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Blog

DEALING WITH YOUR FEAR OF FALLING

9/6/2021

 
Your heart rate picks up, beating loud enough for you to hear. Your limbs start shaking - first your hands, then your legs. You can’t hold on any longer, but also you’re too afraid to let go! And before you know it, you’re off the wall…falling! 

No matter how you feel about falling, there’s no denying that it is an integral part of climbing. We climb and we fall - it’s just how it goes! But there is fear and anxiety attached to this that we all have to work through at some point or another. 

The fear of falling can hinder us from truly enjoying our climb, especially on lead climbing when you will likely experience a bigger fall (i.e. falling a greater amount) compared to bouldering and top rope climbing. 

While it is completely natural to experience this nerve-wrecking sensation when we are on the walls, we know it can be tackled with some training.

Here are three training tips you can start with to help conquer your fear of falling:
1. Find a supportive and trusted belay partner 
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​Find a belay partner that isn’t looking to just belay you, but also support and encourage you in your fear. We know that communicating belay commands is a best practice in climbing, but so is having honest conversations about where you are at in your own climbing journey.
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Sharing that you are hesitating on a move because you are afraid to fall or that you need a break on the wall to rest your pumped arms are all things that can help you feel safer when fear starts to creep in. The right “belaytionship” can make a difference in how you feel on those walls. 
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2. Practice Control Falling:
 
Get into a position on the wall where you are ready to let go, and then do just that - let go! This is also a great practice in trusting your belayer to catch you! You need to see for yourself that the fall isn’t going to hurt you! 
 
Falling in a controlled setting (no matter how small the fall) is an incredibly effective way to manage your fears and how you have built-up the idea of falling in your own head. 

3. Normalize your fear 
 
Even professional climbers get scared too! Remind yourself that being scared is normal and repeat this to yourself when you’re on those walls. Fear is a natural part of any learning process. And we all know that the more we do something, the less the fear and nerves take over. So keep practicing - you got this! 
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4. Trust your climbing 
 
Your falling concerns can also be partially alleviated by trusting your climbing skills. Regardless of your climbing level, if you are prioritizing technique, you can take that with you even on those high walls and when your anxiety starts to kick in. 
 
Simply put, technique is the best defense against sloppy climbing, which results in less falls! One technique to prioritize - footwork! You’re less likely to slip off the wall if you  have secure placement on those tiny footholds! 
Bonus tip: Build confidence in your grip strength. This comes with practice and training, but we are stronger than we think we are! It’s easy to forget what our body is capable of in the midst of fear. We hesitate to make certain moves because we are afraid to fall on a reach up to the next hold. The chance of us successfully grabbing that hold is pretty high in any other situation, but the fear casts doubts. 

Recognizing that climbing is both a mental and physical game, we hope these tips help you in alleviating your fears. 

Understanding alone means nothing, so implementation is key! So save this article so you can apply these tips practically on our walls when we open again. 

See you on those (high) walls!  

My First Climb at PCCG

7/4/2021

 
The first time I went to Phnom Climb, it was ladies’ night. There were women everywhere, lacing up their climbing shoes, dusting their hands with chalk, and eyeing the bouldering wall with a critical eye. Most of them looked like they already knew what they were doing, which made me even more nervous as I walked up to the front desk with my friend. 

It seemed like the ideal night to go – it was at a discounted price, and I wouldn’t have to go alone. I quickly found a place to sit and put on my rental climbing shoes, preparing to approach the boulder wall with a bit of trepidation. I was excited, and I enjoy trying new things, but for some reason the idea of climbing a wall in front of strangers felt intimidating. 
I think part of me thought climbing would be more difficult for me, especially with a lack of upper body strength. I had seen a few climbers around town, and most of them were men. It almost made me think climbing was more of a male sport. That mentality? It was bullshit. Too many times, I let those fears hold me back. But seeing all the other women at the gym climbing, I quickly realized this wasn’t just a sport for men. 

I watched my friend attempt the route first, while I worked up the courage to get on the wall. But I quickly realized that the small groups of people clustered around the wall weren’t there to judge me. They were polite, helpful, and patiently waited while I started and finished my first climb.

