Lead Belay Mind Conditioning
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:19 pm
Ok, I'm new to lead climbing and have done a lot of research to make myself as knowledgable as possible of the potential problems and solutions one might encounter at the crag.One can only prepare so much, and experience is the best teacher.
The biggest fear I have is not gear unclipping or that massive whipper, but how I and my parter when belaying, respond to the big fall. obviously the most important thing to do is to hold that break hand for all it's worth.
Is there any training one might suggest to prepare mentally for this experience that isn't detrimental to the rope? I'm not adverse to finding out how I react on site but I'd certainly like to find out before my partner or myself is above what I would consider a safe fall to my bouldering pad.
The biggest fear I have is not gear unclipping or that massive whipper, but how I and my parter when belaying, respond to the big fall. obviously the most important thing to do is to hold that break hand for all it's worth.
Is there any training one might suggest to prepare mentally for this experience that isn't detrimental to the rope? I'm not adverse to finding out how I react on site but I'd certainly like to find out before my partner or myself is above what I would consider a safe fall to my bouldering pad.
Actually, it was really rather dated when i was starting out (late eighties). But there's some stuff in there that still applies, basic technique, some of the rope work etc. Obviously, the biggest changes have to do with the gear. I'm really glad we don't have to rely on pitons anymore (although pitons were placed on a handful of routes in the red as late as the eighties, see Into the Void Direct).