hot hot hot

Friday and today saw me out climbing with friends in the scorching heat.  Amazing how the fine weather creates a kind of pressure to make the most of it!  On friday we started off at Craig Y Castell on Tantalus (somewhat overgrown at present) and after an energy sapping fight with ivy, we retreated to Clogwyn y Wenallt to climb Oxine (lovely and cool in the shade).  Don't underestimate the effects of the conditions on you psyche - Friday felt quite exhausting and it was apparent we wouldn't be climbing anything too hard.

Today I took a friend of mine up the East Face of Tryfan.  High enough to have a breeze, we had a lovely day on Pinnacle Rib Route.  My friend sometimes finds the exposure daunting, so I made sure to set belays up not necessarily where the guidebook suggested, but just above where I thought he might struggle so I could keep him in sight and/or earshot.  This can be a huge boost in confidence for the less experienced.  Familiar faces can also be helpful when you are planning to do a big lead - whilst its good to climb with different people, someone who knows what to say and when can be a huge boost for confidence.  So, todays tips - be a considerate leader and work out who you trust and bag them to belay you for big routes. 

bouldering!

Today I escaped work a bit early and went for a boulder at the Cromlech with someone I haven't climbed much with.  Its always great to go with someone different because it gets you out of your normal routines and sometimes onto problems you wouldn't normally try.  That was certainly true as I tried and failed on a problem which didn't play to my usual strengths - overhanging to the point of me being horizontal underneath it!

I noticed something interesting in my mind when I looked at the problem.  Firstly I thought "there's no point trying as I won't even be able to hang on".  But I reasoned that I couldn't actually know that without trying.  So I tried and could hang on.  My friend gave me a helping hand on my back, and with support and a curious mindset, I was able to hang on, and at least try some of the moves.  That has sown a seed in my mind to keep working on the problem, and has allowed me to identify a weakness I had been ignoring - core strength, in particular my abs!  Its always uncomfortable to bump up against our own limitations and things we can't do, I am no exception here! - but to develop as a person as well as a climber, its important not to avoid the things we find difficult.  I also discovered today that Jerry's Roof has received the first female ascent today which is fabulous news.  This overhanging, powerful V9 problem is rarely even tried by women, and yet without trying we would never know that it may be possible.  Fantastic that Mina opened her mind to the possibilities and tried it (full story here ) 

So, for me, more sit ups obviously, and more just trying. Just to see.  Just in case its possible...

Fight, flight or freeze

Today I worked with John and Erica again, and we focused on typical responses to anxiety provoking situations and how to deal with them.  We saw a classic example of a flight response on a route in the quarries, where a climber began rushing some moves, ended up scrabbling with his feet and very nearly came off.  It was easy (from the ground!) to see the anxiety building as he over-geared, leaving little room for precious handholds, hesitated (freeze) and then went for it, but rushed through without thinking out the sequence and being precise with the feet. 

Fight responses are also quite common, usually in the form of "come on, dont be such a wimp, get on with it!", overgripping, grunting and grimacing.  People may have a usual response, or the response may vary according to the situation.  In fact all these responses are appropriate at the right time - pausing to work out moves is fine (freeze), encouraging yourself when you know you can do something is fine (fight), and backing off something thats too hard for you is also fine (flight).  However, doing the right thing at the right time is crucial!  Try to identify what you typically do when under pressure, and try to do something deliberately different.  If you are a fighter, try breathing into your arms and relaxing your face - no point wasting valuable energy.  If you are a freezer, use the opportunity to look around for alternative holds, mark them out with chalk dabs, and then commit to the moves.  If you are a flight person, deliberately slow things down, focusing on the sensations in your feet.  Practise this on easy ground first until it become second nature, and then when you are going for it, ask your belayer to remind you to do whatever it is you need to do, at the crucial moment.

Slime and Fear

Today I had a day off work and the sun came out in the afternoon, so I joined friends Di and Al for some bolt clipping at Benllech.  After a lovely coastal walk in, taking in some magnificent green slime (!see pic!), I buckled up for what would be my first climb after the accident.

I knew I would find this a bit unnerving, and was cross that I hadn't got out sooner.  I really struggled with intrusive imagery of the accident all the way up, and it was hard not to panic, feel embarrassed about what was happening, back off, or try to butch it out.  Hard in that moment to remember to accept what I was feeling, it was normal, and to be kind to myself (not telling myself to get on with it).  I had to work hard to keep my mind in my body, to acknowledge the fear (its fear, thats ok) and work with what was going on.  I rested on a couple of the bolts (my mind telling me, why? its an easy climb, well within your ability - telling myself thats just what minds do, they chatter on to themselves), belly breathed and tried not to dispel or avoid the images going through my mind of the accident and the aftermath.  I tried to allow those images to pass as leaves on a stream.

Not my best route ever.  I found myself distrusting the whole system, feeling very shaky and so on, and it was important not to rush the climb to get it over with, but to stay in the situation as long as was possible.  Al was my patient belayer, ever attentive despite the cold wind.  