It was one hand over another, a lot of trial and error, and clinging to the wall while I worked up the energy (and courage) to reach the final hold. And you know, I didn’t get it the first time. Or the second time. But that third time, when I finally conquered my first beginner route, it was an amazing feeling. 

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When I got back on the ground, my hands and arms were shaking. I sat down, with slightly shaky legs due to excitement and adrenaline, and watched the others start and finish more difficult routes. There were some new climbers, some who really seemed to know what they were doing, but everyone looked to have the best time hanging from the wall. 

It made me want to be a part of this community. This community that enjoyed trying new things, challenging themselves and others to be better, and encouraging those who were afraid to take a chance. 

It is easy to make climbing comparisons to other aspects of life, including the current state many of us find ourselves in at the moment with the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us feel like we’re blindly grasping for the next ledge to hang on to, or clinging to the wall with all we have just to stay above ground. It’s a long, slow and difficult process, and many of us are afraid. 

I know this feeling, I’ve felt it many times over the last year, and in many ways, it’s what I felt that first day on the bouldering wall. But the thing that made it easier that day, is the same thing that is getting me through life right now. Community. Encouragement. Perseverance. ​

That is what Phnom Climb did for me that first day, and what I see it has continued to do for the community in Phnom Penh. If you would like to hear more or see how you can get involved when they open up again, please contact them at welcome@phnomclimb.com. 
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I still remember how I felt going home that evening after I turned in my climbing shoes: tired, grateful, and exhausted. Taking a chance, climbing, and walking into the unknown can be intimidating. But if you lean into your fears, you may just find yourself at the top of a wall beaming down at those who helped get you to the top. 

Written by: Kaitlyn Speer 
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Reflecting on 2020

30/12/2020

 
I would be remiss if I didn’t start this blog with: “And what a year it has been…” Despite everyone saying it multiple times this year, it doesn’t make it any less true.

Gearing up for change

Even without COVID, 2020 was always going to be a year of transition for Phnom Climb. Mary and Christoph’s (our founders/owners) departure from Cambodia (to move back to Switzerland) was fast approaching, and the gym’s future was somewhat up in the air. Whatever was decided in terms of ownership and management, transition was looming.

The year started out normal – strong actually. The team had reached a milestone of 100 members in February, and 2020 was projected to be the best financial year of the gym thus far. We also hosted the first-ever Sva Prey Bouldering Competition! This brought together competitors from Thailand, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, not to mention an awesome route-setting team from Malaysia!

March was definitely the turning point!

In the span of 3 weeks, 4 major things happened:
  • Shermaine (that’s me!), the new CEO, started working full-time.
  • COVID hit Cambodia and the schools closed immediately. Several businesses (i.e. cinemas, spas, KTVs and gyms) soon followed.
  • Mary and Christoph flew to Switzerland one week earlier than expected.
  • The gym closed. 

​Now, the questions were: What do we do to ensure the gym survives this closure, and what would the team do in the meantime?
Answers:
  • We started a Go Fund Me Campaign to help pay for rent and staff salaries during the time of closure. This was extremely successful due to the support from current and past community members, many of which donated from abroad! We were able to keep everyone on a full-time schedule and 100% pay! If we haven’t said this enough, THANK YOU to those who donated!
  • The team immediately went into project-mode at the gym. We repainted all our bouldering and top rope walls, decluttered and reorganized our storage room, talked through improving systems and processes, wrote out clear job descriptions, and came up with individualized professional development plans. It was a time to focus inward. ​
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Happy, happy summer!

Summer was another drastic 180! In the past, summers were always slower months for the gym given that school programs had ended and many expat families and adults would leave for summer vacation. COVID obviously changed all this, and our summer months were packed with kids coming to climb every day! Our coaches regularly had to double up on shifts! ​
Working alongside our long-time partners, Coach Andy’s soccer club and The Fly, we were able to organize one of the most popular summer sports camps in the city - every day, tuk-tuks would shuffle children to all 3 locales. This led to July being the best financial month of business ever!

​We were also able to start several building projects that had been discussed pre-COVID - all of which were focused on better space utilization within our warehouse structure. One of the more notable projects involved building our second floor seating area (a place long overdue), so that it could be used for birthday parties and as a viewpoint for climbing competitions! We also re-designed and moved our pull-up bars and changed up the kids wall in the back. 
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Cambodia’s “second wave”

Things were relatively "normal" for a few months, although the biggest challenge was not being able to run after-school programs as schools were still highly cautious. The gym decided to pivot and focus more on adult memberships and activities, such as team building events with corporates and NGOs.


