I thought I was the only one who is experiencing this😅there are days when i skip bolts because i feel so confident and then there are days, where my legs makes the presley move underneath the bolt. Glad to hear im not the only one,who experience this😁
@@atreju2155 gotta love the weeks your belayer yells at you for skipping four to five bolts then asks if you're okay when you stare at one bolt for 5 minutes while you dance between holds underneath it.
@@ryanboyle6688 Your belayer is right, skipping a bolt because you feel good is one thing, but skipping 4 puts you into free solo territory, which is not what your belayer signed up for. I was belaying someone who did this once, and all I could think was that if they slipped, I might have to watch my friend die, figure out how to get them to a hospital, and ruin climbing for me because of the trauma of seeing that. I signed up for a fun sport day, not a free solo chaperoning
@@jeffa7235 I guess to clarify, it's 4-5 bolts along an average route not in a row but I've prolly skipped 3+ in a row on the 5.6 25 bolt lines in some new climbing areas of Colorado. Course we are also home to famous 15-40' run-outs here so no need to skip a bolt if you wanna still get a high pucker factor climb in. Lol
This video is such a great reminder to me of how powerful rock climbing is as a means of embracing mindfulness. I am never more in the moment than I am while climbing! Recognizing that has helped me in so many other areas of my life! Thanks for the great video, guys!
This was a really great interview. I keep doubting myself as after a few years out from climbing outdoors, my fear of heights has returned full force. Good to hear that even Tom struggles with this - I wouldn't have thought it when watching some of the stuff he does.
7.53 I do that when I belay my friends' kids, we practice coming down before we start climbing up. So they will climb like 1,5 meter, then they get to sit in the harness, just swinging back and forth, bumping the wall with their feet. When they are comfortable with coming down they usually are not as scared while climbing higher. Grown ups get to do that to if they say they are a little afraid for their first climb :)
Where i live is largely urban area and all the nearest rock climbing is over 2 hours drive away so if my climbing doesnt go well i remind myself to enjoy where i am, who im with etc it's not always about the climbing
Great point and advice, focusing on what you can enjoy. Since covid started, I've gone through a phase of intense frustration and despair, with not being able to climb regularly, but lately I've been able to focus on what I CAN do to still enjoy the sport, fill the obsession, and keep the psych high! Just keep telling myself don't worry.. The crags will still be there, routesetters will still be setting, and the community is still connected.
Yup people often forget this when they're constantly in the pursuit of performance! Enjoyment should never be sacrificed just because the goal or process is hard...
@@LatticeTraining True! I've watched this again today and shared with a friend. It's so helpful to remind ourselves why we climb. Thank you once again!
I always wondered if Adam Ondra, Alex Megos, Sasha Digualian ever get scared still. It's good to hear you pros give such a detailed insight and makes things easier for me and tangible
Having grown up in flat land, I also have to work hard at the beginning of every season to get used to heights and overcome fear of falling. Every year. In October I am unstoppable, in March takes time to get of top rope...
None Climber becouse I have a fear of falling and exposed places. It's ruined an awful lot of things I've wanted to do but couldn't which includes learning to climb. Wish the facilities were about when I was young (1970's) so i could get over my terror of falling. Excellent piece and great psychological breakdown on why & how to help to get over it.
Wow, I wasn't expecting to be so moved and encouraged! I am usually unafraid of heights, and have somewhat of a reputation for being so, but then I feel pressure to NOT feel afraid... but I get scared all the time.
I'm the same way and falling for progressive heights really helped me. Like first fall with the bolt an arms length above you, then with the bolt at head height, chest height, bolt at your waist, thigh, knee, shins, feet etc. The trick is, you fall at the first level until it's boring. Until you aren't scared at all. Then, move to the next level. If you ever feel scared at all, move one level back. I do that from the 4th bolt and to the top of my warmups for every indoor session. Hard to do it outdoors if you aren't climbing steep things but I need to get better at that.
