Birchens “3 Ships” Bouldering Meet Report (20th April)

The inaugural outdoor bouldering meet at Birchens “3 Ships” was enjoyed by nine humans and a sheepdog. The older generation set the early pace on the Victory boulder. The highlight was a rising traverse which everyone climbed in a different way but all agreed was more awkward than it looked. Club members from the newer generation then arrived bringing an enthusiasm for sit starts. Henceforth a sit start had to be attempted for every route – even if it was not included in the guidebook description. We moved on to the Defiance boulder and whilst chipped holds are generally to be deplored we discovered that the letter C carved in the rock provided a useful foothold when topping out. We finished the evening by attempting a massive overhang at the back of Defiance. Only Matt managed to get over it but valiant efforts were made by all especially Eden who was only prevented from success by a burst of premature congratulations from his spotters.