Author(s): Eric J. Horst

Sport

As physical as climbing is, it is even more mental. Being technically sound and physically honed is not enough to navigate a high-ball boulder problem, personal-best lead, intimidating big wall, or treacherous mountain. Ultimately, we climb with our mind - our hands and feet are simply an extension of our thoughts and will. Becoming a master climber, then, requires that we first become a master of our mind. This book is about more than mental training - it's about brain training. From the three pounds of brain matter between your ears emanate not only your thoughts, but also all motor skill, muscular recruitment, and the mystical forces of intuition and will power. Given this broad purview it becomes clear that the brain is the epicenter of all aspects of climbing performance and that brain training is of paramount importance to participants in all climbing subdisciplines. No matter if your preference is bouldering, sport climbing, traditional, alpine or mountaineering, the quality of your performance and experience arises from the hundreds of billions of neurons and synapses in your brain.
Consequently, the brains of master climbers (of every kind) run a most complex "software" that facilitates execution of highly refined motor and mental skills, and gives rise to the intangible psychic forces of intuition and will power. You might consider Maximum Climbing, then, to be your user's guide to the software of your brain.