Meet Hazel Findlay. Hazel has won multiple National Championships (UK) and is considered one of, if not the, best female climber worldwide. Hazel became the first woman to climb a British E9 (hard and scary!) with her ascent of Once Upon A Time In The Southwest, near Devon, UK. She has been recovering from injuries this past year but will no doubt be taking the climbing scene by storm when she returns.
Hazel is a great friend of The Flow Centre and continues to inspire us month-to-month. In one of our sessions with Hazel we got to ask her about here Flow experinces
Cameron:What was one of your biggest flow experiences?
Hazel: It was actually on one of the smaller cliffs, but right up in the corner where it formed a right angle. I find that sort of climb really interesting because instead of using your hands and feet to find and grip holds, you basically have to push against each side of the opposing walls. Your hands are just flat against the rock, with no reaches to aim for, you basically have to only listen to your body position; you can't really let the rock guide you too much. There's no "Oh, I ll reach that hold and I'll reach for this hole kind of thing," you just have to get it exactly right for that next bit of upward movement. So yeah, this particular moment at the top was just a classic flow experience, where it's just like, I was in this! You know the descriptions!![laughter]
It was really intense and it was just complete focus on every little movement. I remember the breathing being in time because the climb was really physical as well. I just remember the breathing intensified with each movement, using my whole core to stay in this corner of the rock. It's funny, when I was in flow, it was like I'll finish that little piece of rock and then I can't remember anything about what I did. Then when you get down, the other climbers will say "How did you do that?" and when I'm in those flow moments I'm like "Oh, I'm really sorry, but I just don't know what I did, I just did something!"
Cameron: So what was it like in the experience? How did you approach the rock?
Hazel: During the climb, it was like every time I put a foot on the rock I could see all the little features, my foot was exactly where it was supposed to go kind of thing. I think time almost slowed down, if anything. I've got vivid memories of my foot in slow motion, because there was so much detail in the moment, you know what I mean? I was just in a little pocket of time and space, me and that little of piece of rock like the only thing that's there. I don't know if I'd go as far as to say I was an extension of the rock. But one thing I think happens when climbing is the movements are kind of binary. Like it's "right foot, right hand, left foot, left hand," very specific movements that are all separate. It's also binary in the sense that you either do it or you don't! But in a flow state, it feels like the movements aren't divided into separate moves anymore. You know what I mean? It's not like you're moving from one movement to the next movement; it's all just one complete movement in flow.
So, in that corner it was like I was moving up, and it wasn't this awkward "right-left" kind of thing, it was all just one fluid motion of the rock. Am I an extension of the rock? I think it's more like what I was saying. The rock doesn't provide the sort of black and white challenge, like "I did that move or I didn't," or "I did that piece." I suppose it's very much linked to the idea of success-failure, goal and everything. I've always found that when I'm in that flow I totally let go of that desire to succeed and to do the route. I'm just so focused on the next move and the next bit of climbing.
You know, when I start a route I'm like "Okay, come on! You can do it!" You know, all that positive thinking is running through my head. Or if you're having a negative day it might be like "Oh, I feel like sh** - just give it your best shot anyway." Whereas when you're in flow, all of those ideas about yourself versus the rock just fall away. So usually if I'm in that flow, even if I fall off and I fail, I usually don't care because I know that I was climbing my absolute best because I was in that state. So it just doesn't bother me that I failed, because what more could I have wanted from that experience? Nothing, because I was doing my best. So, that why I love it so much!!
I always feel like it's the rock that forces me to be in flow. I never really feel like it's me, but maybe I should take some more ownership of it. There never seems to be a correlation between my thoughts and feelings and how I access flow. I've accessed flow on really bad days, when my thoughts have been totally negative and I'm really unconfident. But then just something about the climb I'm doing forces me into it. I can have good days and just access it for some reason, I don't know! I just feel like it's the rock!
I totally agree with this "skill meets challenge" idea, because I really think it has to be quite hard for me to access flow. Sometimes I can access flow on easier grounds, but it's a bit like when you're driving a car. Often there'll be other thoughts going through your head, so it's not as intense. But it's the sort of thing where I'm just moving up the rock and I might get to the top and not really remember anything about the climb. I was thinking about something completely different; that's when the challenge is way below my skill set. I'm not as good at harnessing flow during those climbs. I see other people climb much better than me on easier ground, but I tend to let my internal dialogue stop me from reaching flow on easy terrain. That's something I want to work on.
Cameron: When do you most experience flow?
Hazel: It's being on the hard routes, on hard rock climbs. That's the thing about climbing on natural rock; no-one made it, no-one designed it. So really it's just chance whether that meets your skill set or not. So there might be a particular route where I might be in flow, but then I get to a section where I just can't reach the holds, I'm not tall enough or strong enough or whatever, then I'll just fail. I'll snap out of flow; the challenge became too hard for me. So really, I feel like it the rock that forces me into flow, because it just so happens that the rock, the way the holds are, the way my body moves, it just fits the rock.
I think's it strange; climbing is maybe quite different to other conventional sports. What often happens when you climb is that you get to a point where you can rest and you can think. So you look at the rock ahead and problem solve your way through it even before you do it. I think one of the keys to climbing well is to, in that restful position, consciously have a plan and problem solve, but then as soon as you start climbing try and switch into that subconscious state that we're talking about. Really let your body take control and use your subconscious mind. But you have to remember what your conscious mind was telling you to do. That's what makes climbing different.
The Flow Centre would like to take this opportunity to thank Hazel for her time and energy and thank you for reading this post!