The outdoor climbing season has officially started for me and it’s off to a rough start. You see, I took a fairly long hiatus from climbing. I think I went climbing four times last year, and I only climbed six times in the last four years. So let’s just say I’m a little rusty.

Is this difficult to understand? Go to the adapted version!

I never was a great climber. I was never destined to be a “Lynn Hill”, but I loved to go climbing! I loved the challenge and the satisfaction I felt when I put all of the right moves together to send a route.

Honestly, my technique wasn’t great. I preferred using my upper arm strength rather than pushing with my legs. My footwork was often sloppy and sometimes, I did some unconventional moves to make it through a crux, but I wasn’t completely hopeless. Even with all of these bad climbing techniques, I never thought I’d be where I am now!

Let’s just say that getting back on the rock has been… uncomfortable. And when I say uncomfortable, I mean downright terrifying. Is there any logical reason for this? No. Am I going to fall to my death? Absolutely not.

I’m using quality equipment. I have a partner that I trust with my life AND he’s using a Gri-Gri, so short of a major malfunction (something that never happens, thank you Petzl!) I have nothing to worry about.  And yet, I worry about ev-ery-thing!!!

And the worst part? I’m top roping! You read that correctly. Top roping! Years ago, I would have rather died than spend a climbing day top roping, but that was then and this is now. I haven’t climbed regularly in ages. And let’s be honest, I’m older and less athletic. It’s time to set the bar slightly lower, at least for now.

Let’s fast forward to my first climbing session this year. It was the first day of spring. We went to a place I had gone to last year, which was great for me!

When I go climbing, I like to go someplace familiar. This way, I don’t have to do a couple of climbs to become familiar with the styles of the routes or the type of rock. I can just climb! Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

In addition to already having been there before, there was sun, blue skies, cool temperatures and no wind! It was literally the BEST combination ever for a great climbing day! And then there was me.

I don’t know what was going on. I thought that I was going to have a great climbing day, and the results were less than satisfying. So what was the problem???

First, let’s talk about the rock. I remembered that it was sharp and that it hurt my fingers, so mentally I was prepared for that. I figured I would just climb the way we’re supposed to climb, efficiently! Ha! What a joke! I wasn’t prepared for my general mental state.

I was scared to death! As a result, I had a death grip on the rock and my fingers were screaming in pain. And the worst part? I didn’t want to let go! Seriously, who does that? I would rather have the sensation of knives cutting into my fingertips than let go and hang on the rope so I could regroup and try again?

I know that when I start to panic because I can’t figure out what to do, I need to relax. I know I need to breathe. I know I need to move my feet up. I know the next hand hold will be there, and if it’s not, I’m not going to fall to an untimely death. I know all of these things and yet, I couldn’t get into my groove. And to top it all off, I now have nasty looking fingers.

Here’s a picture that I took today. They started peeling. Before, when my fingers would peel, it was because I spent long hours at the climbing gym trying to build up endurance. This was from only a couple of routes! And I would hardly call what I did “climbing”.

So, let’s get down to business. What was the good, the bad, and the ugly on my first climbing day this season?

The Good– The rock was pretty. When I was taking pictures, I found a lizard on the rock. Do you see him? (I’m trying to stay positive here!)

The Bad– No matter how pretty the rock was, it hurt like a (insert a bad word here). It was painful, both mentally and physically.

The Ugly– Definitely my fingers. This is not a sexy look. I don’t recommend this to anyone.

I went climbing again last week. Luckily, some things went better. There is, however, still some room for improvement. But! That is a different story.

Have you ever stopped a sport and tried to get back to it years later? Did it go smoothly? If not, how did you get past the frustrations of not being able to do something you once loved? I’d love to hear your input!

Adapted Version

A New Climbing Season: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In parenthesis () there are explanations of words and phrases. These explanations are in italics.

The outdoor climbing season has officially started for me and it’s off to a rough start (it’s not starting well). You see, I took a fairly long hiatus (break) from climbing. I think I went climbing four times last year, and I only climbed six times in the last four years. So let’s just say I’m a little rusty (I don’t have the same level as before).

