About Me
- Name: ioana
- Location: Bucharest, Romania
I experiment with myself and the world around me. I always seek for that small sparkle of what's real and authentic in things, people, nature...
I’ve spent this weekend climbing at Sinaia Quarry with Cristi, a friend from the climbing gym. He’s definitely more advanced than I am, but it’s safe to say we are both beginners. Our aim was to lead climb the routes there, all of them suited for rookies like us, with a 5 to 6- grade (I’m still learning this grading stuff, but let’s just say they were easy ones). The challenge was more a mental one than a physical one, since both us can climb more technical passages. But to be up there, with many meters below you and to know that the rope is behind you and can fall 3-4 meters on the rough rock can totally mess up your concentration.
Which is exactly what happened with us at one point! The moment you lose your focus on the rock you’re screwed! Your breathing gets faster, you look around and you can’t seem to notice any holds, you look down and become terrified of the height, basically you panic! And panic is your worst enemy, because you still have to reach the top, to cling yourself on the two protections, to pass the rope trough the top, to put it back on in your harness, and to go down. Yep, a lot of stuff to do at 30m in the air!!
Some things I learnt about myself:
- I love a sunny day, and it has a huge influence on my performance. We had a great time on the rock while it was nice, but as soon as the weather turned windy and chilly I lost all interest!
(a perfect sunny day towards the routes - 7km each way, 2 days in a row) - Even if I did a route easily it doesn’t mean I can do it again! While Saturday I did everything right, on Sunday I had a hard time with some of the routes that went smoothly just the day before. It’s all an equation of mood, focus and taking it one step at the time. And if any of these fails you’re right back where you started.
- I definitely want to do more lead climbing. Since at the gym I can only practice top roping I’m counting on the weekends to touch the rock. I have to confess, it’s scary, but in the same time very very liberating. While I was on the hardest route there (which I didn’t think I could climb) I took the time to stop, breathe and analyze my situation at every step. I was stressed as hell (I was the first to try it, and I knew it was harder than what I’ve done so far), but I kept stress within my managing limits. I pushed myself up without ambition, but with determination. And I reached the top from the first try!
- Patience is mandatory here. I see myself trying to climb as fast as I can, and I become disorganized, hasty and subsequently I fail! I always need to remind myself to breathe, to be conscious of my movements instead of just looking at the top and aiming for it. I make mistakes in using my hands way too much, instead of using my feet. I have to start looking down more than looking up!
Two weeks ago we met 6 abandoned puppies on the road. I barely resisted to take them home, so I was really happy to see them again now! They look strong and healthy, and I played with them (and fed them our food) for some minutes.This being said, I’m heading for gym to train :)