Too Hard for a Caveman- Rock and Ice

You know that feeling when you’re climbing and everything is going smoothly and then all of a sudden you’re really pumped and you feel like you lose any sense of good climbing technique?

We’ve all been there.

“Too often our inner caveman—the beast with no technique—asserts himself at the worst possible moment, and our panicky fight-or-flight response causes us to do the wrong thing, and take flight. Among the first things we hear when we start climbing are exhortations to “stay calm,” “relax” and “use your feet.” Prompts like these shape our technique in the early stages, but such advice eventually dries up, making it harder to take technique to the next stage.
One secret to advancing your ability is to understand exactly how your technique is thrown off when you’re outside your comfort zone. We tend to blow it because we presume that our subconscious always knows best.” -Neil Gresham

This article from rockandice.com gives 5 counterintuitive technique pointers that can come in handy in those moments when desperation starts to kick in and it feels really hard to stay focused and keep climbing well.

For instance, they point out that sometimes the biggest footholds aren’t always the best, but they sure can be the most tempting to aim for when you’re tired. The idea here is to learn to pay attention to your body position and trust that a smaller foothold located in a place that sets you up better for the next move is more likely to result in success….

Read on to see if some of the pointers given here can give you just the edge you need to send your next project…..