Its going to take a few more days out to become accustomed to climbing again after the accident.  But thats ok.  Its not pleasant, but its ok:) 

a bit about Lucy

As this blog is so much easier to update than the website, I thought I would post Lucy's pic and bio here so that you are all up to date! 
Lucy Creamer is without doubt the most accomplished female climber in Britain. She has achieved more "firsts" than any other climber. As a true all-rounder, she is at home on the sea cliffs of pembroke, the ice of Colorado and the international competition arena. Lucy has been a British team member for 14 years, assistant manger to the senior leading team and has consistently set the standards for female British climbing. She is regarded as a highly technical climber and this ability has helped her to find success on many of her hard ascents. This skill combined with her 16 years of experience of working with climbers from beginner to British team members, means that Lucy will be able to enhance your climbing ability. Having coached people at home and abroad, she realises that a lot of climbers are under achieving. With her quick analytical skills, Lucy will be able to identify problems and stumbling blocks, which with careful coaching will change and improve. She is currently seven times British champion. 

Hope this inspires you!  She is also friendly, approachable and I am sure those of you coming to the workshop will get a lot from working with her.

Exciting news!

Just a quick note to say, Lucy Creamer has kindly agreed to run the movement and technique sessions at the workshop on 13th -14th June.  I will shortly be updating the website and finalising the program for the weekend.  If you haven't yet booked on, we do have some spaces left so do get in touch.

This is really exciting news as Lucy is our top British female climber, and a very experienced coach, and we are really looking forward to working with her.  So a huge "croeso" (welcome in welsh) to Lucy.

Rebecca

Savour the raisin, relish the route!

The quote above came courtesy of my weekend clients who came for some private coaching in movement and psychological skills.  Unfortunately the weather wasnt great and so we were indoors on Saturday, but we made the most of the day by covering quite a few different skills. Firstly we talked through some of the difficulties they had around movement and anxiety, trying to work out what might be causing them.  Some stuff about balance came up for John, and after watching him climb we worked out his heel often lowered (this is more common in men, perhaps due to less foot strength from less heels-wearing!) so his foot slipped off, and he often dropped his head to look at his feet, pushing himself off the wall.  Erica had struggled on steeper routes, but quickly picked up the idea of bringing the hips right in close and proved to herself she was able to hang on for far longer than when she first felt pumped!

We spent a lot of time working on visualising, climbing clip-to-clip or rest-to-rest, moving decisively between clips for John and taking time to pause and breathe at the clip for Erica.  Later on we worked on what is often people's least favourite training activity, falling off.  The important thing with this practice is to make it gradual, breathe out as you go, if you are a checker, try not to check your belayer first, and most importantly, to keep doing it FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES until the anxiety fades!  Many people take one or two falls and then find its all too much and stop while their anxiety is high - this is just reinforcing the anxiety unfortunately and will make it worse for next time.

John and Erica will be trying out their new skills over the next few weeks before coming back for an outdoor session. Good luck to them!  Oh, and the raisin comment - mindful raisin eating as an analogy for mindful climbing, where we stay rooted in our bodies, experiencing all the nuances of the moment to both enhance the climbing experience but also to get us out of our unhelpful self talk.  Happy climbing:)

Accident

Its been a funny week.  On Saturday I belayed a friend on a route he had been practising for a while, an E7, and unfortunately despite his preparation, he took a groundfall.  This resulted in me calling out the mountain rescue service, who were brilliant and very professional, and my friend is now recovering after surgery to a broken ankle.  

I wanted to share with you a number of things which have occurred to me over the last week.  The first is a reminder really that climbing is dangerous.  I think often we as climbers pretend to ourselves that it is safe, and although in this case the protection was marginal on the route, even when protection is plentiful, unforeseen things can happen.  This is both a positive and a negative - in one sense, focusing on whether protection is good or not is only part of the picture, so undue worry about this area is not necessary!

The second is that without having friends in the rescue team, I would not have known when to call mountain rescue (as opposed to ambulance, which is what my friend was asking for) and how to do it.  Ambulance workers typically have push stretchers, and so if you are more than a stone's throw from a path or road, then call MR!  The way to do this is to call 999 and ask for "police mountain rescue".  In our case we were not far from a road but far enough away to need a stretcher carrying team, and in the end the helicopter.  You will get through to the police control room who will want your name and DoB and some details.  It then seems to take ages before MR call you back, but in reality it isnt that long, and when they do arrive their professional-ness is very reassuring.

The third thing is not to underestimate how shocking it is to witness an accident.  In the days that followed I found myself in shock and running through the event in my mind, questioning every action.  This is normal and its important to talk things through with someone you trust.  Expect to feel teary, angry, guilty and self doubting.  Expect to feel anxious and hypervigilant for other potential accidents.  And most importantly, get out climbing again as soon as possible.  Don't delay or put it off, as this will reinforce your sense of anxiety about climbing.  The first few times you climb again, try to make it a pleasant experience and be sure to stay in the situation until any anxiety decreases.  This might mean up to 20 mins or so on a stance, hanging on the rope or wherever you need to be to get the anxiety to drop.  

Accidents can and do happen.   Its important to be prepared (mobile full of battery, first aid kits, knowing the location of the crag, who to call in an emergency, know what you are doing), but then to put that to one side and accept that risks can never be eliminated completely and to get on and enjoy the experience.

happy climbing!

Reserve list

Hi All

just a quick note to say that places are almost full for the workshop in June, but I am keeping a 'reserve list' as if I get enough it will be worthwhile putting together an extra group.  So if you are interested but have been dithering, get in touch now!

happy climbing

Rebecca