A Climbing Mentality

I’ve gained a new addiction. A new obsession. A new fixation. I love the experience of finding something new that you can lose yourself in. To me there is no better feeling. You find yourself climbing deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of your new obsession. Your consciousness in a voluntary abyss. For me that new obsession is indoor rock climbing. I had rock climbed in the past as part of a school excursions or a fun date idea but my obsession started when friends who climbed shared their obsession with me.

I’ll never stop loving the atmosphere when you enter the climbing gym. You see all the colourful rock holds on the wall inviting you to come closer and look at them, feel them, analyse them. As you put on your climbing shoes, you feel your feet slip into the overly snug fit (if you are a climber you know exactly what I mean). As you go closer and feel the coarse rock holds, you try and fit your hand onto it. Trying to figure out the best way to grip it. Should you use your fingers, the whole palm or which hand should I use? Your mind focuses on the problem and the problem alone. A strange calmness overcomes you as it is just you and the wall. For that split second nothing else matters, nothing at all. All the chitter chatter in the background seems to disappear as you concentrate. You try and route the problem. This is where you try and visualise yourself on the wall doing the problem before actually doing it. You grab your bag full of chalk and dip your hands in, covering it in chalk. As you dust the excess chalk off your hands you taste a bit of the chalk in your mouth. You approach the problem that is ahead of you. As you place all of your weight onto your upper body you feel the full effects of gravity. Newton wasn’t messing around when he described gravity as a fundamental force of nature cause you are feeling it in it’s fullest. But in a strange way it is a liberating feeling, reminding you that you are in control of your body. The rock holds are basically sandpaper on your skin, but your hands clench up even tighter trying to ensure that you stay on the wall. As you move your body from one set of holds to the other, your forearms and elbows start to tighten, ache and grow stiff. You’ve never had to work so hard to climb up and hold onto a wall. These muscles untrained, untainted and under-developed weigh heavy. The lactic acid starts to build up in these areas and cause an unbelievable ache. But you are determined to finish the climb, you’ve seen yourself do it in your minds eye. You know it is in the realm of possibility, even if it is in your imagination. As you slowly advance up the wall, the pieces seem to fall in place. Like completing a puzzle. It is almost naturalistic the feeling of scaling a wall, as if it evokes your monkey brain reminiscing about climbing a tree or mountain. When you reach the last hold of the problem you know you have made it. It was you and only you who mastered the wall. There is no room for excuses. In a way it is so liberating being fully accountable for your failures and achievements. When you jump down and lie on the matted floor, panting, wheezing and trying to catch your breath. You just feel ecstatic. A natural high overcomes you. You suddenly forget about the pain in your arms and just feel at peace. I guess you are chasing that feeling of success. That feeling of overcoming an immovable problem all by yourself. In a world where it feels impossible for young people to start their lives on their own without the dependence of their parents or pooling together with their partner or mates, climbing feels free in that sense. It feels pure. Maybe that’s why climbing is so popular with young people today. That’s my take on things anyway. And I certainly want to continue to climb. To chase that feeling again.

Danny Pereira