{"id":51046,"title":"Meet the Founders: Climbing, Flow, and the Birth of Trailkraft","description":"In this first blog post, co-founder Diana interviews her husband Andy about the roots of the brand, the bonds forged through climbing, and how the outdoors became their shared home.","content":"

\"oexjps1e4cngxnwyiuxtxma7qqfprtfj2lotb5izcmzm8g2q.png.png?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"Before the first T-shirt was ever printed, before the logo was sketched, Trailkraft was born on a crag. In this first blog post, co-founder Diana interviews her husband Andy about the roots of the brand, the bonds forged through climbing, and how the outdoors became their shared home.<\/p>

How it all began: forests, winter, and wildness<\/h3>

Diana:<\/strong> So to go back to the beginning \u2014 how did you get into climbing?<\/p>

Andy: <\/strong>Winter mountaineering. I started accessing mountains because I just love being outside. I spent most of my youth sleeping out in forests in the local area, developing a field sport called hunteering [a combination of orienteering, and airsoft] and thoroughly enjoying it \u2014 becoming attuned to being outside with minimal kit and enjoying the experience.<\/p>

It was just natural next to start playing in the mountains. When I was younger, my parents moved over to Cumbria where we lived for a year. I just love being outdoors, and mountains are a special place. Summits are a special place \u2014 some of the rare wild, truly difficult spaces to find yourself in.<\/p>

I\u2019ve definitely had some of the most spiritual experiences of my life at mountain tops, which have helped guide me through some very difficult moments.<\/p>

We all walk up to the cliff edge \u2014 and every single one of us at some point will fall over it, whether we want to or not. To actually walk up, look over it \u2014 and then walk away. That\u2019s why we created pieces like the Glen Coe Climber Tee<\/u><\/a> \u2014 a tribute to the mountain that started it all.<\/p>

\u201cMountains are where I\u2019ve had some of the most spiritual experiences of my life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

\"f7vencsfritrw4a6shmitrwiqr2zeuczjfx0u2js6wxjlloa.png.png?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"Meeting the climbing tribe<\/h3>

Diana: <\/strong>How did you meet the group of friends that you go climbing with now?<\/p>

Andy: <\/strong>So I did a mountaineering course. I found the mountains, and I fell in love with the winter \u2014 it\u2019s hard to describe the feeling of challenge but beauty you find in the winter. It\u2019s something you\u2019ve got to experience.<\/p>

I joined the York Mountaineering Club<\/u><\/a>, did their climbing course at the York wall, and also the winter mountaineering course. At that point I was hooked. But I realised that in order to get better with ropes and harnesses, I needed more.<\/p>

In 2009 I did the outdoor mountaineering course in Scotland \u2014 and we actually got involved in a rescue. I was the only one with enough experience from doing the indoor course. We\u2019d been taught bucket belays and moving on and off steep ground with ropes and harnesses all day\u2026 and then I had to do it for real.<\/p>

A couple of climbers in the other group had become cragfast under a cornice. There were two instructors \u2014 one had to take our party back \u2014 and I got the job of belaying the rescue. Which was crazy. Right at the deep end. Fraught\u2026 but also a lot of fun. I guess maybe fun\u2019s not the right word \u2014 type two fun. I realised from that experience that I needed to get better at ropes and harnesses.<\/p>

\"tvlacp8d7ghvvjk2rv5wwheklru6ohodiedfwewche43mpca.png.png?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"So I went to the local climbing wall with my good friend Ben, who I knew climbed there \u2014 met Matt, we hit it off. He dragged me outside to frighten me all the way up some local Yorkshire cliffs! And Jon, who\u2019s a friend of Matt\u2019s.<\/p>

I met Alex at the wall too \u2014 I remember meeting him. He was well into his mountain snow sports, clearly a fit chap \u2014 and an amazing climber (wearing our classic T-shirt<\/u><\/a> below).<\/p>

\"f4hpfdaj1onoighx2ef28hfecloau2oinfjzhga9y8rrweci.jpg.jpg?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"<\/p>

