Climbing My Story

This story belongs to Lucy and her mummy, Julia.

It's a tiny tale about Mummy Julia's life

and the things she used to do.

Oh, that was a big throw.

Lucy and Mummy Julia are playing catch outside in the garden.

Ohh! LUCY LAUGHS

Ready? Catch!

Yay!

THEY LAUGH

And now it's time for Mummy Julia to share her memories

and take Lucy on a journey of discovery.

Lucy and Mummy Julia live in a beautiful part of Scotland

called the Cairngorms,

where there are lots of big, jaggy mountains.

Mummy Julia loves climbing mountains.

Look at these pictures of her climbing in America.

She first started climbing mountains here in Scotland

when she was a girl.

You used to climb when you were my age?

I did climb when I was your age, Lucy.

Gran and Grandad used to take me climbing all round Scotland

with your Uncle Steven. And we did lots of climbing.

And I climbed Ben Nevis when I was six years old.

Wow!

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Great Britain.

Parts of it are so steep

that they have to be climbed using ropes and special equipment.

But it is possible to walk up Ben Nevis on this mountain path.

And many years ago, someone even drove up in this old car.

I think that was cheating.

People have been walking and climbing up Ben Nevis

for a very long time.

Some people used to take ponies with them

to carry heavy equipment up the steep slopes,

but nowadays...equipment is much lighter and easier to carry.

The clothes have changed a lot too.

This little boy looks like he's wearing his school shorts and blazer

to climb the mountain!

And ladies used to climb mountains in long skirts like these.

That must have been really awkward.

But we have much comfier, better clothing to walk in today.

Mummy Julia did lots of walking in the mountains when she was a girl.

When I was your age, Gran and Grandad

used to take us walking all over Scotland.

And that was really good fun.

I remember it being hard work getting up the mountains.

Gran and Grandad would stop every now and again

and they'd read me stories,

they'd read a chapter from the book I was having, and I'd get a sweetie.

That would keep me going until the next stop.

We'd keep going up the mountain and it seemed to be never-ending.

When I got to the top, it felt amazing, because you had a great view

and you could look all around you and see the other mountains.

And it was just lovely being outside all the time in the fresh air.

Mummy Julia has climbed lots of Scotland's highest mountains,

which are called Munros.

There are nearly 300 Munro mountains in Scotland

and they're named after this climber, who lived a long time ago.

His name was...Sir Hugh Munro.

Some Munros can be walked up,

but some are so steep in places

that they have to be climbed using ropes and other special equipment.

Mummy Julia is teaching Lucy how to rock climb,

and all rock climbers have to learn their ABCs.

Lucy, this is A, for agility.

What we'll do is, you're going to have a wee climb up one side

and go across the top and down the other side.

-Does that sound like fun?

-Yes!

-Go on, then, have a wee go.

This is good practice for climbing.

You're good at that, Lucy. Cross over.

A is for agility.

That's being able to move your body well

in lots of different directions.

Shuffle across. Perfect. And come back down.

Well done, Lucy. That was great. Good job.

-Next in our climbing ABC is B.

-So, Lucy, this one's for balance.

We'll go over the stepping stones, across the log

and off the stepping stones at the end.

Can you manage that? OK, let's go.

Put your hands out for balance. That's it.

We use our sense of balance to stop us from falling over.

Good balancing. Well done.

Onto the end.

Well done. High-five!

-Yay!

-Yay!

Lucy, this one is C, for coordination.

We'll have done agility, balance and coordination.

So we've got to go along here with your feet on the red

and your hands on the blue. Let's see if you can do that.

It's very wobbly.

-Good girl. That's it.

-I'm holding on.

C is for coordination.

That's about using different parts of our body at the same time

to move well.

-Keep going.

-Lucy is doing so well.

Moving along those wobbly ropes looks really tricky.

And can you get onto that log?

Oh, fantastic. That's brilliant. Oh, well done, Lucy. That was tricky.

Great work, Lucy. And what a great teacher Mummy Julia is.

Mummy Julia used to teach climbing as her job,

and she taught lots of other outdoor activities too.

She's been teaching Lucy and her big sister, Emma,

how to ride mountain bikes,

and they're off for a ride together now.

Look. They're all wearing cycling helmets for safety.

Lots of outdoor activities need special safety equipment like this.

Mummy Julia has also been teaching Lucy to ski,

like the people in this film.

In the wintertime, they ski on snow.

