[comPiler]

The other side of the pond…..
11 June 2013, 2:31 pm

Very quickly the time arrived for our GB Bouldering team to venture further and cross the Atlantic to compete in Toronto, Canada and then Vail, USA. With a big team representing and oodles of psyche we descended on various airports and made our way first to Hamilton (just outside Toronto).

Before the competition we went to see one of the world’s wonders; Niagara Falls. It was quite an experience, very touristy but an incredible natural spectacle. We even went to the bottom on the touristy boat and got soaked! Thanks so much to Keith and Kashca who looked after us and took us to see this awesome sight!



The Hamilton World Cup had a great atmosphere; a VERY enthusiastic crowd, good organisation and fun route setting. As a team, we put our best feet forward and managed to get three of us to semi–finals (Leah, Shauna and myself) and one to finals (can you guess who??  ). In terms of my climbing I was a bit disappointed…I climbed well in the qualifiers but in the semi-finals I made some glaring route reading errors and lacked some basic strength. All deposited in the bank of experience and logged for future training!

Women’s Qualifiers, Photo Tito Caleyron

On to Vail and we were keen beans. Only four days separated the competitions and we had one day training in Boulder at The Spot (accompanied by pancakes), followed by a short session the next day at the Vail Rock Club. The air is thin in Boulder at approx. 5000ft and even thinner in Vail at approx. 8000ft. We didn’t notice the altitude until we climbed, then it was a case of “why am I so pumped so quickly?” and “why am I breathing so hard after one boulder problem??” Having said that, as each session went on we did acclimatise a bit. The day before the competition we decided to put our respective haemoglobin cells to the test and we drove up to the top of Mount Evans, a dizzy height of over 14,000ft. Now, up there, even walking was a stress on the system! We had a brief picnic and headed back to register for the competition.



Once again, we all rallied and fought our way up as many boulders as possible and this time we had four GB athletes in the semi-finals; joining Leah, Shauna and myself was Dave Barrans. The women’s semi- finals were HARD!! Two bonuses got you into the finals, which was what I had but in too many attempts. The heart breaking moment for me was on the fourth and last problem in the semi-finals. After getting through the crux and setting up to try to finish the problem, I slipped whilst readjusting my hand and fell. If it weren’t for that slip, I think I could have finished the problem and I would have made my first World Cup Final. I have been close before but this was too close for comfort.

What can I say? I slipped and other people didn’t, they were solid on the moves and I wasn’t.  Everyone comes out of competitions with the “what if” feeling and I am sure I am not the only one that was close in some way. Bank it and move on. Train harder and look to next year.

To inspire me to look forward and take the positives, Shauna “acquired” a certain hold for me as a keepsake

So, that is my season over. I am not competing in Munich or Eindhoven as I have decided to spend the summer climbing outside and will be cheering on the GB team from glorious Rocklands in South Africa.

To sum up…. it’s been a good year. My goals at the start of the season were as follows:

-       To consistently make semi-finals — TICK (I made all of them)

-       To make a final —…..NEGATIVE

-       To make top ten overall —TICK (at the moment I have a World Ranking of 9^th but this may change after Munich)

So 2/3 isn’t too bad. I’ll take it. I was consistent (10^th, 12^th, 14^th, 12^th, 9^th, 12^th,, 11^th ) and that is very encouraging.

Thanks to everyone for all the support, it makes a huge difference and is really touching to have people behind you. I had a great time and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

Photo Tito Caleyron

Photo Ashley Schoppelrei

Photo Heiko Wilhelm

Photo Heiko Wilhelm

Photo Heiko Wilhelm

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

British Bouldering Champs
10 July 2013, 3:02 pm

The British Bouldering Championships come around every year and every year I sign up with a mixture of psyche, hope and dread. For some reason it feels more nerve wracking than a World Cup! Perhaps this is because it is a home crowd, perhaps I feel expectations are higher in a smaller field or perhaps it is just a competition that I always want to do well in but have a history of performing distinctly averagely in! In fact my best performance (prior to this year) was my first in 2008 where I placed 3^rd; since then I have never been on the podium and it has a history of knocking my confidence.

Whatever the reasons behind my trepidation, the BBCs arrived again this year and it was time to get psyched up to try hard. The field in UK women’s bouldering is strong at the moment with world class climber Shauna Coxsey; strong, gymnastic climber Leah Crane; and of course our adopted Brit,  the power house, Alex Puccio.

The weekend was a hot one and it was going to be tough. With a new format that follows that of a World Cup, we embarked on qualifiers, semi-finals and then finals.

For the women’s finals it came down to the aforementioned three, Jennifer Wood, Gill Peet and myself. There was a great crowd and a fun atmosphere and I was psyched to try hard.

To cut a long story short, the final was totally owned by Shauna. She flashed all 4 blocs and deservedly came 1^st. I managed 2 blocs (I am ashamed to admit the use of my fingernails on the slab!) as did Alex and Leah. It came down to attempts and, to my surprise, I came through in 2^nd. My best result ever!

It was an odd feeling actually because I didn’t feel like I actually climbed very well in that final…. one of the blocs I couldn’t even get off the floor! But I suppose that is how it goes sometimes! Having said that, after trying really hard in the World Cup season, I felt I earned my position of number 2 in British women’s competition bouldering and so it was nice to have that reflected in the results of our nationals.

Well done to Shauna who is just more and more impressive as time goes on and is an inspiration to us all. I’m trying my best to catch up and one day maybe I’ll give her a run for her money!

Here are some photos courtesy of Alex Messenger:













As I write this I am killing time at Heathrow Airport before getting on a flight to Vancouver for the Squamish Mountain Festival. Really excited to climb in Squamish and to give my first ever lecture for Arc’teryx as a pro climber…..eek! Pretty terrified to be honest.

If you don’t already have a CAC T-shirt…..

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[rodma]

Blog aggregators and their comedy timing

[comPiler]

Squamish Mountain Festival
24 July 2013, 7:38 pm

I have travelled a lot lately but this was the first long trip I can think of where I set off completely solo. I would normally travel with Dave or the GB team or friends and it was kind of invigorating to just set off alone! I felt like a true traveller: independent, self sufficient and happy with my own company.

Arriving in Vancouver I collected a car from the rental place and began (at what felt like 4am to me but was in fact around 9pm local time) to drive on what felt like the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road! Needless to say, I got lost. Things were said in the car that make me glad I was alone.  Eventually I made it to my friend’s place in North Vancouver with lots of wrong turns but only one near miss with a pedestrian.

After a zombie-like post travel sleep at Tiff and Simon’s place, I headed straight to Squamish to check out the place and climbing that I had heard so much about. Even the drive from Vancouver to Squamish is impressive; beautiful lakes and coastal views all the way. Simon and I went straight to the boulders and he jumped into the role of tour guide, pointing me at problems and demonstrating how to climb in Squamish by effortlessly floating up the classics. I spent a few days in this way, being shown around and climbing as much as I could on the Magic Wood-esque rocks. I managed to cross classics like No Troublems, Worm World Cave low and Resurrection off my list as well as Ride the Lightning (high mantle crux on this one!), Sesame Street and some other great problems.



