Governor Stable Bouldering CompetitionGovernor Stable 抱石競賽

Oh, I was just a spectator, not a competitor, because I didn’t have the guts to boulder.

Since I started to climb last June, I’ve always thought that I would only be a top-roper or maybe would dream about being a lead climber. Bouldering? That’s a bit scary; what if I fall? Based on what I learned from my wilderness first aid class, a person doesn’t have to fall from a significant height to have a significant injury. So, bouldering? How can it NOT be scary?

But something inside me changed after observing the Governor Stable Bouldering Competition. During my 6-hour long observation, numerous times I told myself, “I wish I could climb.”

In my climbing gym, my climbing partner used to encourage me, “the concept of bouldering is not at all different from top-roping.” Indeed, but every time I tried, once I reached a certain height, I chickened out. It’s all mental, but I can’t help it.

On Saturday, I witnessed the bouldering competition, which attracted about 200 climbers to work on 200-plus routes on several sections of natural forming rock surfaces and cracks. The competition was like a problem-solving process. Every climber had to attack as many as possible brain-stirring hard problems to claim the rewards.

I watched my friend and others climb from 10 to 4 o’clock. They first stared at the route, pondered and then strategized. I did the same. They started to climb, and my mind did the same. They fell or slipped off the rock, and stood up and used their fingers and feet to gently touch the rock, to feel where on the rock was inviting, and then tried again. I waited until nobody was working on the route, and had a brief body contact with the rock as well, and hoped that the sensation would provoke inspiration. I sensed that the rock was sending me some messages, and I wished I could climb.

Bouldering started to look less scary and more fun. In Chinese, we call bouldering “Hug the Rock” and right now I love this translation, because it’s such an appropriate footnote of climbers’ intimate relationship with the rock.

The closing curtain fell with the gradual disappearance of the sunlight; climbers changed to their sneakers, carried their crash pads, and hiked out of the woods. They looked just like a troop of poker cards from Alice in Wonderland; their faces reflected the sunset and the sunset glorified their pride.

Waiting for the closing ceremony, people scattered around on the grass field. Some people sandwiched themselves in their crash pads and played bull fighting; others set up an elastic rope between two trees and practiced the art of balancing.

It was a fun day. Bouldering to me is still a bit scary but it is also far more friendly than I’ve ever imagined. Hearing the laughter from the climbers, I smiled, and I told myself, “If I hug the rock the right way, the rock will hug me back.”

喔，我只是一個觀賽者，並非參賽者，因為從來一直提不起膽量，從事抱石（bouldering）這項運動。

自從去年六月開始室內攀登，總是堅定不移地以為，攀登時一定要使用繩索才安心。很認份地和我的繩伴互相確保，攀登的型態總是top-roping，偶爾也想著要趕快鍛鍊自己，以進階到lead climbing的程度。抱石？看起來有些危險。要是不小心失足，該怎麼辦？野外急救的課程訓練告訴我，一個人不需要從太高處落下，就可以造成嚴重的傷害。所以，抱石這樣運動，怎不讓人心生畏懼？

但是，上週六以一個觀賽者的身份，看了長達六小時的Governor Stable抱石競賽。心裡有點蠢蠢欲動，認份的感覺開始動搖。在觀賽的過程中，心裡的那個聲音，不知道說了幾次「我也想爬爬看！」

在我常去的室內岩場，我的攀登伙伴總是三不五時地鼓勵我：「試試看抱石嘛！跟一般的攀登的概念是相通的，沒什麼好緊張的。」話是這麼說，只是每次嘗試，一到了某一高度，就手腳發軟，心裡發慌，再也爬不下去。我知道這全是心理障礙，可就是拿它沒辦法。

星期六，幸逢其會，目睹這場吸引了約莫二百人參賽的抱石競賽。每個攀登者絞盡腦汁，嘗試攀登天然岩場中超過二百多條的攀登路線。整個競賽過程，就像一場解迷大會。個個莫不想要在限定的時間內，攀登越多且越難的路徑，好搏一個獎賞。

從早上十點到下午四點，我看著朋友以及其他參賽者攀登。他們首先凝視攀爬路徑好一會兒，深思，心中沙盤推演。我也凝視、深思、沙盤推演。再來，他們就開始嘗試攀登，我的心也開始嘗試攀登。也許他們失足落下，或是從岩石上滑落，於是再次站起，以靈巧的十指和雙足，輕輕地細心地感覺岩石上的痕跡，找出岩石呼喚他們置手落足的地方，再接再厲嘗試一番。我等到沒有一個人再要嘗試該條攀爬路線，也和岩石做一番親密的肢體接觸，希望岩石和我能夠心有靈犀，啟發出攀爬的靈感。有時候，岩石似乎真的傳遞過來幾許消息，啊，我真希望我可以試著爬爬看。

抱石似乎不再那麼令人畏懼，這運動似乎很有趣。在中文，我們稱這項運動抱石，真是個好翻譯。似乎為人與岩石親密的關係，下了相當妙的註腳。

隨著日影西斜，競賽也接近尾聲。攀岩者換上他們的球鞋，背起緩衝墊（crash pads），走出孕育這片岩場的樹林。這個行列真好像愛麗斯夢遊仙境的撲克牌兵隊，他們的臉龐反映著陽光熠熠生輝，而陽光燃亮他們臉上的驕傲。

在等待閉幕式的時光中，眾人四散在草地上。一些人穿上他們的緩衝墊，玩著你推我擠的鬥牛遊戲。另一些人在兩樹之間，懸上繩索，一個個躍上測試自己的平衡能力。

是一個有趣的一天啊。雖然心中還是覺得抱石有點讓人怕怕的，但看一天下來，抱石其實比原本想像的友善多了。耳邊傳來競賽著的聲聲笑語，我微笑起來，喃喃地對自己說「抱石、抱石，如果我用正確的方式擁抱岩石，想必岩石也會好好地擁抱我吧。」