Climbing with confidence
Back by popular demand, Samantha Leary of
Sam Leary Mountaineering has been running a series of very popular MTA workshop for members in/near North Wales;
Boosting your climbing confidence. Here's a little review of some of the sessions so far:
A summary from Samantha herself
July:
The movement session right at the start was a highlight for some and this was taken to the ropes in the afternoon. Movement, technique, tactical strategies for placing gear and controlling anxiety were all looked at. Leader placed protection was tested with full body weight which made all realise that their gear placements are better than they thought. By the afternoon confidence had definitely been boosted! Everyone finished the day with a simulated lead on a more challenging route than they would normally pick.
There was a brilliant atmosphere and great support amongst four people who were complete strangers at the start of the day. There was great enthusiasm for getting out and putting it all into practise now, perfect!
16th - 17th of September:
Mid September saw another MTA Boost your confidence workshop. Due to numbers we ended up running two!! Saturday started with coffee and a chat at Siabod Cafe, once people's climbing aims, frustrations and aspirations were aired we headed for the upper tier of Tremadog, Clogwn yr Tarw. It started dry and we utilised bouldering to cover the intro into positive movement, almost immediately people were planning and placing their feet better. Just as body movement and hip wiggling was developing nicely it rained, was not supposed to. A team decision has us relocated to the Beacon Climbing centre and the afternoon was spent consolidating the movement skills, introducing the idea of using your brain, not you biceps and even had time for some to fine tune their indoor leading skills. A great day for all if not quite the one we planned.
The sun always shines at Holyhead Mountain. On Sunday, six became seven as Tim wanted to join us for another day but this time outside. A similar starting format to Saturday but this time the weather remained cooperative. A very busy day with lots going on. After the bouldering we did a load of top roped climbing, for some fear management was a big focus and amazing gains were made over the course of the day. For others lead climb coaching was the aim, so we did a bunch of simulated leading (security of a top rope). It all about efficient movement and this was a golden thread all day. We also covered, reading routes, planning ahead, gear and racking up, when and what protection to place. A fair bit of time was spent looking at and employing, practical techniques to deal with stress and fear. Eve and Donna pulled out superb leads at their max grade (without a top rope!) and Tim discovered that his MIA training was something he could consider. Everyone else has a SPA coming up and it was all looking very good with that in mind. What a day, amazing. Big thanks to Dylan who came along to observe but was soon roped into assisting with it all.
Nick Manning's account of a sunny July workshop
From the day of booking I was expecting a good day out with Sam and it turned out to be a great training day on the crag.
Sam immediately put people's early nerves at ease with a coffee and some banter in the Siabod cafe and this was then carried out on to the crag. The sun was shining which is always good and Sam spoke to us individually throughout the day and gave us little pointers that really helped. We discussed and practiced gear placement, planning the climb and using various ways of keeping our fears at bay, this really helped the group. We managed to get plenty of climbing completed and at a higher level than I'm used too, this culminated in a simulated lead, which was really good for me.
The support and humour from the group was constant throughout the day and made it a day out I would highly recommend. The only drawback was going back to work on the Monday and also being told by the group that to progress further I would need to purchase some brightly coloured trousers!
Written byNick Manning (MTA member)
Click here to read about more about some of Sam's other MTA workshops
2018 workshops
Sam is back with more climbing workshops in 2018. Book your place/s here:
June 3 - Boosting your climbing confidenceJune 24 - Ropes and Rack (staying safe at the crag)
July 14 - Boosting your climbing confidenceJuly 15 - Single to multipitch (1:2)
August 11 - Boosting your climbing confidenceAugust 12 - Ropes and Rack (staying safe at the crag)
Sept 15 - Boosting your climbing confidenceSept 16 - Single to multipitch (1:2)
Oct 13 - Boosting your climbing confidenceOct 14 - Ropes and Rack (staying safe at the crag)
Nov 10 - Boosting your climbing confidenceNov 11 - Single to multipitch (1:2)