 Ride the Lightning (V8), Photo Brian Goldstone



Resurrection (V9), Photo Brian Goldstone

During my stay in Squamish I was grateful to be offered a spare room in a house with some local climbing ladies, Elise and Laura– this was my first taste of the hospitality and generosity that flows around Squamish. They really made me feel at home and being there made my trip all the more fun and sociable.

I also spent a few days doing photo-shoots with Brian Goldstone from Arc’teryx and working with a film crew to get footage for Arc’teryx’s short film about the Squamish Mountain Festival (SQMF). I was psyched that they wanted to use me to showcase their festival, an honour indeed.



 ATD (V7), Photo Brian Goldstone



Squealing Pork (V7), Photo Brian Goldstone

Next up was a much-anticipated tour around Arc’teryx’s offices and factory in Vancouver. Really impressive to see how their complex technical gear is produced at factory level; amazingly skilled workers and a very organized system! I felt really grateful to be involved with a company that took the time to show me their inside workings and to involve me in their development. I even got to throw ideas around with the designers about upcoming Arc’teryx products!



Arc’teryx Factory magic

Heading back to Squamish, there was one thing remaining that had been on my mind all week: my lecture. I was very nervous and the time had come around to face the music and get up and talk. I had put a lot of effort into preparing a slideshow for the SQMF and this helped calm my nerves, I had a plan and I just needed to follow it through. The evening began with other speakers and films and I got to watch for a while first. Craig DeMartino’s lecture was the most notable of the evening for me; an articulate, interesting, emotional and inspiring story. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his talks, take it.



Craig and I after our talks, relaxed! Photo Brian Goldstone.

As with most things that make me nervous, once I started the nerves dissipated and I found myself actually enjoying it! It went pretty smoothly, I think I only lost my train of thought once…. I received lots of positive feedback afterwards too, which was really nice and reassuring. Thanks to anyone who came for putting me at ease and making it a fun experience!



 Mid-way through, clearly saying something very profound  Photo Brian Goldstone

The next day it was time to travel home! A whirlwind trip, but a fantastic one.  My favourite things about Squamish? Hmmm…let’s see:

1. The people and their generous and friendly nature.

2. The climbing of course….

3. Swimming in lakes after climbing or just for the sake of it

4. Awesome Sushi

Now a short break at home before Dave and I head to Rocklands on Monday! Can’t wait!

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

A Summer in Africa
10 September 2013, 1:27 pm

Six weeks has flown by and I find myself sitting in Cape Town airport wondering how I can put down in words what a fantastic summer I have had.  Do I start with the successes or the failures; the setting or the activity; the poignant moments or the general experience? Perhaps I should have written a blog earlier and broken this down into smaller bits.…Well I’ll have a go and try not to ramble on for too long.

David, Emma and I arrived at the end of July to a familiar and beautiful setting. We were here two years ago so this time our minds were full of anticipation for the climbs we left unclimbed. Some had denied us, as we weren’t strong enough, some we hadn’t even tried. We were happy to be back and keen to get stuck in.

I had a long list of boulders I wanted to climb. I had nearly done quite a few classics in 2011 so I had a lot of unfinished business. At the same time, I also wanted to see if I could up my game and I decided to try some harder boulders at the 8B level…testing the water I guess. So my list was pretty extensive, with a lot of classic 8As and 7C+s as well as climbs like The Vice and Mooiste Meisie (both 8B).



Pendragon (8A), Photo David Mason

Six weeks sounds like a long time (and it is) but it raced past. Before I knew it we were half way through, Emma was leaving soon and James was arriving. Although I had had quite a lot of success on my classics list, I was not making the progress I wanted on the harder ones. I discovered early on that on both the harder climbs I could do all the moves. Good start. I could also do some okay links but then I started to hit a bit of a wall in different ways on both climbs. On The Vice, I found that I needed more than a day’s rest to recover from the beating it gave me and so I had some great sessions and some sessions where I was totally useless on it (knocking my confidence) and I had moments where I felt trying it was a bit silly. On Mooiste Meisie I made more progress but there was one move that I had a low percentage of success on….and it was right at the end! So, on the hard stuff front I had a tricky time. BUT, I have learnt that I am very nearly strong enough to climb that hard and it gave me confidence to try other things at that level. I think if I had focused purely on those climbs this trip, maybe things would have been different…but maybe they wouldn’t have.



A Splash of Red (7C+) (Video Still)

My distractions came in the form of many world-class, stunning lines – not bad distractions at all! My highpoints were:

Amphitheatre (8A+) – Which I found very hard and therefore very satisfying.

Out of Balance (8A) – One of the best lines in Rocklands.

Splash of Red (7C+) – A beautiful, high, nerve-wracking arête.

Barracuda (8A) – It denied me last time but felt like a different climb this year.

Tomorrow I Will Be Gone (7C) – A climb I thought I couldn’t do.

The Hatchling (8A) – I surprised myself by doing it first go (not a flash as I tried it in 2011…)

Cedar Spine (7B+) – High and stunning.



Out of Balance (8A) (Video Still)

These among others made my trip so enjoyable: climbing on brilliant rock, interesting movement and good lines.

The best thing I took away form this trip was a real sense of progression. Since my last trip in 2011 I have trained a lot, worked my weaknesses to death and it is so nice to have solid proof that it has paid off. Two years ago I managed with a fair bit of effort to climb Nutsa (8A) but this trip I was able to climb eight 8A’s, and an 8A+ and all with less fuss. No huge grade jump but it feels like a big step up. There were moves I couldn’t do then that I could do now and that was hugely satisfying. I was also able to open a door to harder things, peek in and get psyched to get stronger.



A Tea with Elmarie (8A) (Video Still)



Ghost in the Darkness (7C+) (Video Still)

One sad thing was the closure of the Tea Garden area, which left me (and many others) unable to try Black Shadow (8A+). This was a nemesis from my last trip and so I was sad not to have the chance to revisit it. I can only hope that relations will improve with that particular landowner and the area will be re-opened in future years.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching David experience a similar progression in his climbing. He finished off The Vice (8B) (a nemesis from 2011), cruised up Mooiste Meisie (8B), won the fight with his endurance on Madiba (8B) and surprised himself by doing Sky (8B) in about 20 minutes! There is nothing better than watching someone you care about do well



David on Sky (8B) (Video Still)

So…now it is back home – Adidas Rockstars  awaits, as does Vastervik in Sweden, then home for some limestone, some grit and some training.

Hopefully next year we will be able to go back to paradise – to try hard, top up our tans and get our year’s fill of fillet steak!



 Tomorrow I Will Be Gone (7C) (Video Still) – appropriately did it on our last day!

 

 

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

From Stuttgart to Vastervik…
25 September 2013, 9:48 am

We arrived back in the UK from South Africa on Tuesday the 10^th of September and by early Thursday morning I was back at the airport heading to Stuttgart for the annual Adidas Rockstars competition.

