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So how did you get off the cliff?

by choward 10y ago

Fricken 10y ago
I climbed back down the same way I came up. This was early in the season in the Alberta rockies, and the crack I climbed was full of ice, and quite slippery. There was a ledge to the right of where I got hung up that led safely out of the danger zone, but it was just out of my reach, I tried traversing over to that ledge about 30 times before deciding my only option was to go back down the sketchy crack I came up. No one would have rescued me, I was in the middle of nowhere.
- stingraycharles 10y ago
  For the ones not in the know, climbing down is way harder than climbing up. I take it you didn't climb this route before, and were trying to flash it ? How did you handle your emotions, it must have been really difficult to keep them under control in order to get down safely ?
  - Fricken 10y ago
    It was while I was stuck up on my little perch that my focus slipped, and I became indecisive. I gave myself too much time to think and became panicky and irrational. Like, fear management is the name of the game, and it's all about blocking out extraneous thoughts and sticking to practical, immediate concerns. I had cultivated the ability to do as much while climbing, and had plenty of experience, but on that day my mind slipped, and thoughts of what my parents would think if I died and shit like that started running through my head, which was a first for me. I did pull myself together, obviously, and when I finally committed to going back down, I was in control and systematic about it, but the experience left me rattled, and for a couple years after that I stuck to nice, safe single pitch sport climbing routes. That's why I'm me and not Alex Honnold I guess, he goes and does it again the next day.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  Wise. I tried to force the traverse (different face, similar situation) and fell 30 feet. It's only by God's grace that I'm still alive, and not in a wheelchair. And that was pretty much the end of my free soloing career, too...

So how did you get off the cliff?

by choward 10y ago

So how did you get off the cliff?

I climbed back down the same way I came up. This was early in the season in the Alberta rockies, and the crack I climbed was full of ice, and quite slippery. There was a ledge to the right of where I got hung up that led safely out of the danger zone, but it was just out of my reach, I tried traversing over to that ledge about 30 times before deciding my only option was to go back down the sketchy crack I came up. No one would have rescued me, I was in the middle of nowhere.

stingraycharles 10y ago
For the ones not in the know, climbing down is way harder than climbing up. I take it you didn't climb this route before, and were trying to flash it ? How did you handle your emotions, it must have been really difficult to keep them under control in order to get down safely ?
- Fricken 10y ago
  It was while I was stuck up on my little perch that my focus slipped, and I became indecisive. I gave myself too much time to think and became panicky and irrational. Like, fear management is the name of the game, and it's all about blocking out extraneous thoughts and sticking to practical, immediate concerns. I had cultivated the ability to do as much while climbing, and had plenty of experience, but on that day my mind slipped, and thoughts of what my parents would think if I died and shit like that started running through my head, which was a first for me. I did pull myself together, obviously, and when I finally committed to going back down, I was in control and systematic about it, but the experience left me rattled, and for a couple years after that I stuck to nice, safe single pitch sport climbing routes. That's why I'm me and not Alex Honnold I guess, he goes and does it again the next day.
AnimalMuppet 10y ago
Wise. I tried to force the traverse (different face, similar situation) and fell 30 feet. It's only by God's grace that I'm still alive, and not in a wheelchair. And that was pretty much the end of my free soloing career, too...