Cover Photo by Brook Anderson
An exploration of how climbing memories are formed in the brain and why we remember some better than others.
In the middle of the route my right leg started to shake.
I had just clipped into the last quickdraw and could see the distance between myself and the next one. There were six bolts up to a set of chains and I was at the third.
I could hear others chatting casually below me and feel the wind blowing across my face. I was getting further away from the safety of the ground. Would I deck if I fell? Is anyone watching me, paying attention to what I’m doing? Did I tie my knot correctly to my harness?
After every clip I would realign myself, having mental pep talks that I was safely clipped in - that the equipment was trustworthy. But, it was always between clips - when I was away from the safety of the previous quickdraw - that my panic took over.
Months later, I still recall that climb, replaying it over again in my memory.
But why was this route so memorable? Because it scared me.
Episodic memories are ones formed from events, or episodes, that we’ve experienced in our lives - a climbing trip to Bishop, your childhood piano recital, meeting your partner for an anniversary dinner. With these types of memories we remember details like time, place, smells, flavors, and how we felt. The intensity of the memory depends upon how emotionally charged we are and the amount of focus we give to the experience.
So what happens during a fearful event? What makes them memorable later on?
It has to do with the amygdala and hippocampus. We have one of each in both hemispheres of our brains. When we’re experiencing an event, information about that event gets sent to the amygdala and hippocampus. Memory processing immediately occurs.
But what does the amygdala and hippocampus do, exactly?
The amygdala attaches emotion to an event. It’s the area of our brains associated with fear and emotion. It also triggers that “fight or flight” response we get when facing scary or stressful situations. The hippocampus, meanwhile, is responsible for processing and storing memories for later retrieval. It’s believed that sleep plays an important role with this because it’s during sleep that the hippocampus works with other parts of the brain to encode memories into the long term.
So with emotional attachment comes better recall. And, through successful neural processing, memories are strengthened even further because they become encoded in long-term memory. The neurons that fire in a specific pattern when you initially experience an event get excited in the same pattern when you later retrieve it.
All of this equates to a meaningful and memorable experience.
So next time you’re debating that new 5.5 or want to push through the crux of your 5.12 project, remember that it’s worth it. Not only will you feel accomplished whether you send or not, but you’ll have a new, strong memory stored for later retrieval. And, how fun is it to recall that time you pushed through your fear and won the mental game?
That’s how I felt with Super Tsardom, the 5.4 route I mentioned at the start of this piece, the climb that started a challenging but fun day for me at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.
Conquering fear: It’s how we grow as climbers and humans.
I had just clipped into the last quickdraw and could see the distance between myself and the next one. There were six bolts up to a set of chains and I was at the third.
I could hear others chatting casually below me and feel the wind blowing across my face. I was getting further away from the safety of the ground. Would I deck if I fell? Is anyone watching me, paying attention to what I’m doing? Did I tie my knot correctly to my harness?
After every clip I would realign myself, having mental pep talks that I was safely clipped in - that the equipment was trustworthy. But, it was always between clips - when I was away from the safety of the previous quickdraw - that my panic took over.
Months later, I still recall that climb, replaying it over again in my memory.
But why was this route so memorable? Because it scared me.
Episodic memories are ones formed from events, or episodes, that we’ve experienced in our lives - a climbing trip to Bishop, your childhood piano recital, meeting your partner for an anniversary dinner. With these types of memories we remember details like time, place, smells, flavors, and how we felt. The intensity of the memory depends upon how emotionally charged we are and the amount of focus we give to the experience.
So what happens during a fearful event? What makes them memorable later on?
It has to do with the amygdala and hippocampus. We have one of each in both hemispheres of our brains. When we’re experiencing an event, information about that event gets sent to the amygdala and hippocampus. Memory processing immediately occurs.
But what does the amygdala and hippocampus do, exactly?
The amygdala attaches emotion to an event. It’s the area of our brains associated with fear and emotion. It also triggers that “fight or flight” response we get when facing scary or stressful situations. The hippocampus, meanwhile, is responsible for processing and storing memories for later retrieval. It’s believed that sleep plays an important role with this because it’s during sleep that the hippocampus works with other parts of the brain to encode memories into the long term.
So with emotional attachment comes better recall. And, through successful neural processing, memories are strengthened even further because they become encoded in long-term memory. The neurons that fire in a specific pattern when you initially experience an event get excited in the same pattern when you later retrieve it.
All of this equates to a meaningful and memorable experience.
So next time you’re debating that new 5.5 or want to push through the crux of your 5.12 project, remember that it’s worth it. Not only will you feel accomplished whether you send or not, but you’ll have a new, strong memory stored for later retrieval. And, how fun is it to recall that time you pushed through your fear and won the mental game?
That’s how I felt with Super Tsardom, the 5.4 route I mentioned at the start of this piece, the climb that started a challenging but fun day for me at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.
Conquering fear: It’s how we grow as climbers and humans.
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