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General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

2 thumbs = good; <2 thumbs = less good 1-Nov-2010 At 10:26:59 AM hargs

Message

On 30/10/2010 dalai wrote:
>Lots of scaremongering from the masses. Maybe one or two cases of thumb
>injuries, but in the whole there are a hell of a lot of climbers around
>the globe who are happy rope holders and can still give you two thumbs
>up!

Leaving the rope alone is less about losing thumbs, I think, and more about maintaining good "impact posture" to paraphrase Simey's mate Arno. (The reference I mentioned earlier should have been to Arno not Horst):

Deliberately move arms out, taking on proper falling form...(outlined above, blah blah blah) ... A helpful mantra is: "Breathe out, arms out, look down." Moving your arms out will prevent you from grabbing the rope. There isn't anything inherently wrong with grabbing the rope, but climbers have this tendency due to fear or a desire to control the situation. Instead, your hands need to be available to respond to the impact with the rock.

So I'm interested in this primarily because I'm more scared of coming off the rock now I'm learning to climb again than when I was younger and fitter, and that fear stops me attempting moves I know I can make, even when I can rationally evaluate falling to be safe. I think this is a lack of physical experience (combined with being a slow learner.) More experience leads to feeling more comfortable in the situation which in turn allows you to respond deliberately rather than react automatically.

When I was learning to fly hang gliders, my first really high flight was at Stanwell Tops, which is a kind of intimidating location: big hill, over a big cliff, on top of the ocean. Once you're in the air you're committed to a good landing on the beach or you could end up in power lines in the park, or in the surf. I remember being ready to launch, calling "OK CLEAR" to the guys hanging onto the kite, and then feeling settled and flying straight and level, and then realising I was way out from where I left the cliff and on a course for New Zealand. The bit in the middle is completely blank. My instructor reckoned this is sensory overload, when your brain is processing lots of unfamiliar data all at once and is too busy to think.

Miguel75, I'm keen to hear how you go. Keep us posted.