At long last I am back home and back into some sort of normality. This morning I have been catching up on loads of house jobs that have been building up for the last month. Whilst you may find it hard to believe, I don’t really like doing housework, in fact it often makes me feel ill. Every now and then, to avoid the piles of things taking over, I have to give myself an ultimatum – “do the jobs, or else!”. This morning I decided there was to be no computer access until it was all done and so finally after almost 2 hours of unpacking bags, folding washing, tidying up and hovering I was finished, or at least finished enough for now.

I am sure you would all be polite enough to listen patiently to me talk about this and that, about how the leaves are almost off the trees outside my window, or how it is not raining in Manchester. Or even that my Down Jacket has been moved from my wardrobe to the coat rack, signifying the grit season is on its way. But secretly, and silently, with wide fake smiles on your faces, you would be thinking “come on James, im not interested in this shit, tell me what I want to hear”

So let’s get down to the nitty gritty...

As you all know by now, on Monday the 29^th of September, I finally climbed from the bottom, to the top, of Dyers Lookout without any use of aid, or fixed gear. The Walk Of Life is the culmination of 4 years of effort and comes at what I feel is my current highpoint in terms of strength, fitness, technique, mental control etc. This route has honestly pushed me further than any other rock climb I have been on before and there were many times I questioned whether I would ever complete it. Every day I returned, hoping to make an attempt, the wall seemed to put up new barriers or throw something new at me. As crazy as it sounds, it started to feel like the wall was alive and was enjoying seeing me fail.

Thankfully, with some help and encouragement from my friends and family, I persevered and on my 13^th day of attempted leads, sweet success was finally mine. Actually, this is the first time I have worked out the exact number of potential lead days, If I had known that Monday was number 13, I would have thought twice about setting off at all. Ignorance is bliss.

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Dont worry, there is much much more to come but before I post it, there are just a few minor details I need to confirm.

Keep checking back, I hope to post again in the next day or so. In the mean time here is another pick to wet your whistle

Copyright David Simmonite