Would love to hear more of Tom's thought's on fear of heights. . I am exactly the same and its severely holding me back, as I can 2nd over twice my lead grades. The dread of exposure from the moment of waking up, all the way through the approach, tieing in, and climbing takes up so much mental bandwidth! Thnaks team Lattice for all your work.
I enjoyed that. my first full season was severely hampered by fear of failing. I didn't care what other people thought but I felt like if I perceived something to be too hard for me then I shouldn't try because I just wouldnt be able to do it. I finally realised how big of an issue this was and had a session on Skype with hazel findlay. talking through it all was really useful and one of the things she said which was the most significant to changing my attitude was "the only failing is not trying'. I'm lucky to get to climb with people who are mostly stronger than me so I get the chance to try things I maybe otherwise wouldn't. Its amazing what you can actually do when you try. sure I get shut down sometimes, sometimes I fall off and sometimes I get frustrated but for the most part I do at least try. my perception of success has totally changed. today I went up a route that ive sent before but I find quite intimidating. I felt really comfortable on it, all the moves felt good and the holds id previously found tiny felt much better. I took a huge whipper at the crux but I was chuffed because it was a scary fall and I committed to the move knowing I could fall. just as much of a success as a send would have been. I hope this video makes people really think about their issues because I could have done so much more if id realised sooner that I had a problem!
Thank you for this conversation. Its helpful to have the different points of view, and the breakdown of the different fears. I look forward to applying this more when I start lead climbing.
Fear is definitely the thing that holds me back the most and I'm only indoor bouldering! It's that panicky feeling when the last move is outside your comfort zone. Gonna try more drops from when I'm feeling comfortable to see if that helps.
Just did my first "friendly" boulder comp. I called the gym ahead of time to ask how tall the walls were. In my comfort zone there, but not as beginner friendly as I had hoped.
im a total chicken indoors. much happier falling on a rope. sometimes the top of a boulder for me is the penultimate hold coz im just not prepared to go for the top and risk falling. even worse on slab. forget it!
One of the most annoying fears I've felt is being more comfortable climbing a shorter wall than a taller one. Logically, the taller wall is safer as there is a lower likelihood of a ground fall. Regardless, I feel less scared about climbing the shorter route. Stupid.
@@ClimbersCrag That's the best way I've found of overcoming any fear on the wall. Acknowledge the feeling, reassure yourself that it's perceived, take a breath... and send it!
There's a psychological term fro this it's called 'graded exposure'. There are some very good articles on this process but as Tom and Maddy say it takes time to be comfortable with fear.
For me, i'm really nervous around the first two bolts, where ground fall opportunities are at their highest. Sometimes the FA sets the bolts really high or very spaced out in the beginning and that freaks me out. After that i'm pretty good (unless its slab lol)
Fear of falling increases with age too, and your strength. If you start to lose strength over the years because of life getting in the way, yet you jump onto climbs that you used to be able to do when you were stronger, you tend to fall at points that you once cruised through. This can erode your confidence to hang around for clips, and will impact what climbs you'll try. I have found a big change in my focus back to training and climbing has hardened my resolve and bought back a lot of confidence. Kick the fast food and partying and you'll send harder. But everything in moderation, including moderation, just make sure you earn the beers. Pretty simply it was a case of getting fat increased the fear.
I found that when i go to the gym and if i start on ropes i get used to them and can climb the day on them relatively comfortably. But if i start bouldering and THEN go to ropes, my brain absolutely freaks out and the heights destroy me (mentally). Dunno why, if maybe its just the prior fatigue thats set in by the time i get to the ropes that just makes it seem so hopeless haha. So now if we do ropes, i start on them, always :) Though honestly i think im just a boulderer by heart haha. The fear vs fun is so much higher there than on ropes for me. And the self driven (because its only you) progress from bouldering has really been incredible.
I wonder wether that fear comes when the body is responding to a need and we have to increase our focus to make use of the extra sensitivity available. For example when coming up to a difficult section and having to weight a small foot hold, sometimes the body feels like its trembling. This is the body giving us an extra level of sensitivity on which to focus and being able to utilize that, to recognize that its actually a help not a failing is important I feel.
