Climbing clinic
Question from Marion - 24th Feb 2008
Question:
The more I climb, the more I find the “fear factor” control makes 80% of a performance.
I can’t rely on grading, I will chicken-out because of an overhang (it petrifies me) or succeed a fairly technical route with crimps, finger locks and unusual movements.
I did find trusting my belayer is a critical success factor. I also find climbing with someone more experienced with a laid back attitude to performance helps.
How do you forget/put aside your fears?
Answer:
I’m sure this question will have a lot of readers nodding their heads in agreement. The ‘fear factor’ as you put it, really does hinder many climbers from climbing to their true potential. Therefore, this is a difficult question to answer, as there are many different reasons why fear will be stopping you.
You have already been self assessing, as you have worked out that you have a problem with overhangs. You need to face this issue and work on gaining strength. Overhangs obviously require more upper body strength and this is something women especially need to address (possibly with weight training). You need to just get on more of them. Get a friend to put a top rope up on an overhang- making sure the rope is clipped into quick draws, so that when you fall off, you will be able to get back on the wall after a rest –the amount of times I watch people trying overhanging terrain but as soon as they fall off, they can’t get back on the wall and have to come down, a waste of time.
There are techniques you can learn to help you stay on the wall, so you can play around on an overhang.
Also there are specific techniques, such as egyptians (turning sideways), which will make overhangs feel easier. Rockovers or sideways facing moves are the most common techniques you will use on overhangs, so playing around with these ideas will make you feel more comfortable and less fearful in these scenarios.
The key to reducing fear is familiarity. The more different climbing styles you try, the more comfortable you’ll feel.
You will obviously find yourself in new scenarios, places and trying new routes but if you have done the ground work and mixed up your climbing experiences, even new places will feel more comfortable.
Climbing can be an intimidating experience, is this possibly why we are drawn to it? You will never get rid of those heart palpitations but creating a relaxed climbing setting will help. You have said how having trust for your belayer is crucial, rightly so!
Having a bad belayer or not trusting them in some way will certainly create a fear factor. So it is within your control to make sure you are climbing with someone you trust, always.
If you aren’t happy with how your partner belays, you are within your rights to ask them to modify what they are doing so you feel safe. Bad belaying is not just being too slack with the rope; it can also be holding the rope too tight and not paying out correctly or quick enough.
Finally, leaving the ground feeling positive will help. As I said, create a comfortable aymosphere at the bottom, then as you approach your route there are a few things to do before you leave the ground;
• Check that your knots are tied correctly (and your belayer is clipped in properly)! If you double check your knots, you can set off and never have to think about them or let them worry you while you are climbing.
• Look up at the route to estimate the gear you need to take, don’t carry a rack that is twice as heavy as you will need. Those overhangs will definitely extra hard if you are carrying too many kilos.
• Try and assess where you think the crux(es) might occur on the route. This will allow you to be mentally prepared and hopefully you will be able to work in a resting place, before you reach these crux sections. Even if you weren’t correct about where the cruxes were, at least you looked at the route and had an idea of what you were going to be faced with.
• Finally, this is connected with the last point. As well as identifying where you think the cruxes might be, it is very beneficial to look up and spot some suitable resting places. This is one of the keys to reducing fear. If you know that somewhere up on your route there will be some sort of rest, you can feel more relaxed and confident before you leave the ground.
I hope with continuing experience, your fears will lessen.