Fear can do a lot of things to you when you’re on the wall. It can get in your head and hold you back from attempting a move. It can mix with pride and prevent you from trying something in order to avoid failure. It might keep you from progression or have you down-climbing to your last clip or to a drop zone.
Read Moreencouragement, with a side of sends
Normally when bouldering, I hop around taking photos or rapid-fire at my project for an hour or so. It was the fifth and final day of our climbing trip and I found myself shuffling pads behind Grandfather Mountain in beautiful western North Carolina. Cody began to climb and slipped his right hand into a slot and his left hand onto a perfectly sculpted crimp, bringing his left foot to my eye level. “Keep breathing, Cody. You’ve got this.”
Read Morethe obed - a wild and scenic surprise
I pulled onto Doc Howard Road, into a familiar little parking area. One of the local dogs ran up, begging to be pet as I unloaded and stretched after the four hour drive, nipping a little bit too hard on my hand and losing its head-scratch privileges.
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