However, if you develop the habit of always forcing through anxiety and fear, you may gradually find yourself developing the opposite problem, of taking it too far. If you take it too far in that direction, you are still being controlled by fear, because now it’s making you do things you shouldn’t do, rather than stopping you from doing things you should do. I see tons of people, myself included, making the mistake of being controlled by fear in either direction. Both are bad for you as an evolved human, and the second one can be deadly.

Where this gets dangerous is when you are in situations that are more high risk. What I’ve learned through free soloing and climbing in the mountains is that you need to listen to fear–mainly because if you are completely gripped by fear, you will not perform as well as you need to perform to be safe. If all the fundamentals are in place: you are completely prepared physically, mentally and emotionally, and you are still clenched by fear, something is wrong. Something may be off: conditions may not be right, you may be overlooking something, or you simply may not be as truly ready as you thought. This isn’t the same thing as being totally nervous. But what I’ve learned through personal mistake is that if you’re too scared and you go for it anyway, you will most likely do a bad job and get hurt or have a close call, or at least an unpleasant experience. And in evaluating things after the fact, you’ll most likely come up with at least 2-3 things that actually weren’t right and should have been enough reason to back off.

It’s not a simple thing, and there’s not a simple answer. But what I would say is think about listening to fear, as much as you would listen to any other element such as fatigue, wind, darkness, cold, rather than being controlled by it like a puppet. With evaluating fear, you also need to be extremely objective with yourself and where you are. The more you can separate yourself from emotional response, the more you can be sure of having an intelligent perspective, because fear is perhaps the ultimate emotion.
Steph

I’ve never had a dog but have always wanted one, and have been seriously thinking about getting one soon. I know that with this lifestyle I need a dog that can withstand harsh temperatures, will be very active (or okay with a very active lifestyle), will be trainable and well-behaved, not aggressive against strangers/ able to hike with groups of 10 kids who may or may not have behavioral issues (for my work), and, for myself, a dog that will be loyal and love me unconditionally. Hearing you talk about Fletch, and from my own reading on heelers, they sound like the ideal dog. My questions though… I’ve never owned a dog, and while I’ve read a bunch about dog training, I know that reading is different than doing. How long would it take a dog to be well enough trained that they could manage that lifestyle, work with kids, and not take all my attention from the kids I’m working with, whose safety is in my hands? How do you deal with national parks that aren’t dog-friendly? I’m going to such a beautiful area, I don’t want to be cut off from half of it… What about while I’m climbing, what do I do with a dog then? And the time commitment.. I know I want a dog and I know it’s a long commitment and I’m pretty sure I can do it, but who knows what I’m going to be doing 5-10 years from now. I know I want an active lifestyle now, but what if five years from now I decide I want to go to grad school, or teach, or do something that doesn’t allow me to spend 24/7 outside with my dog… Should I consider a dog besides a heeler, who might, if circumstances change in the future, be able to deal with a less active lifestyle and more time alone? I know it’s a lot of questions… I want a dog so badly, but I know it’s a big decision, so am probably going to give myself a couple months–to start work, figure out truck living, etc–before committing.. Still any advice (about dogs, truck living, living alone as a girl, anything…), is appreciated!
Thanks so much and hope all is well,
Jory

Hey Steph,
I have a etiquette question for you. I often see people who bring their dogs to the crag. Some of these dogs are super chill, mind their own business and wait patiently for their owners. I love these dogs. On the other hand many of the doggies are not so happy with their owners climbing up and away from them, the dogs bark whine and run amok among the other climbers. I have also seen dogs left tied up with no food or water when their owners go on multi pitch routes. Now I’m not a confrontational person but I am an animal lover, how would you handle a situation with an unruly or mistreated crag dog? What is the right thing to say to an owner and how do you feel about dogs at the crag? Thanks!
-Betsy

Hi Steph,
I’ve recently gotten into climbing and am really enjoying it. I have been planning for awhile now to move into my car and travel full time. I’ve also been really interested in getting a dog, I love them and have always wanted one that I could take hiking and camping with me, but it seems it might be hard to dirtbag with a dog. Is it possible to have a dog and still be able to do multi pitch routes?
Alex

Dear Jory, Betsy and Alex,
My favorite subject….dogs!!
And I also spend hours thinking and talking about all these topics, of course.
A dog is a terrifyingly major commitment. When I first got Fletch, I was living in my truck, and I would be out of the country on expeditions for 4 months a year. A lot of my time in the States was spent in climbing areas, including Yosemite, Tuolomne, Josh and Hueco Tanks. Obviously it would have been impossible for me to take Fletch: but I did.

