Castle Rock in Sunol Regional Wilderness
March 2024
Touchstone Climbing Series at The Great Western Power Company
March 2024
If You are Grabbing a Foothold…
Creativity is a sought after quality for many aspects of life. In a work environment it could be the ability to approach a technical problem in a new way. For our hobbies it could be composing a picture, writing lyrics to a song, etc. In the rock climbing realm creativity is figuring out how best to complete the beta of climb when our bodies are different heights and have different levels of flexibility.
Beta is the intended way to climb a route.
I find flexibility to be a bigger problem for me than my shorter height. Getting creative with my footwork, rotating my hips and jumping when necessary can get me out of a situation when a hold is out of reach. I have encountered a few situations on the wall, when my legs could not stretch or bend enough. In these times I could not advance any further. Maybe getting better at smudging will help.
Alternatively, I met someone who was too tall to get into rock climbing. This six foot seven inch guy found the beginner routes really easy. He felt like he could reach the top after a few jumps. The logical solution was for him to try the routes where the holds are more spaced out. At this level of climbing, the holds become much smaller or if they are big, they are slopers with no grip. As a beginner climber he did not have the proper finger techniques down to get anywhere on these routes, so he quit.
Still, the beta is the beta and should not be completely ignored. This is where route reading, taking the time to analyze the route: the general flow of the route, the types of holds and how to use them, the order of hand and foot placements, etc., come into play. I try to do this before every climb if possible.
This does not mean I read the route correctly all the time. There typically are sections that look easy to me, but in fact turn out to be difficult. I try to figure out another way to approach the problem while on the wall, but usually need to release the holds and get the bigger picture.
I can still be stubborn and think the beta is too hard for me to do. Therefore, I need to create a new way through the problem. This hardly works though and when it does, I am more tired than I should be.
Recently I was in a scenario when I had to stretch my leg way to the right, but it looked too far. Instead, I tried using my legs to push me up where there are only a few foot holds to grab. Beyond that I had no idea what I was going to do. My belayer reaffirmed my initial thought of having to go to the right. Reluctantly I tried going to the right and was able to make the move.
If you are a creative person like me, break the beta when you have to. Just do not make the climb any harder than it has to be. Do not let your creative approaches hold back your climbing.
In the wise words of my belayer, “If you are grabbing a foothold, you are doing something wrong.”
Climbers Notes
UI | VUI | UI Animation
A smart watch app that allows climbers to take verbal notes mid climb that will be read back when the matching elevation is met on future attempts.
The Ghosts of Rock Climbing
I saw a ghost this Halloween.
Hiding up the climbing wall was the sickly green ghost. The perfect shade of green to match the other holds along the route. It’s drawn on chalk eyes, nose and mouth stared at me the entire ascent.
While I made it halfway up the run, I could not get past the ghost. The trick to using the large and smooth half oval hold for leverage eluded me. The reason I made as far as I did was the advice of my belay partner. Which brings me to the real ghosts of rock climbing.
Belay partners come and go, but what sticks around to haunt me are the lessons I learn from them.
My first experience of this is when I was trying to break into the 5.10C category routes. I could never really get started. At most I could only make two or three moves. On cue came a belay partner, who happened to be a former power lifter. His mentality was to set your feet and lunge for the highest hold you can reach. Climb as quickly as possible and leave my arms fully extended.
Being a static climber, this was a new way of climbing to me. The puzzle aspect is one of the reasons why I like rock climbing. I prefer to slow down climbing and pause after every move to assess my options. My height however makes this an ineffective way to climb. After spending an evening climbing with him, I realized that if I want to advance in my climbing, I need to incorporate some dynamic moves on the wall.
I encountered the next ghost another evening. At this time, I had no problem incorporating dynamic moves into my climbs. The problem came after making the dynamic moves. To try to preserve my arm strength I would keep my arms outstretched. This meant sticking my body away from the wall, which defeated the purpose. This was especially bad on runs where I really struggled.
Luckily my belay partner that evening pointed this out to me. The rest of the evening I made a point to pay attention to this habit and attempt to correct it. I noticed that on the climbs I stayed close to the wall were indeed much less draining on my arms.
Those were the ghosts of my past. Welcome to the ghost of my present.
Figuring out how to consistently combine the two ghosts of my past proved difficult. On some routes it seemed like they could not work together. How could I keep my arms fully extended while at the same time being close to the wall? That Halloween night my belay partner provided me the answer.
Watching her climb I realized she has really good control and use of her lower body. She was consciously shifting her body weight and flagging with her legs. All of this was a mystery to me. I had tried these techniques on my own, but I was missing the goal of them. She told me they were about creating and maintaining tension. This was the key for the techniques to click in my head.
Among other benefits, these techniques make it is easier for me to maintain straight arms and be close to the wall on the harder routes.
I wonder what the ghost of my future will teach me?
Climbing is Zen
Previously if I was asked to picture someone meditating it would be them sitting or lying down, slowly doing little to nothing, while taking deep breaths. This image made the idea of mediation unappealing to me.
This idea of what mediation is, was no longer applicable after I started rock climbing this summer. Who would have thought a strenuous activity like climbing would provide me the clarity of mind that I had sought after for so many years. The constant flow of creative ideas and thoughts about things I have to do are now quiet.
I had achieved temporary clarity before through photography, listening to live music and competing in sports, like baseball and basketball, but it never lasted long after the activity ended. Climbing twice a week creates lasting peace. A climbing session early on in the week clears my head from the weekend. One later in the week helps me process everything the life throws at me.
I chalk up this noumenon to the intense concentration required to successfully climb a route. If I am halfway up and I allow my thoughts to drift away from the route, I will fall off. If I maintain my focus on the holds within my reach I have a much greater chance of staying on the wall and reaching the top.
All that concentration makes reaching the top of the route that much more rewarding.
But it is not always about reaching the top. If I am able to make it farther up a run than I did the previous attempt, I feel good. When I have an off day in the gym and make very little progress on anything, I get as much peace of mind as I do on the successful days.
The most meditative part of climbing for me is the struggle. The physical struggle is obvious. What isn’t so obvious is the mental side.
Games are fun to me because it challenges my brain. After acquiring an understanding of the rules comes analyzing different ways to apply the rules to form a winning strategy. Rock climbing is the same experience to me.
Examples of the rules are how to start of the route (where your hands need to be, does your body need to lean to one side?), what holds can used to ascend the climb, etc. The analysis is which holds to use, where to grab them, which ones to use to pull versus to push off of, etc. This puzzle is becoming even more apparent as I attempt more difficult routes. One of my current challenges is find the beta and not overcomplicate the way up the wall.
My desire to be active, both mentally and physically, and to push myself towards improvement is easily fed by this hobby. I hope to take it step further and work in this field. Feel free to check out my writing, photos, video and design work on this blog. Let me know if I can help with any short or long term projects.
Rock climbing and the Zen it brings me will be a part of my life for the foreseeable future. I wish you luck finding what gives provides you with lasting peace.