I wrote the story below for a climbing blog competition. And I won! I wanted to share it here too, because in the wee hours of last night, I was thinking about what I had quickly written at 11pm on the final day of the competition deadline. And how profound (and real) what I wrote is to me.
This is what I wrote...
These shoes are part of our marriage.
My husband bought his first rock shoes from the legendary Chris Vind who had a climbing shop in Hillbrow in the 90s. Small, student-orientated, next to Wits... a real hangout for the Wits Mountain Club. And of course, Chris talked many students into manning the climbing walls he ran at different events. They're not La Sportivas, but the Boreal Ballets had their inaugural trip to Tonquani, followed by many more to the Magaliesberg, Harrismith, the berg, Boven... you name it.
They were also the shoes that led me on my first rock climb with some crazy MCSA mountain rescue guys, then several "dates" to Groot Kloof, belayed me on my first lead at Boven.
I learnt that I could trust those shoes - where they led, I could follow and know I was safe. Those climbing trips led to Mountain Rescue, Wolkberg, friendship, then love, then marriage. Then lots more Magalies trips, and then down to Cape Town where we explored TM, Muizenberg, Higgovale, Cedarberg. I followed them up Little Red Rooster, Staircase and even to Rocklands and Truitjies.
Then small people came along and the shoes weren't taken out quite so often for a few years.
A camping trip with other families to Montagu saw them out again, rather battered by now and 20 years old. Children played at our feet at Steeple. As our children swung on ropes too, the shoes set up routes, cleaned routes, encouraged and cajoled.
A few comments by fellow climbers... after all, Danny had resoled them a few times too through the years.
This photo was taken on a later family trip where we introduced more friends to climbing at Truitjies. Below are our children, their friends, our friends... this is what climbing is also about. It's about chalk dust, warm rock, balance, belayer's neck, laughter, sharing, dirty hands, the clink of gear, finding holds.
And to me, climbing is about following those shoes (now nearly 30 years old) knowing I can trust the person who wears them, the one who belays me.
First date to this date.
Those shoes are part of our marriage.