Before I got her (from my friend Skuter who was accepting applications for a permanent foster parent because he was leaving to New Zealand and Antarctica without a defined return date), I did interrogate talk to my closest friends to determine whether they would truly be willing to watch Fletch for 2-3 month stints if I left the country. The US travel situation I would figure out.

I discovered that not having Fletch in my life would have been far more difficult and unpleasant than having her in my life. In fact, not having Fletch would have been the worst thing I could ever imagine. And I also developed a deep and growing bitterness toward anti-dog regulations in natural outdoor places, particularly when said natural places are generally asphalted and concessionized to make them more user-friendly to people driving around in RVs and purchasing plastic items for children. However, I digress.

I also discovered that my friend Jimmie Dunn knew exactly what he was talking about when he said “anyplace that’s good for dogs is good for humans.” And the opposite is equally true. So having a dog kind of forces you into places that are good for you.

When Fletch finally passed away, it was two years before I could even think of getting another dog. And I got the same cold feet all over again: what about all the responsibility of having a dog, needing to have her watched if I went somewhere she couldn’t go…. And then I realized that I now had a cat who had decided to move in one day and required constant company and special dinners, and I already needed a house sitter anytime I left for the night, so it would really be no different except a dog could come out camping too. Now that we have adopted Cajun, I have realized all over again that not having a dog is just no fun. So any inconvenience she involves is far outweighed by the quality she adds to life.

Still, I would urge anyone who decides to join their life to a dog to remember that this is a commitment for life. It’s even more serious than a commitment you might make to another human, because a dog depends on you unconditionally for everything, and betraying that trust is just not an option. Maybe you’ve read dog bios on adoption sites about dogs who are in the shelter because their family “moved and couldn’t take him.” If you get a dog, there is no “moving and just can’t take him,” unless maybe you are moving to the state pen. And if that happens, you need to find a home for him that is as good or better than yours was. You are committed to this being until death do you part. Yes, this should be the scariest decision of your life so far. If the lifestyle you want to pursue would not be healthy and good for a dog, you can’t have one. If you don’t think you can provide for your dog in all eventualities, with or without you, you can’t have one.

Dog parents have the same questions and issues as baby parents when it comes to outdoor recreating. People who don’t have dogs or babies are generally not sympathetic to having their climbing day inconvenienced in any way by small often loud creatures. My feeling is that if you bring your dependent creatures climbing, you should do your best to make sure they are not inconveniencing others and that they are safe and relatively well-entertained. You should also be ready to discipline them if they are causing trouble. This will be very tiring and distracting for you during the training/learning phase (also embarrassing since puppies usually ky yi like they are being murdered if you pull their ear for nipping at someone), and you will most likely be doing more training/tending than sending and probably lots of apologizing also. But the idea is that eventually they will grow into excellent crag attendees and then everyone will be happy.

Babies and dogs will not always be perfect and they may occasionally annoy others. But if you are doing your best to take care of them and you are also trying to teach them manners at the crag, others will cut your menagerie some slack during the learning process. Dogs and babies that never come out climbing will never learn to be well behaved in community settings. If you are not doing your best to take care of them and you are not making an effort to teach them to be well behaved in community settings and they are consistently annoying everyone around you, you should not bring them.

I’m really not sure how to politely tell someone that they are not raising their dog or baby correctly, so honestly I just don’t. Dogs do need water, and I don’t think anyone would consider it inappropriate to inform people they need to give their dog water. People should also teach their dogs to wait for them without being tied up because a dog should not be left somewhere trapped alone with no way to get away from things like coyote packs, but that’s probably pushing the bounds of appropriate input from strangers. If I see a leashed dog that is thirsty or hot at a crag, I give it water and move it into a shady place. That’s about the best you can do.

