Leap Year Lizard

Today is a day that only comes around once every 4 years, so it seems appropriate to do something special on it. This afternoon I made another trip down to the Lizard with Martin to have a crack at the 4 star route, 'The Cull'.
I first visited the Lizard about a year ago and was dangled (against my will) off the top of The Cull by James Forbes. He was working the route at the time in preparation for the lead and seemed to take great pleasure in watching the horror on my face as he lowered me off the top, hand clenched around my knot with knuckles as white as snow, to have a go at top roping it. I attempted to climb only the upper third of the route and upon reaching the top swore I would never want to lead it.

As the summer passed my confidence grew and I was becoming much more used to the exposure of Cornish sea cliffs. I scraped my way up a few more E2's and then made it up a couple of E3's and suddenly my mind was wondering back to The Cull. A little bit of coaxing from my friends and it wasn't long before I was heading back down to The Lizard.
This trip was different to the first, the sun was shining and I didn't feel anywhere near as nervous as I lowered off the top to have a practise run. The only problem was the huge swell battering the bottom half of the route and completely engulfing the belay ledge. I would be unable to lead it this time but I came away happy, knowing that I could do it.
Due to poor weather, large swells and belayers only being available at high tide, it was another 6 weeks before I could get back on the route. This time I got in a quick top rope before the light disappeared. I was lucky to be on it at all considering it was the middle of December.
Frustration was setting in and I had started to feel like the route was going to be an anti climax as I had only wanted to top rope it once or twice and then go for the lead straight away. I had almost forgotten about the route and then the end of February arrived, the weather was unusually warm and the tides and swell were just right. It had to be done today.
I raced down to Helston and picked up Martin and headed for the Lizard. Whilst Martin was setting up the abseil, I warmed up by doing some bicep curls with his Lizard warm up rocks. 15 minutes later I was sat on the top of the crag, more pumped than I have ever been. My affair with The Cull was over and I felt bloody relieved.

Mr Motivator

A recent trip to Snowdonia got me thinking about motivation. What motivates a person to climb a hill? What motivates an unfit person to climb a hill? What motivates an unfit person to climb a hill, in February, in thick mist and driving rain? I’m sure that many people have very different reasons to climb a hill. Maybe it’s a love for the scenery or a desire to get fit, perhaps they want to prove something to their friends or themselves. With this in mind, how does it affect me as a mountain leader? How do I ensure that my group members remain motivated and get the most out of their day?

Do we really have to go up that? Maintaining group motivation levels on Snowdon.

It is suggested that motivation comes from reward. This can come in the form of praise from another person such as a coach or teacher, or it could be a prize or trophy. This is known as extrinsic motivation. Sometimes the reward can come from within oneself. It could be the satisfaction of reaching the top of a hill or walking that extra mile. This is known as intrinsic motivation. Deci (1975), cited in Woods (1998) suggests that intrinsically motivating behaviours are: ‘those which a person engages in to feel competent and self-determining’. Deci (1975) also noted that extrinsic motivation can have an effect on intrinsic motivation. This is something that the mountain leader must be very aware of and something that I had to think carefully about whilst climbing Snowdon.

From the moment that we left the Pen Y Pass car park and started our way up the Pyg track I had to think about how I was going to keep the motivation up of one particular member of the group. I knew that for her, reaching the top of Snowdon would be a major achievement but also to keep up with her family would be a reward in itself. I had to consider that if this person was left at the back struggling to keep up with the rest of the group then her motivation levels would rapidly decrease and it wouldn’t be long before she wanted to turn back feeling defeated. By putting her at the front of the group it allowed her to set a pace she was comfortable with and it kept her motivation high.

It was important that I didn’t give too much encouragement as I felt that this could have had a negative effect and come across as patronising. Every now and then we would stop and I would say ‘how are you doing?’ or ‘I’m enjoying this pace, it’s just right for me’. Too much encouragement could have singled her out and made her feel like she was being helped up the hill.

Woods (1998) suggests that extrinsic motivation must be appropriate to the individual and applied intermittently. I think this is very important for the mountain leader to understand as the amount of reinforcement they provide could work the wrong way and single out a member of the group, demotivating them and resulting in them failing at what they hoped to achieve.

References;

Woods, B, Applying Psychology to Sport, Hodder and Stoughton, 1998

Wild Wild West Cornwall

On the 26th of January I made the first ascent of 'Reap the Wild Wind' at John Wayne Memorial Crag, near Sennen in West Cornwall. I first visited the crag a couple of months earlier and spotted the route which follows a short arete. I was back a few weeks later and decided to top rope the route first as there wasn't many obvious gear placements and the landing was horrible. It turned out to be a little bit harder than I was expecting but I managed to do all the moves and work out the gear (one 0.4 Camalot). Despite this I bottled it and went and led one of the routes in the guide.
I returned a couple of weeks later to have another go on top rope and see how I got on. It felt harder and one of the crucial crimps was seeping. Whilst practising the moves on the crux my hand popped and I shot off the route head first. This really unnerved me as I knew that if this happened on the lead I would definitely hurt myself.
As it got towards the end of the day I knew I either had to just get it done or come back again and set up another top rope which I really didn't want to do. I decided to just go for it. The first few moves felt easy to the jug and then came the unprotected crux moves with the wet hold. I made it half way across and suddenly felt like I couldn't do it. The nerves took over and I began to reverse the crux, desperately trying to get back to the ground. My foot popped, I held it, I had made it back to safety.
I sat there for a few minutes contemplating the route. Was it my nerves that had got the better of me or was it too hard? I had to do it today. I wasn't coming back again. Camera rolling, spotters at the ready, off I went again. This time the crux felt good. I cut loose and made it to the big jug on the arete. Cam in and a quick shake before the final moves. I nearly blew it reaching for the next good hold. I recomposed myself on the jug and went again. I latched it. Last reach to the top and it's all over. Relief and joy all at once. I'd given myself a great adventure in just 7 metres of climbing.
Thanks to Martin, James, Noodles and Jake for the support.
Short clip to follow soon.