Matthew Childs' 9 life lessons from rock climbing

Traducător: Tita Mihai Corector: Valentin Petrea

It's pretty simple. There are nine, sort of, rules

Este destul de simplu. Sunt, oarecum, noua reguli,

that I discovered after 35 years of rock climbing.

pe care le-am descoperit in 35 de ani de alpinism.

Most of them are pretty basic.

Multe dintre ele sunt elemetare.

Number one: don't let go --

Numarul unu: Nu iti da drumul--½

very sure success method.

o metoda de succes.

But really, truly -- often you think about

Dar de fapt, te gandesti sa iti dai drumul

letting go way before your body does.

cu mult inainte ca organismul sa iti cedeze.

So hang in there,

Asa ca, rezista

and you come up with some pretty peculiar solutions.

si o sa gasesti niste solutii destul de stranii.

Number two: hesitation is bad.

Numarul doi: Ezitarea este daunatoare.

This is a friction climb, up in Tuolumne Meadows,

Asta e o catarare pe stanci alunecoase, in Tuolumne Meadows,

in the Yosemite high country.

in comitatul Yosemite.

Friction climbing doesn't have any sort of hard positive edges.

In catarare pe stanci alunecoase, nu ai margini iesite in relief.

You're climbing on little dimples and nubbins in the rock.

Ai la dispozitie doar niste crapaturi si bucati de roca inguste.

The most friction you have is when you first put your hand

Se poate numi catarare pe stanci alunecoase, doar cand ai pus prima data mana

or your foot on the rock.

sau piciorul pe roca.

And then from that point on, you're basically falling.

Si in acel moment poti, oricand , sa cazi.

So momentum is good. Don't stop.

Avantul e bun. Nu te opri.

Rule number three: have a plan.

Regula numarul trei : Fa-ti un plan.

This is a climb called the Naked Edge,

Exista un loc greu accesibil numit Naked Edge,

in El Dorado Canyon, outside of Boulder.

in El Dorado Canyon, langa Boulder.

This climber is on the last pitch of it.

Acest catarator e aproape de varf.

He's actually right about where I fell.

De fapt se afla exact in locul de unde am cazut eu.

There is about 1,000 feet of air below him.

E la aproape 300 de metri inaltime.

And all the hard pitches are actually below him.

Si a trecut de toate locurile cu priza buna.

Often what happens is

Se intampla mereu

you're planning so hard for like,

sa te gandesti mult la:

"How do I get through the hardest part? How do I get through the hardest part?"

"Cum o sa trec de partea cea mai dificila? Cum o sa trec de partea ce mai grea?"

And then what happens?

Si apoi ce se intampla?

You get to the last pitch. It's easy.

Ajungi la partea cea mai grea.Simplu.

And you're completely flamed out. Don't do it.

Si esti terminat de oboseala. Nu face asta.

You have to plan ahead to get to the top.

Trebuia sa iti propui sa ajungi in varf.

But you also can't forget that each individual move

Dar sa nu uiti ca odata cu fiecare pas

you have to be able to complete.

esti mai aproape de final.

This is a climb called the Dike Route,

Aceasta e inaltime numita Dike Route,

on Pywjack Dome, up in the Yosemite high country.

din Peyrat Dome, sus in comitatul Yosemite.

The interesting thing about this climb is it's not that hard.

E interesant ca nu e o catarare chiar asa de grea.

But if you're the leader on it,

Dar daca esti liderul,

at the hardest move, you're looking at about 100 foot fall,

cel mai rau e, ca te asteapta o cadere de 30 de metri,

onto some low angle slabs.

pe niste crevase inguste.

So you've got to focus.

Deci trebuie sa te concentrezi.

You don't want to stop in the middle like

Sa nu te opresti in mijlocul ascensiunii precum

Coleridge's Kubla Kahn.

Coleridge's Kubla Kahn.

You've got to keep going.

Trebuie sa continuii.

Rule number five: know how to rest.

Regula numarul cinci. Sa sti cum sa te odihnesti.

It's amazing. The best climbers

Este uimitor. Cei mai buni cataratori

are the ones that in the most extreme situations

sunt cei care in situatii extreme

can get their bodies into some position

pot gasi anumite pozitii

where they can rest,

in care sa se odihneasca,

regroup, calm themselves, focus,

sa se adune, sa se calmeze, sa se concentreze,

and keep going.

si sa continue urcarea.

