The benefits of climbing and physical exercise while pregnant.
By Gosia Lipinska
Pic by Garrreth Bird
It’s 4 am and I wake before my alarm, as I often do when in great anticipation of an adventure. I lie awake quietly for a few minutes, knowing it’s going to be a big day. I’m excited and nervous, and even though I could snooze in a little longer, there is no way I’ll get back to sleep now. I wake my partner and we have breakfast, and prepare for the route ahead. He’s as excited as I am; we’ve never done something like this before. The majority of the day unfolds quite easily, with pitch after pitch slowly easing us into a magical rhythm. But as evening approaches, it’s clear we are going to get benighted. There’s nothing for it but to keep going, one move at a time. We get into difficult terrain – in fact we feel that we’re quite in over our heads. But we focus, zero in on each moment at hand. We have to dig deep – deeper than we ever have before. It is as if we are under water – the only reality is the present. The last pitch is the hardest I’ve ever done in my life. In my under-water focus I hear some instructions shouted at me from below and I’m immensely grateful for the guidance – I need someone telling me exactly what to do. And then, all of a sudden, we top out and the feeling is of pure vivid joy. Our son, Benjamin is born.
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