This is a really fun event and I thoroughly enjoyed the climbing, meeting friends and, of course, meeting new people too. Last year I was fortunate enough to make finals and so this year I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t climb well in the semi finals but, after a summer on rock, I was sure to remind myself that my expectations shouldn’t be too high! In fact, looking on the bright side, it was just the kick I needed at this point in the year to spur me on in my training! Big well done to Shauna who climbed well as usual!



Warming up for the Adidas Rockstars Event

So, the competition was done and some partying ensued. The next day was harder than usual as Shauna, Jon Cardwell, Florian from 5.10 and I headed to Nuremburg to do some filming to promote the new Team VXI shoe at Café Kraft.

Our day at Cafe Kraft

The Team VXI is an interesting development in 5.10’s repertoire. With all over MI6 rubber, the shoe is very soft and is amazing at toe hooking and smearing on textured walls and volumes. Straight away you can see how good it is for those things but I wasn’t initially sold on it for small edges –the shoe felt unsupportive and like it would pop on tiny footholds. Interestingly, this improved as I learnt to use the shoe and I actually think that as you use the shoe more, your foot will get stronger and compensate for the lack of support. If all you want to do on a climb is stand on small edges then perhaps a stiffer shoe is in order but if you want an all round shoe to combat any kind of footwork then this one is great, just be patient as your foot adapts.

After some filming and climbing at Café Kraft, our next stop was Vastervik in Sweden. Shauna, Ned, Dave and I had been invited to the Bouldering meet this year and we were met with incredible hospitality and kindness from the climbers there.  We were shown around some great bouldering areas and got to try some really cool lines.  The granite is good quality and varied which means lots of types of boulders to keep busy on. I managed to climb some cool boulders that I was really pleased with. The festival was a great success, with climbing in the daytime and talks or films in the evening. The development in this area has been done by a handful of climbers and I have great admiration for their psyche and commitment  – thank you for finding these boulders and inviting us to climb them with you!



The Office sds (8A), Photo Stefan Rasmussen



Est Coast Warrior (7C+), Video Still



David o Goliat (8A), Photo David Mason

As I mentioned earlier, we were really looked after during our stay – even our rest day was amazing! Jim arranged for us to take a boat out to one of the islands, where we had a picnic (Sanna had baked a yummy cake) and played with the jellyfish! Then we had a cold dip in the sea followed by a sauna – I wish all my rest days were like that!



Holding a jellyfish!



Beautiful view of the jetty, Photo David Mason

We also ran a clinic at the local wall, which was great fun and hopefully all useful stuff for those that attended. A special thanks to Jim, Stefan, Sanna and Erik for making our trip so fun and memorable.

Here is a video of me on The Office (8A) from Stefan Rasmussen:

from stefan rasmussen on Vimeo.

We have quite a bit of footage to show at some point – Dave has been editing like a busy bee…..maybe Rocklands stuff first though….

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

Pushing it
17 October 2013, 9:42 am

What do you understand by trying hard: training for a climbing trip or getting up early to try your project? Going out in the rain to find dry rock, embarking on a tenth session or buying the shoes that you know will work on that move? Or are we talking about something more specific: that split-second moment when you should be falling off but you dig deep – somewhere hidden and not often called upon – and for a moment you think nothing, see nothing, experience nothing. But you’re still on the rock.

Are you really trying hard when you climb? Are you pushing as far as you possibly can? Do you have the capacity, the energy and the motivation? I’m talking about something past what one first thinks of as trying: a new level; an indefinable concept of effort. It’s a factor entirely dependent on the capacity of the individual. Take Adam Ondra’s primal screams of effort or Chris Sharma’s roars of power – both of them, I believe, know the depths of what I am talking about. So is it natural or learnt? Do some people just know how to go there while some linger on the outskirts, unable to break down their barriers? I believe we can all go there if we want to, if we realise that there is an arena into which we have not been, if we are explorers and we are willing to take it on.

My memory of finding this tool – and a tool it is, not to be over-used, but applied in force when needed – lies with one boulder problem. It was freezing cold and I was tired, but my motivation was high, my hunger to achieve insatiable. I had fallen over 20 times on the last move, over a handful of sessions including the one I was immersed in. I felt like I had learnt to fall there, it was part of my sequence now and I didn’t know how to combat it. But I really wanted to. Funny, how some of life’s best lessons are learnt in moments of relative desperation. I don’t know what was different on the go I held the move. I don’t remember much except that I experienced a sort of ‘blank’ moment and I heard a low, guttural noise that I later realised had originated from somewhere deep within me. I had knocked down a barrier, mental and physical, and I knew it then: I felt a palpable growth in my potential, just in that moment. I had accidentally found and understood something about myself and my limits, something precious and also overwhelming.

The enemy of this ability, this tool, as with many things in life, is fear. When you put everything you have into something, utterly and completely, there is no room for pride, ego or, even, shame. You are opening yourself up to a new level of failure – a complete failure with no excuses or reasons. If you harness this tool, you will inevitably face this kind of failure where you have held nothing back, but you are still not good enough. Be aware of this risk, this potential pain, but be inspired by how much you can achieve by digging deep, by finding that last grain of power and pushing it to the surface. Your horizons will widen, your understanding of your limitations will expand and your successes will mount up.

This lesson was a turning point for me: a realisation of what trying really means, of how far I could push and what I could achieve. I learnt to tap into a reserve that I didn’t know existed and it fuelled me forwards in my climbing.

How far could you go if you really, really tried?



 Amphitheatre – I had to try bloody hard on this one! Photo David Mason

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[Fiend]

Strong post  I bet that growl was something to hear.

If you harness this tool, you will inevitably face this kind of failure where you have held nothing back, but you are still not good enough.

Actually, facing that can be quite easy when one is a complete punter . It's holding stuff back due to other fears that is the hard bit in my experience.

[Ti_pin_man]

good post, I think at whatever level you climb at, you face this situation, the fear of failure, making a fool of yourself (in your head if nowhere else).  Digging deep and getting down to the animal within is indeed a tool.  A tool that can be used in the rest of life when life throws shit at you - which it will, regularly and frequently.

[andy popp]

Having just got my first smart phone I was able to read that between goes on the board in the garage. Definitely led to a little more effort.

[slackline]

Essentially the article that appeared in the most recent Summit.

[comPiler]

CAC Calendar thoughts…
26 October 2013, 4:03 pm

I wanted to write a blog to give a bit of background on the CAC Calendar. I know there has been some criticism out there, as expected, and I wanted to use this opportunity to share my side of the story.  Shauna’s blog gives some insight into how the idea was born and developed – here I wanted to discuss some issues that came up for me.

I will start by saying that I think it is important that sports people in the media are responsible and conscious of how they are represented: for their own personal liability but also for the image it puts forward for the sport as a whole.

So, based on what I just said, was the CAC calendar risky or downright irresponsible?

That was a decision I had to make when I was contemplating whether or not to be a part of it. I would like to, for the sake of being honest and forthright, share with you my thought process around this and give some insight into how I, personally (and I can only really speak for myself), came to the decision to support the calendar and take part.

