December 6th, 2014, 1:50 pm
Rock climbers are interesting; it's like a branch of mountaineering, but even more physical - down to the smallest muscles in fingers and toes - and direct "confrontation" if you will, of sheer rock faces, personal limitations, and fear.I started in college because I was part of the Mountain Club. Hiking is great and I have done that my whole life, but I am afraid of heights and get dizzy, even on long staircases. So this was a way to tackle that and maybe get over it.The largest rock faces that I climbed were 300-400 feet; the person who led grew up in Colorado and was an expert climber (including free climbing).When you are half way up the rock and get the shakes, you have to pull yourself together - either go up the rest of the way or belay off, but you can't hang there with weak knees and cry. Beautiful views at the top and a sense of partially overcoming a primal fear were the high points, but I like riding horses and sailing fast boats more!**Adrenaline, yes, but it's like a religion too - on the whole a very serious, even monastic crowd, when it comes to the best climbers.Climbing requires absolute focus and a clean, clear mind - free climbing most of all. A 2,500 foot face and descent without ropes - Alex Honnold on the Half Dome in Yosemite.I saw an interview with an extreme climber and he explained how it is not really about adrenaline - too much of that is not helpful in these situations.It is about control of adrenaline and also being connected to every part of your body, as I said, muscles down to your finger tips, excellent sense of balance, and solving one topographic puzzle after another - Where is the next hand hold? Got it. Where to put my left toes? Got it. An amazing feeling. Maybe kind of like writing a 750 page book.
Last edited by
trackstar on December 5th, 2014, 11:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.