17/01/2023
Story time: Here’s Loretta climbing for the first time after a 3 year break. Loretta, from Austria, has been a long time avid-climber. She started climbing during university and fell in love with the sport. Her appetite for climbing was insatiable. She climbed in France, which she refers to as paradise because there’s so many routes for all levels, as well as Italy, where she reported some routes are have holds that are too smooth to grab after being climbed too many times. She was a real mountaineer, often taking trips to summit mountains, which involved hiking, climbing, and a lot of technical rope work.
But three years ago, while on a lead climb, her legs gave out and her feet slipped - she took a big fall injuring herself, a risk every climber takes on when they start lead climbing. Ever since then, she was put off from climbing. For this year's climbing season, she left all her climbing gear behind, not thinking she would climb at all.
But last Thursday, Loretta joined our half-day climbing trip, encouraged by her partner. At first she was nervous, even trembling as she began her route. You could feel the intensity of the moment for her, with every deep breathe trying to remain calm. A climber on a nearby route was drilling a new line, the loud construction sounds adding onto the stress. She began to second guess her feet placement, and whether they would hold.
But with every step Loretta took, she became more familiar with the rock, and the process of climbing itself. She was overcoming her mental limitations as her body relaxed and her movements became more intuitive. It was like she was jumping onto the bike again. She cruised the second half of the route, elated she had made it. After several more climbs, she couldn’t contain her smile. Loretta, a gentle empath, told us, “My body really missed this.” Next season she’ll have all her gear in Dahab, ready to tackle the mountains. Thank you Loretta for trusting us with your first climb since your accident. It was truly inspirational💪🏽🌻