing centres as we travelled back and forth for work and family. Climbing became an important part of our lives. We miss TCA greatly.

We spent New Year in Berlin and Berta block. A climbing centre which had four rooms each the size of TCA. Thinking that 2020 would be a phenomenal year for wild camping and climbing trips across Europe...

The night before that dreaded day. I was in TCA picking out some pinks to project on with my partner. Catching up with our friends in our climbing group, thinking we will see them all in a few days. Then LOCKDOWN!

Holly McCloy

The power of community and a love for climbing

My climbing journey began towards the end of high school. I was, as I think many other climbs probably were at some stage, a misfit. Climbing suited me perfectly, I was strong but light, small but tenacious and I fitted in with the misfits just fine. I’d found my family.

A year and a half ago I had a baby. Now this was undeniably one of the most amazing things to have ever happened in my life. But I worried about how it would impact my climbing ability, if I would still fit into the climbing community, if I would even be able to climb that much again?! Five days after having my daughter I made it back to the climbing wall and did some very VERY easy auto belays. Having not climbed in weeks at this point, it felt amazing! Even climbing on really easy routes and not pushing myself, I just loved the flow of being on the wall and the ability to move my body again. I felt like me again.

I kept looking down to check on my brand new child who was fast asleep in her pram while I climbed. Eventually, one of the ‘old boys’ came over to me and said ‘don’t worry Derry I’m keeping an eye on her and I’m sure plenty more folk are too, enjoy yourself before she wakes up’. Not only did this comment welcome me back into the climbing community with open arms, killing my fear or not fitting in anymore now that I was a Mum. It also allowed me to enjoy the climbing (all 45mins of it before she woke up!) even more knowing people were looking out for us and weren’t judging me for what I was doing.

So I ended up spending a lot of my maternity leave at work (I work at TCA)! Being at the wall was a safe place, people didn’t care if I’d lost my mum podge (and who the hell cares either way!?), people didn’t care how hard I was climbing, everyone just welcomed my daughter and I into the climbing wall and were stoked that I was back at it! I worked hard at my post partum recovery and fitted in as many sessions at the wall as I could (sometimes that’s 3 times a week sometimes it’s once a fortnight, having a baby changes things!).

Before I knew it I was starting to feel strong again. My body will never be the same as it was before I had a child and I might never be able to climb in the same manner that I could before but that doesn’t mean I can’t still be strong and climb hard. But most importantly is that my community, my family don’t care about my body, my climbing ability or how strong I am. They just care that I’m there because I’m psyched and because we share a love for climbing. That is why I’m here.

Derry

Dear Climbing

Well, needless to say that I miss you, there is a large bouldering wall shaped hole in my life. As much as I love my fingerboard, rings and home gym items, they don't fill the void. Even the chossy boulders down Frome Valley are starting to look appealing!

Things have got me to reminiscing about how we first met; a rather too long 18 years ago. Our affair was brief, my young heart broken by the boy who introduced me to you, and my tendons in both forearms tattered from trying so hard too soon. An old school of climbing wall you were back then, consisting of move-able crash mats and 4m high wall! A short but impacting 5 months that laid the foundations for my passion for you.

Fast forward 5 years, and following a rather random request on a private design forum, I found myself down at a large, west London facility, eyeing you up and enjoying the shirts off 10% more power rule! Burnt off by teeny climbing squad members warming up on my proj. V4 and fumbling up routes with forearm pump, you opened your doors and started my travelling to find you. Rockfax aided I met you and fab in equally fab locations; I still cannot say Cala Magrana without a northern accent and occasional listen to M80 radio.

After that belay boyfriend relationship ended, my habit for you had taken his place, I stumbled upon a new wall just opened near London Bridge, here my independence and love went to the bouldering part of you. Never have I felt such a part of something, and I was on the fringes! You were my shoulder to cry on, my jokes and banter, my safe space and social outlet, where I could chat or retreat, challenge myself, fail and gloriously succeed albeit infrequently. Here I made your lasting friends and met my climbing love. You were there for us when we met, carried me and my kicking child (she loved it when I jumped off!) through pregnancy and then welcomed us back.