I find it much more scary to fall an easy routes where I do have time to think about where I might land or what I might hit. Harder Routes: I focus so much more on making the move and I am not scared at all. I did fall-training as well and it is much harder to let go when you are doing it fully aware that you will fall now. It’s a tricky topic for me because I cannot get into this hard route sending mood in all routes so I actually have to work on falling councously as well.
Such a good watch. Interesting to know Tom Randalls issue with heights and exposure as I'm exactly the same. Would love to know how you prepared for El Cap. Also, how do you cope with a big fall on good trad gear? Do you just build up on falls on trad. And traversing trad falls I find really scary too.
The best possible way is to do mileage, the more trad you climb the easier it gets to trust your gear. Start climbing easier routes and just do a ton of them.
The fear that I have, if we can call that a fear is that I kinda force my self to always do better than the previous time. And it can lead to a certain point that I put so much pressure on my self it could make sick (requestion everything) just before I start my climb.
That's good to an extent but not when you're sick! I imagine you are tough on yourself in general. I used to be like this, but then I took a step back and realised that it's taking the enjoyment out and climbing should be imo the opposite; A haven, therapy, my own space to relax, learn to fail and be OK but still be driven, so many things! climbing with people, in front of people, tackling hard problems..
Hello, first, thanks for your awesome videos. But my english is really poor (listening, i can understand if I read it ) are there a posibility to put subtitles? thanks again.
About three weeks ago I went to my local bouldering gym. I fell from the top all the way to the Matt below. I landed one footed and rolled my left ankle. Since then I’ve really struggled to get my confidence back. I can do V0 no problem but anything above I can’t seem to get my head around it.
After breaking both my ankles bouldering, this is my number one obstacle. I was terrified on an indoor v2 the other day, granted it's only the third time I've been climbing in over a year. I practice falling off the wall and forcing myself to roll out of the fall, it makes me physically shake. Fear is the mind killer.
I tore my ACL bouldering 2 years ago and have not been able to return since :( the fear of falling and impact of feet against a wall/ surface is also affecting my ability to lead climb :(
I think I hurt my left ankle after a bad fall, like I can still walk alright but when I land on boulder mat I can feel obvious pain. It's also painful when I press on that one spot on the ankle, now I'm scared to do bouldering because I think I might sprain the ankle completely if I continue..
Great topic, but doing it with two people made it too much talking. Would have been much better if you just told us your thoughts on this, much more concisely expressed and would made it a shorter video too which is important if most of what was said is all the same stuff.
Absolutely incredible to me how some days you can feel totally fearless and other days the distance between clips seems inconceivably far....
The joys of being human huh?!
I thought I was the only one who is experiencing this😅there are days when i skip bolts because i feel so confident and then there are days, where my legs makes the presley move underneath the bolt. Glad to hear im not the only one,who experience this😁
@@atreju2155 gotta love the weeks your belayer yells at you for skipping four to five bolts then asks if you're okay when you stare at one bolt for 5 minutes while you dance between holds underneath it.
@@ryanboyle6688 Your belayer is right, skipping a bolt because you feel good is one thing, but skipping 4 puts you into free solo territory, which is not what your belayer signed up for. I was belaying someone who did this once, and all I could think was that if they slipped, I might have to watch my friend die, figure out how to get them to a hospital, and ruin climbing for me because of the trauma of seeing that. I signed up for a fun sport day, not a free solo chaperoning
@@jeffa7235 I guess to clarify, it's 4-5 bolts along an average route not in a row but I've prolly skipped 3+ in a row on the 5.6 25 bolt lines in some new climbing areas of Colorado.
Course we are also home to famous 15-40' run-outs here so no need to skip a bolt if you wanna still get a high pucker factor climb in. Lol
This video is such a great reminder to me of how powerful rock climbing is as a means of embracing mindfulness. I am never more in the moment than I am while climbing! Recognizing that has helped me in so many other areas of my life! Thanks for the great video, guys!
