Ah, indoor season. I have a love hate relationship with indoor climbing. I love that I can see exactly where my route is and that there isn’t a guessing game. I love that there is 100x less effort to go climbing. There is no hike to get there, no need to prepare gear, and you can go in any weather. But, I don’t love how close together the quickdraws are. Or that everything seems to be over hung (especially in this gym). There are many pros and cons to both outdoor and indoor climbing that are unique to who you are as a climber, these are just a few of mine.

This was my first session of indoor lead climbing I had done since 2019. To be completely transparent, it was rough. My body is not the same as it used to be in highschool, I was so fit. Nonetheless, I tried my best and worked on my confidence on the wall. I practiced my foot work, dynamic moves, and lots of falling. Falling indoors is a safer space to practice in, there is less… earth to hit on the way down, and most indoor gyms are slightly overhung so accomodate for safer falls.

During this session I found myself more anxious than I was expecting. If you have read my previous blogs you know that I have been predicting an easier transition into indoor climbing. I had hoped that having some outdoor climbing done soon before the indoor season, would prepare me better as the outdoors is usually more mentally challenging. I believed this because I had experienced it before. Previously, I had gone on an outdoor climbing trip in Las Vegas for spring break and upon my return I resumed climbing indoors. Me and my peers noticed that I was significantly more confident and could shake off a fall way better than I could before my trip. I thought this could be applied to my situation currently, but apparently I was wrong. I am not sure where this anxiety/lack of confidence came from or if I was just having an off day, but here is what I do know.

• I forgot how close together the quickdraws are when you climb indoors.
  • This seems like a silly thing to include on the ‘why-I-think-I-struggled-list’ but it is a legitimate reason. Each time you clip rope into a quick draw you have to stop, hold on with one hand, pull rope up, and clip. This process is so tiring. Therefore, having quickdraws more frequently means you have to do this process more often. In other words, I got tired way quicker than I usually do.
• I had taken a long break before hand.
  • Climbing is one of those sports you have to stay consistent at. Taking time always results in decreased performance.
• I had spent all day being Ms. Jayda at North Saanich Middle School.
  • As we all know, after a day of teaching we are WIPED. I have never felt tired like I have after a day of elementary/middle.

I can sit here all day making blog posts of reasons about why I think my climbing session was poor. But the only thing that will actually help me is to go back to the gym. Put my harness on. And keep trying.