Spot me, please.

The long awaited winter FUN bouldering competition ran today at Ratho. After a last minute re-jig of the categories, I entered the "advanced" group. It was good to have the excuse of taking time out with the camera to not feel like I needed to be on the boulders all the time. But it was a bit frustrating at the same time: caves are DARK, and we were in what Ratho term the boulder CAVE. It made for some weird white balance, some spectacular speckling, and some manic motion blur. Having said that, I managed one or two images that I'm prepared to share.

This weekend has come after a week that disappeared in the blink of an eye. I've felt like I'm just keeping my head above water in amongst all of the tasks I had on for the week. Treading water, with a slight sense of panic that if the waves get any bigger I might start to struggle. A minor diary malfunction on Thursday put the pressure on a bit more, but I think that that is now under control. Now the weekend is doing the same. that is this week's excuse for having a week out of blip. I've carried the camera with me, but not had the chance to press the shutter release.

When you're bouldering, it's comforting to see the hands of your mates outstretched upward spotting you. That goes for the rest of life too. When you are trying stuff that it hard, doing things your not quite sure how to, it's comforting to see a pair of outstretched hands behind you- even if you never fall off.