Chapter 1: A Boy and a Boulder
Chapter 1: A Boy and a Boulder
Intro:
In the quiet countryside of Snowdonia, Wales, nestled between sweeping green hills and jagged peaks, lived a boy named Oliver Hughes. From the time he could crawl, Oliver was drawn to the rocky cliffs near his village. To others, they were dangerous obstacles. To Oliver, they were puzzles waiting to be solved.
Story:
Oliver’s fascination with climbing began when he was six. One chilly spring morning, while on a walk with his grandfather, he spotted a large boulder behind a row of sheep pastures. Without hesitation, he scurried up its jagged face like a goat. His grandfather chuckled. “You’ve got mountain blood, lad,” he said, tousling Oliver’s windswept hair.
By the time Oliver turned ten, the nearby crags became his playground. He crafted ropes from old laundry lines, read books about Edmund Hillary, and watched online videos of professional climbers. He wasn’t just climbing rocks—he was dreaming of summiting the great mountains of the world.
But in his small village, dreams like that sounded silly to others. “You’ll break your neck before you break any records,” some villagers warned. His school friends didn’t quite understand either. But his parents, though poor, never discouraged him. His father, a postal worker, once surprised him with a pair of used climbing shoes. “Every step up starts from the ground,” he said.
One summer, a travelling adventure group hosted a free climbing demo near a local campsite. Oliver watched wide-eyed as a visiting instructor scaled a towering wall like a spider. Afterward, he boldly asked for a turn. The instructor hesitated but agreed.
Oliver flew up the wall faster than most of the older teens. When he reached the top, the crowd below burst into applause. The instructor, impressed, gave him a card. “If you’re serious about this, look up the Welsh Youth Climbing League.”
That night, Oliver could hardly sleep. He stared out his window at the shadow of Mount Snowdon, whispering, “One day, I’ll stand on top of more than just this hill.”
Outro:
In his small room with posters of climbers and peaks, Oliver marked a new goal on his wall: “Compete in the Youth League.” He didn’t know how he’d get there, but for the first time, he knew where to aim.