It was then we got to see how beautiful you were through parts of Europe. You demanded we drove roads through France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland to find crags with fierce rock types, scary drop offs and hidden gems that only the locals knew about, spat me off every one of your problems in the 7's and shared your humility with me.

We then followed you to a new city, and began a new relationship with a new climbing wall. One that is now called home, with familiar faces, awesome climbing, great coffee and cakes, with new friends to make and keep. You welcomed us here too, like an old friend, always making me feel secure. Taking in our second child with as much love as the first, and sharing that my experience has made me stronger.

And now I say thank you, for being there, for the last 13 years, and I say again that I miss you. I know you are there, and hope that you are well and I know that we will be together again, if not in the old way, in a new way, as things like to change! I'll see you soon enough, down the wall, or at the crag, under a boulder, at the belay, for a pint at the Miners, at the top, just trimming my nails, after just one more try, gotta do my max hangs, in a bit, come on Joe, laters, see ya, still miss ya!

Kate

40 year old virgin

I’ve been interested in climbing since I was a kid, reading books about it, watching films and attending talks by some of the world’s best climbers. I was, however, always too nervous to give it a go myself. I really struggle with being a beginner at things, but turning 40 last year I decided to push out of my comfort zone and give it a go. Since my first visit to The Newsroom I’ve never looked back. Everyone I’ve met at both Glasgow locations have been so friendly, welcoming and encouraging. Climbing has benefitted my physical and mental health massively and taught me to keep persevering, when previously I’d have given up and walked away. So excited to get back to TCA after all this, and continue my journey in climbing!

@grabbingtindy

I love my little squirrels

"I am Ellie and I am 5 years old. I was so excited when Mummy and Daddy said I could do climbing lessons. I love coming to The Newsroom on a Saturday morning and learning to climb with my friends. I love to go high and try and see how far I go. We have a bouldering wall at school and I am very good at it too. My teachers are impressed by how well I do on it. My favourite game at Little Squirrels is Ninja and I don't even mind if I don't win. I hope we can go back to climbing soon."

Ellie Gibson

It's my life

Climbing is not just my hobby – it's my life. My dad is a climbing instructor and once when I was very young (about 18 months) we were climbing outside. My dad was climbing to set up some routes and I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to follow him. It was not until about 3/4 of the way up that anyone noticed. My mum spotted me first and shouted up to my dad and with that my climbing adventure began.

My dad never forced me to climb, like my mum never forced me to follow in her foot steps horse-riding, but as I grew older, I began to pester more and more for my dad to take me climbing. It was in late 2014 when I joined Youth Extreme and spent a solid 2 years climbing there. By that time, I was on the edge of completing my level 3 NICAS, however I sadly stopped.

It was just over a year later that I decided to pick up climbing again, not in any formal sessions, but I instead decided to drag my best friend, Erin, along. So we climbed together every Thursday night in The Church and we both grew closer to completing our level 3. I learned to lead climb during this time and set-up routes for us to do around the front wall.

A good 2 years came around and my dad mentioned the school climbing comp that took place in The Mothership. Once I had convinced the school to take part I was in need of a third member to complete our team and so my friend who was also a climber, Matilda, joined. We did well in our first comp landing 6th. All three of us have now learned to lead climb and enjoy our Thursday evenings training for the comp. This year we trained even harder and finished 2nd!

This year I have also joined the young adults climb were I have met many new friends like Ellie, Louis, Harry and many more. These friends have given me a new way to enjoy my climbing experience with people of different abilities, as I am able to help them and they can help me.

Because of climbing I have made so many wonderful friends and it has been a great way to relieve my anxiety around school. I have learned so much from my climbing friends! Climbing has helped me through some very difficult times in my life so far and I can't wait to go climbing again! I would like to say thank you to Dave, Darren, Fish, Charlie and Georgia especially for those wonderful hot chocolates every Friday!

Please stay safe and help us beat this corona virus, so we can all return to our climbing.

Eleanor Powles

Opening New Doors / Ending Old Ways

I was getting older... fatter... and spending time aimlessly on my phone instead of enjoying life.

Having tried and enjoyed climbing when I was younger I took a chance and booked a top-rope course at The Church about 4 years ago.

