Scared to lead 5.10!!??

So I have a similar problem to an earlier post except I know what my problem is... I get very scared being above the bolt and my nerves really get the best of me! Its crazy because I can follow my partner up on top rope 10+ or 11- flawlessly.
I also think I get a little more nervous when the route is slabby because I worry about skinning my face on the rock when I fall I'd be more comfortable falling on something vertical or overhung. Any advice on how to over come this would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks

Practice falling. That's really the only way, in my opinion. Get on a nice, safe, bolted climb, get high enough that you can take some safe falls, and go for it! Start with the draw a little above your wast so you're almost falling on TR, then just keep moving up a little bit each time until you're taking bigger and bigger falls. You'll learn to have fun with it!

While "practice falling" can be helpful for some people, I found it was a very slow approach. By taking practice falls, you have so much time to prepare yourself for falling, relax a bit, and then take the fall. This is very different than falling while pumped out and on lead.

The best thing that worked for me was to get on things that were at or near my limit and safely bolted or protected with gear. I then would communicate with my belayer before stepping off the ground that he/she was not allowed to "take" if I called for it UNTIL I took an actual fall. After this point, after having already fallen, I would get back on the climb and would be allowed to bolt-to-bolt my way up the route if I needed.

The key was taking that first fall. I poured everything I had into those first routes in the process because I didn't want to fall. Eventually, I learned that (a) it was fun to push myself hard on lead because (b) falling was not actually scary. In most cases, I would fall and the next thing I knew I would be hanging in space. No harm done.

I agree with Abram, practice falling in a safe environment first. Work your way up to reasonable falls with an experienced belayer. Then try leading something that may be too hard for you and practice making committing moves. Because you'll (probably) still be sketched out, you'll most likely take a fall. And then you'll think, "hey, that really wasn't that bad."

For me I was fine falling when I had total control over when/where I fell. But my bad lead head was still holding me back. It wasn't until I finally told myself, "no saying take, no giving up," that I really had a brake through.

Best of luck!

Ryan Nevius wrote:While "practice falling" can be helpful for some people, I found it was a very slow approach. By taking practice falls, you have so much time to prepare yourself for falling, relax a bit, and then take the fall. This is very different than falling while pumped out and on lead. The best thing that worked for me was to get on things that were at or near my limit and safely bolted or protected with gear. I then would communicate with my belayer before stepping off the ground that he/she was not allowed to "take" if I called for it UNTIL I took an actual fall. After this point, after having already fallen, I would get back on the climb and would be allowed to bolt-to-bolt my way up the route if I needed. The key was taking that first fall. I poured everything I had into those first routes in the process because I didn't want to fall. Eventually, I learned that (a) it was fun to push myself hard on lead because (b) falling was not actually scary. In most cases, I would fall and the next thing I knew I would be hanging in space. No harm done.

You're right that practice falls =/= the real thing, but for me when I was starting out, it was just about realizing that the falls were always way better and way softer than I feared. It helped me distinguish subjective danger from objective danger. The risk with just telling your belayer "don't take, no matter what," is that for someone already inclined to be fearful of climbing/falling, it could just cement the fear even more by not having control over the situation. But it could work fine, too :-) For me, controlled falls worked — first in the gym, then on sport, and finally on trad — and now I'm willing to take the unexpected falls. So it absolutely worked for me, but as always, YMMV.

i would be hesitant to recommend fall practice on routes in the 5.10 range in the denver area. usually not steep and have too many ledges. if you do this, make sure you have a good route for it.

Something that I've had success with when trying to build confidence in younger leaders is what we call a slap. It may not be super ideal to just jump into it until after you've already taken a couple controlled and expected falls, but you can try it when you're comfortable.

When you get pumped on a route and you begin to give yourself negative talk (The main one is normally: "I don't have enough energy to make the next hold, so I might as well yell 'take' instead of going for it."), yell "watch me" to your belayer, stand up and slap the target goal and take a controlled fall. Just slap it, don't grab it... it's fall practice, send practice comes later.

This does a few things:
1) It inspires the idea that, "you know what, I may have actually been able to grab that hold!"
2) It is a "controlled" fall from an actual climbing position, rather than the whole mind game of "ready? ready? ready? are you sure? o gosh! count of three, etc." Less thinking and second-guessing is involved.
3) The climber gets quicker at bracing themselves on the fly from a reaching position.

Falling on a slab is just another art of falling that comes with a little practice, for lack of a better term. My advice would be to avoid long run-outs until after you gain a little more experience.

zach-4 wrote: I also think I get a little more nervous when the route is slabby because I worry about skinning my face on the rock when I fall

Unless you work in the industry where you need to keep your face flawless, a little redness on your face should be the last of your climbing fall consequence concerns, IMHO. I'd be more worried about clipping my ankles or falling upside down and hitting my head (both risks could be addressed with proper rope management and proper belay). I think your face is most likely to come into contact with the rock or rope from a top-rope fall.

zach-4 wrote:I get very scared being above the bolt and my nerves really get the best of me!