For me there are some core issues:

Female representation in the media is a complex issue. I would be the first to argue that I don’t want to encourage women in sport being recognized and valued for their looks/ sex appeal over their ability and achievements.  And certainly not exploited. Understandably, just the connotations of a calendar made me nervous about this. Was there a way to do this well or was it always going to be a trade off in morality?

Another part of my brain argues that sports women may be feminine and sexy by nature – are they required to hide this/shy away from it in order to be taken seriously? Does the fault lie with the woman in the image portrayed or with the person viewing that image and what they decide to think about it? Is this an issue that we as women have to control from our end or is it an issue in society at large? When we see a sexy image of David Beckham, do we change what we think of his achievements or is the picture just a separate event? Can we separate these things when it comes to women, or are we just not there yet? I guess it comes down to the age-old question of whether supporting women’s rights and shaving one’s legs are mutually exclusive. Can we be sexy/feel positive about sex and still be feminists?

A point that is worth mentioning is the value something like this has in appreciating a healthy/athletic female physique as opposed to an unhealthy version. Women (as with men) are in the media regardless, and I would much rather see women with six packs than a woman so skinny she looks close to passing out. More specific to climbing, it also demonstrates that in a sport that requires a good set of arm muscles, it is still possible to embrace one’s femininity (if one should choose to do so).

Shauna tried to gauge it well from the beginning: the pictures are meant to be fun and lighthearted. Perhaps that is easier to see when you know all the women involved. The idea was that we would show another side of the climbers that are usually seen only in a climbing context. These women are people, not just climbers; some are into music and art, some prefer a good book; some paint their nails, some don’t; some love the camera, some shy away; some are full of jokes, some serious. There is so much more to these women than the calendar shows, of course, but even the calendar shows more personality than we normally get to see. We picked a fancy dress theme and went with it. I urge you to look past whether there is skin on show or not –see the glint in Angie’s eye, laugh with me and Jule, appreciate Anna’s six pack, admire Meagan’s confident flare and by all means be wowed by Akiyo’s beauty.

So, back to my question at the beginning, I think this calendar was risky. But I hope it does not come across irresponsible – that is the last thing anyone involved would want and we have worked hard to try to do it right.  What tipped the balance for me? Firstly, it was the brainchild of two women, photographed by a woman and managed by a woman so I felt safe that it would be handled carefully. Secondly, it was for a charity and one that I care a lot about. If this calendar was for profit, I may not have done it because it wouldn’t have been worth the aforementioned risk of misinterpretation and controversy. Raising money for cancer research, in my opinion, made it worth taking that risk and hoping that people would see it in the way it was meant. And thirdly, we had a lot of fun making it!

When I was deciding what to do, I thought a lot about what my mother would say. She was an intellectual woman, very aware of gender issues and would have been a good person to consult. Sadly she died of cancer when I was seventeen so I can’t ask her, but if I could I think she would agree that we took a risk, a risk that was managed well and that produced something expressive, fun and lighthearted.  I hope that fewer great people are lost to cancer in the future and if we can help that a little bit then brilliant. I look forward to a men’s calendar in 2015!



 

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

Unfamiliar….
27 November 2013, 9:19 am

Hanging out, bouldering at Stanage Plantation it is impossible not to look at the giant, imposing arête that is Unfamiliar. I remember watching Dan Varian and Ned Feehally trying it above pads one time and thinking they were mad. At the same time, seeing them there moved Unfamiliar in my mind from being a scary trad route, to a highball: a small shift in perspective but a powerful one. I have very little trad experience but I have done a fair bit of highballing.

The climb was on my “one day” list, a mental reference to things I was keen for but also scared of. Although all the hard climbing was now being done above pads as a highball, the top section was above gear and was not trivial.

Last week, David said he was keen to get back on it and I took the chance to go along and have a go. It was one of those perfect blue-sky grit days, even maybe a bit too cold! At first, I really struggled with the beginning section, not finding the body position and failing to commit to rocking up onto the arête.  Call me a wuss, but even with pads it felt insecure, like you could pop off in any direction and tumble down the hill! I got more and more confident but was still not fully committing. My highpoint that day was the top pocket and the left arête, not being able to make myself do the foot moves. I jumped off from there and went home annoyed with myself for being scared. It was an inspiring day though as Ethan and then David both lead the route successfully. I was determined to go back in a better headspace.



First session trying Unfamiliar (Photo Ethan Walker)

So the following Friday we went back. In the three days between, I had been ruminating con about the route, watching footage, and even dreaming about it! I visualised getting to the same place but in my head I wouldn’t hesitate or be scared, I would just keep climbing. I visualised the top section too, unknown except for watching other people and tried to mentally rehearse what I was going to do when I got there. I tried to practice not being scared.

So we went back and I was a lady with a plan (doesn’t rhyme so well…). Except the weather was not what we had hoped and everything was wet. Unfamiliar was not completely wet, but the top half was and so we waited to see if a wind would pick up and dry it for us. As the afternoon went on it began to look a lot drier and David abbed down it to chalk the holds and check out the condition. It looked okay so he pre-placed the gear for us (I will come back to this) and Nathan and I began to work it from the ground. The conditions actually felt really good on the bottom half and after a few goes I found myself at my previous highpoint but committing this time and pulling through to gain the break and clip the gear. I had planned to rest here for a bit and compose myself but on reaching the break I realised quickly that I couldn’t reach the good right foothold anymore (that the others stood on to shake out a bit), so was unable to shake my right arm out easily. Sod’s Law was in full force as that was the pumped arm from the small pockets lower on the climb. So my mental process went something like “ better get on with it then, before this pump gets any worse” and I proceeded to the next moves. The top section was actually fine, it went pretty smoothly to begin with but I was aware that, although the handholds were dry, some of the footholds were a bit on the damp side. They were making that horrible scrittely sound. Pulling over the top onto the slab is not hard but it’s also not as simple as getting out of a pool and requires some smearing (on fairly good holds). As I pulled over the top, both my feet popped at once and I was very nearly off! I managed to compose myself and try again, topping out to a mixture of adrenaline fuelled relief and happiness. I have always wanted to climb that line and I was so happy to have done it.



Video Still – Nick Brown

For the sake of clarity, I would like to talk a little about the style of my ascent. I climbed Unfamiliar ground up, above pads with pre-placed gear. Ground up because I had not got to a point where I felt a rope was needed to work the moves (but I would have considered it later on had I not had success). This ties in with trying it above pads – ground up is much safer and more achievable that way. I essentially saw the climb as a boulder problem that had a bit of gear at the top rather than a potentially leg-breaking trad route above no pads. Each to their own, but this was my personal choice. Regarding the pre-placed gear, I have very minimal gear placing experience and was not confident placing the gear on lead.  So it was another personal decision. Placing gear is a skill and an art and I have the upmost respect for experienced trad climbers. I would not be so bold as to jump in the deep end and assume I can do it well with little practice. Perhaps in the future, with more experience I will make a different decision. Lastly, the style in which I climbed it is exactly the same as many other ascents of this route, including that of Ethan, Dave, Ned etc so perhaps times are changing and there is simply more than one way to skin a cat.

