I really like doing vie ferrate and I'm lucky to live in a place full of them. The problem is: I'm extremely scared of heights. As soon as I go above 5 meters of height my legs start shaking, my palms get sweaty, I start hyperventilating etc. It's always very tough to get it under control.
Any climbing anons out there scared of heights, how do you conquer it?
Austrian mountaineer Kurt Diemberger dislikes via ferratas for that reason. He says they allow inexperienced climbers to gain too much altitude too quickly which can cause them to freak out and 'freeze'. I would start in an indoor climbing gym if I were you.
you get used to it, I live in the dolomites and as a kid I was really scared of big heights and refused to get too close to ledges, but through gradual exposition I got used to it and now I have no problem doing basically any via ferrata. Risky passages without safeties still give me some problems though, I get an unpleasant adrenaline rush that makes me feel less steady, but over time I'll get over that too.
No other way around it, you just have to conquer it step by step (without taking unnecessary risks), as said start with indoor climbing and also go on trails that are walkable and safe but that expose you to increasingly steeper and taller drops.
Wow and you did that just by talking about it occasionally?
Oh you
Everyone is sick of tourists on the Garda.
You aren't scared of heights, you're scared of falling
Why are you doing via ferratas if you're so afraid of heights? You're ruining the experience for those of us who don't have those issues. Frick off back to your basic b***h hiking trails, thx
>how do you conquer it
By doing it repeatedly.
You don't go outside. Stop posting.
Real climbers don't have much patience for inexperienced gumbies who hold everyone up because they picked a route that's beyond their capabilities and comfort level.
Someone who says he's "extremely scared of heights" shouldn't even be doing via ferrata routes and should stick to basic hiking trails with minimal exposure. That would be best for him and everyone unfortunate enough to be climbing the same route on the same day as him.
you have a point and I agree that some inexperienced people are too eager and bite more than they can chew, but to be fair real climbers don't usually go on via ferratas unless they feel like doing something easy that day. Anyway if OP is that scared of heights he's probably only gone on really easy ferratas so far, and on those passing people slower than you is not really an issue
>not really an issue
That's not always true. Passing can be difficult if someone has stalled on a metal rung or ladder and is hesitant to continue moving out of fear. There's no getting around slower climbers in some sections, and many people (not just experienced climbers) will get inpatient with someone holding everyone else up for too long.
you know what, you are right. I thought about it a bit more and I remembered this one time when I had to wait over 10 minutes for a middle aged woman to get over a 5m tall wall. The via ferrata was overall an easy one but apparently it was her first one ever and it was way too technical for somebody like her, at the time I thought "she shouldn't be here"
wdym?
Right, I had a similar experience last year where I had to wait a long time for some dumbfricks to climb up stable granite rocks in perfectly dry conditions. Me and this other group were laughing at them and asking why they decided to do this route in the first place. Super annoying and they were dicks as well. One of us should have pushed them off the mountain lol.
If you want to fast-track confidence then fall training is the way to go
>Pristine, demanding, natural environment
>Install ladders and cables so people not knowing any better can swarm it at the risk of their lives, all for the sake of money
Crowding of the Alps and lakes is giving me AIDS.
I think a terrone even fell to its death from a ferrata to a short while ago.
thankfully the mountains on the Friuli side have been left much more "wild" than the rest so you can go there without feeling like you're in a playground, much fewer people too
> think a terrone even fell to its death from a ferrata to a short while ago.
eh I'm actually surprised that people don't die on those more often to be honest
we're only programmed to fear up to a certain height
above that level it just felt unreal instead of scary
Climb more.
>a bloo bloo I'm afraid
No. Climb more.