An Ode to Manchester Wall
A 19th-century bridge's contribution to climbing culture
Blue Ridge Outdoors just published an essay I wrote detailing the humble origins of my climbing career on the remains of a 19th-century bridge in Richmond, Virginia. My Ode to Manchester Wall can be read here. An excerpt:
I had to teach myself how to rock climb.
I didn’t know any climbers, but in college I began bouldering in a dinky climbing gym housed in a converted gas station. I soon upgraded to a larger gym but eventually decided that it was time to learn how to get out onto the real stuff. I bought myself the requisite gear—harness, a rope, some quickdraws—and began devouring YouTube how-tos in lieu of studying for exams.
I practiced setting up anchors off of the pull-up bar hanging in my doorway, tied and retied figure-8 follow-through knots and clove hitches, and nervously performed my first rappel off the balcony of my house. Time well spent, to be sure, but what really enabled my autodidactic introduction to climbing was the Manchester Wall.
This is the first time I’ve published writing in a venue other than my own. It’s cool to contribute to a magazine that I read a lot in my time living amongst the Blue Ridge mountains. I hope that these thoughts can stimulate my old community and that the essay reaches an audience different than the one I have curated here through its publication.
At the same time, I can see why established writers that can make Substack work prefer it to traditional media. Being able to publish something immediately, when you feel ready to put it out into the world, rather than waiting on the timelines of others is important. As I’ve written before:
Why Write?
If I had to answer the question of “Why write?” I’d have to go with what Walker and I agreed on about the creative process: you create to communicate yourself in a moment in time. A blog post or a song is a distillation of the creator at the moment of publication.
That’s why if you don’t act quickly enough—publish the post, drop the album—you lose your emotional connection that motivated you to create the thing in the first place. You aren’t that person anymore, so the idea isn’t as relatable.
I wrote this essay back in July of 2023. It was accepted in August and it was published the following May, making it the longest I’ve ever sat on a piece of writing without it seeing the light of day.
Finally, as I read the published version of the essay, I definitely noticed that it wasn’t my voice. The editors (who were great to work with!) imparted their own changes and style into the final form—moving around paragraphs, changing a few words here and there, altering some structure—leaving the essay something slightly different than when I handed it off to them.
Overall, though, it was an enriching experience and I’m thankful to you all for your continued support and motivation to write.
More recent writing to come soon!
Regards,
Michael
Just checked out the full article in Blue Ridge Outdoor, excellent read 🙌 It’s funny how many people I know/have met that cut their teeth in the outdoor spaces of the southeast before moving west! Outdoor recreation there is something special.