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I'm Freakin' Out!!!

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:23 am
by MiaRock
After a bad first lead experience which involved a big scary fall about two years ago I have become the biggest freak out artist in the red. :oops: i now find myself nervous on lead, toprope and even on the approaches, of a potential fall. my fear has lead me to consider giving up climbing all together because of the stress sometimes. however i really do love climbing and i want to deal with my fear and bring it back to a rational state. with that in mind is there anyone else that is interesting in taking a warrior's way class? Arno will be giving classes at derbyfest but that might be a bad time for me so maybe if there is enough other scaried cats out there we could have our own class. if your interested let me know!

mia

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:34 am
by Artsay
I'll take it. MuaoDib would too, I bet.
Someone hit the panic button on me Sunday afternoon and I was thinking Arno's class is just what I need.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:36 am
by SCIN
Arno invented this course to pick up chicks I think.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:39 am
by Guest
I'd be real interested, too, ladies. I'm not sure if I could swing the time or money, but get in touch with me if you do try to set something up.

Maybe Arno will give special pricing on an all chick weekend!

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 2:57 am
by SCIN
Michelle was so scared that I really started believing she was going to fall and all her gear was going to rip out. She wouldn't climb up, wouldn't climb down or wouldn't rest on her gear. It was a bad scene. She finally did one more move and placed a good cam to lower down from. I finished it up and all of her gear was completely bomber.

Arno, if you're listening, please help my girlfriend's head!

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 3:17 am
by Yasmeen
Who's this Arno fellow? He just teaches you how to have a more confident lead head?

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 4:20 am
by Artsay
Yea Yasmeen, something like that...I hear.

For me, it has nothing to do with the difficulty. It can be a 5.10 or a 5.2. I'm really not sure what it is and it only happens sometimes. Last fall I listened to some recommendations from people and did some of Arno's techniques and it really helped. I lead several routes and was fine and really felt I made a mental breakthrough. But now, first trad route of the season, it's all back. Not on sport though; A runout sport route or/and a probable fall don't freak me out.

It's an awful, awful feeling.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 10:59 am
by Jeff
I think Scin is putting baby spiders in your ears at night.

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 12:40 pm
by SikMonkey
Hey Mia/Michelle, I can definitely sympathize with you. I am possibly the biggest head case on the planet and on top of that I have a LOT of nervous energy....bad combination. I am just glad my friend realizes this and knows exactly what to say to fix it. Last year, I would get performance anxiety pretty bad even hours before I would be climbing. I wouldn't be afraid of falling at all, I was just afraid of screwing up or not being able to do something. My friend told me I think too much about failure instead of just thinking about climbing. This made sense to me but didn't really set in until half way through the day a couple of Sundays ago at Solar Collector. Even before we left, I was worried about the rock being too cold, I was worried that my endurance and strength had declined from the layoff during the bad weather/gym closure, etc, etc. So when we got there, it was as I expected. First, the weather was grim. It was gray and cold as hell. I warmed up on a 10d and sure enough, I had to sit at the second bolt because my hands were frozen solid. Then we moved over to an 11a and after screwing up a sequence, I clipped the bolt and told my belayer to lower me off. Then the sun decided to come out and all of a sudden, I felt better and more confident for some reason. After the guy I was climbing with came down, I went back up and redpointed the 11a then moved over and flashed an 11d. Now my confidence is back better than ever and I feel great. I guess the best advice I have for someone who thinks too much is 'don't think, just do, and if you must think, focus on the most positive aspect of the situation.' Sorry this was so long, but I just thought I would share that with you to let you know you were not alone.

Mj

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2003 1:07 pm
by Gretchen
Good news, I just heard from Arno & he will be teaching two classes the weekend of Derbyfest. 6 climbers / class. So maybe 6 women climbers can fill up one class! I am definitely in this year so with Artsay, MuaoDib, MiaRock, poss. Lynne, me and one more chica makes 6!! Class is $89. Also Arno has a new book coming out and he will have it with him at the 'Fest doing a book signing!