Ask Hazel Findlay // Win a Black Diamond Creek 35 and Positron Quickpack

Hey Hazel,

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to use self rescue techniques? Maybe you or your partner got injured and you had to bail somehow. I've been practicing a lot lately, but hoping I'll never have to use it.

Hi Hazel, another question

Do you believe in free will, or the sense of self? I think about this a lot when I'm climbing, and I'll try to pose a scenario to help you think about it.

You're leading a very scary route and you have to throw for a move on questionable protection. You go for it, cuz, you know, you're a badass. But what actually made you commit to that move? If you approach it from a purely scientific standpoint, your "decision" was simply a combination of synapses firing in a certain way. So where is the you that had the cahones to throw for that move? Is there some sort of soul that transcends our scientific understanding of the human mind?

It's a classic philosophical debate that always perplexes me. It sometimes gives me peace of mind when I am too scared to go for a move that ultimately, it wasn't up to me. There is no "me" that got too scared, it was simply an interplay of neurotransmitters that I have no control over. But if I can't control my decisions, what am I really?

This is a tough one to articulate over the internet but I'm very curious to hear your input on the matter. Thanks.

Hi All!

Thanks for the string of interesting questions. Some great topics raised from injury recovery to helmets to sexism to headspace and a lot of stuff in between. Hazel has her work cut out for her choosing winners and writing answers! My personal favorite was "What is your favorite caffeinated tea?" but I'm weird (for me, it's PG tips, btw).

Anyway, this is the official cutoff point.

Thanks again and stay tuned for Hazel's answers.

SD

First things first! It's Yorkshire Tea all the way...

Now with that important question under the carpet my first chosen question is from MarcYY written on Jun 16, 2016

MarcYY wrote:Hi Hazel- You write about happiness and what it looks like without climbing during your time with a shoulder injury. I was curious on how a long term injury shaped your person, and how your views on climbing have changed (or haven't) since. What are some major takeaways that you have had from the prolong break? Cheers. Marc

This is a great question and one I have asked myself many times over the last few years of time-off from climbing. I realised that happiness is something you make for yourself rather than something you're given or not given. It's not the external situations that are the unhappiness but your reaction to them. This reaction is a choice and you can train yourself to not react. That said, this training is extremely difficult and life long. During my injury and after the operation I put a lot of energy into trying to be happy independently of these external factors (such as going climbing), however in reality I should have probably been putting more energy into my rehab and recovery. For example I went to India and then to America when it would have been better for my shoulder to stay at home with one physio. I realised this in hindsight but maybe all the lessons I've learnt are more valuable than recovering a few months quicker. From here stems the question on the lips of many professional athletes or career-driven people - how much happiness can you sacrifice for possible future achievements? Should we be strivers or non-strivers? I've also found that since I've started climbing again I am much happier (as you might imagine) and therefore there is a slight disappointment in accepting that actually no matter what happens climbing still has such a power to make me happy (and therefore unhappy when it's taken away). However, having it taken away has been an interesting and challenging experience that has fundamentally made me a stronger person.

Hazel-

Thanks so much for your reply. Climbing is such an integral part of most of our lives, it's hard to imagine prolonged time away and/or finding other ways to fill that gap. You are an inspiring athlete to watch and read about, keep it up!

Marc

^Congrats, MarkYY!!!

Will get your pack and draws out next week--and Hazel, who's in Norway right now, will add her next answers as she's able.

I'm going to go get some Yorkshire Tea...

SD

Here is my second question - chosen because it's interesting to me right now and because there were a number of other questions along similar lines.

trevor stuart wrote:How important is training to you? Do you feel the need to stay in either training or send mode without mixing the two? How often do you rest versus climb?

This is an interesting question for me right now because I am a week in to my first ever training program. Already I am beginning to realise the sacrifices structured training brings. The biggest sacrifice for me is not being outside on the rock enough. It's funny that people assume that I must have trained to climb the routes I've climbed. I personally think that way too much emphasis is placed on physical training and not enough placed on being an expert on the rock (which can only be achieved by thousands of hours on different rock types), and on mental training which is most climber's limiting factor (for both enjoyment and performance). I have climbed 8c, freed El Cap and climbed E9 not just without structured training but without any form of training at all. In fact the year I climbed 8c, I hadn't climbed indoors at all that year. However I understand that I could have climbed a lot harder had I trained. But.. at what price? The price of climbing less of the cool adventurous stuff that I enjoy so much. You only have so many hours in a day. I am also lucky enough to go on endless climbing trips and I understand the benefit of indoor climbing facilities for the normal working person. However a lot of gym-cultures value hanging off a finger board more than setting technically demanding problems that encourage people to learn the complex technique of moving well against gravity. So you ask me why train now? I'm training now because I have lost a lot of strength and fitness in the two years I've had off from climbing (shoulder injury and op) and I'm eager to get it back as quick as possible. I have also realised that my shoulder does better in controlled environments such as climbing gyms, versus going amuerte on routes outside where my shoulder goes in to vulnerable positions and I get so psyched I don't have the will power to stop. So my current project is to prioritise training over climbing (which I've never done before) for a few months and then see what I can do on the rock.

