Teh Chad

If you run a blog, I have a thought for you. I’ll assume that you’re into social media. Get on Google+ if you are not already on it.

Under sparks, you can list interests. Google uses these as saved searches and gets info in these areas for you.

Interests in Google+ Sparks

Add your city and you’ll get some great blogging material as well as events to network! Do it!

I had the privilege of teaching a truly amazing hobby for about 8 years. Rock climbing!

People have this “fear” of falling. Hah! Justified or not, it can keep them from enjoying this sport.

Now, I love climbing and I don’t see that changing. However, what I love more is watching someone face that fear. The harder the fight, the more rewarding it is to see it. This is also why I enjoyed teaching teenagers more than adults. Adults are programmed to hide their emotions. Kids wear their heart on their sleeve.

Say we have an adult and a kid. Both are working with their best friends of roughly the same age and size. Both face the same fear, but each faces it in a different way.

The adult will hear what you tell them. “Keep your hips into the wall.” “Use your feet.” And then… “Trust the rope and your belayer.” They will use their head and force themselves to do what you tell them to do.

Kids on the other hand…! Kids are not afraid to show you that they are unhappy. After gripping the rock or wall holds, their arms and legs build up with lactic acid. Their appendages then proceed to shake and eventually fail. They freak out and cry and holler and scream even though they aren’t moving! (And their belay partner, usually their best friend, has the rope.)

The thing is, they all must overcome this fear. Let’s make this a little more personal for a second. Step back.

Think of your friends. Who do you trust? I mean really. Who do you REALLY trust? If you’re anything like me, that list is not very long if it’s even a list at all. In who’s hands would you entrust your life?

Once past that, who in their right mind would answer yes to hang off of a wall with you and trust you with their life?

Going back to our teaching situation to finish… Adults often hide their emotion while kids will make you their hero in a second!

One of my favorite times in the class is when the first few climbers are coming down. They have faced their fear! When they touch down, their face is a MILE WIDE! It is fantastic.

So get out and do it! You’ll feel amazing when you get over your fear!

There are a few things to keep in mind when heading up into the high country. Getting into the amazing places inside the Rocky Mountains is not difficult. It can get miserable pretty quick though! Nausea, and I’ll be blatant here, vomiting, light-headedness, dizziness and other symptoms can bring a really awesome day to a screeching halt.

Hiking after a rain storm will give you a much different picture of the trail. Often times, there will be hundreds of little streams running across the trail. Hiking on a muddy trail can get old after a while, but it does present the right idea – lots of water. So drink up!

Every time I see one of those little trickles crossing my path, I’m reminded of that fundamental concept in mountaineering.

You see, your blood needs water to push the cells through your arteries. So, more water will make it easier on your heart.

Second, take your time as you get higher. If you can run a mile at 1,000 feet and think you can do it at 10,000, call me! I’d love to see you try! Hah! If you’d like to really do it, take your time. After a few days, I bet you could. But it takes, I’ve read, 11 and change days to acclimate per kilometer in altitude.

A couple of things happen during this time. The main thing being that your body is adjusting the number of red blood cells so that it can transport more oxygen around your body.

There are really only a couple of things that you can do to encourage this process. The best thing you can do is drink lots of water. The next best thing you can do is spent time at altitude. Keep these in mind the next time you decide to chase up into the hills.