Island Life

Arriving in Dover in a thick fog leaves you feeling thoroughly isolated.  As we set up camp, we couldn't see more than a dozen meters in front of us and all we could hear was the dull crashing of waves off in the distance somewhere. I felt a million miles from civilization, until the fog cleared several hours later and I realized we were really only a few hundred meters from the mainland.

The bouldering on Dover is predominately on short seaside cliffs and the granite is exceptionally sharp. Sliding off a sloper or popping off a crimp will leave you nearly in tears, but if you can ignore your screaming fingertips, there are some pretty cool problems. Here's me on The High Plateau, V1.

Jason on Orange Crush, V6.

The very cool Orgasmatron, V0.

and the near holdless Third Whale, V7.

And should you find a problem that looks cool, make sure to try it; it might not be there the next time you visit. It seems boulders have a tendency to wash into the sea. As we walked along the shoreline flipping through the guidebook we found boulders the size of small cars that were present in guidebook photos but had entirely disappeared.

We had just as much fun exploring the island as we did bouldering. Though it is pretty small, we spotted a deer and spent an evening trying to chase it down. We were completely unsuccessful, but we did find a giant buoy that provided hours of entertainment.

And the sunsets were spectacular.