My Backyard: West Slabs

After the low 5th class ridges of Devil's Castle and the south ridge of Mt. Superior, I've had my eye on the West Slabs of Mt. Olympus for the past few weeks as the next low 5th class climb to complete. The West Slabs are around 1,000 feet of easy climbing with many good holds the whole way up if you look for them. I knew I could do this because it has a similar rating to Devil's Castle and the south ridge of Mt. Superior, but I was still really scared. As I said in my Devil's Castle post, I used to have severe anxiety in all areas of life and was basically always in a panic attack state. Over the years I've overcome a lot of that by forcing myself to do the things I had fear about over and over again until my brain believed it didn't need to stay in a permanent state of fear anymore. My wonderful family, God, and many other good things have made a huge difference as well. Now I keep my fear and anxiety in check by continuing to do the things in everyday life that keep me moving forward in my battle against anxiety and fear. But I also schedule strategic time in the mountains with challenges that are just beyond my comfort zone to continue to battle and conquer fear. The mountains have definitely become a pretty spiritual place for me and make up such a huge part of the mental stability I now enjoy everyday. I was actually very calm for the beginning of the climb because I was planning on another summit today and wasn't thinking about this as an option, but then the snow hadn't melted so I decided today was a good day for the Slabs since they are at a lower elevation. About halfway up though it really started to hit me that I had to keep going to the top and there was no going back the way I came (at the top you go down a different way than you came up). I had to do what I do on every hike, run, and climb and remind myself I could do it, simplify the task at hand in my mind, and pray a lot for the strength and mental peace I need. The good thing about the Slabs is that there are so many routes you can follow on your way up. Every time the amount/type of holds got a little too far out of my comfort zone I was able to redirect my line to an easier path. I probably found the easiest way up for sure but that was my plan. I had no goal of speed today, just giving the mountain the respect it deserved and very carefully enjoying the exhilarating and adrenaline filled experience.