In reply to Christheclimber:
March 9, 1969. Under an azure sky two 14 year olds are tying on below Brown Slabs on Shepherd's Crag. The leader is an expert, he has been climbing for several months and has a pair of proper climbing shoes. I am the complete novice clad in steel toe-cap working person's boots , much cheaper than proper hill walking boots but with a sole with the frictional coefficient of a wet bar of soap. After much huffing and puffing I reach the top and am hooked.
March 9th 2019. Fast forward exactly half a century (time flies) and the same duo are, once again, tying on below the same sweep of rock. A lot has changed, notably our waistlines, hair colour and quantity. Additionally the weather was much less clement: a leaden sky was producing a regular supply of sleet, the crag was streaming and a temperature barely above freezing added to the discomfort. We had company from a collection of friends, old and not quite as old but there was a whiff of rebellion in the air as they complained loudly that they would rather be pulling on plastic. However the deed had to be done and I slithered up the extremely slippery route. A second route would have been good but we adjourned to the warm hut for beer, wine and pizza.
So how many more years? It is time to stop when it is time to stop. A lifetime of activity has taken its toll on shoulder, back and hip making climbing more of a challenge, exactly how much more will become apparent tomorrow afternoon: after an unreasonably early flight to Alicante I'll be in Echo Valley/Val Guadar, the closest crag to the apartment we have booked.
Happy days.