Does it detract from the ascent? Is it still E7/E8? I don’t know and I don’t really mind to be honest. I wanted to climb the line; if it had been smaller, I would have tried to highball the whole thing but, as it is, that was not a clever option. I am a boulderer; I see it more as a highball 7C with some gear at the top than an E7/E8 really. Pads definitely make it safer, that’s for sure. Perhaps, gritstone grades need to be more malleable to take into account style now …my experience does not qualify me to know what a certain E grade feels like so I can’t really comment any further…

 Unfamiliar – Photo Nick Brown

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

Southern Sandstone in the US
13 January 2014, 8:51 pm

This trip to the South East was part of a deal between David and myself. I have been hankering after a trip to Hueco Tanks for a long time and it ended up not being on our agenda the last time we came to the USA – it didn’t make sense geographically with our plans and so we deferred it.

This year I was determined to go there; I have never been and it looked like the ultimate playground. David was happy to go but also had a deep desire to sample the sandstone delights of the South East.  Although I was keener for Hueco, I trust David’s intuition on destinations as well as his thorough research into them, and it seemed like a good bet. The weather was said to be more of an issue than other US destinations but we were told that the rock was worth the risk. As many of you will rightly know, relationships are all about compromise and so we did. This trip was to begin in Chattanooga and then we would head to El Paso.

What can I say? I lucked out on this deal. Not only do I get to go to Hueco Tanks (we leave tomorrow) but I also got the chance to experience the impeccable rock around Chattanooga. There are lots of small areas but the main three are Little Rock City, Rocktown and Horse Pens 40. All different in style but all share incredible rock quality. It is comparable to Fontainebleau in style and rock but on a smaller scale.

Our time here has been spent mainly trying more moderate boulders, working our way through classics as much as we can. We both also tried some harder things, with David ticking almost everything he touched, and me just coming short of the harder ones……but that’s okay, the joy is in the process and I got close on things that I thought I wouldn’t be strong enough to try. I am learning that there are different ways to measure success; it is not always defined by toping out a boulder….

I will let pictures tell the rest…check out some of the amazing features!

 Incredible slopers on Millipede (V5), Photo Jamie Emerson



Finishing up the techy Space (V8)



 David rocking his leggings on Trick or Treat (V6)



White Face (V10)

Golden Harvest (V10)

Eying up a slope on Trick or Treat (V6)

The one that got away: God Module. I got so close but no cigar….

Oh and we stayed in a space ship….



 

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

Hueco Tanks
18 February 2014, 4:15 pm

Hueco Tanks: where climbers go to crimp, turn 360 in a roof, knee-bar, toe-hook, heel-hook and power scream. Where we Brits go to climb everyday, continually amazed by the stable climate, treading the fine line between tan and burn.

So were our expectations when we rocked up on the 14^th January, leaving the soft, skin-friendly sandstone of the southeast behind us. The tone had changed already for me, I was preparing to try hard and feel wrecked. I loved the climbing in the southeast but I was ready to feel exhausted, to end the day not being able to do another move. To feel my muscles ache as weakness left my body, replaced by Hueco-induced power. To put it simply, I was psyched out of my mind.

We were lucky enough to stay with some friends on their land. Wagon Wheel, or “The Stronghold” as Melissa and Adam often call it, was such a fun place to stay. We rented their old trailer and it made a great little home for the month that we were there. Not only was it peaceful and simple, it was socially perfect as we climbed a lot with Melissa and Wick and then with our British contingency Tom, Adam and James when they came out. We were lucky to meet up with lots of people we knew too, including Max, Liberty and Layla. It felt like a little community with just the right amount of everything.



Dave, Tom and Adam doing Brits everywhere proud with their fashion sense…

The climbing was different in some ways to what I expected, the rock was sharper but I felt able to adjust to that relatively quickly. A sort of acceptance appears and one’s pain tolerance just increases with demand. The movement in Hueco is fantastic; the problems are really three dimensional and interesting, with lots of fun beta. As I hoped, it was very physical and I definitely got a good work out! David and I both found we had to rest more than we expected, often falling back to day on/day off when our skin and bodies demanded it.

The climbing in general was really positive for me, I felt confident and strong and was able to climb a lot of the things that I wanted to climb. My most satisfying and favourite problems were:

Barefoot on Sacred Ground V12 (with a direct top out….scary!)

Rumble in the Jungle V12 (V11 for the tall but a different story for the less tall peeps)

Chablanke V11

Le Chninkel V11 (dubbed Schnitzel due to my inability to recall the name properly)

Flower Power V10 (So much fun, one of the best)

Choir Boys V9 (awesome moves, very burly)

Power of Silence V10 (classic)

Full Service V10 (another favourite)

King Cobra V6

I could go on, there are so many fun problems in Hueco, it really is just a big kids’ playground. Here are some photos:

Rumble in the Jungle, V12

Power of Silence, V10, Photo David Mason

Chablanke, V11, Photo David Mason

Mojo, V10, Photo Max Moore

Full Service, V10

Le Chninkel, V11, Photo Melissa Strong

As I write this we are on our way home. We are tired and worked from what was a great last weekend: The Hueco Rock Rodeo. Organised with extreme dedication and effort by Melissa Strong, this event was ace.

The best thing about the weekend for me was the opportunity to spend the day climbing with a group of really strong girls! It was a competition technically but it didn’t feel like it. We spurred each other on, shared beta, laughed and got to know one another better.  Big thanks from me to Jule, Nina and Courtney for making it so fun. I was psyched to come 2^nd managing to climb two V10s, three V9s and a couple of V8s that day. Well done for Jule for piping me to the post with an extra V11! Very inspiring to watch her send

Before the competition day, I had the opportunity to give an evening lecture/slideshow on Self Efficacy in Climbing, which I enjoyed (through nerves). Thanks to everyone there for the positive reception and the good feedback, it’s always nice to hear that a lecture is well received.



A massive well done to Melissa for her tremendous effort with the Rodeo and all that went into it. The climbing day went smoothly, the food and music were great, the prizes were awesome, the goody bags were fab and it was a true success!

So now we are homeward bound and the hard training has to begin. I am hoping to do the World Cup Circuit again this year and I want to keep improving so the grafting must commence. It starts with our GB Team Trials this Sunday.…talk about hitting the ground running!

Until next time US of A….

