Written by: Maz (Diversity and Inclusion Officer 2024/25)
16/11/2024
It was still dark on Saturday morning as I arrived at Beit Hall, sleep-deprived but excited for the day ahead — Portland’s limestone awaited. I was meeting Amy and Sofia before the rest of the group arrived for our 6am departure. Amy was the driver, and Sofia lived next-door so was hitching a ride with her to Beit in the minibus.
“Right, well I can’t locate the driver,” Sofia texted me from her flat, with the minibus packed and ready outside. We soon realised that Amy wasn’t going to wake up any time soon, and because of Amy’s industrial-strength earplugs, the doorbell wouldn’t suffice. Sofia tried knocking on Amy’s bedroom window with a broomstick, but it didn’t reach. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the clip-stick from the minibus and while I kept calling Amy’s phone, Sofia leant out of her own bedroom window and smacked Amy’s window with the clip-stick.
Meanwhile, the rest of the climbers slowly gathered at Beit, groggy and cold, with Asha and Luane looking particularly rough since they had been here, at the student’s union bar, only a few hours earlier. Finally, Amy texted. Turns out the alarm she was relying on was set for weekdays only. Twenty minutes later, the minibus arrived with Amy, hair straight out of bed and toothpaste still on her face, apologising profusely for the mild fiasco. By some miracle, we hit the road at 6.20am.
We had one quick stop at the services on the way to Portland to freshen up where everyone, now slightly more awake from their coffees, was able to introduce themselves (we decided it was still too early for a “Say one fun fact about yourself!” type of icebreaker, so stuck to just names and pronouns). To maximise daylight hours, we drove straight to the crag carpark. Pads on our backs, we headed down to Cuttings Boulderfield. Even though it wasn’t my first time taking this approach, the sight of the sea emerging as you walk beneath the ruins of a castle bridge still took my breath away. We paused for a safety brief from Asha, as for many of us (me included), it was our first time bouldering outdoors. In hindsight, we probably should’ve done this where there was a better phone signal, because the next 20 minutes were spent trying to send screenshots of the topos from Amy’s RockFax to everyone.
We hit the rocks with a few good hours of daylight left, though, even with Asha’s countless trips here, we still managed to miss the turn into the boulderfields. I was super proud to top out my first outdoor boulder, “Hammer Time” (4), considering how terrified I had been. Katy, Amelia, Shuyi and Rafi also conquered their first outdoor boulders. Some of us had a go at the notoriously difficult mantel on “Pinky Power” (6a/7a depending on the start), climbing the tree next to try find any holds on the top.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the air grew cooler, my heart warmed at the roar of cheers from a few boulders away. I turned to see Amy topping out on “Smash ‘n’ Grab, sit start” (6b), the problem she’d been working on all day. Her hands were caked with blood, dirt, and tattered tape, yet a wide smile stretched across her face, mirrored by the grins of everyone cheering her on. With headlamps on, we wrapped up the session with some night bouldering, each of us taking a crack at “Global Underground” (5+), as Rafi finally found the “razor-sharp crimp” we’d all been hunting for.
Back at the bunkhouse, it was time to make dinner, and I was in charge of making daal. Usually, I would just eyeball the quantities to make a few portions, so spent way too long trying to figure out how many lentils were enough for 14 people (I ended up making way too much, but at least we know for next time). Seven cups of lentils and a few burnt naans later we enjoyed a lovely meal, and I had a newfound respect for Sofia for all her trip dinners I had taken for granted in the past.
We settled in for a quick board game before bed, but as we were setting up, Shuyi walked in, looking distraught. She had lost her phone, which had been in her hand just moments before. The group rallied together to help search for it, and what felt like hours (though it was probably less than one) was spent combing every corner of the bunkhouse. Asha and Daphné even checked under the toilet seat. In a moment of desperation, I turned on the tap, half-hoping the phone would magically appear from the pipes. Finally, Sofia discovered it, hiding deep in the sofa which had already been searched through three times. With the mystery solved, we all headed to bed, exhausted after a long day.
17/11/2024
After warm showers and a restful night in actual beds (yes, this was the boujee trip), everyone fuelled up on overnight oats before heading to Lost Valley for some sport climbing. Nestled in an idyllic valley, it was completely empty except for us and the robins. We got climbing right away, while Luane, still not recovered from Friday night, napped on a crashpad.
Amelia and Felicia crushed their first outdoor lead climbs, while boulderers Ella and Rafi were introduced to ropes and heights. Sofia was confronted by “Flake Away” (4a), a climb she had NOT enjoyed on her last visit. Facing her demons, she conquered the climb, and almost everyone managed to snap a cool photo sitting at the top of the flake. Halfway up “Robin Crack” (5b), I found a creature nestled amongst dirty cobwebs right where I wanted to use the crack. I freaked out, thinking it was a centipede, and bailed. Sofia later confirmed it was, in fact, a snail.
Whilst I was searching for a place to pee, I spotted Amy emerging from the bushes, baby wipes in hand and looking a little shaken. It seemed last night’s daal hadn’t agreed with her stomach. To make matters worse, she hadn’t realised her chosen spot was right at the base of a boulder.
Sofia adored one of the moves on “The Dark End of the Street” (6a+) and encouraged me to try it (it was as cool as she said). We found a rock with a stunning view of the sea and cliffs, where we soaked in the vastness between climbs. On the way back to the minibus, the purple sky darkened, and we were treated to a blazing sunset at the top of the hill where we were parked. Luane decided she hadn’t had enough climbing and began scaling the minibus to get a better view, with a couple of us spotting her nervously. We stopped at Codfathers for fish and chips (or, in Asha’s and my case, vegan chili con carne and breaded mushrooms). Felicia wished she’d asked how large the “large cod” was before ordering—it was, in her words, quite large indeed. Asha and I wished we hadn’t ordered the breaded mushrooms because they were, in our words, bad.
On the drive home, we reflected on the trip, sharing our two stars and one wish. Many loved how kind, supportive, and safe the trip felt and wished there were more gender-inclusive events like this (looks like I’ve got work to do!). Ella was inspired to learn to belay, and Merve was just thankful for the real beds (a luxury after the usual floor-sleeping on ICMC trips).
I was grateful for the fact it didn’t rain once (a rare feat in November) and felt proud to have run my first trip. It was a full-circle moment, as Asha’s Gender-Inclusive trip last year had been my first time climbing outdoors, and I couldn’t help but reflect on all the amazing ICMC friends and memories I had made since then.