But, today, they're skiing on a dry ski slope.

Wow! That looks like loads of fun!

Well done, Lucy.

Lucy and Mummy Julia had their safety helmets on

for mountain biking and skiing.

And now Mummy Julia is going to show Lucy

some of the special equipment

that rock climbers need to keep them safe,

as climbing can be very dangerous.

So the first thing you need is this. What do you think that is?

-Helmet.

-And where does it go?

-On your head.

-To protect you from anything that might fall down.

And the next thing you need is... What's this?

-Harness.

-That's right. This is called a harness.

We put that round our waist and on our legs,

and that's what we attach our rope to.

What's this, Lucy? Do you know what's in here?

-Chalk.

-This is a chalk bag. If you put your hand in...

you can feel the chalk inside.

Oh! What's that?

That stops our hands from getting all sweaty, so we can stick to the rock.

And the next thing we've got is some rock shoes.

These are made of really sticky rubber on the bottom

and they help you to stick to the rock.

I think they're a bit big for you.

And the last thing we've got is a climbing rope.

You tie your climbing rope into your harness

and that helps to keep you really safe.

These are all things you need when you go rock climbing

to keep you nice and safe.

What are you up to?

LUCY LAUGHS

Oh, are you tying me up?

Oh, my goodness.

LUCY GIGGLES

People have been climbing for a very long time.

Look at this old film.

Rock climbing was even more dangerous back then,

because there were no special harnesses and helmets like today.

Climbers did use ropes, though.

These men have tied themselves together for safety.

This man has an ice axe to grip onto the rock.

And this woman is wearing old snowshoes

that look like tennis rackets.

They helped her walk on snow in the mountains.

These men are using ropes

to rescue someone who's had an accident on the mountain.

Nowadays, mountain rescue teams, like this one in the Cairngorms,

risk their own safety to go onto the mountains

and help rock climbers and walkers.

Lucy's daddy, John, is a member of the Cairngorms Mountain Rescue Team.

Let's go and meet him now.

This is my daddy. He is a climber and he is a hero.

Hello!

This is his medal.

The Queen gave him that medal for being so brave

and rescuing people on the mountains.

Daddy John loves rock climbing too.

Here's a picture of him climbing on ice.

He's wearing special spikes on his boots

to help him grip the slippery rock face.

Here he is with Mummy Julia

when they climbed this great big tower of rock in America.

Now Mummy Julia is going to give Lucy a rock climbing lesson

on this climbing wall.

Excellent. Find another handhold.

Daddy John and a friend

are supporting Lucy and Mummy Julia with ropes to keep them safe.

-That's it. Step up there.

-My foot!

-Can you get both on?

Is there a wee handhold over there? That's it.

Can you do a big step up there? Is that a long way?

-Good girl.

-Good job, Lucy. Well done.

There we go. Going really high now, aren't you?

Just make sure you've always got a nice, good foothold for your feet.

What about this one beside your knee? Is that a good one there?

That's it. That's it, Lucy. They're good footholds.

Just down a wee bit. Perfect. Hold over there.

Big one up... That's you. We've got some good handholds.

-Good job, Lucy. Well done.

-There's a nice big foothold there.

-Here?

-Have a look. Uh-huh. Well done.

Brilliant. That's it. That's a good foothold.

There's a nice big one for this foot at my side.

Ohhh! There you go.

LUCY GIGGLES How's that?

You're doing really well.

Brilliant, Lucy. And is this a good one?

Remember, climbing can be very dangerous,

so you must never climb without help from a grown-up

who knows how to keep you safe.

Fantastic, Lucy. You're a great climber. That's brilliant.

Can you reach?

-Hm.

-Hm. Is that a good foothold?

There you go. That's you at the top. Well done. Fantastic.

-That's a great job.

-Good job. Well done, Lucy.

Thank you, Mummy, for showing me lots of things about the outdoors.

My pleasure. Can you remember all the special things we did together?

You taught me ABC at the adventure park.

We looked at just some of the things you need for climbing.

You showed me how to climb. I really loved doing that.

What was your favourite?

My favourite was climbing

and spending lots of special time with you.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Ohh!

What a fabulous heap of fun.

That was Lucy and Mummy Julia's tiny tale

about the things Mummy Julia used to do.

Now Mummy Julia has shared her story with Lucy,

it's time for Lucy to start her own story.

Do you know someone with a story to share?