Rodeo day fun, Photo Melissa Strong

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

CWIF, Tierra Boulder Battle and a Crowd Funding Venture!
11 April 2014, 4:12 pm

Writing this now, the CWIF seems a long time ago! I was looking forward to it this year and I was also nervous to see how it panned out. In the 2013 competition season I struggled with insomnia quite a bit and the CWIF weekend last year was when it started. Normally I am great at sleeping, but something about competitions brought out anxiety and I just couldn’t nod off! So this year I wasn’t just nervous about the competition but nervous about whether it would again be the start of a sleep struggle. Luckily, the weekend came and went and I slept like a baby, I have to say I was very relieved! The actually competition felt different to usual, there was a much bigger foreign contingent than previous years and I knew that it was going to be a push to make finals….so I made that my goal. I made some mistakes in the semis but managed to scrape through in 5^th. Happy to have made it in, I relaxed and really enjoyed the experience of finals. I climbed well on some problems and not so well on others but I surprised myself and was happy to end up on the podium in 3^rd place!

Finals, bloc 1. Photo Dom Worrall



 

 Finals, bloc 1. Photo Dom Worrall

Finals, bloc 3. Photo Dom Worrall



Finals, bloc 4 – managed to hold the move! Photo Dom Worrall

Overall it was a great weekend; the Climbing Works put a lot of time and energy into making it a fun and enjoyable event for everyone and we are lucky to have such a committed wall as our local! Thanks guys

Not very long after the CWIF, I found myself en route to Stockholm again to take part in this year’s Tierra Boulder Battle. I went to this event last year and I would always go back! Everyone there is really friendly and I know I am going to have a fun weekend.

We arrived on Thursday and it was straight to setting. In this competition, the 6 girls (Alex Puccio, Mina Markovic, Hannah Midtboe, Minna Almqvist, Monika Retschy and I) all set one problem each, we test them all and then we compete on them on Saturday night. This format makes for an interesting competition and adds a really unusual component to competition climbing. The problems are a lot harder and generally more basic than in normal competitions purely because we get to work them. This weekend doesn’t feel that competitive to be honest, it was actually a really nice opportunity to make or solidify friendships and have a laugh with the other girls.

The other best thing for me in this competition was actually the setting. I don’t set very often and I wouldn’t normally say I was great at it (I wasn’t particularly proud of my problem last year) but this time I was really pleased with what I produced! The creative side of me satisfied, it was time to try the other problems! In the practice I really struggled. I was tired from travelling and a week of training and I was nervous about the competition, anticipating a slightly embarrassing inability to get off the ground! We had two rest days and miraculously, I felt a lot better when it came time to compete. I actually wasn’t that happy with my climbing in the competition but it was better than the practice session so I can’t complain! It also gave me some really good pointers for what to work on in my last few weeks before the World Cup circuit starts.



 Climbing on my problem! Photo Joel Zerr



 Photo Joel Zerr

Now, speaking of World Cups, the GB team has had a very unusual experience in the lead up to the season this year. We lost a big chunk of funding due to one of the team sponsors being unable to fulfil their side of the contract and this happened just six weeks before the season started. Team members had already gone through selection and funding had already been allocated, which then had to be withdrawn. I was still really keen to compete in the season; I had put a lot of time and energy into training, as had many other team members who were now faced with dropping out. So….with some trepidation we launched a crowd funding campaign to see if we could raise the money back. We were very unsure from the start about whether this was a a) a good idea and b) would actually work. In the UK, competitions have not always had the best reputation and haven’t always been considered a worthwhile venture by many. Bearing that in mind, we were sticking our necks out a bit in asking for help.

So, my god, we were shocked when we hit our £8000 target in 24 hours! It was supposed to run for six weeks and we were left a bit stunned. The response was immense and financially it put us back on the map as a team. It meant more than the finances though. It was a huge statement from our community. As a group you told us that you value us, that you think we are good enough and that you are there with us, invested (literally), in our goals.  As (Dave Prince) talks about in his really nice piece  - that confidence, that belief, could well be the extra 1% we need. So thank you, for getting us there and for giving us the confidence to perform.

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

World Cups and a Missing Mojo
26 May 2014, 4:52 pm

It feels like a long time since I put pen to paper (despite being a bit inaccurate it sounds much better than fingers to keyboard) and to be honest that is because I haven’t really known what to say. I still don’t really know what to say but I am going to do my best to be articulate, so please bear with me.

Rewind to the end of last year’s World Cup season and I was psyched out of my mind. I had set some goals for 2013 (make top ten and make a final), I had achieved the first but not the second but I had been sooooo close to finals and I was ready to go back to training and try again. I was keen to climb outside and I had some great trips lined up (Rocklands, the US and also some quality time spent at the Tor) but I was also determined to train too and get stronger for the 2014 World Cup season. I worked myself so hard. Before Christmas, I was training at the wall, lifting weights at the gym, running, and climbing at the Tor to exhaustion. After Christmas we went to the US, but when we got back I did 9 weeks of almost exclusive training; mornings was climbing based followed by some conditioning and in the afternoons I would bust a gut in the weights gym. Almost everyday. Plus running. Plus watching what I ate.

Why I am telling you this? To be transparent about how hard I tried and how psyched I was and to put into context the next bit so you can see how confused I am now.

It was about 1.5 weeks before Shauna and I left for the first World Cup in China when something strange happened. I woke up and I wasn’t psyched. I didn’t want to train; I didn’t want to go to the gym. This sounds reasonable but even when I was tired in the past, I still wanted to go, I enjoyed it and I thrived off feeling tired and worked. But this felt different. It was like someone came in the night and stole my mojo. I put it down to doing so much and the comps arriving and wanting to just get going with them and I didn’t worry about it. We went to China and I put a face of excitement on.

I won’t regale you with all the details of the competitions but there was one consistent thing: my mojo was nowhere to be seen. Now, I want to be clear, this was not a reaction to bad results. My results weren’t even that bad! They weren’t as good as last year but they weren’t too shabby. It was before competing that my mojo was most notably absent, warming up in isolation I felt pure apathy towards the coming event. Don’t get me wrong, I went out and tried hard and I enjoyed it but I didn’t have the grit of my 2013 self. It was like the desire just wasn’t there.

Shauna and I were away for a whole month and we did four World Cups in that time. It was a really fun month in many ways, we saw some amazing new places, we got lost a lot, we laughed about silly things and we climbed in the competitions. One of the best things was seeing Shauna do so well. She has been so close to winning for so long, I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. It was great to see her standing on top of the podium twice in a row. Knowing how hard she works and how resilient she has had to be, it was very inspiring. When I talk about my desire and psyche for competitions disappearing, I must stress that that is very personal to me and is not meant to criticise or undermine competition climbing as a venture. I hugely admire good competition climbers and I think they have an incredible skill set, one that I wish I had. I have pushed myself so hard to improve in an area that doesn’t come easily to me and I think I have just got to the point where I am tired of it. My head wants to battle on but my heart is elsewhere and I am finally giving in to it.

I have decided not to do the next few events (Toronto, Vail and Haiyang) to give myself some time to reset and also to manage a finger injury that I have picked up while away. I may do Laval and I may do the World Championships in Munich but I haven’t decided on those yet. Initially I felt very guilty, especially after all the support the GB team has received through the Crowd Funder but realistically it would be wrong for any of the funding raised to be used for a team member who isn’t in the zone when we have others who are psyched and fully equipped to push on. You can’t fake psyche, trust me I tried!! All I know right now is that I have to rediscover my mojo and my love for climbing and I think I know where that will take me…..…..I may do the odd event in the future (even the near future) for fun but for the most part I am stepping down from competitions and I am going to focus on climbing outdoors from now on in.

