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Greenpeace Save the Arctic activist: 'Shell is in the shadow of the Shard' Greenpeace Save the Arctic activist: 'Shell is in the shadow of the Shard'
(2 months later)
"I never felt scared, not even once. It wasn't until we were particularly high up it hit me, when we could see how close we were to the planes." Victoria Henry is at Mile End Climbing Wall, three days after she scaled the Shard, Europe's tallest building, for Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign. She's waiting to start her first indoor climbing session since scaling the tallest building in London, which seems ridiculously easy in comparison. As we sit in the reception, every person who walks in or out approaches her. Most interject "You were amazing!" "Well done!" or "So they let you out of jail?" Though one climber asks of the 15-hour climb "Why did it take you so long?""I never felt scared, not even once. It wasn't until we were particularly high up it hit me, when we could see how close we were to the planes." Victoria Henry is at Mile End Climbing Wall, three days after she scaled the Shard, Europe's tallest building, for Greenpeace's Save the Arctic campaign. She's waiting to start her first indoor climbing session since scaling the tallest building in London, which seems ridiculously easy in comparison. As we sit in the reception, every person who walks in or out approaches her. Most interject "You were amazing!" "Well done!" or "So they let you out of jail?" Though one climber asks of the 15-hour climb "Why did it take you so long?"
Henry knew there were plans afoot for a big stunt to kickstart the campaign, but the team only came together recently. "I think they wanted a combination of different climbers with different strengths in order to do it as quickly as possible … And we wanted an international team too. We did about two months training together, but we were all already climbers. We mostly practiced at [Greenpeace's London office] – we have quite a high building, so we'd go off the edge of that."Henry knew there were plans afoot for a big stunt to kickstart the campaign, but the team only came together recently. "I think they wanted a combination of different climbers with different strengths in order to do it as quickly as possible … And we wanted an international team too. We did about two months training together, but we were all already climbers. We mostly practiced at [Greenpeace's London office] – we have quite a high building, so we'd go off the edge of that."
The week leading up to the climb was psychologically gruelling – Henry could not sleep "at all" the night before. "All I could do was think about it, worry about it, every waking moment. We didn't know how much space would be left, how exactly the climb was going to happen. There was so much uncertainty about it."The week leading up to the climb was psychologically gruelling – Henry could not sleep "at all" the night before. "All I could do was think about it, worry about it, every waking moment. We didn't know how much space would be left, how exactly the climb was going to happen. There was so much uncertainty about it."
"I lay in bed and turned to the person I was sharing a room with and said 'I really don't think we can do this. I'm just being honest. I don't think this is going to happen' and she said 'me neither'. We drove in almost total silence for 45 minutes. Everyone was just deep in thought, running through exactly what they had to do.""I lay in bed and turned to the person I was sharing a room with and said 'I really don't think we can do this. I'm just being honest. I don't think this is going to happen' and she said 'me neither'. We drove in almost total silence for 45 minutes. Everyone was just deep in thought, running through exactly what they had to do."
Once they managed to get on to the building, it was not plain sailing: "The first part of the climb was really difficult, it took us three hours when it should have taken one, and our ropes just kept getting tangled. But we just wanted to go on so badly we just burned through it."Once they managed to get on to the building, it was not plain sailing: "The first part of the climb was really difficult, it took us three hours when it should have taken one, and our ropes just kept getting tangled. But we just wanted to go on so badly we just burned through it."
On the way up, Henry reports even the people inside were encouraging: "There were a lot of builders pressing their phones up against the glass with their numbers saying "Call me!" And they were yelling things, waving their phones to show us some of the news coverage."On the way up, Henry reports even the people inside were encouraging: "There were a lot of builders pressing their phones up against the glass with their numbers saying "Call me!" And they were yelling things, waving their phones to show us some of the news coverage."
"We left the building in the police van and everyone was surrounding it, people were banging on the doors. That was when we realised how big this was""We left the building in the police van and everyone was surrounding it, people were banging on the doors. That was when we realised how big this was"
After being arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, all six climbers spent 20 hours in custody, but were unable to sleep: "I felt pretty rough after I got off. The climbing was really fun. It was physically challenging, but it was mentally challenging to 10 times the degree. I think the focus that we needed to have to ignore the height, the stress of so much training culminating in one big thing, to suppress that and continue with a technically difficult, mentally challenging climb was unbelievable."After being arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, all six climbers spent 20 hours in custody, but were unable to sleep: "I felt pretty rough after I got off. The climbing was really fun. It was physically challenging, but it was mentally challenging to 10 times the degree. I think the focus that we needed to have to ignore the height, the stress of so much training culminating in one big thing, to suppress that and continue with a technically difficult, mentally challenging climb was unbelievable."
Henry hopes the message behind the climb came across. "It's been interesting that a lot of the focus has been on us, rather than why we did it. I'm happy that the news story is quite tight, the fact that Shell is in the shadow of the Shard. But it all goes back to this idea, for me especially, of what's happening in the Arctic. When you hear about things like that you do feel like you just want to rush there in person and stop it."Henry hopes the message behind the climb came across. "It's been interesting that a lot of the focus has been on us, rather than why we did it. I'm happy that the news story is quite tight, the fact that Shell is in the shadow of the Shard. But it all goes back to this idea, for me especially, of what's happening in the Arctic. When you hear about things like that you do feel like you just want to rush there in person and stop it."
Henry's legs are still mottled with bruises from the climb, and the feat is still sinking in: "When I got halfway up and looked down at the people below us I thought 'My god, this is like a dream'. I didn't really believe it. I still don't believe it."Henry's legs are still mottled with bruises from the climb, and the feat is still sinking in: "When I got halfway up and looked down at the people below us I thought 'My god, this is like a dream'. I didn't really believe it. I still don't believe it."
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