Getting into climbing \u2014 where to start?<\/h3>

Diana:<\/strong> Would you say you started climbing indoors first? Because some people reading this might not know what the first step is.<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> No, I started scrambling in mountains first and realised I needed to progress. I went formally looking for climbing because I wanted to access places I couldn\u2019t otherwise.<\/p>

To climb mountains, you don\u2019t need mountain climbing skills \u2014 as mad as that might sound \u2014 because there\u2019s a difference between hard scrambles and needing ropes and harnesses. But if you want to do harder stuff, you need technical training.<\/p>

The trust between climbers<\/h3>

Diana:<\/strong> Talk to me about the trust you place in your friends when you\u2019re climbing \u2014 and what that means to you.<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> I think climbing friends are as close as you can get to military friends. And I realise that sounds quite a cheesy analogy to make, but I think there\u2019s a bond that comes in military service \u2014 where you\u2019ve got someone who\u2019s been shown to take responsibility for you.<\/p>

They are that important. So in other words, if you belay somebody and you wander off in your mind and stop holding the line, and the person you\u2019re belaying has an accident \u2014 they can be seriously hurt. And that happens.<\/p>

I know someone \u2014 they had both their ankles broken and stopped climbing because their partner dropped them. That was it. And it was indoors. That was absolutely indefensible. They fell off in a difficult section. That should not happen, but it did.<\/p>

That\u2019s where trust comes in. That\u2019s where climbing friends are people you have to trust because they\u2019re doing something where they\u2019re putting their own life literally in your hands.<\/p>

I have fallen countless times, but with the knowledge of the person belaying me being able to take my fall. That makes a good friendship \u2014 because trust is there. And in true human friendships, trust is a key element.<\/p>

\"bbweyyiqzwjtcyzp6ipgliu7k2vpltouzhgtazetd0cbpgcv.png.png?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"<\/p>

\u201cClimbing friends are as close as you get to military friends.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Why climbing isn\u2019t just about adrenaline<\/h3>

Diana<\/strong>: So we have started Trailkraft with our first collection focused on the sport of climbing, primarily because it is a huge part of your life. Talk to me about climbing and what it means to you.<\/p>

Andy<\/strong>: Climbing is misunderstood. People think it is an out-and-out adrenaline sport, and the way some people climb, that\u2019s a fair call. But the majority of climbers \u2014 while they will encounter adrenaline \u2014 it\u2019s generally only when things look like they're going wrong.<\/p>

Climbing is about control. It\u2019s a sport of control \u2014 controlling dangers. And people think the biggest danger is falling. And while that is a danger, it\u2019s not the biggest danger. Danger, with again a certain degree of predictability, is rockfall. And rockfall is unknowable, to a degree.<\/p>

You can go to places where you know it's going to be sketchy, where others shouldn't be. I mean, some people throw rocks off the tops of mountains just because they can \u2014 even with climbers below.<\/p>

I\u2019ve seen a few mountain rescues. When I went to do the Aiguille du Midi travel video (which is coming up very soon on our YouTube channel), the party ahead of us were on loose ground and large rocks. We identified that as a dangerous area \u2014 as I\u2019m sure their guide did, and most of the clients did. But still, somebody fumbled, hit a rock off, and that rock fell. It hit one of their group on the head. They needed to be rescued with a helicopter<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>

Those rocks came towards us \u2014 we had to get out of the way. But the rest of the risks of the day were not largely falling rocks \u2014 it was down to our skill and ability. The difference is, you can still pull holds off up there in the Alps. It\u2019s more solid granite than round here in North Yorkshire, where routes do have more of a tendency to shift with the seasons as bits of it erode or snap as you climb up.<\/p>

\"lzjtuptamivnyo8bir5kklo038vcv9znzlop00fs6fqza0fw.png.png?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"<\/p>

\u201cClimbing is about control \u2014 not adrenaline.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Flow, fatigue and staying in the moment<\/h3>

