Originally Posted by
smooth
I am one of those people who just quietly enjoyed this report , from start to finish. Beautiful pictures, very unusual topic, and exquisite writing. It is so refreshing to read about your travel adventures, as they are in such contrast to all these La Premiere Suites, Wine Lists, Michelin Restaurants... etc. trip reports on FT. Thanks for giving me a chance to learn more about my country and its architecture. And I would love to visit Mount Pleasant, now that you put it on the map!
Thanks again for letting us travel with you. Looking forward to more of your trip reports.
By the way, I loved your 787 Selfie!
Thanks! If Mount Pleasant becomes some viral destination due to this report I will be very happy :-)
The 787 shadow shot was a consolation prize - a member of cabin crew had spotted my camera earlier, and so when another plane was flying parallel to us for a while asked if I could get a shot since their camera phone couldn't pick it up. Sadly I had entirely the wrong lens with me to do any better, and couldn't capture that scene. However, it did mean I had the camera to hand and my attention at the window when this composition became possible later.
Originally Posted by
GregWTravels
Thank you very much for the trip report. It was a pleasure to read, and I don't think your words were picked inexpertly at all. And now I have hopped over to your blog, because I had no idea there was even such a thing as a climbing world cup, nor it is the kind of thing people would be spectators for (though I say this while watching some dudes in lycra cycle around France, which perhaps means I shouldn't be throwing any stones).
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Sport climbing had its Olympic debut in Tokyo, but there's been a competition circuit for years. The bouldering and lead disciplines are fascinating to me because there are fresh problems / routes (respectively) at every event, and it's entirely possible that even the best of the best can't complete the task set. It'd be like if everyone lined up for the 100m hurdles only to find they've been unevenly spaced, are a mix of heights, and a random piece of gymnastic equipment is half way along the track! If you're in North America, then events are free to watch live or archived on the
IFSC youtube channel - I'd recommend a boulder final such as Meiringen as there's only one climber out at a time, they get a few attempts at the problem, and the commentators usually do a good job of explaining to non-climbers what's going on. Frustratingly, a licensing deal means those streams are not available in Europe, which is part of my motivation for attending in person. I thought I was done for the year, but an event originally scheduled for Wujiang has just been relocated to my old home town of Edinburgh, so I can't pass that up!
Originally Posted by
halfcape
I also enjoyed your trip report and photos. Thank you for taking the time to share!
Thank you for taking the time to wade through it!