Making that decision was a very conflicting process (see my thoughts on failure and what it means to us) but has left me feeling hugely relieved and excited about the future. There are so many places I want to visit and I am so very fortunate to have support from my sponsors to do this; so now is the time to let go of the things that don’t make me happy and to widen my horizons in the things that fill me with excitement.

Thanks to everyone for all the support over the last two years in the competitions, it was hugely appreciated.  A massive good luck to all the GB team heading into the next few World Cup events! Over and out.

Here are some pictures from our World Cup travels:



Grindelwald, Photo Eddie Fowke



 Grindelwald, Photo Eddie Fowke



Grindelwald, Photo Eddie Fowke



Hiding from the sun in Baku, Photo Eddie Fowke.



Navigating a slab in Innsbruck, Photo Eddie Fowke.



Shauna on the podium in Grindelwald!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[Stu Littlefair]

It must be awful to train so hard for something and then find you're just not motivated for it. Here's hoping that it is just overtraining and with a few weeks rest and doing different things your psyche returns.

Failing that, at least all that effort won't have hurt your prospects at the Tor at all...

[Doylo]

Psyche is organic , you can't force it. You can feel a bit helpless when it goes (happened to me recently) but you've got to roll with the punches and go with what feels right.

[Jaspersharpe]

Well said brother Doyle.

[Kingy]

Sounds like a dose of outdoor sport climbing would be just the ticket to take your mind off the comps. There is the Tor and if you can make it up to Yorkshire, there are world class routes up at Malham that Ondra and Megos rave about - could be a good call for a psyche recharge.

[comPiler]

South African Summer
7 August 2014, 2:24 pm

Once again, summer came around and it was a no-brainer. For bouldering, the summer time is somewhat more limited in venue choice; you’re looking at Australia (fire issues this year and just a flippin’ long way), Magic Wood (still pretty hot and gets all that European rain stuff), Squamish (still really a bit too hot) or Africa. We’d been to Rocklands twice before and loved it so we decided to go back.

The trip had a different tone though. We had both done a lot of classics on previous trips and we were keen to be more in ”project mode”. “Project Mode”, it turns out, translates to “falling off the same climb lots of times and finding extreme joy in minute progress”. For me, this climb was The Vice: a power-endurance compression climb that set my bar high at V13/8B.



 Me working the Vice, Photo David Mason.

Setting the bar high isn’t always a bad thing; it means having confidence in yourself, it means dreaming of what you want not what you think might be realistic. It means opening yourself up to vulnerability and putting yourself in a position where there is a decent chance you might not succeed. It’s exciting and scary in whatever context, it could be climbing or work or a relationship. So, if like me, you get to the end of the trip and you don’t succeed, where does that leave you? Happy you got to try? Sad you didn’t succeed?

I felt disappointment initially and some shame at being wrong about what I thought I could do. BUT…after some time I felt content and psyched. I felt content knowing that I had tried my hardest and psyched that I was nearly good enough. That might sound strange but in climbing there is such a fine line between success and failure, it only takes a little bit of something to turn the tables, and that is my plan. The table is going to get spun around and it’s going to land on its head not knowing whether or not it is still a table.



Stormy rainbow view from our caravan, Photo David Mason.

I have massively digressed. After I threw in the towel on The Vice, I turned my hand to some slightly easier climbs that I hadn’t done on earlier trips and was psyched to do some new stuff like Leopard Cave (8A+), The Arc (8A), Au Bord De L’Eau (8A) and Shallow Cave (8A) and Timeout (7C). One of the real positives was that on a couple of these climbs (Au Bord De L’Eau and Timeout) I had been unable to do all the moves on the previous year!

Video still of the Arc (8A)



 Me and Brooke putting the world to rights whilst admiring the view, Photo David Mason

Then we decided to head to Cape Town to check out some of the climbing there.

Wow. It’s incredible. We were pretty astounded and also slightly at a loss as to why we had taken so long to check it out. The rock is Fontainebleau level quality, and although in the four days we had there we didn’t even go to all the main areas, we saw some stunning lines! Pandemonium (8A) was a favourite, a classic put up by Marijus Smegelsis.

Video still of Pandemonium (8A).

We both have some unfinished business in Cape Town now so maybe next year Africa will still be an attractive summer venue…..



 Penguins! Photo David Mason

 

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

Katy tells my tale and I tell hers….
1 January 2015, 6:18 pm

The British limestone is very unique to say the least. We don’t have the massive 50m lines of tufas and the golden rock of Europe, but what we do have is a lot of history and character and us Brits are very proud of it. Conditions are often fickle as the UK gets a lot of rain; some seasons crags never even dry out or are un-climbable a month earlier than the year before. It makes projecting an interesting and often long-winded process.

This year Mina and I took on battle with Raven Tor, famous for its short and gnarly climbs like Hubble and Mutation. I was trying ‘Mecca The Mid Life Crisis’, 8b+ and Mina the extension of it, 8c.

Mina had previously made the first female ascent of Mecca a couple of years before, at the time making it the hardest ascent by a women on British soil – pretty inspiring. To be honest I thought Mecca was out of my league but Mina persuaded me it was a good idea and I got really psyched watching her cruise through Mecca most sessions to reach the head wall. From here she made steady progress, gradually getting higher each session. Then the conditions took a turn for the worst, it was 15+degrees and 95% humidity most sessions. Progress came to a grinding halt for the next month. For Mina, it turned into a mental battle, suddenly the self-doubt came flooding in and no amount of positive reinforcement or encouragement from other people can push these thoughts away, you have to truly believe it yourself. Personally I knew she could do it, it was only a matter of time and a bit of luck with conditions and it would be in the bag. We religiously checked the conditions all day, everyday trying to work out the best time to go. It started getting cold, and of course Mina started getting high; a move or so higher up the head wall each session. It was really cool seeing her full of energy and psyched again for the route. She totally relaxed and crushed, making her the first female to climb 8c on British soil!

Rewind a few weeks back. While I was battling away on Mecca Extension, Katy had taken on the challenge of Mecca. In the same little terraced house in Sheffield, she was mentally going through the moves on Mecca the Mid Life Crisis as I was upstairs still ruminating about the extension. The house was in redpoint mode and we were both psyched. Katy had tried Mecca a bit earlier in the year (and got pretty close) but with the wet holds that spring gives Raven Tor and a lot of travelling with work, she had mentally put it to one side until the autumn. Now it was time and she was keen to get involved again.

After some time away from a route, one always hopes to pick up where one left off; a seemingly reasonable but often misleading expectation given the hard style of climbing in the UK. Katy had to shelve those expectations and be prepared to fight the frustration in order to get back to her high point. It was fine at the start, steady progress was encouraging and, as those redpointers amongst you will know, any progress is like stardust to a psyched climber. Then she hit a bit of a wall; session after session she fell at the same move…. the psyche started to wear off and her confidence began to droop.

