Listen to new audio eLesson here: eLesson_2012-0528a

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In the last lesson we discussed power and how keeping attention in the moment allows warriors to be powerful. In the next seven lessons we’ll look at power and how it’s applied to climbing, using a project I’ve been working on as an example: Gilgamesh.

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Resistance makes power possible. Resistance can be seen as negative and something to get rid of. Yet, resistance is what allows power to be applied. Without it there is no need for power; we’re just in our comfort zones. Resistance is how we experience stress and we need to relish stress so we can have something to apply our power to. We resist stress, yet we also desire to engage situations to apply our power. We need to find ways to balance our desire for comfort and our desire to apply our power.
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The level of resistance we feel helps us take appropriate risks. Too much resistance indicates the risk isn’t appropriate. We need to engage situations that have a moderate level of resistance so we can apply our power to process the stress into comfort. This is the essence of the learning process. With too much stress, we’ll resist engaging and contract, never making the conversion into comfort.
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Gilgamesh is a 40-foot roof crack. I found it in the mid 1990s on the backwaters of Daddy’s Creek in Tennessee. Gilgamesh was so imposing that I resisted it for 15 years. In November of last year I decided it was time to engage Gilgamesh and work toward a free ascent.
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I needed to create intermediate goals that had moderate levels of resistance. My first goal was hanging on every piece. This provided just enough stress so I’d be willing to engage. That engagement processed the stress and resistance into comfort, increasing my knowledge and comfort zone. With each visit I set intermediate goals that would increase stress, and therefore resistance. One goal was to learn the exact protection placements. On another visit it was identifying clipping and subtle rest stances. Another was working out the most efficient sequences. Each goals added a little stress and resistance, yet not more than I could process.

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