This book is fantastic.  I have read many books trying to help me be a better climber both in body and mind.  I am working on the long version of such a book by writing for this blog as an excuse.  Eric Hörst just released the third edition of Training for Climbing.  I’m here to tell you that we can all stop trying because the answers are all here and will set your brain straight.

Sometimes, my brain may as well be a tangled rope.

When a book or article about training the body, I can’t wait to read it and apply or reject it’s teachings.  Sometimes, I learn something new whether it’s a little trick to build an anchor faster, how to do more pull-ups, or find my center.  Sometimes it’s a piece of advice that has already been circulated.  After being in it for over 15 years, I’ve seen and read a lot, but I understand and appreciate the importance of republishing tips because new climbers are entering the fray almost every day and maybe it will be presented in a new way so that I can better communicate that tip to everyone I come in contact with at the gym or outside.  Sometimes it’s dumb and only works for people with unlimited time and bottomless pockets (read: ‘Train Like the Pros’-type articles).  I work three jobs (one full-time and two part-time) so I can’t spend 4 hours at the gym five nights a week and crush projects every weekend.

Vertical Mind falls into the first two categories.  Some of the information was new and some was stuff I have already learned either in college or from other reading.  What made the book great was the overall tone of the text.  It felt like having a conversation over a beer with a really smart friend.  Don and Jeff invite to contribute to the conversation by taking time to write down your own thoughts, fears, hopes, dreams, and questions.  Authors Don McGrath and Jeff Elison both have Ph.D.s but write like normal people having a conversation over dinner and this warmth flows through every chapter, exercise, and drill.  You, as the reader, feel as if they already believe in you to be successful.  They don’t look down on you for being scared because they interject their own stories of fear, and failure, and ultimately how they applied their own education to overcome and previous short-comings.

By contrast, I initially loved Arno Ilgner’s The Rock Warrior’s Way, but it felt like a lecture and that I should have been taking notes for the test at the end of the book.  Ilgner’s follow-up, Espresso Lessons from the Rock Warrior’s Way tried to find that more compassionate voice and did a decent job, but the bulk of information was lost and I felt like I was being talked down to because the reader was too dense or stubborn to understand the original work. My girlfriend felt the same way when I suggested she read those books when she started climbing; the Rock Warrior’s Way was too dense to be inviting and Espresso Lessons was condescending and basic.  Of her own volition, she purchased Vertical Mind to try and better herself when she was learning to lead climb and felt comfortable with both the information and the delivery.  Once she finished reading I wanted to follow suit so that I could both gather any new information and to get on her level so we would be speaking the same language as she progressed.  I was not disappointed.

I started the book over Christmas in 2015 while in a sling from shoulder surgery.  I figured that I could train my mind while my body was recovering.  I am writing this review 14 months later because it took me that long to finish.  One, because of the aforementioned three jobs, and two because I read several books at once so I can change genres whenever I want.  The third reason was because as I was healing and getting back into climbing after months of physical therapy I worked on each section of the book.  There are 11 chapters and I read the first four in a week.  They set the stages by exploring first how the brain works and then applied that to the most common fears in climbing.  They boiled down specific fears to two simple fears; Fear of Falling and Fear of Failure.  Boom!  Eye opening and mind blowing that my fear of encountering bees on a route, while a separate fear of bees in and of itself, is connected to my fear of failure and falling because it is a sudden and unexpected hardship that will inhibit my ability to perform and could lead to a fall.  Now, if I find some bees, I can focus on the problem, the bees, and find a solution.  Now, bees are extreme, though I have had it happen, but more common is a hold that breaks, or being run out over marginal protection, or even just climbing in front of people.  Applying their LESSON acronym to falling from Chapters 5 and 6 and then working with their ABC acronym to failure in Chapters 7 and 8 took time to work through, especially being on the sharp end after almost 6 months of  being firmly on the ground with a an injury.  Chapter 9 goes where no other book does; communicating with your partner on a better level.  It’s not just about rope tugs to communicate in windy conditions, it’s about reaching an understanding with your partner so that their is co-creative coaching going on.  If I know what my partner feels, then I can better guide them through their own mental blocks and the partnership gets stronger.  Chapters 10 and 11 put all of the teaching together with a series of exercises looking at the bigger picture after the drill form the previous chapters.  If you really take the time a I did to apply each exercise and re-read passages to better understand, then you will be a better climber.

A friend recently cautioned me about the crux on a gym route near my limit that she had top-roped but didn’t think it was safe or smart to lead.  I looked at the route from the ground in a safe place, applied the starting phases of the lessons I had learned, checked with and communicated with my partner about what might happen and made sure they were good to go, and then I took off.  I fell three times at the crux in a lateral fall that took me around the arete but I never felt scared or embarrassed.  Did the mental training work?  I guess so because I felt comfortable the whole way and now my friend has resolved to commit herself to pushing harder by leading more simply by watching a calm and relaxed performance that still contained falls.

Hey, Don McGrath and Jeff Elison…

…here’s to better sending!

-Tylor Streett, still has sweaty palms, but that’s genetic, but at least his heart rate is down when he’s pumped out above a ledge and the only piece that will fit was already placed.