Many businesses were gearing up for Christmas fairs and pop-ups. We had specifically built a new “moveable” kids wall, so that we could have it stationed at different locales for marketing purposes, but all of this came to a very abrupt halt with the consecutive November 3rd and 28th COVID resurgence in the country!

Much like April, the same groups of businesses were asked to close down. The streets emptied in Phnom Penh. Events were postponed, and schools closed for Christmas Break early.

Closure meant that we did what we always do - stay busy with projects. This time, we focused on building the extension of our bouldering wall, designed by our very own Seyha! This was yet another pre-COVID goal for this year that we weren’t sure was going to happen, but it did!
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Bouldering Wall Extension Project
And now for 2021…

Three closures in one year would make anyone nervous, and I was often asked by our community members: “Are things back to normal?” My response was always to awkwardly laugh-shrug and say: “I don’t know what normal is…I started this job and COVID immediately hit. THIS is my normal!”

But if anything is clear, this was a year of change and milestones - good and bad, often so intertwined you couldn’t tell the difference.
  • We closed, but we got a hell of a lot done! COVID meant losing a lot of adult members and school programs, but it also meant families travelled less and were looking for new activities to do in-country.
  • Even after losing almost 30% of our adult memberships in April, by October, we were able to get back up to that original milestone of 100 members again (and had more Khmer memberships than the year before).
  • Our toddler class expanded from once a week to three times a week!
  • We built, built and built!

2021 is uncertain - there is no point of reference, no baseline, no crystal ball. We can only continue to work our a$$es off and be cautiously optimistic (aka. realistically hopeful). Moving forward is the only way to go, and we’ll have to wait and see what new milestones lay ahead (alongside a few obstacles...just to keep things interesting)!

Climb on!
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Celebrating PCCG's 5-year anniversary in October!

Are you Pumped?!

9/12/2020

 
You might think we are asking you if you're pumped to climb - we know the answer to that already...of course you are! Duh!

But in the climbing context, being pumped means something slightly different: When you can't hold on any longer, you're pumped (aka. your grip strength is gone, kaput!) 


This happens when lactic acid builds up in your forearms while climbing and this begins to restrict the movements you can achieve. Ever feel like your mind is trying to tell your fingers to grip more and they just aren't listening to you? Yep, we've all been there! 

To prevent this from limiting your climb, you can work on improving your efficiency and not forcing a climb, which may cause injuries. 
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Pisey crimping hard! ​
Our suggestions: 

Remember that you can always take breaks on the wall! When you are in a comfortable position (say a good hand hold or balanced body position), let go of one arm and as Tay Swift says, "shake if off!" Then, switch arms and do the same with the other. This is a great way to relief some pressure while you're still on the wall. ​​
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Federico taking a break and chalking up on a top rope route.
When you're off the wall, stretching your forearms and/or giving them a quick massage can also be helpful. 

Again we say: efficiency is key. This means being intentional in saving up your energy and grip strength so you're not pumped too fast. Something mental that can help with this is route-reading - read the route before you get on the wall to try it. Every moment on the wall counts, which means that the more time spent climbing, the faster you'll get to being pumped! Route-reading allows you to think through the moves beforehand, so you're not spending more of your energy attempting the route. 

And lastly, building up your grip strength can go a long way to help you climb longer. This, of course, means hangboard training! 
These are just our quick tips, but there are plenty of online resources to help you work through being pumped! Here are a couple: 
  • Tech Tip's Slowing the pump clock
  • Hangboarding for endurance: Not just for power
  • Top 10 warm-ups and stretches to do before climbing to avoid injury

At Phnom Climb, our coaches can help you with all these tips in-person! If you're looking to improve your climbing, join our classes!

​We'll walk you through how to read routes, give you a hangboard regiment to keep your fingers strong and happy, and also give you tips on how to generally climb more efficiently. 

Climb on! 
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Strong, but tired forearms!

