Adventuring Lisa

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Taking my first steps into climbing and kayaking adventure [climbing and kayaking beginner]

I remember my first steps in to climbing and kayaking adventure vividly. As if it was yesterday. The first time I went climbing I was nervous. I hate looking stupid because I don’t know what I’m doing. And there I was, about to do exactly that. I walked into the climbing wall entrance and stood on the public side of the metre high glass wall waiting for Dan and Matt to notice me there. I must have looked sheepish, like I didn’t belong. I know I didn’t feel like I belonged. Which was silly. I used to help instruct climbing at a local Scout centre so I knew a little. Yet that first step over the threshold felt so so hard.

Dan and Matt came over to chat to me. After lots of stalling from me, Dan eventually asks if I’m actually going to come in. I guess I couldn’t stand there forever so I walked to the entrance, paid my fee, signed my life away in the paperwork and in I went.

Why did taking that first steps as a climbing beginner feel so hard? I really struggled to have the confidence to just throw myself in. What if I made a mistake? What if Dan and Matt thought I was an awful climber? What if this thing I’d wanted to try for so long just wasn’t for me?

Kayaking was no different. It was the week before my thirtieth Birthday. I’d never been in a kayak, couldn’t swim, had a fear of water and hated the cold. (Just to note – some of that still applies now!). Everything felt against me. I did the same sheepish walk in, not really knowing what to expect. Hiding away when I could.

I got in a kayak and freaked out anytime someone came near me. I DID NOT want to get tipped over. As we always do with newbies, Dan got me to practice escaping my kayak when I went upside down. It took me ages just to psych myself up to go over. Being under water was not comfortable for me at all.

All in all, I think it’s easy to say that I was scared and nervous in equal measures about both of them. Confidence is a weird thing, I never had the confidence to try either of those. I’d always just refused to do anything water based with my scouts, I was the bag holder! And never had the courage to get into climbing even though I had that little burning light of desire to do it in me from about the age of 14. But something made me take that step that year, in 2016.

I would never have just rocked up to a club on my own, or even had the confidence to sign up to some training sessions or coaching. So how do you get started in a sport like this if that’s the case? Although I’d only known Dan and Matt for a few months, we’d built up a good connection at the Essex Jamboree. It seems that having someone who I trusted implicitly there giving me a little push to take me out of my comfort zone was what I needed to finally give it a try. And I was waaaaaaay out of it. I also fancied Dan a little at the time too so that always helps ;-). (Don’t worry, I’m still very much single 4 years on. I’m sure there will be a queue of guys wanting to date me some day haha).

It takes a huge amount of confidence to try something you know very little about, with people you know very little about. For me it does anyway. But once you find those people and take those first steps, getting over the initial discomfort, actually things became so much easier. Well, in some respects anyway. Some things I still find hard 4 years on.

Looking back now, if I was to give one piece of advice to someone who is nervous about starting out in climbing or kayaking I’d just say give it a go. I know, I know… considering I just said I struggled to do that, that’s not going to be easy for some of you. I’ll write a new blog post soon with my top tips for kayaking. Here’s 8 top tips for a climbing beginner. But to start you off… If you haven’t got any friends who like doing it, find a local club and join them. Or look for some formal training/coaching to give you the basics. It’s no way near as scary starting out as I thought. Even if I was way out of my comfort zone. And once you have the basics in place it’s amazing how much easier it becomes. Whilst as you progress, that feeling of not wanting to look stupid returns on occasion, it becomes so much easier to handle.

Ironically a lot of people thought I wouldn’t last in kayaking. I was just too scared of it all. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I would last myself. But I’m sure as you can guess, I did. And I’m so glad I did!

Reflections on my Moderate White Water Skills Course with Paddle 365

What’s the Paddle365 moderate white water course all about?

Paddle 365‘s (run by Jamie Greenhalgh) moderate white water skills booster course is focussed on helping people build the skills and confidence they need in order to become strong and adaptable grade 3 whitewater kayakers.

They vary in length depending on when they are held. I joined for 3 days of a 4 day course. You paddle grade 3 water and use the different opportunities the river provides to practice a range of techniques. Jamie is very happy to tailor the course to your individual needs.

Why did I decide to do this course and pick Paddle365?

I’m working towards my White Water Leader qualification so getting more time on moderate water is super helpful. To help with my learnings from my white water leader training (see my reflections on that course), an intense 3 days of paddling where I’m purely focussed on skills was perfect. Having not paddled a huge amount because of Covid, my paddling felt a bit clumsy so the moderate rather than advanced option seemed like the best course for me. Although I should be aiming to be improving my skills at the upper end of grade 3 and pushing in to grade 4 water so I have plans to do his advance course next. My confidence had progressed so much, so I’m playing the careful game of pushing it that bit further without damaging it in any way.

Why Paddle365? I didn’t know Jamie personally but I had seen some recent articles he had published with Chris Brain and he came recommended. He seemed to be very much focussed on skills progression rather than just see how hard you can paddle, which is definitely more suited to me. So I decided to give it ago.

How did the course go?

