The mental game and falling.

saxfiend wrote: I hate to burst your bubble, but it doesn't count if you did it in the rain. Just kidding! Congratulations, sounds like you've made a real breakthrough! JL

Oh that's funny! Hehe!

Honestly, I haven't met many climbers locally that are as nice as you chaps. So many people locally appear to have something to prove and wouldn't be as helpful as you lot. They would mostly have a low opinion of me. It was very refreshing to find so many helpful advice on this (now my favorite) forum. And thank you for your congratulations.

I believe that rather than curing my problem I found a way to identify and overcome it when it hits me again. This is by far the most important lesson I have had in many a year. Thanks to your help I think I may have hit upon a formula that enables me to navigate around the mental hurdle when faced with what I find to be a scary route, or something that psyches me out. In fact that is the message I would like to pass along to anyone reading the forum that has the same head space problem - find a formula to control it.

As Mattso put it, imagine the possibilities. In fact it was exactly that thought I had in my mind when I was driving home from the crag. I can't wait to get out there again!

Thanks again, Graeme.

Greame,

Out of curiosity, what area and route were you on? I learned to climb in Ontario and was pretty familiar with most of the areas until I left in 1999. I don't know if learning there helped me or hindered me in the long run, but there was a surprising amount of fun to be had all along the escarpment.

Peter Spindloe wrote:Greame, Out of curiosity, what area and route were you on? I learned to climb in Ontario and was pretty familiar with most of the areas until I left in 1999. I don't know if learning there helped me or hindered me in the long run, but there was a surprising amount of fun to be had all along the escarpment.

Hey Peter,

Mount Nemo, The Big Section. Route called What Now (Aka Lucky 13). Helmut McCroys (sorry for the possibly incorrect spelling). The route itself and any of the climbs around that area are not well traveled. Its around 200 meters North of Dufte. What Now has a clean face but is very (loose) blocky at the top and an overhang top out above which is a blank slabby section for a few feet. If you compare its severity to other 5.7s such as Too Fast in The Fog or Harlequin then it appears to be a little more tricky to me - I think the appropriate word is "awkward". Camel etc are straightforward. This little route appears to push you out and around all sorts of nasty loose bulges. I would definitely rate it at around 5.7 mark but it caused me a lot of issues mentally.

As a note to this - I love the history of all these climbs, and in particular all of Helmut's FAs in a love-hate kind of way. I would love to chat with him over a whiskey or something (not sure if he is still with us or even when the FA was made) about his routes - I always find them very puzzling.

Cheers, Graeme.

You know, there are days when I can on sight a 5.10 and then there are the days when I struggle with 5.7's. I took about a 10 footer the other day on a semi-overhanging crack in Taylor Canyon that was suppose to be a 5.8 (sure felt like a .10 to me) but the fall was clean and the gear was bomber. I came back a couple days later and was having problems getting my mental game in check. I didn't feel scared when I fell, it was exhilherating, but now I seem to have a problem committing to moves I know I could pull off if I was on TR.

For me, I just have to sit back and think about what happened. I've only been leading trad for a little under a year now and although I still get those butterflies every time I tie in, I just tell myself that the moves aren't above my level and the gear is good. It also really helps to just read the route over and over until you feel solid. The strongest climbers I know have steel minds.

Sometimes things just don't work out. Everyone has a few "off" days now and then, but what it comes down to is thinking about how much better you feel about yourself and your climbing ability after you pull off those committing moves.

And you have to remember, climbing is about fun; if you're not having fun you are doing something wrong!