by Marcus Samperi
“Fear (noun): An unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.” - Dictionary definition
I found myself in a stunning area: the vast mountainous region of the Nepalese Himalaya on a multi-day trek to Everest Base Camp. The conditions were perfect with clear blue skies interspersed with the odd cloud and the temperature was pleasant. The views around were incredible; complete with gigantic, rugged, snowy peaks towering high in all directions and the valleys – equally breathtaking – disappearing miles below my feet. All I could do was stare in utter amazement at the scenery I found myself in, my mind at peace, with not a care in the World.
Although this was all about to change...
Within half an hour of this idyllic scene I was met by my worst nightmare: an incredibly steep downwards, scree-style descent only just wide enough for single-file traffic. The left wall was at such an obtuse angle that using it as a guide was not possible and – on the right – a massive knife-edge drop inches from my feet that, if fell, would almost certainly lead to ultimate death. My body tensed, my brain focused on every step trying not to look down, my breathing shallow, my heartbeat racing and I could feel beads of sweat dripping down my back. At times I felt almost paralysed with fear if it wasn’t for a quiet internal dialogue talking me through every step. It seemed to take an age but I eventually got to the bottom unscathed and utterly relieved.
Over the years I have always had an issue with being in close proximity to sharp drops and ridges, especially on those made from loose scree. For me, it all comes down to the lack of options I feel I have in the event of a slip or fall. It’s the only time I ever get crippling fear and to overcome it would vastly improve my enjoyment of the high mountains. This is when I stumbled across what Explorers Connect call: ‘Scrambling and Performance Coaching’: a weekend course dedicated to learning and utilising mindset techniques to overcome fear in the mountains.
The weekend involved a good split of classroom and climbing wall activities followed by ample time putting these skills into practice in and around Snowdonia National Park. This being Explorers Connect the classroom was not akin to some dusty memory of secondary school but actually an old pub that doubles up as a pizzeria at night, within easy reach of many of the peaks. The session was led by a practising psychology performance professional and supported by two local mountain leaders each with incredible in-depth knowledge of the area. The whole session was extremely interesting, very collaborative and allowed time to discuss individual past experiences within a safe environment. It was expertly led and never once did I feel lost or that the session was dragging. By the end I felt I had enough information to embark on the next activity: the indoor climbing wall.
Having no climbing wall experience was not a barrier to this part of the weekend as it concentrated on getting to a level of anxiousness that was borderline fear in order to practice the techniques learnt in the classroom; whether that was low on the wall or high didn’t matter. The indoor climbing wall was high enough for ropes and belays – both auto and traditional-style. No experience was needed as the mountain leaders and climbing wall staff were around and available to demo, assist and teach if needed. The idea was to see which of the techniques discussed in the classroom worked for us. There was plenty of space to divide into pairs or threes and we had multiple attempts at the wall. It was amazing to compare with your partner the different techniques utilised and ultimately see your progress unfold with the increasing height difference per attempt. My climbing partner managed to traverse the entire height of the wall after initially hitting her fear threshold when she was barely off the ground.
This then led onto lunch followed by an afternoon of continued practice but this time on scrambling routes within the National Park. We were divided into two smaller groups with scrambling grades, chosen by the Mountain Leaders dependant on the group’s comfort level, getting increasingly difficult as the afternoon progressed. There were a number of routes where each of us found we were on the cusp of our fear threshold and saw us having to utilise the lessons from the classroom and the climbing wall. Throughout the entire weekend the Mountain Leaders were always on hand to offer advice and reassurance whenever required, they took the time to talk through difficult parts of the scramble and were always on hand to provide a calm narrative during times of concern. The lessons in the morning joined up to the afternoon scrambles like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
The final day of the weekend was dedicated to putting everything we had learnt into practice but on even trickier terrain. This day was completely run by the Mountain Leaders and the routes were dependant on the weather conditions. Even though it was suggested that the famous Crib Goch Ridge would be attempted, the weather had other ideas. Instead we attempted a tricky scrambling route in the torrential rain and wind on Tryfan complete with exposed areas and technical terrain.
For me these were actually the perfect conditions for putting the psychology of performance coaching into practice and acted as a great swan song for the entire weekend ending in a fantastic little café where we could dry off, warm up with home made cake and hot drinks before departing for home.
As with all Explorers Connect trips this was well supported with a dedicated host for the weekend that not only meets and greets but also actively participates: nothing is ever too much hassle. As this weekend is extremely weather dependent then having a host to not only plan for different eventualities but also react to challenges brought on by the changing conditions really helped to get the most out of the allocated time.
Overall, the weekend was an absolute pleasure. Yes, the weather was far from perfect in a traditional sense but I would argue that on a course like this the bad weather actually enhances the learning outcomes as it allowed us - as participants - an easier route to our individual fear thresholds then we would have had on a bright, sunny day with no wind. By spending more time at this threshold we could explore the full range of techniques discussed and practised in the classroom.
Although I haven’t actually had the opportunity to go back to the mountains since the completion of the course I have found that my climbing at the nearest indoor gym wall has vastly improved and I have put this down to the lessons I learnt over this particular weekend. This is just the beginning, it has put me in a good place to fully enjoy the high mountains more confidently in the future and hopefully next time I come across a steep, scree-lined, exposed and narrow track I can deal with the fear more pro-actively and enjoy the ride.
— Marcus Samperi ‘Scrambling and Performance Coaching’, September 2019