Yes I definitely feel the same. Often a strong sense of mindfulness while climbing
This was a really great interview. I keep doubting myself as after a few years out from climbing outdoors, my fear of heights has returned full force. Good to hear that even Tom struggles with this - I wouldn't have thought it when watching some of the stuff he does.
I love these videos. It is just so cool to hear directly from top climbers about how they deal with challenges that every climber faces.
7.53 I do that when I belay my friends' kids, we practice coming down before we start climbing up. So they will climb like 1,5 meter, then they get to sit in the harness, just swinging back and forth, bumping the wall with their feet. When they are comfortable with coming down they usually are not as scared while climbing higher. Grown ups get to do that to if they say they are a little afraid for their first climb :)
Where i live is largely urban area and all the nearest rock climbing is over 2 hours drive away so if my climbing doesnt go well i remind myself to enjoy where i am, who im with etc it's not always about the climbing
Yup, great attitude!
Great point and advice, focusing on what you can enjoy. Since covid started, I've gone through a phase of intense frustration and despair, with not being able to climb regularly, but lately I've been able to focus on what I CAN do to still enjoy the sport, fill the obsession, and keep the psych high!
Just keep telling myself don't worry.. The crags will still be there, routesetters will still be setting, and the community is still connected.
The color composition of the cose-up shots is superb (5:53 and 7:05 for example). Great color pallete, very aesthetic, good job.
Thanks. We’ll let Sam the videographer know!
I love this lattice videos. They have become great content for topics out of nainstream such as just getting stronger body. Thanks team
Our pleasure!
I loved what you say about enjoying yourself, I feel that I've always been at my best when I enjoyed myself. :)
Yup people often forget this when they're constantly in the pursuit of performance! Enjoyment should never be sacrificed just because the goal or process is hard...
@@LatticeTraining True! I've watched this again today and shared with a friend. It's so helpful to remind ourselves why we climb. Thank you once again!
I always wondered if Adam Ondra, Alex Megos, Sasha Digualian ever get scared still. It's good to hear you pros give such a detailed insight and makes things easier for me and tangible
No. People like Adam ondra Alex megos and people like me don’t get scared. Hope that answers your question!
@@EKdlwoasred Someone is going to take your answer seriously.
Having grown up in flat land, I also have to work hard at the beginning of every season to get used to heights and overcome fear of falling. Every year. In October I am unstoppable, in March takes time to get of top rope...
None Climber becouse I have a fear of falling and exposed places. It's ruined an awful lot of things I've wanted to do but couldn't which includes learning to climb. Wish the facilities were about when I was young (1970's) so i could get over my terror of falling. Excellent piece and great psychological breakdown on why & how to help to get over it.
Wow, I wasn't expecting to be so moved and encouraged! I am usually unafraid of heights, and have somewhat of a reputation for being so, but then I feel pressure to NOT feel afraid... but I get scared all the time.
I'm the same way and falling for progressive heights really helped me. Like first fall with the bolt an arms length above you, then with the bolt at head height, chest height, bolt at your waist, thigh, knee, shins, feet etc.
The trick is, you fall at the first level until it's boring. Until you aren't scared at all. Then, move to the next level. If you ever feel scared at all, move one level back. I do that from the 4th bolt and to the top of my warmups for every indoor session. Hard to do it outdoors if you aren't climbing steep things but I need to get better at that.
Would love to hear more of Tom's thought's on fear of heights. . I am exactly the same and its severely holding me back, as I can 2nd over twice my lead grades. The dread of exposure from the moment of waking up, all the way through the approach, tieing in, and climbing takes up so much mental bandwidth! Thnaks team Lattice for all your work.
Tom wears a nice combination of pants, socks and shoes. Bravo.
