Climbing is not only safe…but also incredibly liberating and empowering.
~KATIE BROWN
Climbing is not only safe…but also incredibly liberating and empowering.
For women intrigued by the sport of climbing but intimidated by its male dominance and stereotype as “extreme,” Girl on the Rocks
is a monumental resource, providing instructions on technique, strength, and mental agility from a woman’s perspective.
Matthew Childs is an advertising lead at Razorfish. He is a lifelong rock climber and climbing guide.
There are nine, sort of, rules that I discovered after 35 years of rock climbing. Most of them are pretty basic.
Number one: don’t let go — very sure success method. But really, truly — often you think about letting go way before your body does. So hang in there, and you come up with some pretty peculiar solutions.
Number two: hesitation is bad.
Rule number three: have a plan. Often what happens is you’re planning so hard for like, “How do I get through the hardest part? How do I get through the hardest part?” And then what happens? You get to the last pitch. It’s easy. And you’re completely flamed out. Don’t do it. You have to plan ahead to get to the top.
Rule number four: you’ve got to focus.
Rule number five: know how to rest. The best climbers are the ones that in the most extreme situations can get their bodies into some position where they can rest, regroup, calm themselves, focus, and keep going.
Rule number six: Fear really sucks because what it means is you’re not focusing on what you’re doing. You’re focusing on the consequences of failing at what you’re doing because any given move should require all your concentration and thought processes to execute it effectively.
Rule number seven: One of the things in climbing is, most people sort of take it straight on. And they follow the most obvious solution.
Rule number eight: strength doesn’t always equal success.So balance is really critical, and keeping your weight on your feet, which is your strongest muscle.
Rule number nine: how you’re going to fall onto the rope, or if you’re climbing without a rope, fall to a place where you can actually control the fall.