I’ve recently climbed at Awesome Walls Climbing Centre (AWCC), Liverpool. It is situated in St Albarns, which first opened as a church in 1849, to eventually close its doors to worshippers in 1991. The doors were reopened to a new type of worshippers in 1999. Cool, so let’s go climbing.
Because the centre is based in a lofty, old church, you can lead climb to the rafters, or stand watching from below with a cup of tea. I opted to boulder, however. There are several bouldering areas (The Crypt, The Featured Bouldering Wall, The Stepped Wall, The Bouldering Cave, and the Traverse Walls) that will get you strong.
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| The Crypt |
After a reasonable warm-up, I started with the lower grades, and worked upwards, to eventually climb a V5/V6 problem. I was quite happy with that, and climbed the same route for at least another five climbs. I wasn’t sure if I was performing good technique, or merely pulling with both my forearms and fingers. Anyhow, I then moved on to a V7/V8 boulder problem, but could only climb to half-height. I could expand into a lot of detail here, but haven’t. No excuses, but my hands were trashed at this point! I was content and could sense progress. This signalled the end of the day. I can't believe I am not trying harder.
Music Playlist: Radiohead - Everything in its right place
Music Playlist: Radiohead - Everything in its right place