
This Is My Brain on Rock Climbing - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/46/balance/this-is-my-brain-on-rock-climbing
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throwaway284534
Am I the only one who's skeptical of how quickly Nautilus reach the front
page? I swear on like 15 different occasions a mediocre article with no
comments get a surge of upvotes.

I'm hesitant to say there's foul play but something's not right...

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zzalpha
I will say, believing in your skills as a way to manage fear is a dangerous
path in climbing.

Your protection, not your skills, are what keeps most climbers alive and
healthy.

Obviously skills are important, but far far more important is diligence with
rope skills, carefully and frequently placing pro, checking and rechecking
harnesses and anchors, putting knots in your ropes when rapping, and generally
not getting complacent or lazy with these things.

But relying on just not falling is a great way to die by overconfidence (and
yes, I'm saying that all free soloists are running on borrowed time and,
frankly, are poor models to look to)...

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alfalfasprout
I'm sorry but this is just not true at all in alpine climbing. Plenty of no-
fall zones where being comfortable climbing icy 5.8 in boots and crampons is
the difference between falling to your death and making it up.

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zzalpha
For the vast majority of recreational climbers my comment holds. If you're in
a no-fall situation where your life is at risk, it's because you're off route
and run out, an entirely avoidable situation.

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sharkweek
Then there are people like Alex Honnold who don't seem to have this fear at
all, able to free solo (climb without ropes) that same route

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKAloYst7p8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKAloYst7p8)

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blacksmith_tb
I have climbed for many years, though as more of a gym rat. What this article
seems to primarily be about is the psychological aspects of the sport - there
are many times when you need to do a move which is physically not a stretch,
but your mind resists, because you become stuck thinking about the
consequences of failure. For a non-climber, think of walking in a straight
line for ten seconds. What are the chances you will fall over and sustain an
injury? Very small, of course, you do more dangerous things every day without
thinking about it at all. But now walk in a straight line along a small ledge,
where falling would mean certain death. Objectively, you know you can do it,
it doesn't become any more difficult just because the consequences are much
more serious. But if you panic, it does, and the panic can kill you... Still,
I tend to prefer to stay closer to the ground, what can I say, I haven't
achieved that level of confidence.