I never was a great climber. I was never destined to be a “Lynn Hill” (a very accomplished American climber), but I loved to go climbing! I loved the challenge and the satisfaction I felt when I put all of the right moves together to send a route (to complete a route from bottom to top).

Honestly, my technique wasn’t great. I preferred using my upper arm strength rather than pushing with my legs. My footwork (technique for my feet) was often sloppy (not very precise) and sometimes, I did some unconventional (unusual) moves to make it through a crux (difficult part of a climb), but I wasn’t completely hopeless (without hope). Even with all of these bad climbing techniques, I never thought I’d be where I am now!

Let’s just say that getting back on the rock (starting to climb again) has been… uncomfortable. And when I say uncomfortable, I mean downright (absolutely) terrifying. Is there any logical reason for this? No. Am I going to fall to my death (fall and die)? Absolutely not.

I’m using quality equipment. I have a partner that I trust with my life AND he’s using a Gri-Gri, so short of (unless there is) a major malfunction (something that never happens, thank you Petzl!) I have nothing to worry about (no reason to be scared).  And yet, I worry about ev-ery-thing (everything)!!!

And the worst part? I’m top roping (not lead climbing)! You read that correctly. Top roping! Years ago, I would have rather died (preferred death) than spend a climbing day top roping, but that was then and this is now. I haven’t climbed regularly in ages. And let’s be honest, I’m older and less athletic. It’s time to set the bar slightly lower (have low objectives), at least for now.

Let’s fast forward (go to the present) to my first climbing session this year. It was the first day of spring. We went to a place I had gone to last year, which was great for me!

When I go climbing, I like to go someplace (somewhere) familiar. This way, I don’t have to do a couple of climbs to become familiar with the styles of the routes or the type of rock. I can just climb! Needless to say (obviously), I was pretty excited.

In addition to already having been there before, there was sun, blue skies, cool temperatures and no wind! It was literally the BEST combination ever for a great climbing day! And then there was me.

I don’t know what’s going on (I don’t know what was the problem). I thought that I was going to have a great climbing day, and the results were less than satisfying. So what was the problem???

First, let’s talk about the rock. I remembered that it was sharp and that it hurt my fingers, so mentally I was prepared for that. I figured (thought) I would just climb the way we’re supposed (taught) to climb, efficiently! Ha! What a joke! I wasn’t prepared for my general mental state.

I was scared to death! As a result, I had a death grip (a very tight hold ) on the rock and my fingers were screaming in pain (in a lot of pain). And the worst part? I didn’t want to let go! Seriously, who does that? I would rather have the sensation of knives cutting into my fingertips than let go and hang on the rope (put my weight on the rope) so I could regroup (think clearly) and try again? 

I know that when I start to panic because I can’t figure out (find) what to do, I need to relax. I know I need to breathe. I know I need to move my feet up. I know the next hand hold (place to put my hand) will be there, and if it’s not, I’m not going to fall to an untimely death (die before I am supposed to die). I know all of these things and yet, I couldn’t get into my groove (good climbingfeeling). And to top it all off, I now have nasty looking (ugly) fingers.

Here’s a picture that I took today. They started peeling (losing a layer of skin). Before, when my fingers would peel, it was because I spent long hours at a climbing gym trying to build up endurance. This was from only a couple of routes! And I would hardly call (not describe) what I did “climbing”.

So let’s get down to business (talk about the important things). What was the good, the bad and the ugly on my first climbing day this season?

The Good– The rock was pretty. When I was taking pictures, I found a lizard on the rock. Do you see him? (I’m trying to stay positive here!)

The Bad– No matter how pretty the rock was, it hurt like a (insert a bad word here). It was painful, both mentally and physically.

The Ugly– Definitely my fingers. This is not a sexy look. I do not recommend this to anyone.

I went climbing again last week. Luckily, some things went better. There is, however, still some room for improvement (I can still improve). But! That is a different story.

Have you ever stopped a sport and tried to get back to it (start it again) years later? Did it go smoothly (well)? If not, how did you get past (overcome) the frustrations (disappointment) of not being able to do something you once loved (loved doing in th past)? I’d love to hear your input (comments)!

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This blog was updated November 5, 2019 to include an audio version.