The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training For Climbers

“Where will I end up should I fall before I reach the next pro/rest?”
4. Look up for possibilities for climbing the risk.
TRANSITION PHASE
5. Be decisive. When you go, go! Set an intention to commit forward to climbing.
ACTION PHASE
6. Climb and breathe continuously.
7. Look for comfort in the risk.

    The warrior’s path is seldom easy, but it’s always interesting. Photo: Jeff Achey

Glossary
    5.8, 5.10, 5.13 , etc.: The numbers of an open-ended difficulty-rating system for rock climbing, ranging from 5.0 (easiest) to 5.15 (most difficult). Originally, ratings were intended to follow a decimal system, but when routes more difficult than 5.9 were done, the decimal concept was modified and grades of 5.10 and 5.11 were added. The prefix “5” refers to “5th class” climbing; the system also includes classes 1, 2, 3, and 4, indicating progressively more rugged and exposed scrambling.
    Bolt : A permanent protection point consisting of a steel stud set into a small hole drilled in the rock and fitted with a hanger for clipping.
    Bouldering : Free climbing without a rope, generally on boulders but also in a climbing gym or along the base of a larger cliff, close enough to the ground so that a fall is not likely to result in injury.
    Cam : Common term for a spring-loaded rock-climbing protection device. Examples include Friends, Camalots, TCUs .
    Chock : A rock-climbing protection device consisting of a wedge-, hex-, or otherwise-shaped piece of metal, slung with a cord or thin cable, that can be slotted into a widening or irregularity in a fissure in the rock. The various sizes of chocks fit cracks from approximately 1/8 inch to four inches. Other names for chocks include nuts, stoppers, hexes, wedges, wires (for small, cabled chocks).
    Crux : The most difficult part of a climbing route.
    Dihedral : A section of cliff where two planes of rock meet at an angle, forming a feature similar in appearance to the corner of a room. Dihedrals may also be acute or obtuse, overhanging or low-angle.
    Free climbing : Climbing a section of rock without physical aid from ropes or climbing gear. The rope and gear may be used for protection, but not for progress or resting. There are many sub-categories of free climbing, including bouldering, free soloing, toproping, on-sighting, and redpointing.
    Free soloing : Free climbing without a rope, high enough off the ground so that a fall would result in very serious injury or death.
    Jamming : A technique for climbing cracks that involves wedging various body parts into the fissure.
    Layback : A crack-climbing technique often used in corner-cracks ( dihedrals ). The climber grasps the edge of the crack, leans back, and moves upward by “walking” the feet up the opposing wall and advancing the hands up the crack.
    Nut : A rock-climbing protection device; see Chock .
    On-sighting : Ascending a route on your first effort. You climb from the bottom to the top, placing or clipping protection as you go. You see it and climb it, first go—no foreknowledge of moves or holds, no falls, no working the route.
    Pro : Short for protection. Examples include bolts and quickdraws for sport routes; cams, wedges, slings, etc. for trad routes.
    Redpoint : Leading a climb from the bottom to the top, placing pro (and/or clipping fixed pro) as you go, without hanging or pulling on any protection. Redpointing usually refers to an ascent that is relatively difficult for the climber, and thus not accomplished “on-sight.” Climbers may work a route, hanging and resting on pro to figure out moves, then do a redpoint effort. Very challenging redpoints may take days and even years of effort to accomplish.
    Runout : The distance between protection points, especially when it is long. Also, the act of climbing between said points.
    Slab : A smooth, low-angle rock face usually climbed using very small holds and friction.
    Sport climbing : Climbing on routes that are protected only by bolts. Sport routes generally employ closely spaced bolts to protect face climbing on steep slabs or vertical to overhanging faces.
    Take : A rope command used by the climber to request that the belay rope be held tight and his weight held by the belayer.
    TCU : Acronym for “three-cam unit.” Generally used to indicate any very small Cam , regardless of the number of cams the device has. TCUs fit cracks from approximately 1/4 to 3/4 inches wide.
    Trad climbing : Short for traditional climbing. This type of climbing generally