Recently, I attended the 2018 bouldering regionals. In the competition, I learned a lot and I had a lot of feed back for myself.

First of all: ISO. In iso, I was very stressed out and nervous. I couldn’t get energy out and for some reason, I always felt hunger (I knew hat I wasn’t actually hungry because I had just eaten) which was confusing. The massive mistake hat I made was that I kept eating. By the time they called me out to climb my first route, I felt sick. This was not good. Next regionals, I definitely won’t eat so much food! This limited me.

The next mistake that after I had climbed my first two routes (which I flashed), I thought that I had the whole comp in the bag, I was very confident. I noticed this with many other climbers as well, not just me. So anyways, when it came to climbing my 3rd route I had a bad approach to it. I thought that I would at least send it… when I didn’t, it discouraged me a lot. Then, my next repute, I couldn’t even get to the 6th hold. And then, route #5, I began to pull it together. I worked on the beta. And although I didn’t complete the route, I gave some great attempts. Then on my final route, (#6) I got to hole 10 which was high fitness my personal goal on that route.

These were my mistakes and I hope that after reading this, you won’t make the same ones! I ended up getting 11th (would have qualified if I held on to the final hole on route #3 for a second longer) which was right past the cut off. 😢

– Sophie

A Sweet Spot

Recently, I️ finished The Rock Warriors Way. In this book, I️ found a trick that changed how I️ climbed and my approach to anything difficult. The trick is that, whenever you see a hold that you question its positivity, always tell yourself that the hold will be terrible. This works because if the hold turns out to be a bad hold (sloaper, pinch) than you will be prepared. However, if the hold is a huge jug, you will get a pleasant surprise. This basically forced me to imagine every hold horrible so I️ wouldn’t fall off because I️ thought the hold would be better. This trick helped me. I️ hope it helps you!

Hi! My name is Sophie and I️ am a competitive rock climber! I️ am regionally ranked 5th place in my catagory. (Youth C) My top grades are V7 (working on an 8) and 5.12-. On my blog, you will find my rock climbing experiences, and tricks! Thank you so much  for coming to my site and I️ hope to see you soon again!