Creating Perspectives with Climbing for Children

19/11/2018

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Pour un Sourire d’Enfant is a large organisation with educational programs from kindergarten to vocational training in and around Cambodia. All programs are set up to support the schooling of around 7000 students every year, and amongst them, the extracurricular activities program offers different sports and cultural activities to maintain the focus and motivation in school. All connected through the same ideas: teach values while having fun and learning by playing. So when Phnom Climb Community Gym offered us the opportunity to bring a group of students regularly, we couldn’t be happier. We just needed to explain the activity to the children. Easier said than done.

The first reaction of the children at school when told there was a climbing activity was disbelief, followed by curiosity and an endless torrent of questions: what are we climbing? How is that a sport? Is there a competition? Most of the students at PSE were brought up with the bare minimum in the outskirts of Phnom Penh or the province. Climbing when they were small wasn’t really about fun, but rather a way to get a juicy snack from the neighbouring trees.

The challenge is even bigger considering that climbing is such a new sport in Cambodia that it doesn’t really have a proper name. It is normally translated as “going up a mountain” and climbing in a gym is simply “going up a wall”. This cultural gap made the children imagine that climbing was a foreign thing, like running for fun, eating bread and wearing shoes indoors. In order to explain it, they had to see it by themselves.

But as soon as they accessed the gym, their confusion turned into amazement when they first arrived and saw the shining holds and colourful walls, and eventually into admiration when they saw that the place was run entirely by Cambodian youngsters from Siem Reap that grew up climbing mango and cashew trees just like them. This wasn’t a foreign activity, this was for everyone.
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It’s been almost a year and a half since the PSE students started climbing and it’s become such a varied group. Most of the students change monthly but there is always the hard core: there’s Vannara, an 11 year old from Sihanoukville that started out of curiosity and is now one of the strongest climbers of the group. She’s used that same curiosity to start other sports back in school and is an accomplished student; there’s Kimrong, a 15 year old from Siem Reap that has a hard time fitting in school and back home and is the most helpful belayer of the group; there’s Mit, a short 11 year old from Sihanoukville who’s built a strong confidence based on his climbing ability despite his size; and then there’s Mon, a problematic 16 year old from Phnom Penh that struggles in school and yet turns into the most disciplined and focused person the moment he stares into the bouldering walls. They’ve all learned to work hard, dedicating themselves every time they put on the climbing shoes and, as Mon puts it: “even if you’re surrounded by people, you’re competing against yourself.”

Do you also believe that climbing can change a life? Talk to us if you are interested in directly supporting a climber! Write us an email or contact us. 
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A fruitful climbing collaboration

4/6/2018

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Since 2016 Phnom Climb Community Gym has been working together with Chibodia e.V. The older children of the Children’s Home are allowed to go there every afternoon to practice climbing. They were taught how to climb better and learned a lot of skills. The climbing is a really good practice for their development.

It is not only about their physical development. Yes, they are getting stronger and are in good condition. But they also learn things about working together, helping each other and looking out for each other. They have to work together, be considerate, and  pay attention to each other, especially when they are safeguarding/belaying each other. During climbing they also learn about how they can solve problems, first to think and then to do something and to be flexible if something does not work out like they thought before. They also learn not to give up when it doesn’t  work immediately, but rather try again and again until it works out. So they are learning a lot about themselves and are getting more life skills, which will be useful in their future.

Our children got more self-confidence and knowledge about their strengths, skills and opportunities.
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One of our oldest boys also got a job at the Climbing Hall. He studies at school and he works there part-time. So he gets more positive experiences, develops his personality and can learn about the working-life. With the money he gets, he supports his family and also he is saving the money to buy a moto in the future. So he is learning how to deal with bigger amounts of money and how to save money for the future. These experiences can help him later, when he has finished High School and starts to study at the university. Then he will already know how to connect learning and working during a day.

And also a young woman, who lived as a child in Chibodia, works at the Phnom Climb Community Gym. She studies at the university in Phnom Penh and also works there. So she can pay for her own expenses.

During different climbing competitions, they showed their skills and abilities. This also shows the good teaching-quality of the climbing-teachers at Phnom Climb.
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Tarzan Climbing Day

21/7/2016

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Phnom Climb launched its first climbing competition this month. There was everything: Exciting climbs, great contestants, good food and fun prizes!

