When seasoned rock climbers are climbing a big wall, such as El Capitan in Yosemite, do they feel fear? Frankly l can not even look at some of the photos taken while on big walls without feeling some vertigo and being glad that I am not there. Do climbers feel fearful when climbing such huge vertical walls?

l would not say fear, but rather respect. It is scary if you're climbing on crumbly terrain or if there is someone (rope) already in the wall, because rocks can fall on ur head. Sometimes it is scary, because some routes have poor security. Spacing between wedges can be wide, & u can not afford to fall. Sometimes l had bad feeling if rock was crumbly & there was no safe spot to place a wedge, screw, friend, or other safety device in. Then you're climbing like ''walking on the eggs''.
In general climber is not scared by height. Fear begins if something goes wrong, but usually then it is no time to be scared about.

A phrase from my climbing days: You can not say that something was very dangerous. It will be dangerous when u die. not any sooner.

l think they could become scared - like if they were climbing along and then suddenly a large bird flew a little too close and startled them, then yes, l think rock climbers can become scared.

i do not think the are scared by nature, l think they are pretty brave combined with nuts.

Uhhhhhhh..YES.

I've not done any big wall, but as I've been told, the only difference between falling 50 feet & 500 feet is the time that u have to think about it.
l am afraid of heights, but l love climbing. I've never led a climb, & that makes a difference. l have had a few instances where l froze up, got a tad freaked out, & eventually got through it. l think having a certain amount of fear, & as the other answerer put it, respect, keeps us safe. Oft-times, when climbers get cocky, they tend to make mistakes.

There r 3 things that lead to fear in climbing:

Exposure, Difficulty & Type of Climbing

Exposure is how far above the ground u r & how far u would fall. This is very mental - everyone has fear the first time they r 1000 ft off the ground & the people at the bottom look like ants. You get used to this one, but it will always get ur attention. The first time l lead Mt. Whitney & stepped out on to the 1st traverse l was scared - now each time l do it l feel the fear but know how to control it.

Difficulty is how far past ur climbing ability u are. If the climbing is like a ladder, ur fear is lower. If u r holding on to dime size holds (even 15ft off the ground) u r going to have fear. This one is limited by ur ability & u will always be able to find something hard enough to scare you.

The last one is subjective because if u r on top rope & KNOW that u can only fall 6'' before the rope catches you, most people wo not have fear regardless of the exposure or the difficulty. If u r leading a route that would normally be easy, then exposure & difficulty start to bother you.

Good Luck

Sometimes, if you think that your gunna fall it can be a bit scary. l find it depends who is belaying, if they are experienced then you relax into the climb more because you feel safer, however if your belayer is just a beginner who does not have a clue what they're doing and they do not understand what 'locking off is' when your about to attempt a hard move/know that you are gunna fall then it can be terrifying!!!!

not necessarily scaredom, but like a worriedness and happiness you can t describe. its so exhilariating.. im not scared of vertical walla as much as l am scared of overhanging walls that forse you to hold your self so tight.. thats scary!!

Some do. But the biggest thing l have figured out while climbing is that once you reach a certain point the height dosnt matter anymore. like you can get a little nervouse that your 200 ft off the ground. but after that the differenece between 300 ft and 500ft dosnt really register as more scary. So l personally get a little nervouse the first 20 ft of a climb then it goes away and im cool for the rest.

is adrenaline a type of fear because thats why l do it, for the adrenaline rush its great
its not fear exactly but its brilliant
bee
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Simple answer is yes.

As others have mentioned, that is part of the appeal for some people.

l am afraid of heights, unless I've climbed to the point l am at. My first climbing experience l led the climb because l was taller than the guy teaching me & thought l could reach something he couldn't. l was wrong. So we hiked up to the ''top'' of our climb (actually top of the first pitch) & walked out to the anchor on a little ledge. l was scared. After climbing the pitch though, l was completely comfortable sitting there.

Fear is an important part of climbing. It keeps u alive. It makes u double check that all ur safety precautions have been properly addressed. Sometimes it can cause problems, when you're half-way up a lead & get scared about the next few pieces (or lack thereof) of protection u have to place. I've seen people bail off of climbs they could have easily finished, but it is always better to come back & do it again than to make a mistake that could be fatal.

Fear is part of climbing. All climbers feel some sense of fear at some point. Dealing with it is what makes us better climbers, & in many ways better people. (But that is a whole other discussion.)

Most of us fear heights at least a little bit. Instead of giving up, we work through it and challenge ourselves. We respect the rock, and understand our skill proficiency. We are careful with our gear because we put so much trust in it.

l have been climbing for ages and its only recently ive got over mi fear of leading.
wen l was younger l was doing a slate wall and foolishly l held on to a big slice that was stickin out. it came off and so did l :P.
its not that scary if yuh have ur confidence bak though. just say to yourself to keep going . no probz:D..

do you climb or is this just a general wondering?
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