It’s been a while, but I think it’s time to revisit the hallows of In the Spirit of Halloween from 5 years ago. What have we learned since then? Have we faced our fears? Have our fears faced us?
I took my own advice from 5 years ago and have made huge improvements to my outdoor climbing. Am I a perfect outdoor climber? No. But I’m not where I was 5 years ago, and I think that counts for something. I think my old advice still stands, but it’s also time for newer, spookier dares. Are you ghouls ready?
- Get rid of your top ropes. You don’t need them as crutches anymore! Lead, lead, lead. If that’s your only option, your mind will be more committed to finding ways to get you up the wall. On top of that, you will be forced to get more comfortable with leading. It is simply the only way for you to climb, so you have to do it and get more wall time. Simple as that!
- Climb in your anti-style. I know, I know…this is just cruel. Except there’s more to it than horror film type cruelty. You’re always going to default to your style of climbing, especially when moves get difficult. If your proj requires movement that isn’t your style, you are out of luck. However, if you practice climbing in other ways on easier routes, you might be able to translate some of those skills to your proj. If not, you can just say it was in the name of spooky season!
- Climb pumped. Of course you want rest and you want to feel good while you climb, but where’s the terror in that? Keep climbing through the pump, even if it’s on easy stuff. You’ll be surprised how far you can climb after you expect yourself to fall. Not to mention the endurance training!
- Commit to some climbing times. Yes, I said it. Commitment is hard. Commitment is scary. But you need it sometimes. You’re not always going to feel like climbing, and you’re not always going to feel like you have time for it. When you commit to certain climbing times/places, you train your body to be what it actually is, and not just as you want it to be. Not every day is a peak performance day, and it’s good to know how your body acts on any type of day. It is at that point that you actually train.
- Re-climb routes. Sometimes you climb something and you’re not quite sure how you sent, but somehow you did. Then, you vow to never climb it again. While this is tempting, perhaps climb it again. If you don’t send you don’t send. At best, you’ll dial in the extra effective techniques that helped you send it in the first place. At worst, you can be more intentional about how and why are you climbing in the way that you are. No matter what happens, you learn how to climb more effectively.
Anyway, these are just some optional dares to push back at the monsters lurking underneath your bed. Feel free to add more spooky suggestions below!
Co-writer
thedihedral.com 