Retreat!

Yesterday I went to Tremadog with a friend and we were lucky enough to miss most of the showers.  However, just as I was leading a pitch at the edge of my ability, the heavens opened and I found myself wondering whether to push on or to reverse.  Given that this is early on in the season, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and reversed the route.  I made this decision thinking that I didnt want to get myself into a situation where I felt out of my comfort zone and given myself a scare this early on, and knowing the route would still be there whe I felt ready for it.  What also paid off was realising I was able to reverse the moves - always a good skill to learn and one I try to practise regularly when I am training.

Hopefully the sun will return next week and I can try the route again!

So much to say!

Well till tonight the sun has been a constant, so I have a fair few days out.  What stands out in my mind is climbing at Holyhead Mountain with 3 great friends, with a supportive atmosphere so that everyone led climbs which challenged them, and then an evening bouldering session.  At this session too, someone had the patience to show me a secret move on a problem I had been trying for ages which made all the difference!

The reason I am saying all this is that lots of people I have worked with have ended up climbing with people who are not supportive - perhaps they are impatient, pushy, selfish, aggressive in style, or lacking in skill - and this has almost ruined climbing for these clients.  Please please please, if you find yourself in such a situation, don't blame yourself and think, if I climbed better this wouldn't happen.  That is not true.  In reality, climbing is a partnership and a supportive partner will help you climb better than someone who makes you feel inadequate, rushed, or plain crap!  Its good to climb with people of different abilities as it means you swap roles, but never feel you have to put up with partners who don't support you. There are plenty of lovely climbers out there who value the give and take and don't judge you as a person based on your climbing ability.

Building confidence

Last Monday I had a great day out with a couple of friends, one of whom is just getting back into climbing after a long spell off, and the other who hasnt been leading that long.  We went to Tremadog, timing it just right so that the bank holiday crowds were on their way home, so we had a quiet crag and great weather.

My top tips I think for building confidence if you are a similar position to either of my friends are as follows.

1. choose your partners carefully - go with someone who will encourage but not push you.  If you are the belayer, be sensitive, calm and encouraging, without continuing to push when they are obviously scared.  Remind them to breathe, slow down, take their time and look around them to spot hidden holds.  Telling someone to "go for it" is not specific enough to be helpful.  Try instead, "your foot is on a good hold, try to stand up on it" for example.

2. Start on something well within your ability, something that you led in the past perhaps and found easy, or just the lowest grade route at the crag.  Concentrate on climbing that well, giving yourself a sense of success.

3. Praise yourself!  To fix that climb in your mind, remember everything you did well.  As a belayer, your job is to remind the leader of what they did well.  This creates a positive mindset and gives confidence for the next lead..

4. Don't be suckered into a big grade leap for the next climb or even next few climbs.  Consolidate, and be sure to end on a high.  If you have a wobbly on a route, consider doing another easier one so the last climb you do is a positive experience.

5. Smile, and enjoy it! Climbing is supposed to be fun after all...

Chunking!

Well I said I would write about chunking so here goes.  It kind of follows on from the idea of breaking down large goals into smaller manageable steps, but it also has a role in helping you manage nerves and anxiety.  In focusing so hard to get to the top of a route, particularly if we are at our limit, the task can become overwhelming.  We also send out awareness away from what we are doing right now into what we perceive as the crux to come, sometimes resulting in little mistakes or slips which can further shake our confidence, or even just building the crux up into something so massively terrifying we can't manage it.  

Chunking would involve breaking the climb down into sections, and focusing only up to the end of that section.  It makes sense to chunk to natural breaks or pauses or rests, but if this isnt possible, then just climbing to that patch of lichen or that piece of strangely coloured rock can break the climb down into manageable pieces.  Our attention is focused much more on the immediate and it can help prevent anxiety building about what's to come.

So, give it a go on some routes you feel comfortable with, before trying it out on something harder.  Sometimes just even committing to moving your foot up an inch can make all the difference between completing a route and getting psyched out.  Enjoy the sun:)

Change is as good as a rest?!

For the last week I have had a complete break from climbing and taken myself off to bike the West Country Way.  5 days and 510km later, my legs are a little sore, but I feel incredibly serene and focused (unbelievably!).  Reflecting on why, I realised that there was something about the rhythm of cycling which helped me stay absolutely in the moment, riding through some beautiful countryside, thinking of nothing but experiencing everything.  It reminded me of what psychologists call a "peak experience", and what climbers refer to as "flow", something I have experienced a few times climbing.  This is when our mind is aware only of the present, something which can be difficult in today's striving society.  During this peak experience, time seems to both stretch and contract so that minutes seem to last both forever and to pass quickly.  We experience a sense of mental stillness, and not so much euphoria more as contentment.   This has obvious parallels with mindfulness meditation.

So even during my hard slogs uphill and at the end of the day where I was tired, I still felt contented and as though I had been meditating through the day.  Coming back home, I expect to see the benefits of these 5 days cycling transfer to my climbing in a number of ways.  Firstly there is the obvious benefit of having stronger legs and greater cardio-vascular fitness!  Second, there has been 5 days of practice at staying in the moment, even during discomfort (we often try to avoid staying with difficult sensations, thoughts or feelings).  And finally, there is the psychological advantage of knowing that something that seemed such a big task was achievable by breaking it down into small 15km chunks - more about "chunking" in the next blog post:)