Continuing our celebration theme this month, we’re reflecting on the achievements of our friends. We caught up with top British climber Mina Leslie-Wujastyk for this inspiring story about her friend Tanya.
“Watching Tanya climb Austrian Oak (8b) at Malham Cove is a memory firmly imprinted in my mind.
She was nervous and frustrated, she had fallen high numerous times and it seemed, to the outsider, that she might be losing confidence and psyche. It was the end of the day, she was tired and maybe little angry behind her usual smile. She set off “to get the draws down” but this time was different. Something had shifted. She was breathing more purposefully and she started to make little power screams low down. It was as if she were possessed, a different woman to the one that had left the ground. She got to the red-point crux, her highpoint, and unleashed something formidable; she was determined and authoritative in her movements. She wasn’t letting go and it was incredible to watch.
When she clipped the chains, the Tanya I know returned, all laughter and smiles. A bit of self consciousness crept back in, she had accessed something new and she wasn’t sure how to reconcile the experience. As planned, she took her draws out but it was for the last time.”
Tanya & Mina
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