Depending on your dog and where you are climbing, it is totally possible to do multi-pitch climbing with them. We often take Cajun up to Castleton Tower. She waits at the base until we reach the summit, and then as soon as she sees our parachutes appear, she runs down the hill to meet us at the landing area. Of course if you are climbing in a place where dogs are illegal merely for existing, or must be chained up at all times, this won’t work–but that’s a problem I solve by not going to places like that.

With regards to how they will behave: puppies are a handful, but I have noticed that most dogs tend to gradually take on the characteristics of their human. It makes sense: they do live with you and sleep with you and spend every moment of every day with you. It would be sort of impossible for your personalities not to merge.

Steph

I just see a reporting in the Brasilian TV ( Discovery ) about you and your adventure one hour.  like in this saturday morning before I go to the club to play tenis, during the cofee break,  my day catched a bright seem your adventure.

I am a executive man here, working at a Investment Bank, like AbnAmro, Santander and others…..I have inside me a adventure style, I surfing, during the summer I diving, I have a Sport Bike and I use to go to make a treakking( write this form ? )… a year ago I kiss my wife get my back pack and went to Andes, to make a INCA trail and other.  I felt like a bird in the sky, only me and my body open in the air, my mind free and others feeling that I can´t describe…

Seem you today morning, I got again this feeling. others plans I wrote to me, like Andes and uchuaia… but the executive life can´t let me to get the courage to put of the ideas in the street.  however, I love to see or meet people that have the life style that I would like to have.

You in Utah, the mountain places and hard body and energy is the all that people need..   so, Steph  I hope that this information about me doesn´t boring…..

share me more information and adventures…..
now is the time to play tennis, it isn´t as well as make a trekking but is the adventure for this saturday morning.. congratulation!!!! for you energy..

kisses
Eugênio

Hello Eugenio,
Thanks for your lovely letter
I agree, there is something really special about that feeling of solitude and connection when going to the mountains alone.
So I hope you will pick up your backpack again and have another trip somewhere…..!!!
xxSteph

Hi Lenny,
Thanks for writing and for your thoughts about finding peace in journeys. I think that is really the reason for doing anything, and the best thing about climbing is that it teaches us to strip down, to learn the simplest (and easiest) way to do things, to always figure out what is the least needed. For me, that is the best thing climbing has to teach. I really believe that a simple life and a simple approach is the way to contentment. So for me, climbing is the path that has continuously led me to things like practicing yoga and meditation, being vegan, running, base jumping–all things that are very basic and simplistic, and mainly ask you to spend a lot of time inside your own head. I think another thing climbing has taught me is to value freedom above anything else, and to be curious and open to everything, and also to arrange my life so I have the ability to walk through doors when they open–all of which goes back again to living simply.
Anyway, I hope you like the book, and thanks for the letter and the photos!
Steph

First I want to thank you for writing that wonderful book, it is really something special, very inspiring, dealing with questions I was dealing with in my life, as a person, and as a woman. I can’t wait for that next one.

All my life I thought I was anti-sportive type, I hated group (popular)sports, and unfortunately where I was born couldn’t get in touch with any extreme sports…so it took a while, I’m now 28……..but,  I have loved heights from when I can remember myself

As a little, every time when I was standing at high and looking down, at a window of a building or an edge of a cliff , I was feeling the best I could feel, that vast space in front of me was like embracing me, calling… but not in my wildest dreams could I imagine then that one day will that jump be possible to do!

It’s all I think about constantly… I do not see it as an ambition or wishing to do something cool or brave or all that nonsense…don’t see it also as „I could try“ thing, but I find it to be the most beautiful, freeing, “awaken“, life-full thing one can possibly do. Something like pure happiness , a complete connection with you and nature. Often I vision myself actually flying, falling…

I’m aware of the risk task, and hearing constantly of unfortunate mistakes, made even by those who were really good. So, I would like to ask you for an advice, which way would you advice me to proceed.