Yea, I think we all get a bit like that when we are getting close to our lead limit (or at or above it). Embrace it...isn't it wildly exhilarating when you successfully pull through after gettin' scared to the core?

+1 for fall practice advise -- and yes, as always, be aware of fall consequences

"Practice falling" is the simple answer, but for more details, thought experiments, and nuances, check out The Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner. ... and the newer "Expresso Lessons"... both have falling exercises that you can work on in a controlled, incremental way.

Apply a belt sander to your face every night for a few minutes until you get a good layer of scab going. It will then be much more resistant to getting "skinned" during slab falls.

the simplest way to solve it ...

when you want a take ... you have to shout "IM A FCUKANG WUSSS!!!!"

thatll solve the issue ... and keep u "safe" in that if you really need one you get a take ...

works best if theres hawt chick around of course

;)

There is a very fine line between falling and letting go. Don't let go.

Kevinmurray wrote:There is a very fine line between falling and letting go. Don't let go.

Reminds me of something someone told me once:

"Don't look down, give up, and plan to fall. Fight the false fear. Fall not knowing."

slim wrote:i would be hesitant to recommend fall practice on routes in the 5.10 range in the denver area. usually not steep and have too many ledges. if you do this, make sure you have a good route for it.

This!!!

I was just going to mention that I am still scared on 5.10 sport and I have been climbing for 10+ years on and off. I am much more comfortable on 5.11 or even 5.12 which is near my limit at the moment. It is because the falls on a 5.10 are often really nasty...all those holds that make it 5.10 (the big wonky ones) - they also are real good to twist or break an ankle :(

I wouldn't recommend taking a forced fall. Just climb at your limit on safe climbs and eventually you will fall and get used to it if you are doing the mental work to weed through the unnecessary thought patterns that are holding you back.

As usual, advice like this is worth what you pay for it. I am still afraid every time I climb above a bolt, and more so on lower grade, lower angle climbs that I haven't done before.

The only advice I have is to lead as much as you can on things that you feel comfortable with. Lead a TON of 5.8's and 5.9's. Eventually, your confidence will increase on 10's as well.

My wife (who climbs 11's and 12's) completely disagrees with this. She won't lead anything that isn't steep enough to afford clean falls.

This is something that I have recently be struggling with too - although on 10+ / 11-. I think the best thing to do is simply climb more while lightly pushing yourself to develop the necessary confidence.

I recently started climbing again after a 6 year hiatus due to the birth of my children, and fear has been the biggest factor in my return to form (5.11 climbing). BITD when I was climbing 3-4 days a week outside on trad gear, I simply developed enough confidence in my ability to downclimb, find gear, and keep climbing at that level that fear wasn't a factor. While I can still physically climb at that level, my climbing outside has been reduced to once a week at most and I simply haven't gotten my head in the game the way it once was.

There are days when its gone great and everything works, but many more days when I've been frustrated in my level of fear and lack of focus.When it works, I'm able to focus on my 8' sphere of influence and only consider that my gear will hold a fall and I can make the next couple of moves. When it doesn't work, I get nervous stepping above my gear and into real fall territory and start over-gripping or taking too much time.

Something that might help you would be to work a route in the mid 10 range till you get it wired and then lead it. Then do the same by only climbing it once or twice. Then move into on-sight territory.

TLDR - Climb and lead more.

Patrick Mulligan wrote:When it doesn't work, I get nervous stepping above my gear and into real fall territory and start over-gripping or taking too much time.

I noticed a big mental improvement when someone told me to speed up my climbing. They stuck me on toprope on a climb that I had backed off on while on lead a couple times. They then told me to climb as quickly and fluidly as I could, without getting sloppy. I cruised the route and realized that climbing like a snail gave me enough time to psych myself out about every little thing. Maybe my hands aren't chalked enough...maybe that smear isn't going to stick, maybe I'm grabbing that crimp weird, maybe I need to "rest" more so that I don't fall. I then proceeded to lead the route at a pace that was nearly twice as fast as my previous attempts, with no issues. I've seen this work for other people as well. When in doubt, fire the moves; the longer you contemplate things, the longer you'll have to hold on and the more tired you'll get.

Overcoming ones fear of falling is really important. Your mind shouldn´t be occupied by these thoughts. Focus on the one next move. Don´t think about the "send" or the "fall". Taking practice falls helped me tremendously to keep it together. Don´t be stupid but also don´t get overwhelmed by fear. Step up your head game, take whippers. It´s fun!

^ Shouldn't you add a caveat about taking a safe whipper? You should have two trustworthy pieces in that will keep you off the deck/ledges before you intentionally whip off a route. Have you not heard of bolts failing???

When I push myself on lead I like to have the draws pre-hung on sport routes. It really helps me psychologically not to have to spend as much time in clipping stances. Lead falls are scary enough, but blowing a clip is a lot worse, and used to freak me out when I first started leading climbs with crappier clipping holds.

Get a 10 dialed on TR, hang the draws, then go for it.

Or if it's a climb you're just getting on for the first time, don't even go for the onsight, just climb bolt-to-bolt. Then lower off, pull the rope and try to re-lead it clean on your second go after a little rest.