Diana:<\/strong> Do you ever find that just being so close to a rock face gives you a different view of the world?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> It makes you stop thinking about what else you\u2019re doing. So, I have a stressful job, and it\u2019s nice to be able to switch off. When you go climbing, you have no choice \u2014 because you have to switch onto what you\u2019re doing. It\u2019s that simple.<\/p>

Diana:<\/strong> Do you ever find yourself in the flow, so to speak?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> It can be very meditative when it\u2019s good. My best climbing is when I\u2019m just concentrating on what I\u2019m doing, thinking about it. But that\u2019s when \u2014 unfortunately \u2014 tiredness creeps in. And emotional tiredness, as much as anything. I get that from my job.<\/p>

It allows an element to struggle\u2026 I\u2019m dancing around the fact that I\u2019ve got a dodgy back. I can\u2019t fall on the ground like I used to be able to, or I might not be able to get up for months. So I do have to be careful in that respect.<\/p>

<\/p>

\u201cMy best climbs feel meditative \u2014 until the fatigue creeps in.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

<\/p>

Bouldering vs climbing (and falling off sofas)<\/h3>

Diana:<\/strong> Is bouldering a separate activity then?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> There is bouldering and there\u2019s climbing. It\u2019s a bit like the difference between a 100m sprint and a 1000m race.<\/p>

Diana:<\/strong> Am I right in thinking bouldering is climbing sideways?<\/p>

Andy: <\/strong>No, you\u2019re very incorrect! [laughs] Bouldering just means you\u2019re not using a rope because it\u2019s not high enough to need one.<\/p>

As far as you think you can go without damaging yourself on a crash mat. There is a height limit in the walls \u2014 but people still get hurt. I had a friend whose girlfriend broke her wrist falling off just a fingerboard. Freak accident.<\/p>

People break stuff. But you can also break your wrist falling off a sofa. This is a sport with risk \u2014 like cycling, rugby, all the rest.<\/p>

\u201cYou can break your wrist falling off a sofa \u2014 climbing isn\u2019t the problem.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

\"35urs1khc1jq6fvaawyhb6xokna7xgtfqfv5znnqy5viebxp.jpg.jpg?w=1140&project=trailkraft-402114&v=2\"Choosing where to climb each week<\/h3>

Diana: <\/strong>How do you decide where to climb each week? Do you take it in turns?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> It\u2019s more rotation. We just start a WhatsApp chat \u2014 where we\u2019ve just been, where the weather\u2019s decent. I try not to go to the same crag twice in a row.<\/p>

Climbing in the North York Moors is limited, so we rotate sites. Some aren\u2019t right in winter. If it\u2019s raining, we go to York indoor wall.<\/p>

Diana:<\/strong> Straight to Red Goat<\/u><\/a>?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> Or Energise<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>

Diana:<\/strong> York sounds like a great hub for climbers.<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> It is. Leeds has some really exciting walls too, I\u2019ve heard \u2014 but York\u2019s enough for us. Challenging, close, relaxed. People there are just nice.<\/p>

Diana:<\/strong> Can you do courses there?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> Yes. Energise is good for ropes and harnesses. Red Goat is bouldering. Probably the easiest way to get into climbing is to go to your local bouldering centre. Rent some shoes, wear gym clothes, that\u2019s it.<\/p>

Perspective, bravery, and the Inn Pinn<\/h3>

Diana:<\/strong> After climbing for a while, did you find yourself looking at rock differently?<\/p>

Andy:<\/strong> Yeah. You start to see routes where others just see danger.<\/p>

I remember years ago in the Lakes, I was solo walking and a guy came towards me, quite shaken. He said he\u2019d crossed a knife-edge ridge and was scared. We chatted. I thought, \u201cOh god, have I made a navigation error?\u201d I checked my map \u2014 couldn\u2019t see anything dangerous.<\/p>

I got there\u2026 and yeah, it was narrow. But not a knife-edge. More of a belach than a blade! I don\u2019t take my skills for granted, but what was scary to him was manageable for me.<\/p>

Climbing builds that. Your judgment changes. But you can\u2019t learn it from a book.<\/p>