Early ventures at lead climbing will likely have you in the midst of a crux pondering whether to retreat from the difficulties or push yourself to the point of falling (or possibly a success without falling!). No doubt, there will be many mental battles waged as your desire to do a route conflicts with a primal instinct to avoid falling.
The result will be a high level of anxiety that feeds back and disrupts your ability to climb smoothly and confidently. Recognize, however, that this is a battle that all would-be lead climbers must persevere through. Given a committed, disciplined effort, you will eventually conquer the fear of falling and reveal a whole new level of ability. What's more, winning over fear is a process of self-development that will enhance your capabilities in other challenging areas of your life.
To become accustom to falling, however, is a state that only results from real-life experience at taking lead falls. Therefore, you must force yourself to fall (assuming it's a safe sport route or gym climb) in spite of what your instincts dictate. Such "practice at falling" is something that might occur simply by pushing yourself to the limit on a difficult lead climb. Many novice leaders find this to be an impossible task, because it's just too scary to push upward on a hard climb not knowing if they will fall or what the fall will be like. Interestingly, most of the fear evaporates once they do fall--experiencing the uneventfulness of the average lead fall dispels the illusion of danger.
If you can't bring yourself to fall trying, you will need to stage some intentional falls in order to beat the fear. An indoor climbing gym or a steep well-protected sport route provide the ideal platform for practice falls. Select a slightly overhanging route void of high-profile holds, and climb up to the third or fourth bolt. Confirm that your belayer is ready, and then take your first fall with the last bolt you clipped just a foot or two below your harness. In this case, letting go will turn out to be rather anticlimactic as you drop only a few feet before the rope arrests the fall. Upon taking the fall, analyze how well the belay system worked. (It is trustworthy after all!) Now, climb back up a foot or two higher than before and take another intentional fall. Repeat this process one or two more times, with the goal of taking your final practice fall with the bolt at or just below your feet.
At first, performing this falling drill will feel much like taking bitter medicine. After a few weeks, however, your conscious and subconscious will acclimate to the feeling of falling. Then, as you begin to pursue on-sight and redpoint ascents, you'll notice a decreasing fear of falling and a new instinctual desire to risk and embrace falling in the attempt of a worthy goal. Recognize this new disposition as a major breakthrough, and pat yourself on the back!
Mike Freeman and Russ Clune on Love Life (12b). Hörst photo.
