Catherine Destivelle climbing solo in Mali is a sight to behold. 1980’s classic film charts her progress up this intimidating face.

Catherine Destivelle

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Classic comedy sketch from Shaun Micallef Program where he interviews a “blind man” who has climbed mount Everest. Really, really funny!

Naughty, non PC, unkind but great all the same.

Classic Commedy sketch

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The Adventure of a Lifetime

“Firstly I would like to thank Luke for allowing me to contribute to this fantastic website were we can become inspired and live or our dreams.

So, What am I doing here?

Well, shortly after university, rather than getting caught up trying to find a job a place to live etc etc I have decided to take life by the scruff of the neck and see what it can offer and what I can learn from it.

I will do this by doing 3 expeditions, cycling, walking and climbing… A 4th to be announced.

So, on the 5th January I will leave my house and cycle to 12,000 miles to New Zealand. Once in New Zealand, I plan to walk the entire length of both islands (3000km) then after some time in New Zealand I shall cycle my way up the Americas onward to Alaska. Now, once in Alaska Mount Mckinley is on my hit list…

It’s a long way a way yet but I am looking forward to updating my website and giving advice into how to set up a expedition. I will be documenting my adventure in various styles…. blog posts, photography, audio, film and a web series.

To follow up on this inspirational adventure of a lifetime please visit www.LeeHughes.co.uk

Credits for the images in this article about an adventure of a lifetime belong to Lee Hughes.

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Find Somebody who has already achieved your goal

I have been working towards bouldering Font 8A over the last couple of years. It is a real BIG GOAL for me. It requires years of effort, dedication and perseverance for it to be achieved. The level of difficulty with this goal is such that I may not achieve it despite dedicating enormous effort and time towards doing so.

So what can I do to increase the odds of success?

One aspect of my attempt is worth considering in a wider context. I have 4-5 friends who have already climbed at Font 8A or better. There is nothing particularly special about these guys. Sure they are strong and have dedicated years of their lives to climbing. But beyond that, they are genetically no different from me, they do not train harder than me.

This is important when thinking about your own BIG GOAL. By finding somebody who you can relate too that has achieved what you want to do. You demystify the GOAL. It becomes more run of the mill. If 5 of my mates can climb 8A then surely I can too with enough time, the right training and mental approach.

Ask the right questions?

Having identified one or more people who have achieved your BIG GOAL already. You now need to learn from them. It may be that you can do this in person as I have been lucky enough to do in my climbing or it may be that you must learn through reading books or web sites.

The important thing is that we accept that in order to achieve our BIG GOAL we must learn from an expert.

But what do we need to learn?

There are many answers to this question and I would like to explore more of them in another article. However the one that I would like to address here is to..

Ask the expert what THE MOST important skill is?

Achieving a BIG GOAL is a consequence of achieving competence in many different skills that all combine together to make the BIG GOAL possible. Often these skills can be broken down and to the non expert eye they may all look equally important.

This is rarely the case. It is here that your relationship with the EXPERT is going to bear fruit. The question you need to ask is

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL OR COMPETANCE THAT I MUST BUILD?

The expert is in a position to answer this as they have already achieved your goal. They have credibility, competence and experience. They have been in your shoes. Sat where you are sitting. They have spent years training, trying different approaches, working on different skills. This experience put’s them in a unique position to analyse which skills are the most important and make all the difference in achieving the BIG GOAL.

It doesn’t mean that the other skills are less important. Just that if you want to turbo charge your campaign and bring success closer then focus your efforts on the skill the expert says is most critical and important.

Putting this into practice

Returning to my climbing example. When I asked my friends who have climbed 8A about the most important skill needed all said “Finger Strength” – “If you can’t hold small holds then no amount of body strength, power etc can help as if you can’t hold the hold you cannot apply your power and move off it.

Listening to my friends (the experts) has given me the information to help me achieve the goal. It doesn’t make the training any easier. But what it does do, is allow me to target my training on a simple goal/objective. How to make my fingers stronger.

There is so much sports training information available online and in books. The hard thing is knowing which program to work towards. Once an expert has identified the critical skill required for achieving your goal then it is much easier for you to select a training program from the multitude available.

So to recap..

1. Find somebody who has already achieved your goal
2. Ask them what the key/most important skill that made success possible.
3. Study online, books, ask the expert and develop a training plan that focuses and targets that KEY SKILL
4. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN and TRAIN some more !!!!

So no shortcuts but maybe this solution will help. I’m still trying so cant guarantee success as I’m not the expert!! I’m on the same path as you.

I would be very interested in your comments and opinions on this technique. Are you training for a BIG GOAL. What is your approach ??

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Sometimes this fear is justified when the position is very exposed whilst in other cases there really is little danger and our fears are more personal.

i’m sure that, like me, you have read many books by experienced climbers and mountaineers who discuss their psychology and strategy for overcoming fear.

One of the problems with this kind of writing is that we can’t see it in practice. Usually we read it. Think “yes thats good” maybe we even get our yellow marker out and highlight the words of wisdom then the next time we find ourselves in a position of fear it all goes out the window.

We grip tighter, we get progressively more pumped, our legs shake and panic consumes us. I’m afraid I’m not going to offer any magic wand. But what I have found on Climbing Tribe is an old rock climbing video, (not sure how old – anyone any ideas ?) which I think gives a very practical, real life demonstration of overcoming fear and anxiety about taking a fall.

Unlike modern films where climbers are shown making sexy moves to a background of strong music this video features a live discussion by the climbers. I found this dialogue fascinating as it reveals the essence of what is going on in the dangerous and exposed position that the climber on lead is facing.

Interesting to note is the vocal support that the belayer provides. This is very important and can make all the difference to a climber suffering a panic attack. The belayers words and particularly his joking banter help take the lead climbers mind of the danger and his fear and allow him to REFOCUS on the problem in hand.

Often this is all that is necessary. Almost a form of distraction which allows us to come back to the present, analyse the problem and action a solution. In a sense the belayer is sharing the problem and helping him to manage his fear.

How do you overcome a fear of falling?

Some other opinions by CrazyJourney community:

Embrace “fear” its not everyday u can climb over 5k meters in snow. Its that or sit & watch a film about it.i know which i prefer www.thelongestwayhome.com

This rock climbing video shows Al Harris and Henry Barber on Dream of White Horses, Wales.

Credits for the images used in this article and video about overcoming a fear of falling in rock climbing belong to www.photo-tropism.com

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