I enjoyed that. my first full season was severely hampered by fear of failing. I didn't care what other people thought but I felt like if I perceived something to be too hard for me then I shouldn't try because I just wouldnt be able to do it. I finally realised how big of an issue this was and had a session on Skype with hazel findlay. talking through it all was really useful and one of the things she said which was the most significant to changing my attitude was "the only failing is not trying'. I'm lucky to get to climb with people who are mostly stronger than me so I get the chance to try things I maybe otherwise wouldn't. Its amazing what you can actually do when you try. sure I get shut down sometimes, sometimes I fall off and sometimes I get frustrated but for the most part I do at least try. my perception of success has totally changed. today I went up a route that ive sent before but I find quite intimidating. I felt really comfortable on it, all the moves felt good and the holds id previously found tiny felt much better. I took a huge whipper at the crux but I was chuffed because it was a scary fall and I committed to the move knowing I could fall. just as much of a success as a send would have been. I hope this video makes people really think about their issues because I could have done so much more if id realised sooner that I had a problem!
Thank you for this conversation. Its helpful to have the different points of view, and the breakdown of the different fears. I look forward to applying this more when I start lead climbing.
love this episode! thanks for being real about it!
Great stuff on fear. Especially, fear of falling. As for fear of failure, i only feel that going into a multipitch which you can't bail from.
Great conversation. Thanks for recording it and sharing it with everyone.
Fear is definitely the thing that holds me back the most and I'm only indoor bouldering! It's that panicky feeling when the last move is outside your comfort zone. Gonna try more drops from when I'm feeling comfortable to see if that helps.
Just did my first "friendly" boulder comp. I called the gym ahead of time to ask how tall the walls were. In my comfort zone there, but not as beginner friendly as I had hoped.
im a total chicken indoors. much happier falling on a rope. sometimes the top of a boulder for me is the penultimate hold coz im just not prepared to go for the top and risk falling. even worse on slab. forget it!
@@leonakadir3833 I've only done a bit of top roping but much easier on my nerves and for a limited time I'm more confident bouldering.
Great vid. Really interesting to hear you talk about your own weaknesses. Maddy is a fantastic addition to the team
Great content as always! Thanks a lot.
One of the most annoying fears I've felt is being more comfortable climbing a shorter wall than a taller one.
Logically, the taller wall is safer as there is a lower likelihood of a ground fall. Regardless, I feel less scared about climbing the shorter route. Stupid.
@@ClimbersCrag That's the best way I've found of overcoming any fear on the wall.
Acknowledge the feeling, reassure yourself that it's perceived, take a breath... and send it!
For fear of equipment failure . Check it the how not to highline channel . They test everything
yup, this gave me real trust in my mind knowing how strong they are
There's a psychological term fro this it's called 'graded exposure'. There are some very good articles on this process but as Tom and Maddy say it takes time to be comfortable with fear.
For me, i'm really nervous around the first two bolts, where ground fall opportunities are at their highest. Sometimes the FA sets the bolts really high or very spaced out in the beginning and that freaks me out. After that i'm pretty good (unless its slab lol)
with you there!
Fear of falling increases with age too, and your strength. If you start to lose strength over the years because of life getting in the way, yet you jump onto climbs that you used to be able to do when you were stronger, you tend to fall at points that you once cruised through. This can erode your confidence to hang around for clips, and will impact what climbs you'll try.
I have found a big change in my focus back to training and climbing has hardened my resolve and bought back a lot of confidence. Kick the fast food and partying and you'll send harder. But everything in moderation, including moderation, just make sure you earn the beers.
Pretty simply it was a case of getting fat increased the fear.
You can tell the guy is a climber. He's wearing a puffy jacket even during the interview indoor
Concrete coffin, bloody freezing even when mild out.
probably earning a dime or two by it
I found that when i go to the gym and if i start on ropes i get used to them and can climb the day on them relatively comfortably. But if i start bouldering and THEN go to ropes, my brain absolutely freaks out and the heights destroy me (mentally). Dunno why, if maybe its just the prior fatigue thats set in by the time i get to the ropes that just makes it seem so hopeless haha. So now if we do ropes, i start on them, always :)
Though honestly i think im just a boulderer by heart haha. The fear vs fun is so much higher there than on ropes for me. And the self driven (because its only you) progress from bouldering has really been incredible.
