Fear of Falling

[mmcfadden]

Anyone have any goods tips on how to get over/control the fear of falling on lead? I have lead up to 10a, but it seems that if I have the option of leading or following, I tend to take the follow option. First decent whipper was on To Defy The Laws Of Tradition 3 years ago, and I can't seem to shake it. It wasn't a good fall, so it left me a little gun shy. Need to control this irrational fear!

[dfspau2]

Lead and fall more... really dont know any other way...

[whatahutch]

Go slowly. Warm up on something easy, clip the chains and tell the belayer to give you some slack and take a big "hang" from the chains. This usually gets the lead fall jitters out of my head and then I am ready for something a little more exciting.

But practice makes perfect.

Next time up leading up an overhanging route clip the fifth or sixth bolt and then climb to where your knees are at the bolt you just clipped. Let go.
Do it again.
Do it again.
Then climb till your feet are at the bolt. Let go.
Do it again.
Do it again.

Practice in the gym doing mock leads and falls.

Make sure you know your equipment is safe (good rope, good draws, good belay device) and most important that your belayer is competent and experienced at catching and arresting lead falls. This way you remove the doubt and mental fears.

Then get on your project and feel confident that you are safe.

[caribe]

Need to control this irrational fear!

How do you know the fear is not rational?

[Spikeddem]

Need to control this irrational fear!

How do you know the fear is not rational?

Yep. Not sure that To Defy the Laws of Tradition is the best route to take a 40 foot whip on.

Regardless, read some material from Dave MacLeod and also pick up a copy of The Rock Warrior's Way. RWW focuses on the mental approach and how it maps into the physical performance.

Dave MacLeod said it well in his book. Essentially, most people in your case cannot take one big whip and get over the fear. You cannot dedicate a day of gym climbing to taking large falls and expect to be "fixed." Over time, a week, a month, a year, you'll get better and better and better. To really climb at the point where irrational fear does not even begin to enter your mind may take a very long time. Moreover, he also suggests that if you take time off from large falls you will likely suffer a setback. Consistency is important.

As someone that was dropped on a routine fall from above the 5th (or 6th?) bolt, I have had similar difficulties. The mentallity provided in the above books may help you. It has helped me.

[captain static]

What I advise people is to change your focus to identifying the next clipping hold and what it will take to get to that hold.

[philip_sallee2]

Rock Warriors Way or the Espresso Lessons are both good books to read to help with the fear. I think fear of falling has a lot to do with your approach to climbing. I used to be terrified to lead routes until I started to do a lot of bouldering, I got used to cranking out hard and sketchy moves and falling 10 feet or so unto padding. This helped me to get into the mindset of climbing and not just finding my way up a route, the rope and belayer are there to keep you from hitting the ground, not to help you or aid your way up like top roping can tempt you to do. I would suggest finding plenty of routes that are within your range and not do any top roping and focus on climbing and making movement through tough areas. I make it a point to lead nearly all the routes I climb, even if my partner has already lead it, I will yank the rope down and leave the draws up and lead it myself. Take the others advice on making small lead falls on purpose and pick up a copy of the RWW or Espresso lessons but most of all, enjoy climbing, have fun, push yourself to the edge of your comfort zone and be careful.

[Josephine]

Arno helped me. whippers on girls gone wild always help me too. There's no move on the route harder than 10a. Fall from the jug to clip the 6th and you'll go for a nice ride. Every bolt has a good fall. I also practice falling by taking my feet off first and then hanging straight before I let go (I have a tendency to push off).

[krampus]

Make sure you fall and not push of. I can not stress this enough.

[mmcfadden]

Awesome advice from everybody. Thank you.