Missing trains and buses and getting all hell lost still can't get me down. A lovely Friday night solo art exhibition by my good friend Sven Schelwach at Galley SoSo in the beautifully articulate and artistic Heyri Art Valley where contemporary meets strange and dreamlike. Accompanying me on this gallivant was Jason Mehl, another talented sculptor friend of mine. Surrounded by creativity, I can't help but be in awe of their dedication to their craft. Like dripping bones, these bronze masterpieces remind us of what our innards could look like after a nuclear catastrophe - if there were any remains of course. I remember visiting Jason's apartment last year and his continual fascination to rotate the plants in his house as they reached towards the sun. Growing minute millimetres each day, he manipulated their growth pattern. Clever. This fascination is clearly present in his works of art. But you can read more about that here: http://abstracterosion.com/
The weekend had not even begun. With a unplanned round-a-bout tour of the train station late Friday night, I missed several of my escapes out of the city until finally the train within I sat departed in the right direction. Later after the free wine buzz from the art opening had subsided I found myself in Daegu then in a taxi to Gyeongsan to sleep on the floor of Bryan's cozy family home. He didn't mind my 2 AM arrival as he insisted that indeed he was a night-owl despite his wide eyes caused by the three wild children that were hidden underneath blankets and toys - all in the colour of pink of course.
I awoke earlier than I intended to the sound of cute voices in the hall. Ah,the three munchkins. Bryan's daughter Hana is an amazing being. Oh, to be a child again. To dine at the breakfast table with her and her two friends who had convinced Bryan and his wife Shauna to have a sleepover was truly a remarkable experience. Back to the innocence of unfiltered comments. Ah. to be a child again. I finished off the crusts of peanut butter toast and we were out the door in pursuit of cliff dwelling and anchor replacement!
Munsusan. WOW. How can I speak any other words. Near Ulsan in the South West corner of South Korea, this magnificent park complete with Buddhist temples, burning incense and birthday lanterns, enhanced my every step up the winding path to the crag; a crag which I had never been, but surely will return to shortly (hopefully within the next few weekends). Quality sport routes with shoty, dilapidated anchors were replaced. 19 of them! Those willing can now safely climb and lower with confidence. It was a pleasure and an honour to jug up the dynamic line to remove 20 years of rust. This was a baller workout - one armed pull-ups with the aid of a little foot work. I can only imagine what it will be like on the big walls! Using only two vice grips and my bare hands, I suffered wholeheartedly to pry apart the bolts that sized dangerously corroding wires. Now, in their place, shiny new quick links and chains that should last a lot while longer than their predecessors.
So then the evening fell. When our diligent efforts were satisfied, our trusty mates prepared to leave. I was called back by a lovely lady friend of mine, Theresa Mowat. She is amazing (not only because she had the dame name as my mom) but because she is an real genuine soul. Living in the moment, loving and being true with passion. As I had already left the crag, I had to find my way back on foot, without the expertise of Korean GPS and I really didn't know the way - but I did near voices. Instead of taking the manicured trail, I decided to descend upon the bush and disguised boulders under years of fall leaves. Luckily my experience has granted me the sense of knowing not to step on anything but solid rock, fearing to step into an empty hole and break a leg. This I did not do. Slow and steady, I made my way though the underbrush, over the waterfall/stream to the source of human sound. Theresa and Unio Joubert (whom by the way is a stellar photographer!) had just undertaken a severely sand-bagged climb. I tried it too in the dwindling dusk light only to be forced to question "WHY?", as for the grade, it was quite stiff.
After we packed up and headed out, the first priority was food. Any and all climbers know how hungry we get after a day of cragging - so much so that all else takes the back seat until bellies are full.
Despite the magnificent valley beheld, there seemed to be no place to lay our heads and even throughout intermittent Korean, we found no quarters to rest nearby. Again, the bellies rumbled and as we pulled into a restaurant to ask about a place to stay and she offered us dinner with a side of free sleeping room! WoW!
Heated Korean floors never get old!
