Page 37 - 2016 AMA Spring

Climbing Smarter
...top tips!
1Understand that although you think you need to be stronger and fitter, you are probably already climbing nowhere near your ability. Working on technique and
tactics will stand you in good stead longer term, and takes longer to change. Start those skills now, fitness can come later.
2Everyone gets anxious and that’s totally normal – you’re in a very small category of unreactive nervous systems if you don’t! We are programmed to keep ourselves
safe by being wary when up high. Our monkey brains haven’t yet realized that nuts and ropes can keep us safe. Trying to rationalize your way out of fear won’t work – monkeys aren’t logical! Accept that you get nervous and then work on managing the symptoms of nerves (usually breathing, muscle tension and rushing).
3The only question you ever need to ask yourself is, can I get to that first piece of gear? If you can, then you can try the route, regardless of grade. Too many people
limit themselves by not trying routes because they are ‘too hard’. If you’ve never climbed F7a, how do you know you can’t make the moves, and how will you ever learn?
4Avoidance is the biggest problem most of us have. We avoid moves and styles of climbing that we don’t like. We avoid situations that make us feel nervous. We
avoid climbing in front of people. We want to avoid feeling any fear. If you can identify and break down your avoidance, you will progress in leaps and bounds.
5Similarly, be patient. Many climbers undo hard work by leaping up the grades too fast to allow time to consolidate, or try taking big whippers to tackle a fear
of falling. Think high volumes of small steps. One hundred severes are better than 5 VS’s. Twenty, two inch falls are better than two, twenty footers.
6Break routes down. You’ll have done this with long runs, long tours, long expeditions. Do it with routes too. If you focus too much on the top or the crux, you’ll
mess up lower down and rush at the end, knocking your confidence.
7Anxiety plays havoc with our focus and concentration, and all of a sudden instead of pushing down into our feet we are having a mental conversation with ourselves
about whether or not that piece of gear is going to hold. You haven’t yet fallen off, so focus on what’s happening now, not what might happen in the future – after all, that’s the surest way to not fall!
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more) than technical skills. Spending time visualizing routes and problems, working on perfecting your technique on easy stuff, practicing focus and concentration is never time wasted. Build it into your climbing sessions at the venues you climb at for the best results. If you’re not sure how to visualize, ask someone to video you and watch it back to help you get going, or reverse a problem using the exact sequence you used to get up it. Both will help you get the hang of mind’s eye practice.
Fundamentally, we are all slightly lazy and want to get better quickly. There really is no short cut I’m afraid – mental skills take the same amount of practice (if not
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Stress, or simply have a heightened level of anxiety which would benefit from a systematic approach.
If you are involved in an accident and you find yourself struggling to get back to climbing at your best, seek help. You might be suffering from some Post Traumatic
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will soon drain your motivation. Focus instead on the process of climbing – the pleasure in moving over rock fluidly, having a good crack and some friendly competition at the bouldering wall, the amazing situations and views that open up as you ascend that arête. The summits will happen by themselves if you focus on journey to them.
Don’t forget to have fun! Isn’t that why we all started climbing in the first place? Being too achievement focused, where its all about the ticks,
Black and White Thinking
Climbers tend to be very achievement and completion orientated and research has shown that this trait can result in what’s called black and white thinking. This means seeing things in an all-or-nothing kind of way, quite a punitive way to view our performance, as only absolute success or total failure with no in-between. Try instead to appreciate all the nuances of your performance, notice the single moves or links you perform well, thereby not reducing a climb to a simple tick in a guidebook. This will provide you with much more realistic and helpful feedback, as well as maintaining your motivation to climb.
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