Tarzan, the guy who swings from tree to tree in the jungle. He is starring in a brand new movie showing in the theaters. To celebrate the opening of the Tarzan Movie in Cambodia, Phnom Climb organized a climbing competition together with Westec Media. It was the first event of this kind at Phnom Climb. 
Climbing competitions have been carried out in the following categories: 
  • Speed Climbing
  • Adults
  • Teens
  • Kids
The Phnom Climb Team put in extra efforts to set up fantastic competition routes!

We are proud of all participants and especially of the winners who have been working hard for their merits! 
Another highlight of the event wa
s the fantastic supply of food and drinks from Lot369 (coffee geeks and healthy drinks), Crumbs (addictive cookies) and Trattoria Bello (home made pasta!!)

Also a shout out to all the Phnom Climb volunteer who did a fantastic job. This event would not have happen without you! #Climberslove
Check out the pictures and find more pictures on the Westec Blog
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Performing Load Tests on Climbing Walls

26/2/2016

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Many of you have already seen our lead and top rope climbing walls. They have been up for a while now. But we were not yet able to open them to the public yet, because they have not yet been tested. 
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Testing for what? For your safety! A climbing wall is high and climbers are secured with ropes. When a climber falls, a multitude of his bodyweight is forced onto the rope and the safety points. For this we have to ensure that the safety points, where the ropes are attached to, can withstand sufficient weight. The industry standard defines that every safety point (anchor or top rope bar) has to be tested with a static load of 800 kg (1750 lbs). 

With AE Consuts, we had a reliable and experienced engineering partner on our side. They helped us with the planning and the welding and the testing of the welds so that we eventually arrived at the point where we were ready for the load tests. 

The Phnom Climb team has been working hard to test every safety point. We are excited that every test has passed successfully! This means we will be ready to open our lead and top rope walls any time soon!
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Girl Crush: An Interview with Mary Lüthy

25/2/2016

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This is an interview conducted by the Bouldering Babes from New York, US, with the Phnom Climb Co-Owner Mary. 

Read the full article here

Every so often, we’ll interview extraordinary girls doing extraordinary things: this isGirl Crush.  This week, we’re thrilled to feature Cambodia-based climbing entrepreneur Mary Lüthy, whose passion project is Phnom Climb, Phnom Penh’s first rock climbing gym.
Mary is super stoked about rock climbing because it builds community, a safe and supportive environment, trust, self-esteem, confidence and perseverance amongst locals and expats climber

BB: How did your love affair with climbing begin?  Was it love at first sight?.

ML: In my first year of teaching in NYC, my friend invited me to travel with her to Chiang Mai, Thailand over my summer break. She had some work meeting, so I looked for things to do and found that I could get out of town and go rock climbing with a guide. Besides the fact that my guide was super hot, I fell in love with climbing right away. It felt so natural getting to the top and I loved the views! Whenever I get to the top of a climb, I always take a few seconds to take in the view. One of my favorite places to climb is The Gunks during autumn.

BB: How has rock climbing changed and shaped your life?
ML: I’ve always been quite skinny and felt awkward for my small wrists and long arms. It wasn’t until I climbed that I felt strong and appreciated my body. I love the excitement of finishing a hard climb after working at it and I feel so accomplished! It’s made me more of a risk taker and to take life more lightly.
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Read the entire article on the Bouldering Babes Blog​
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Ciimbing to New Heights in Cambodia

6/2/2016

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Khmer Times Weekly published this great article about Climbing in Cambodia and Phnom Climb Community Gym by the on the 4th of February 2016.

“If you have the opportunity to go outdoors, you should take it,” Christoph Lüthy tells me when we meet at his Phnom Climb Community Gym on Street 460 in Russian Market. My climbing experience is virtually nil but something about the 2.5 metre-high bouldering wall being scaled by intrepid spider-like forms, the buzz of intent, amicable conversation on the ground, and Lüthy’s impassioned rhetoric move me. Before I know it, I’m signing up for Phnom Climb’s first outdoor trip."

Continue reading here
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  • Mondays to Fridays: 1pm to 9pm
  • ​Saturdays and Sundays: 10am to 8pm 

Contact Us

Phone: +855 17 897 105
Email: ​welcome@phnomclimb.com

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