Within a few months I was leading! I now have a small group of climbing friends who meets weekly and feel the sport has changed my life and given me a boost of energy and positivity.

Climbing has taken me to places I never thought I would go, be that trad climbing with peregrine falcons swooping past, kicking steps up endless snow gullies or swinging axes into crisp waterfall ice.

It's challenged me mentally (it's both broken me: piton route, and picked me up: my first HVS lead) and is an escape in a life otherwise focused on work.

Thank you all the staff at The Church, especially Wendy, Dave and Fish and all of the climbers I've met over the years!

Sam X

Climbing Luv x

I used to have the worst anxiety and would avoid all forms of exercise because I didn’t like the feeling of my heart beating fast. Literally had never been to a gym never mind a climbing gym! The first time I went climbing was at TCA after finally being convinced to try it... I did feel quite anxious the first time as I hadn’t done much strenuous exercise since high school probably... But after about half an hour I’d totally forgotten about the anxious feelings/heart beating fast and I loved it. Been climbing for about 6 months now and never looked back. It proved to me that my body was working properly and has reduced my health anxiety ten fold. I have even been going to actual gyms and doing other fitness things thanks to it :) also probably wouldn’t usually share something like this but I agree about needing to share some positivity in this very anxiety provoking time. Hopefully be climbing again soon x

Jess

So much I found...

The first time I tried climbing, a friend took me out to a soaring limestone cliff in the middle of the Bornean jungle, and hauled me up on a top rope. I absolutely loved it, but I didn't think I'd go climbing again anytime soon as I lived in Cambridge at the time, far from any rocks, and spent all my free time rowing. The second time I tried climbing was seven years later. My godchild in Germany had started climbing with school, and persuaded me to go to the local wall with her while I was there. I reluctantly agreed - indoor exercise was never really my thing, and since my first encounter with climbing I had incurred a degenerative wrist injury that severely limited the mobility and strength of my right hand - I wasn't sure I'd be able to climb with it at all! Turned out I could, at least at my very modest beginner standard, and my ambitious godchild gave me a crash course of everything in a day: bouldering, top-roping, belaying - even my first little lead route! Despite it being indoors, I loved it just as much as the first encounter, and when I got back home, I asked a friend at work where I could climb in Bristol. And so my third time climbing, in the third country, was at TCA, which happened to be just down the road from my house.

There is something cliché about saying that somethings changed ones life, but I don't think there's any other way to describe what climbing did to me. I don't tend to do things by halves... and so I threw myself into this new thing from day one. Within the first year, I injured first one, then the other shoulder. Turns out rowing gets you strong, but only in one dimension. Climbing has indefinite degrees of freedom... The shoulders eventually healed and came back stronger. The rest of my body changed as well. Gradually, it changed shape, grew leaner and lighter. For the first time in the 40-something years of my life, I looked at myself in a mirror and actually began to like what looked back at me. I realised I didn't really row anymore, and so I sold my boat. All the while, I grew stronger. My right wrist, weakened by a rare condition where one of the carpal bones loses its blood supply and basically dies and crumbles away, gained strength. At first, I didn't trust it much, and there were many things, like palming down and bearing weight, that I couldn't do. When I was diagnosed in 2014, I barely had 35% grip strength left in my dominant hand. Last year, the Lattice guys tested my grip and finger strength and not only found no difference between both hands anymore, but also attested me some extraordinarily strong fingers - on par with the elite climbers! Maybe rowing does more for finger strength than one might think...

TCA became sort of a second home. Within a few weeks of starting to climb there, I made new friends - something I don't do easily. Spring came round, and my work friend took me to Tirpentwys. I fell in love all over again. Now I wanted to go outdoors, to climb on a rope! Only, it's not that easy to find people to go with when you're new to climbing and nobody trusts you (yet)! I joined the women's climbing group. I took an introduction to outdoor lead climbing course. I jumped on any opportunity to get out and climb. I climbed with lots of different people. Then, about a year after I started climbing, I went to the Church with a group of random friends and ended up climbing with a guy I had never met before. He was very calm and quiet, and somehow that gave me the confidence I had not had with other people before. I climbed better than ever before, and since I'd really enjoyed the evening, I gave him my number at the end of the evening and said I'd be happy to climb again, if he fancied it. He did.

