ASSESSMENT

[west_climbs]

Im new on Arbtalk and i decided to make a account so i can talk to some advanced climbers and climbers in general, i've just turned 20 and over the past 2 weeks i've been doing my climbing tickets, climbing with saws, Ariel cutting and rescue the whole lot and i've enjoyed every minute today was my assessment and when it came to doing a rescue on a stem with spikes i completely freaked out and my mind went blank and my assessor basically had to tell me how to do it even though i had done it fine at the beginning of the week thankfully i passed all the other areas and passed my assessment and have now got my tickets as a climber i just keep beating myself up about that rescue and felt like i didn't deserve to get passed i don't know if any of you guys have ever felt like this, the reason i'm posting this is not too look for attention but this is the only place i feel like i could talk about this and maybe get some answers and advice

[peds]

Yo, mediocre part time tree climber here, life-long mountain and rock climber.

 

It takes time for muscle memory to build up, and to forge the right pathways in the brain to use newly learned skills effectively. Passing an assessment doesn't mean you are a capable operator in any discipline, it just shows you are technically capable of becoming one. Your assessor probably clocked that you were just having a brain fart, but that you'd be well and able to perform decently given enough practice.

 

Don't lose any sleep over it, channel that frustration into a motivation to get out and use the skills you've learned until you can do it reliably, 100% of the time, even when you are cold, wet, hungry, and in the pouring rain. Get out there and get good.

 

(I'm sure some of the better tree guys will have something to say too, but there's really no difference between a tree and a mountain when ropes are involved: ****************ing up will still kill you or the people around you.)

[manco]

sounds fine to me.

over-confidence can be a severe hazard, even fatal.

youve learnt the basic skills. now you need to stick to them and gain experience.

measure twice, cut once.

go over your aerial rescue procedures a few times though, your mind will go to shit anyway when its the real thing, and seconds count.

[Doug Tait]

I wouldn't worry about it. You might not feel like you deserved to pass but the assessor deemed you competent, you've got your tickets, well done.

 

I'm fairly confident there'll be many more moments of confusion, mistakes to make and things that knock your confidence but that's all part of learning something new. The main thing in my opinion is when things aren't going well, you're scared or unclear about what you're doing, slow everything down and get a handle on the situation before you act!

 

Good luck with it and enjoy yourself.

[Stubby]

You will go strait to prison you charlatan you ! 🙂

[Will C]

You have mearly been deemed good enough to go a learn the job and how to do it! It will take a min of 2 years to be able to tackle any situation you come across as second nature. Now go climb and enjoy your learning!

[Matthew Norman]

Hi west_climbs

Don't sweat it. When I did my climbing assessment in '98 I just couldn't figure out how to do one of the rescues, and relied on my casualty whispering the stages to me. You're brand new to the scenario, so take it as a learning point, and maybe keep in mind that it might be something you need to work on in the future. Good luck.