lou_dale
Nov 1, 2003, 2:18 AM
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Registered: May 27, 2003
Posts: 53
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i've had the honor of having been through 2 two-day courses with arno and we have the book also. i have also seen things that he wrote of and spoke of becoming more of a reality in our climbing life. after having the classes, we were equipped with the tools - and it takes some time to use the tools effectively.
i think this will be a life-long adventure - using the principles. it seems as if once one problem or difficulty has been "mastered" or so you think, something else comes into play.
he speaks of ego frequently rearing its head over and over - it has thousands of heads - i believe i have seen too many of them too often, but at least i understand what he meant.
in reply to jay's note about using intuition - DEAD ON THAT - your eyes will take you exactly where you should place those hands....and instead of paying attention, we often look for something bigger and better. often, that bigger and better really is there, but you need to trust in the process, trust in your intuitive thinking - place the hands and feet where your eyes take you - and it's usually a good enough stance or hold to get you to that killer bucket or awesome ledge. arno spoke of having a soft-eye focus. same principle as not holding on too tight - don't use narrow vision - use intuitive vision - and yes - you will be taken to the right place each and every time - trusting yourself to have that ability can be scarey at first - but you, jay, were absolutely right - it will lead you to the right spot almost every single time.
it's about the journey; it's not about getting to the top. i think that was just one of the lessons i learned this weekend. i love foster falls because it has some moderate sport routes but also has some that are gonna test you, push your limits - i love that because i know that if i do that, i will grow - i will be out of my comfort zone and i will grow.
for the last year, i have had one test piece that i had worked on and worked on and good grief - i worked on it. we even used it in our class with arno. dale managed to pull the roof and get to the top - without much difficulty (there comes another lesson - DON'T COMPARE). yeah, i'm short and i was told - i may never get to the top of this one because of the difficulty in the reach.
and i had heard - it wasn't about getting to the top but about the journey. well, it didn't hit home for me until this weekend.
you see.....i DID get to the top......and you would have thought i would be jumping up and down, all joyous, etc. but after planning and plotting, dreaming, working moves out for an entire year - in the blink of an eye - it was over. my test piece is no longer a test and you would think i would be overjoyed at my "victory."
this "victory" was bittersweet - until i realized - what did i learn about the climb and about myself in the process? to trust myself - to expand my comfort zone - to initiate the witness - i learned how to quiet ego even when ego threw me more curve balls...........i learned how to implement the tools arno had given us - so my victory had little to do with getting to the top - it WAS about the process involved in getting there - the route itself.
there will always be new problems.......new adventures.......new reasons to plan and work and dream - but i think i learned this weekend to enjoy the journey of the route and to learn what it can show me about me, teach me along the way - instead of making getting to the top the priority.
i was humbled and now - when i do new routes - always - i will remember to savor every second - having a great thirst for this passionate pass-time we call climbing - quench my thirst slowly - enjoy every step of the way because once you are at the top - it's over quickly.
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