Motivation

Bouldering in Newfoundland has gotten me used to bouldering alone. I'd say it's likely that I've had more days bouldering alone in my life than I have had with other people.

I'm told that in the evenings the St. George bouldering area can get pretty busy. I've never seen it. Because I climb in the day while everyone else is at work I am usually alone. Once or twice some else has arrived as I am getting ready to leave and one day there were people there doing routes when I got there. Mostly though it's been more climbing alone.

That's why I was surprised yesterday when after I'd been there maybe an hour or so a man and woman who looked to be in their 40's arrived with a 14

year old boy and two small girls. They had ropes and a crashpad and starting scouting out the routes they had wanted to climb. Remarking with dismay that most of them were wet and they were going to have to boulder instead.

(the bouldering area stays dry even in a downpour because the overhanging park of the cliff extends quite a ways out from the base of the wall)

They put their crashpad down for the little girls to traverse over and started looking at the boulder problems, the boy got on a two move V10 and nearly flashed it, then started asking the man he'd come with what it was. I had my topo handy (and had previously tried the problem and knew very well how hard it was) so I told him it was V10 from the stand start and v11/12 from the sit. I brought my pad over so he wouldn't have to take the pad from the girls and watched in awe as he climbed the problem from the sit with ease in just a handful of tries.

The woman tried it as well and was doing well but had trouble with a long move and the man came over and did the v10 version first try and remarked on how there were different holds ticked than he used to use.

Clearly these were all pretty serious climbers and he seemed to know the area pretty well, so I asked him if he could give me some beta on a problem I'd been working for a while now. It's called "L'Enflure"a tall v8 that I have been getting pretty high on but just couldn't figure out how to get to the top. When I brought him over to it he said "Ah yes, L'enflure, I put that up. After which the boy addressed him as Francois and I realized that it was Francois Nicole. (Brother of Fred and climbing beast in his own right)

He then cruised the problem to show me the beta, and I was a little dismayed to see that the section I couldn't figure out required taking a sidepull I had written off as un-hold able and then high-stepping and pulling through to the top jug. Young guns then came over and flashed the problem as well.

I wish I could say that taking inspiration from the first ascentionist I managed to fight through and finish the problem. Sadly despite repeated efforts this is not the case. Returning today yielded similar results. However I am starting to feel closer. I also hopped on the v10 while the kid was working the harder version and managed to stick the first move, which previously had made me feel like my shoulder was going to explode, I slapped for the next hold and feel like with work I might be able to stick it.

So with about a week left of my time here in Geneva I am left with two motivating projects. Which wouldn't have happened if I had only been climbing alone.