23 February 2009

Jerry Moffat - Revelation

Jerry Moffat was probably the best climber in the world during the 1980s. In 1989, he was in the lead in the World Cup competition ranking. In 1993, he did the FA of The Dominator 8B. 8a gives the biography the highest score - 8a!

It is actually a real book, 246 pages of interesting reading. It most have taken Jerry and his ghost writer Niall Grimes, several months to complete. In one way you realize that both Jerry Moffat is the true legend in UK as well as climbing is getting more popular, as you start to read the first ever sport climber biography published.

To read it, it is like getting a history lecture of how it was in beginning of the development of sport climbing and most of the celebrities are actually mentioned. It is not so much reflexions, it is mostly straight forward from a dedicated climbers point of view, climbing, climbing, climbing...

So when Jerry and Nial sums up the mental challenges, tools and why he left the competition arena after winning some events in a more in-depth but easy understandable explanation about anxiety and the cost for winning, I am very impressed and thankfully enlightended. Wow! I have to read these paragraphs again... (It is actually so good so here you have the magic pfrases.)

The key to his competition success was mental positive training.

"The book I had read had produced increadible results. I told on one about it, or about how I had achieved my success. I t took place behind close doors. My training, too, was mostly done in secret, as I never wanted anyone to know what I was up to, or how good I was. I was becoming an introvert, distancing myself from my friends, and it didn't suit me, Sucess came at a prime."

"I am the best competition climber in the world. i always succeed. I always flash 8a. My footwork is precise and efficient. I move on rock fast and gracefully. I have plenty of time to work out moves, because my recovery is so good. I can de-pump anywhere. I am the strongest, fittest climber in the world.

That message reinforced itself at the bottom of each day in my diary for nearly two years. Then one day, on 16 September, 1990 it just stopped. I no longer had energy the energy to keep it all up. I wanted to get myself back again. i wanted to see my friends. I wanted to climb for myself. I wanted to do first ascents. Most of all I wanted to have fun." 

The chapter about money is also interesting reading and a good lesson for they who want to be professional climbers.

As, "Significant Ascents and Dates" covers seven pages, you realize that he would have made many headlines if www.8a.nu had been ot there, 20 years ago.

Errors - They are using the old grade conversion table that says E10=9a so as E=11 and E=12 have been suggested by British climbers, a new grade conversion table has been produced by UKclimbing after comments by www.8a.nu.

It does also say that Action Directe was suggested to be  XI-/XI = 9a by Wolfgang Güllich. This is not true. The correct french grade was 8c+/9a. The 9a upgrade was suggested by www.8a.nu.

13 comments
Sort by:
Date
Reply
Favorites