One of the most limiting factors in many peoples’ climbing is a fear of falling.  Unfortunately, unlike limiting physical factors like a lack of finger strength or an inability to lock-off that can easily be addressed through targeted training, attacking mental barriers is much more difficult.  However, just because addressing issues in your mental game like a fear of falling is more difficult to deal with does not mean they can’t be trained systematically just like physical weaknesses.

To showcase how a fear of falling can be systematically targeted and overcome, here’s an article by Chelsea of Crux Crush in which she shares her story of overcoming a crippling fear of falling and outlines the specific tactics she used to whittle away at the underlying causes of her fear.

“There are two types of fear: Rational fear where there is a genuine risk present, and irrational fear, which has to do with perceived risk rather than actual risk. For me, it was this second type of fear that dominated my thoughts and kept me from performing. I had explored articles, books and blogs by famous climbers about overcoming fear. Many of these spoke to risk analysis of the rational fears I mentioned above, but no techniques resonated with me.”- Chelsea

Strategies For Overcoming a Fear of Falling

The reason Chelsea was able to overcome her fear on lead was that her approach was systematic and produced positive feedback that was both measurable and could be built upon.  Her approach included:

• SMART format goal setting
• Successive Approximation
• Fall therapy
• Changes in self talk patterns

Ultimately, changing any underlying issues with your mental game will take some serious self reflection to determine what approach will work best for you.  However, the tactics Chelsea used and outlines in her article are a great place to start.  Learn more about them by clicking through below to read the full article.  While overcoming a fear of falling may seem difficult, frustrating, and scary, successfully doing so will help raise your climbing level more than any physical training can.  

Full Article: Conquering a Fear of Falling

(photo by Beth May; courtesy of cruxcrush.com)

Other Articles You Might Like:

• Dave MacLeod and The Fear of Falling
• Whitney Boland on Fear and Confidence in Climbing
• TBP 023 :: Arno Ilgner on Overcoming Fear and Ego in Climbing
• One Thing Out of Your Comfort Zone: Lead Climbing Confidence