I wonder wether that fear comes when the body is responding to a need and we have to increase our focus to make use of the extra sensitivity available.
For example when coming up to a difficult section and having to weight a small foot hold, sometimes the body feels like its trembling.
This is the body giving us an extra level of sensitivity on which to focus and being able to utilize that, to recognize that its actually a help not a failing is important I feel.
What an important video... thank you!!!!
Great episode.
Hey tom,
How can you not sweat with a down jacket!? Is your gym so cold?
Amazing content. Thank you so much
I find it much more scary to fall an easy routes where I do have time to think about where I might land or what I might hit. Harder Routes: I focus so much more on making the move and I am not scared at all. I did fall-training as well and it is much harder to let go when you are doing it fully aware that you will fall now. It’s a tricky topic for me because I cannot get into this hard route sending mood in all routes so I actually have to work on falling councously as well.
Such a good watch. Interesting to know Tom Randalls issue with heights and exposure as I'm exactly the same. Would love to know how you prepared for El Cap.
Also, how do you cope with a big fall on good trad gear? Do you just build up on falls on trad. And traversing trad falls I find really scary too.
The best possible way is to do mileage, the more trad you climb the easier it gets to trust your gear. Start climbing easier routes and just do a ton of them.
The fear that I have, if we can call that a fear is that I kinda force my self to always do better than the previous time. And it can lead to a certain point that I put so much pressure on my self it could make sick (requestion everything) just before I start my climb.
That's good to an extent but not when you're sick! I imagine you are tough on yourself in general. I used to be like this, but then I took a step back and realised that it's taking the enjoyment out and climbing should be imo the opposite; A haven, therapy, my own space to relax, learn to fail and be OK but still be driven, so many things! climbing with people, in front of people, tackling hard problems..
Please, add the titles :) It will help a lot with understanding all.
Hello, first, thanks for your awesome videos. But my english is really poor (listening, i can understand if I read it ) are there a posibility to put subtitles? thanks again.
I went rock climbing today and the fear was intense, I almost gave up but I kept going, arms felt like shit after though.
About three weeks ago I went to my local bouldering gym. I fell from the top all the way to the Matt below. I landed one footed and rolled my left ankle. Since then I’ve really struggled to get my confidence back. I can do V0 no problem but anything above I can’t seem to get my head around it.
Hope you have rebounded!
Talking of fears I'm terrified her cup of tea will fall off her lap..
After breaking both my ankles bouldering, this is my number one obstacle. I was terrified on an indoor v2 the other day, granted it's only the third time I've been climbing in over a year. I practice falling off the wall and forcing myself to roll out of the fall, it makes me physically shake. Fear is the mind killer.
I tore my ACL bouldering 2 years ago and have not been able to return since :( the fear of falling and impact of feet against a wall/ surface is also affecting my ability to lead climb :(
How to Cope With Fear in Climbing by Maddie Cope
please make this kind of videos with subtitle!
I think I hurt my left ankle after a bad fall, like I can still walk alright but when I land on boulder mat I can feel obvious pain. It's also painful when I press on that one spot on the ankle, now I'm scared to do bouldering because I think I might sprain the ankle completely if I continue..
Needs checking out physically for now and later in life.
Any new updates to the Crimpd app planned?
We just rolled out a new feature last week - progressions will now be built into all our sessions over the next 3 months
great video but next time could you do how to cope with the fear of asking a stranger to belay you
Tom that’s a nice jacket...but why are you wearing it indoors??
Because it’s always cold at Lattice 😁
You're only as safe as your belayer and equipment.
yeeeeh
Interesting ♨now 😜🤳🏽💯
Great topic, but doing it with two people made it too much talking. Would have been much better if you just told us your thoughts on this, much more concisely expressed and would made it a shorter video too which is important if most of what was said is all the same stuff.
fifth
second
But is that still satisfying.... 😅
first
🥇
fourth
Third