I’m an acrobatic paragliding pilot, so air environment and critical situations are a familiar for me, but I ‘m not sure how much that could help. I also have heard some, claiming that not having any parachuting experience could be even positive thing, as for to start directly for base and practice  free fall indoor (“body flight”). Honestly I don’t believe that logic, anyway  thought  I could ask someone competent for opinion on that, that is you

As I could understand until now, the proper way would be to start a parachute course, and jump as often as I can to gain experience, than after few hundred jumps (I think 200 jumps done recently is what is required as minimum ), that would be 1-2 years skydiving, I could start thinking of a base course.

I climb too, not very hard stuff, level 6b, but enjoying every single moment on the rock ) Cracks and high boulders are my favorite I fell in love with climbing year and a half ago, so now when I see a beautiful high rock face I don’t know what would I want more,to climb it, or to fly from it.. as for climbing, it seems to me it takes more training from now on to be able to reach next level of difficulty.

I would be the happiest person on earth if I could do all three, all day long, every day…acro, climbing and jumping….but  I’m not going to bother you with -how to organize my life – questions I’d be more than grateful if you could only give me an advice how to proceed for realizing my dream for jumping. Any suggestions for a school in Europe or maybe visiting the States,are welcomed.

Thanks, wish you all the sunny days and blue skies!
Big hug,
Emilia

Dear Emilia,
Thanks for writing! You have a great approach to everything you are doing, and it was really nice to read your letter

You’re right about the standard advice for those who want to start jumping. But you are an exception to the norm, because of your acro paragliding experience. You already have a lot of knowledge of wind, canopy performance and flight, and canopy control is the main thing needed in base jumping. You definitely have a lot of parachute experience already, though not from the typical first step to base jumping which is skydiving: it’s true that you could benefit from just a little time in the wind tunnel, and after that you will have no problem with anything in skydiving.

I know some people who went directly to base jumping because they were acro pilots and felt that their canopy skills were enough to start safely base jumping at a bridge. Personally, I like to follow the more systematic approach, and I think you’re right that it’s good to get skydiving experience no matter what before starting to base jump. Almost as important as piloting skill, it’s important to get comfortable with free fall, and skydiving is the best way to do that. The more skydives you can do the better, there’s no denying that for anyone–the very best way to start base jumping would be to have done 1000 skydives first, which is impossible to ask of anyone who wants to start base jumping nowadays. Still, it would be the best way. But like I said, your paragliding experience really changes things as far as adhering to the more standard progression of starting with a certain number of skydives and then to base, etc.

It sounds like you have a great approach and you do your research with things. As you know, you are really lucky to live in Europe as there are no legality issues with any flying sports and you have tall, awesome cliffs coming out your ears I think you should start by taking a skydiving course. Along the way, you will be talking to more people, and getting a more clear idea of what your next step should be. You may want to follow the standard 1-200 skydive recommendation before starting base. There’s really no reason not to, and it’s just a fact that the more you skydive, the better jumper you become and it directly translates to base. But like I said, you seem very careful in your thought process, so with you I would not be worried about the possibility of trying to take shortcuts or doing things carelessly, which is sometimes a problem for jumpers. In your case, I would say trust your instincts, and if it seems like the right time to take the next step, I think it is.

BLiNC is a good resource for a lot of base questions, and this is their post about first jump courses, and a general post about getting into base jumping. I highly recommend getting a copy of The Great Book of B.A.S.E.

This season, Mario and I started a service in Moab called Moab Base Adventures. We are offering a full range of base services, from guiding of experienced jumpers to first cliff camps (which you may be interested in at some point) to tower jumps to tandem base jumps. So there are lots of options out there to keep learning.
See you in the air somewhere…
Steph

Good friend of mine who climbs put a link to your Tower Project video on his facebook page. I’m looking now at some of the other pics and videos. Beautiful and amazing ! Thanks for taking the time to record it and make it available. I’m enjoying it.

Thanks,
Fran

Thank you Fran!
Steph