Injury was tough to take and had me climbing the walls

They say there’s never a good time to have an injury but I guess when I hurt my ankle a few months back at the end of the climbing World Cup season, it was the best time to do it.

It had been a long and tiring year and I was definitely flagging with one World Cup event left to go. I had dug deep to find the last bits of motivation I had left in the days before my trip, and was really looking forward to ending my season on a high.

But a nasty fall while out bouldering in the Peak District the day before this final trip left me with a fractured and dislocated ankle, and put an abrupt end to my year and off-season plans.

I waited just over two weeks for surgery. This was the hardest part for me and days seemed to pass so slowly because all I wanted to do was start getting better and working towards getting in shape for the Olympic qualification events next year.

I’d like to think I am fairly savvy when it comes to navigating big injuries after a triple pulley rupture in my finger five years ago but just how debilitating a broken ankle could be took me by surprise.

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I needed constant help and found it more mentally challenging than any other injury as it had such a huge impact on my everyday life.

Going outside was suddenly quite scary and needed to be planned. I didn’t want to be out in the rain with crutches and couldn’t get around easily by myself.

Of course, things haven’t been easy and there have been many tears on this journey but almost three months on and I can already start to have a little perspective on the injury. It’s not been that long since I did it or had surgery, yet the progress I’m making is massive. I’m in a good place right now as each week I am achieving things I dreamed of (literally!) not long ago.

One of the biggest milestones for me was being able to carry my own cup of tea from the kitchen to the sofa.

Now I’m back walking in my trainers and even driving – the improvements have really come on quickly. It’s been a gratifying experience at times and I’ve found pride in being able to do lots of small things for myself again.

I’ve been back on the wall climbing for a week or so but with only one leg for now. Daily life felt so taxing for so long that I didn’t even miss climbing for the majority of this injury period and I didn’t miss it much.

But now that I’m back I have been reminded how much I love it and how much it contributes to my life.

I’m thankful the Paris qualifiers go into 2024 – it was the first thing I thought about when I realised my fall had been more than a close call. Now that I’m on the wall again I can see a way to getting back in time to have my shot at the Olympics.

One of my biggest milestones was carrying a cup of tea from the kitchen to the sofa

Molly Thompson-Smith is an ambassador of The North Face – Never Stop Exploring