Three years later, we're still climbing together, or rather we were until COVID-19 forced us to stop, temporarily. We've climbed together in England, Wales, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Spain, the U.S. and Canada, and we've been living together for nearly two years now. He showed me how to trad climb and belayed me on my first 7a - Western Front Direct at Navigation Quarry in Wales. Together, we walked around 200 km and 15,000 odd altitude meters across the spine of Corsica. Last year, we bought a van together which we are currently converting - thank goodness for a project to keep us sane and excited about while in lockdown! We can't wait for the adventures to come - and for TCA to open again. It's become like a second home, a much-loved dust-filled honest friendly training cave just down the road... we run past the closed premises almost every other day at the moment, and it hurts to see it closed. We hope that by keeping our membership going, we can contribute a tiny bit to make sure that you'll survive through this difficult time, and can re-open in all the same glory and friendliness on the other side. We owe you so much.

Ulrike and Matt

Arran Redemption

It was a hot summer week on Arran last summer, my friends were just starting to experience the terror of multipitch trad on the now infamous Rosa slabs... I managed to lose both cams and a set of nuts to being an idiot!

A few days later, from our little tent village, after a morning washing in the burn, we set off up to Cir Mhor, the most magnificent peak on Arran (in my opinion) and had a blast of a climb with quality gear, a sketchy traverse and grippy granite! When all was said and done, we dumped our packs at the tents and enjoyed a few well earned drams under the stars.

Iain "Tiberius" Sword

Long story short, I wasn’t in the best place before I joined TCA. A year later I’m the happiest I’ve been in years. So many friends, accomplishments and incredible experiences with hopefully many more to come in the future. Climbing is something that I will be passionate about for the rest of my life and I’m so thankful I found it. We are blessed.

More than a business

This is a time we all need to think about and help protect our local community whatever and however we can.

[As a sponsored athlete] @tca_themothership have supported me for many years to train and drink their coffee supplies dry for FREE.

During this period of uncertainty TCA have closed all their walls to protect our close climbing community, before any government guidelines have been enforced.

TCA is more than a business, it’s a salvation for many, our own church of escapism and happiness. A place to climb, be social, motivate, dream, and to build friendships that last a lifetime, because of the one thing we all have been so lucky enough to find in our lives...climbing.

My friends climb there, my friends work there, as managing directors of the company, coaches, route setters and frontline desk staff. At this time I want to help my TCA community to stay strong, and for my friends to keep their jobs. So I’ve just, for the first time, payed for an Annual Membership to start as of today. [You can see other ways to help here]

It's now time for me to support you back my friends, and I would encourage others to do so as well, to take membership or unfreeze yours at this time, if financially you are able, to help these guys get through this difficult time and to re-open on the other side, with the business and amazing staff all still in-situ and with this community hub still intact.

Lots of love Bristol Crew…. take care, find something to pull on ;-) and see you all soon. 👍🏻

Matt Helliker

Life-changing

I started climbing around a year ago and it was almost like love at first sight. I remember awakening the day after my first session to find that muscles I never knew existed were sore! It quickly became my favourite sport and now I don’t know where I would be without TCA.

There is something so satisfying about topping a difficult project after spending ages trying to solve the puzzle. It is always there when I need to de-stress. When I climb, I am focussed and can forget about everything else; it’s almost like an escape from the world. I love the sense of achievement you feel when you log a new grade. I have met so many amazing people and made new friends. Everyone at TCA is so friendly and supportive and it’s lovely to have that sense of community. I thank TCA for helping me to find this amazing sport and I look forward to returning after the COVID-19 situation quietens down!

50!

I started bouldering for my 50th year. I was doing 50 fun things (about one a month) for the whole year as my birthday is the first month of the year. My two teenage boys were already in the NIBAS class at the Newsroom in Glasgow and I used to sit and wait for them.

I've now been bouldering for over three years once a week while they have their class. I have also introduced several friends to bouldering who join me sometimes.

Susan Miller