Comments on: Three Things You Should Do On Every Climb

By: Sonja

Sonja — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:17:42 +0000

Thanks Vince – great tips! One thing you missed was the “Cursty” (reference Mel’s post). Hmm, I guess technically you wouldn’t curtsy “on” the climb. I really appreciate the Exhale tip. When we were in Skaha the other week, Lynda made a comment that really stuck with me. After she worked her way through mentai crux (which was accompanied with the most awesome shriek-yell) she said “man, this breathing stuff really works”. For real.

By: Tweets that mention Three Things You Should Do On Every Climb -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Three Things You Should Do On Every Climb -- Topsy.com — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:58:06 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kootenay Climbing. Kootenay Climbing said: Three Things You Should Do On Every Climb: A few years ago, while on a trip to the climbing paradise of Kalymnos, … http://bit.ly/c7zpZ5 [...]

By: Rik

Rik — Fri, 07 May 2010 22:36:34 +0000

This is a great post Vince. Thanks! I was climbing today in the Smoke Bluffs and had 2 different chances to put these 3 steps into practice. Number 1, smiling, was easy, I’m in Squamish after all. And number 2, breathing, got me through a few dicey moments (I notice it especially after a hairy sequence, a deep exhale calms my mind and helps me reset for what comes next). I still struggle with Number 3, however. I do sometimes call a ‘bad sloper’ or ‘heinous crimp’, or more often, ‘no feet’, but other times I’m just not sure what to name. Today, for example, I had trouble figuring out whether a hold was a shallow side-pull requiring high feet, or a right-hand crimp requiring a vertical smear. I got stuck in a loop, saying ‘I don’t know what you are’. In the end, I hesitated, made a half-ass move, and fell, pulling a purple C3 on the way down (damn you tiny cam!) . I’ve decided that number 4 should be ‘commit fully to a choice once you have made it’, and maybe number 5 would be ‘learn how to climb better’.