This is a climb in the Needles, again in California.

Aceasta e o catarare in Needles, tot in California.

Fear really sucks because what it means is

Nu e bine sa iti fie frica, pentru ca

you're not focusing on what you're doing.

nu te mai concentrezi pe ceea ce faci.

You're focusing on the consequences of

Te gandesti la ce urmari ar avea faptul ca

failing at what you're doing

nu ai reusit sa faci ce ti-ai propus

because any given move should require

pentru ca oricarei miscari trebuie sa ii acorzi

all your concentration and thought processes

concentrare maxima si atentie

to execute it effectively.

ca sa o executi in mod eficient.

One of the things in climbing is, most people

Un aspect in catarare este ca, multi oameni

sort of take it straight on. And they follow the most obvious solution.

se avanta cu "capul inainte". Si aleg solutia cea mai evidenta.

This is the Devils Tower in Wyoming,

Acesta e turnul Devils din Wyoming,

which is a columnar basalt formation

este o formatiune din bazalt

that most of you probably know from "Close Encounters."

pe care multi dintre voi probabil o stiti din "Intalnire de gradul trei"

With this, typically crack climbers

Aici, cataratorii obisnuiti

would put their hands in and their toes in

si-ar baga degetele si picioarele in crapaturi

and just start climbing.

si ar incepe sa se catere.

The cracks are too small to get your toes into

Crapaturile sunt prea mici ca sa te poti agata bine

so the only way to climb is using your fingertips

trebuie sa iti folosesti varfurile degetelor

in the cracks,

in crapaturi,

and using opposing pressure

trebuie sa aplici presiune de o parte si de alta a peretelui

and forcing yourself up.

si sa ridici in sus.

Rule number eight: strength doesn't always equal success.

Regula numarul opt: Forta nu inseamna neaparat ca o sa si reusesti.

In the 35 years I've been a climbing guide

In 35 de ani de cand sunt ghid in catarare

and taught on indoor walls, and stuff like that,

si am predat catararea pe ziduri artificiale, si chestii de genu asta,

the most important thing I've learned

cel mai important lucru pe care l-am invatat

was, guys will always try to do pull-ups.

a fost ca , barbatii mereu vor incerca sa catere doar cu ajutorul mainilor.

Beginning guys, it's like, they thrash, they thrash,

Incepatorii, fac asa mereu, se forteaza,

they get 15 feet up --

ajung la 5-6metri altitudine.

and they can do about 15 pull-ups right --

Folosindu-se doar de maini

And then they just flame out.

Si dupa aia sunt extenuati.

Women are much more in balance

Femeile sunt mai echilibrate,

because they don't have that idea

pentru ca nu se ghideaza dupa aceasi idee

that they're going to be able to do 100 pull-ups.

se se catare doar cu ajutorul tractiunilor.

They think about how to get the weight over their feet

Se gandesc cum sa-si distribuie greutatea in picioare

because it's sort of natural -- they carry you all day long.

pentru ca asa e normal. Asta fac cu voi toata ziua.

So balance is really critical,

Echilibrul e critic,

and keeping your weight on your feet,

la fel si mentinerea greutatii in picioare,

which is your strongest muscle.

care au muschii mai puternici.

And of course there is rule number nine.

Si apoi mai avem desigur regula numarul noua.

I came up with rule number nine after

Cu asta am venit dupa

I actually didn't plan for a fall,

De fapt nu am planuit sa cad,

and went about 40 feet and cracked a rib.

ce am cazut vreo 13-14 metri si mi-am rupt o coasta.

Once you get to that point where you know it's going to happen,

Odata ce ai ajuns la acel punct cand stii ce se va intampla,

you need to start thinking about how you're going to let go

trebuie sa te gandesti la cum sa iti dai drumul

because that is the critical piece

pentru ca asta e important

of not getting hurt --

daca nu vrei sa te ranesti--

how you're going to fall onto the rope,

cum o sa cazi fie ca esti alpinist

or if you're climbing without a rope,

fie ca esti catarator,

fall to a place where you can actually control the fall.

trebuie sa fi in stare sa iti controlezi caderea.

So don't hang on till the bitter end.

Asa ca nu va tineti de franghie pana nu mai puteti.

Thank you very much.

Va multumesc foarte mult.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)