Steve MccClure
Nordic Youth Camp.
My work is pretty varied, and it takes me all over the place. Some is good, some is not as good. But for the good stuff Denmark is way up there. I’ve been four times now and every time has been a pleasure. I’ve coached, lectured, set indoor routes and helped clean new outdoor lines. The Nordic Youth Camp this year was awesome. Set on the small island of Bornholm, there are kids from Denmark, Sweden and Iceland; they are keen, and climbing well! It’s a big event, spread over more than a week, and I’m impressed at the amount of effort the organisers put in, all for no payment of course. It runs like clockwork and the kids are clearly loving it. This island has the only climbing in Denmark and it’s great to get them out on the rock, where movement and exploration is important and competition results are kicked into touch!
I was there for five days and it felt like longer, not in a bad way, so much going on! From the off the organisers, Stephan, Asbjoern, Brian and Jeanette, and too many more to mention treated me like their old mate, feeding me like a king and dishing out the beer. I spent a morning trad climbing with them and climbed possibly the hardest route in Denmark, which sounds pretty cool, but in reality it’s only about E4, E5 on a heavy gravity day! They are passionate about the place, and we should feel lucky in England and not moan about out lack of rock. Right now they are developing a new quarry, a cross between Llanberis and Horseshoe but on Granite. It climbs well, there’s about 15 routes from 4+ to 7a+. It’s all big features; corners, grooves and arêtes; kneedrops, bridging and jamming. For leaning it does a good job, and there is more potential, a lot more!
I gave a few talks and helped coach the kids. Their enthusiasm was infectious and I witnessed some impressive efforts and a real passion for the sport. It’s not often that we get that, seeing literally hundreds of kids loving it, not caught up in performance or being the best, just trying their hardest and helping each other out, right from 10 year old beginners, right up to the A team of Katrina, Aurora and Natasha. These girls were climbing hard, but more importantly they were their own climbers, already travelling around Europe. They knew the history and what they wanted to do; they reminded me of me when I was 15.
A good trip. I made a lot of mates. I went out for five days of work but came back from a weeks holiday! (Though I must admit I’m completely shagged! Note. SAS might be a jolly nice airline, but how often is your flight cancelled due to a technical incident on the way out, and then AGAIN on the return!)
August 07, 2010 02:21 PM
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