Brent Kearney

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day in Banff/Canmore, and I made the best of it by rock climbing with some friends. My fingers are still burning! Not because of the sun burn, although I have a bit of that too— rather because keyboarding doesn’t quite prepare the fingers for the sharp-edged pockets in the rock at Grassi Lakes in Canmore. The summer is young though, and I’m sure that my fingers will be sufficiently calloused in no time. Yesterday was only the 4th time I’ve been climbing outside this year, and with the exception of one particularly challenging face on Barrier Mountain, those were the sharpest edges that my hitherto delicate fingers have encountered.

It was a good time though! As usual for Banff/Canmore, I was climbing with people who are far above my skill level, so I was taking on routes that pushed my limits. When the holds are tiny and/or the overhang is steep, my physical limits are challenged, but more importantly for me, it is the psychological aspects of the sport that get tested on harder routes. That is why it is such a privilege to be able to hang out with some great climbers, and watch how it’s done. As the day went on, although my forearms got more pumped, my mind got more relaxed and focused.

Skilled athletes usually make their sport look easy, and part of the reason why is that they seem so relaxed when they do it. It reminded me of something I recently heard David Allen say, although in the context of martial arts:

Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax.

That pretty much applies to every human activity, particularly sports, and particularly the sport of rock climbing. Watching my more skilled friends effortlessly scale overhanging cliffs helped to put my own mind at ease when attempting the same.

I’m really looking forward to more days like yesterday!