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

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:)