La Caida
Buenos dias
No se si habla españool, pero bueno yo le pregunto. Llevo 20 años escalando y a dia de hoy mi máximo reto es conseguir escalar fluido y sin pensar en la caída. Mi visión es focalizada hacia la caída en todo momento, llegando incluso a impedir que siga escalando. He probado de todo y he leído todo lo legible. Y no hablo de vías de autoprotección sino de vías de escuela con parabolts.
Help. Un saludo
Alejandro
Ciao Alejandro,
I can read Spanish better than I can write, so I hope it is the same for you with English 🙂
I think for a lot of people, fear of falling is a combination of both natural instinctive fear, and the stress and emotions that climbing can create. Falling usually means failure, and that can become a big stress. I think since you are having such a hard time with falling, it may become something that keeps growing and becoming worse. This is a real problem, because it can make climbing miserable instead of fun 🙁 Something I never took into consideration in the past is that fear of falling can also have a lot to do with who is belaying you. I’ve noticed that when I am being belayed by someone I trust completely, I don’t think much about falling. When I’m catching a belay from someone I don’t know very well, falling is on my mind, and I often won’t climb routes that I could fall off of. So think about making sure you are climbing with someone you know and trust well, and start taking small steps with falling–as small as letting go when the bolt is there in front of you, just to start experiencing the sensation of letting go, and to teach your body that nothing will happen. It’s as much training the sensations as your brain. Remember, people and our brains are creatures of habit. Anything you practice, you will do better–and this works both ways. So if you continue to practice being afraid, you will become much stronger in your fear. If you practice letting go and being able to climb confidently, you will become stronger in your confidence.
I hope that helps!
Steph