Hazel thank you for the thoughtful reply. It's nice to hear how much you've been able to accomplish without training. Like you I don't enjoy being in the gym like I do outside.

About five years ago I went through shoulder surgery and recovered with no issues that effect my climbing today. Hopefully yours is the same. I also recently went months without climbing because of a skiing wipeout and can somewhat understand what you've been going through. Despite losing strength I've learned how much climbing means to me and I'm more motivated than ever.

Good luck and thanks for the reply!

Hazel that is amazing and extremely motivating to hear that you have never trained before. I'll be climbing 8c in no time!

Hazel,

Your replies are absolutely amazing. It's refreshing to hear someone outside of alpinism reflect like that on what they are doing and what motivates them. I think your realization that you can be happy without climbing, but that you are actually happier with it is profound. I hope your shoulder keeps up with you this season!

Cheers.

Hi Hazel-

I know I'm late to the party, but I saw the video of you climbing the E9 on the seacliff with your Dad. It seems like a very special relationship.

How has your dad impacted your climbing, and how do you feel that relationship has influenced your climbing compared to other climbers your age?

Here is my third question!

Elliott Becker wrote:What role do sponsored climbers have in holding their sponsors accountable for their sponsor's business practices. For example, The North Face is owned by VF corporation, and VF has refused to sign on to the binding Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and instead tried to avoid its obligation to working people by creating a sham organization with Walmart and other companies. To what extent can North Face athletes pressure TNF and VF to make better decisions as corporate citizens? How do you navigate these issues as a sponsored climber? Thanks.

Good question! First things first I am a BD athlete now not a TNF athlete. I really don't know enough about VF policy to say whether they deserve the bad press they receive (it's easy to point the finger at big corporations). However one of the main reasons I moved to BD was that I felt like I was a bigger cog in a smaller machine rather than working for the North Face where you feel very very small. BD is more like a family where your opinion has more value.
It would be very hard for a TNF athlete to put pressure on the top dogs at VF most likely because their voice wouldn't be heard without them loosing their jobs. What this comes down to is that the biggest voice we have is through social media to the communities that support us and it's against an athlete's contract to speak ill of the brand they indorse (makes sense). However athletes can choose who they work for. I spoke with BD in a lot of detail about their social, environmental and ethical policies before I decided to work with them more closely. I was satisfied that although they are not Patagonia in the sense that they use these policies as a marketing strategy they are very much driven to quietly do the best they can. Choosing who we work for is important because we need to be shouting their brand name and that only feels good if we believe in the brand. I have quite strong opinions about Red Bull for example. As sponsored athletes, if nothing else we are supposed to be the faces of a sport and inspire people to be healthy, happy and active. Endorsing a highly caffeinated sugary drink in my mind is the antithesis of this. So in conclusion: it's hard for us to put pressure on the companies we work for, especially the bigger brands, but we can choose who we work for and I feel very happy about the brands I represent.

Thanks Hazel! I especially liked the last answer.

Are you representing any brand of socks? if no, can you send us a picture of your feet? if yes, which brand? i want to buy them.

Sanllan wrote:Are you representing any bran of socks? if no, can you send us a picture of your feets? if yes, which brand? i want to buy them.

Foot fetish.

I want to know her opinion of The Great Brexit...

I've never felt so alone as this past week, spent reeling in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
Hazel is the best ambassador Great Britain has got!

Being on the shorter side of the 5 foot range myself, I am curious how you manage to make the moves that taller people make. I have to find crimps and jump to things. Do you find that your climbing techniques are very different because of your height? Do you have any tips for women who are 5ft 1in or shorter?

Hey Hazel, my question is:

To what degree do you find you struggle with the mental aspect of climbing, and what made you want to overcome this?

I find a lot of people will just accept they have fear when climbing instead of trying to get over it and improve, and I find it interesting to see why certain people challenge it and try to fight it while others are happy to just let it be a part of them and never attempt to overcome it. I struggle with the mental aspect of climbing much more than the physical aspect, but to me it is an extra challenge that I enjoy trying to combat and improve upon.

It would be great to hear your thoughts on this!

If you trad climb much do you have a favorite piece or perhaps a memorable placement that sticks out in memory due to it being oddly bomber or saved you when you didn't expect it to?

Thanks for answering my question. I very much appreciate your thoughtful, nuanced answer. You've given me more to think about on this question.