I'll admit it. I am scared of heights. I don't like aretes, cliffs, etc.

How can one train to overcome this fear?

If you live in a flat area try climbing in the gym. It helped me even though I was never too scared and it definetely helped a friend of mine after I suggested it to her since she was very afraid of height.

As a kid, I was deathly afraid of heights. I think it is a natural instinct that many of us have to varying degrees. Over the years, I had to go out on high roofs to observe construction and gradually learned to control the fear. One thing that helps is to concentrate on what's close at hand. I've seen some really high exposure since those days. One other thing that I've learned is that if the distance is great enough, it no longer seems like real height and the fear doesn't happen. I think the answer for you is to simply work on it. Take on heights and learn to concentrate on something other than the height and to talk yourself into controlling the fear. A climbing gym could help; so could climbing ladders (although shaky ladders could add another dimension to the fear).

graduall safe exposure.

I also can get a very healthy dose of "fear of heights." I've felt the sewing machine leg and I've nearly froze on high exposure, single 4th class moves. It's mental but can have a strong physical effect on the body. I find you just can't think about it to much and the more you're out the better. Sometimes I'll use the pool analogy, does it really matter when I'm swimming how deep it is. Kinda dumb but it works.

A question I have is, do other people only freak out while going up? I can be going up a ridge or even a trail with high degree slope and get freaked out a bit but would have no issues on the same section while heading down. Consequences would be the same. Must be a sense of completion which is one reason why so many get in trouble, let their guard down, on the decent.

Go to the suburbs and walk on street curbs. After you can do that with confidence, imagine what would happen if you fell off the curb into a busy street; or if you fell off a curb-width ledge on a mountain. Then think, "but I've been doing this all along, there is no reason that I must fall."

The other advice: don't look down.

Climb The Shield on El Cap. After that nothing will feel more exposed.

fatdad wrote:Climb The Shield on El Cap. After that nothing will feel more exposed.

LOL is there a lot of natural ledges on that?

Understand that for most people ( outside of the Honnolds or Stecks of the world), fear of heights is a function of experience and the amount of control you feel like you have. To get over it.... Acclimate yourself to increasing amounts of exposure. After a while, having a few thousand feet of air under your feet will feel good since you will feel like you are home.

Get paid to train - take a side job cleaning the gutters on two-story houses.

Vitaliy M. wrote:

fatdad wrote:Climb The Shield on El Cap. After that nothing will feel more exposed.

LOL is there a lot of natural ledges on that?

Some scattered after Mammtoh Terraces and the ledge just below Chickenhead Ledge midway in between P22 & P23, is a welcome site


I say get on Jolly Roger and shit your pants for 4-6 days.

Or take up this adventure pastime. It will rid you of your height fright rather quickly and redirect your focus....


EDIT: ADDITION OF PHOTO

Perhaps it is not necessary to lose a fear of heights. I met a rock climber who soloed Rainbow Wall (the climb) here in Red Rock; yet he admitted that he couldn't stand "edges" and would not look down over the side once on top. When climbing, he just stayed focused on the moves in front of him.

Vitaliy M. wrote:

fatdad wrote:Climb The Shield on El Cap. After that nothing will feel more exposed.

LOL is there a lot of natural ledges on that?

Like A5 wrote, not much. After you turn that roof on pitch 18 or so, there's nothing but 95 degree headwall for lots of pitches, with no fat, wide dihedrals to hide the exposure. Just you and the air. Lots of other routes on the Captain have that same, airy feel, at least in spots.

I just remember doing a long exposed route on Tahquitz after getting off and having a partner balk at some airy move. I got up and thought 'this isn't exposed at all'. Definitely not a permanent cure though.

Dude.

It's natural to be scared of heights. Repeated and frequent exposure to heights will help you to become a lot more comfortable with heights.

But if you take a few months off from climbing, you will need to be re-acclimated to heights.

It's a fear that's hard-wired into out brains.