At this point, in our little house in Sheffield, a lot of tea was drunk around the kitchen table! We were both fighting demons and trying to push through walls of self-doubt, low psyche and frustration. I’m pretty sure we both cried, we gave each other advice we couldn’t take ourselves and prayed that at least one of us might break through and drag the other one into success!

It was Katy that made that breakthrough. Having struggled with a back problem for a few weeks, she began to get more treatment and it started to resolve… and her climbing improved dramatically alongside it. She felt less pain, she moved more freely and it gave her an opening to push on. Katy was actually working to a deadline, she was leaving for Canada for a work trip and was then heading off to Spain…. she had one session left to do the route.

I wasn’t with Katy that morning at the crag and, honestly, I wasn’t sure how it would go. She didn’t seem to care anymore; strung out by the emotional involvement, it was clear she was going through the motions of just “one more go”.

Maybe that is what needed to happen, maybe not caring as much helped to lift a load, to lower her expectations and remove some pressure.

She climbed the route that day.

 

 

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[comPiler]

The Science of Achievement vs the Art of Fulfilment.
5 February 2015, 1:43 pm

My gut feeling about 2014 was that it was a testing year in my climbing, but when I look at what I achieved one might wonder why. I climbed multiple V12s and my hardest sport route to date, an 8c. Shouldn’t I describe that as one of my best years? Perhaps in numbers….but outcomes aren’t always the full story, and a “testing” year isn’t always a bad thing…..

Don’t get me wrong, I felt extremely fulfilled and happy when I clipped the chains on Mecca Extension….but by that point in the year I had already begun to make a shift, a shift that, I feel, allowed me to succeed on that route. That shift is what I want to talk about in this blog. That shift, in fact, has also made 2014 perhaps one of my most useful and most transformative years.

I feel like one of the toughest decisions (climbing-wise) that I have made was to stop competing (see blog). I wasn’t happy, even when I was training for them but I am very good at pushing on, too good really. I convince myself that I want something and one of my best skills is to keep plugging away. That first half of the season before I stepped out of the circuit was completely draining and pretty soul destroying; I didn’t even do that badly but it ran a lot deeper than results. It was about self worth, commitment, deep-seated habits and failure. It was like, until that point, I wouldn’t set myself free from the competitions. It looked too much like failure and my ego couldn’t take it.

That was a turning point in self-acceptance for me. I took a step back and said to myself “you didn’t do as well as you wanted, you aren’t as good as a competitor as you would like to be, but that’s okay, you are enough”.

Funnily enough, even though I thought I had found some inner acceptance, I still found it extremely hard emotionally when I put a lot of time and effort into The Vice (8B) in Rocklands over the summer and wasn’t strong enough. It seemed I wasn’t done testing myself and I certainly wasn’t done learning. My point isn’t that I shouldn’t be pushing myself, it’s that I want to be able to do so with compassion, and without self-loathing when I come up short. That may sound dramatic but I know I’m not alone. I always see climbers struggling with their inability to perform; some throw things and shout; some cry and some just sit in silence.

I wanted climbing to be challenging but affirming, hard but enjoyable, fulfilling but not all-consuming.

The shift began in 2014 when I became reacquainted with an old friend: my yoga practice. I first practiced yoga as a teenager and have been in and out of it ever since. I have had some very intense periods and some phases of leaving it behind completely. I’ll be honest, like many I came into yoga from an exercise perspective initially. I saw it as a way to balance my body from the effects of climbing, to open my chest and my posture and to improve my flexibility. Yoga does do those things but in 2014 I discovered a depth to my practice and found an incredible source of stability, comfort, strength, resolve, compassion and release. Those reading this that have developed their own practice will know what I am talking about.

I found a space in my practice that was just mine, a place where I could observe my thoughts and feelings, see my many habits for what they are, finding a balance in the way I deal with myself. In the struggle to hold postures, I found a different kind of inner strength, a kind that doesn’t care how many pull ups you can do. After practising again for a few months I also started to find relative mental silence.

It connected me back to my breathing, sounds basic I know, but it felt hugely grounding and gave me a sense of control and safety. In that quiet struggle on my mat, I learnt about my fears, my happiness and my emotions. I made changes towards the positive, questioning my thoughts, my habits and finding more acceptance and compassion for myself and for other people.

It was these things that got me up Mecca Extension actually. When I was first trying it, I had so many thoughts in my head – beta, decisions, worries…the list goes on. I would get to the rest after the 8b+ section and my mind would be whirring with excitement and thoughts. My breathing would be hard and I was constantly analysing how pumped/tired I was. It felt like anxiety and hyper-awareness played a part in my physical performance.

By the time I did the route, I was at that rest and the only thing in my mind was “breathe in, breathe out”. No analysis, no thinking about the beta, just grounding myself through my breath and trusting in myself that I would know when my body was ready to move up and I would know how to climb the top section without thinking about the moves. I’ve never felt so weirdly connected to and at the same time detached from my body while climbing. Just how yoga became a moving meditation for me, so did climbing that day.

Some call it a flow experience and I guess that’s what it was. The key for me was that it didn’t just appear out of thin air, it came from practice, from finding that space on my mat and being able to reproduce it on the rock. I can’t always do it, but once found, I knew it was in me to go to that space.

I won’t rattle on for too long but I guess what I wanted to share was the change element, the discovery of something that has proved so moving and helpful to me. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, of course, but it certainly is mine. I think it also has a lot to do with timing. I did yoga before but never made this mental shift; I guess I just wasn’t ready.

For the last month I have been in India, doing a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course and it has been incredible. All the things I have already mentioned have deepened, I have let go of a lot of things and at the same time have found a real love for teaching. During my time here I both laughed hard and cried like a child. I have cemented my learning and clarified my intentions for the kind of future I want to create: in life in general and also in my relationship to my climbing.

I am really psyched for climbing but I am going to try to move forward to new challenges with a more compassionate mind. I am also really excited to develop not only my personal yoga practice but also to begin teaching. The teaching element is two fold actually: firstly I love it and want to do it; secondly I want to have something else that is very solid outside my climbing. I want to not fully define myself (internally) by how far up a rock face I can get; I want to embrace my diversity and to do something outside of myself by sharing something meaningful with other people.

Over the last two or so years I have tried my best to make some kind of living out of climbing through sponsorship and it has been an interesting journey. I’ve played the social media game to a certain extent (very topical at the moment, I know) and have found it sometimes positive and useful and sometimes uncomfortable. I hope that moving forward with teaching will help me to find a good balance between my two passions and I hope to maintain the awareness to be true to myself in all my endeavours.

It’s been a hugely empowering process and I can’t wait for 2015.

Centring ourselves before morning practice in the shala



Evening light on Agonda Beach



Wise words



Fining stillness and balance (involved some face planting in the sand too….)



We did it! Certified Yoga Teachers!



A great experience, made incredible by a very special group of people

Source: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk

[tomtom]

Lovely post.