Day 1 we paddled the Wharfe in North Yorkshire. We met up and did the usual get to know you stuff, before running shuttle and heading on the water. We worked on a wide range of things including ferry gliding and being able to hold your angle, boat based scouting of features, boofing, surfing and selecting a line for a feature. I really liked how Jamie used games to bring the skills to life in a more interesting way. It got you working, even on the flat sections. It helped me see how you could use flatter sections in a more creative way to do skills based development.

Day 2 we paddled the Kent in the Lake District. This took a similar approach, including re-running features and games/challenges like seeing who could get to the bottom of a set of ledges with the least amount of water in their boats (paddling with decks of). Clearly I failed the attempt on the right! It was good fun and helped make the section interesting.

Day 3 we paddled the Duddon in the Lake District. I had been constantly asking questions about leading so Jamie got me to lead sections of this river. One of the things that stood out for me here is how you can bring fun to a river when leading rather than just getting people from A to B. I set the group the challenge to make as many eddies as possible in a particular section. We did more here on crossing the flow too using waves. At the end of the Duddon is a feature that is grade 4 on paper but probably more like grade 3. I royally f**ked this one up and ended up swimming. I haven’t swum in a while and I don’t even know why I pulled my deck, I shouldn’t have. But I did. I was soooo pissed off with myself as I was feeling so good up until this point. I had been paddling super well and confidently and then that happens. At the end of the day, we all f**k up on occasions, and that’s ok. But it didn’t stop me from being pissed off with myself. That wasn’t Jamie’s fault though haha.

What did I learn?

There was a lot of reinforcing skills on this particular course as I’d paddled two of the three rivers before and had experienced that kind of water. As well as building on existing skills and adding new ones to the list too. The key learnings for me were:

Boofing – this is one of those mysterious things that I had always ‘tried’ to do but never successfully. We broke boofing down and practiced it by trying to mount the river bank and then boofing on rocks as we paddled down river. After always calling people who do that on rocks show offs, I found myself doing it and really enjoyed it. Although my brand new Ripper probably didn’t so much. Sorry to anyone I ever insulated for doing that, I will be joining you from now on!
Cutting the corners isn’t always a good thing – when I’m worried about making a line I tend to take what feels like the ‘safest’ route but actually that may not be the best line. At Coniston Falls for example I was trying to keep as close to the bank as possible but actually the way the flow was moving it impacted my momentum and was actually more likely to push me where I didn’t want to go. By moving further river right (closer to the gap I was trying to avoid!) I actually hit a better line. I had an issue with this recently at Town Falls too on the Dee. I was so focussed on making an eddy, I cut the corner of a drop and ended up in a hole…
I can make most eddies that I want in low/moderate levels but is still get caught out on must make eddies above bigger features – I loved paddling the Kent. It was so empowering at that level because I could get anywhere I wanted and felt totally in control. My confidence seems to take a hit though when I have a must make eddy above a bigger feature and I seem to muck up making that eddy. I did it on the Duddon which led to my swim and on Town Falls after a roll in the hole as mentioned above.
Bringing fun to leading – leading isn’t just about getting people from A to B, it’s about making sure people enjoy it plus are using their skills to the max. I learnt some great games to help with that!
Relax more when leading – it doesn’t need to feel as formal as I was making it.
My paddling is ok – I went in to this thinking my paddling was really clumsy but actually I realised I’m in a much better place than I thought I was (still loads to do though obviously!). There are still things that are holding me back when it comes to my confidence. But I built a much stronger belief that I deserve to be working towards my white water leader qualification. I would never had before said I’d be happy to lead people down the Kent but now I wouldn’t twice about it at lower levels.
I am now an independent paddler – these 3 days plus the paddling I had done the previous week helped show myself that I am now an independent paddler. And that’s a huge confidence boost. Aside from that one little incident (which I’m trying to forget about) I now feel like I can look after myself and I’m not a liability to others in grade 3 water which is so empowering. Being able to do these kind of courses has helped me prove it to myself. Even writing this learning down is making me smile!

Would I recommend the course?

Yes, I would definitely recommend this course and Paddle365. Aside from taking a pretty cool picture which now forms the main header picture of this website, Jamie is very skills focussed and really helps you think about how you would run a river, teaching you to be independent and be able to do things for yourself.

Jamie has a very relaxed style which works great for me as I’m probably less like that so I can learn a lot from that way of leading and managing groups.

If you want to find out more about Paddle365 here’s their website and their Facebook page.

3 types of fun in adventure

Since I started out on my adventuring journey, especially with my Canoe Club, we’ve always talked about there being 3 types of fun. Before the summer, most of my kayaking definitely sat in type 2 fun. I was shit scared whilst it was happening, sometimes in tears. But as soon as I got off, I’d have the biggest, beaming smile on my face.

I find having an understanding of these helps you process the feelings you have when out on an adventure. It helps me remind myself that feeling scared, nervous or anxious is ok and that it’s part of the fun journey. And give it a minute, a day, a week I’ll look back and realise I loved that moment.

Below I briefly talk through the types of fun through my adventuring lens.

Type 1 Fun: fun at the time and fun after

Type one fun and adventure happens every day, especially at the moment when we’re locked to the confines of our houses due to Covid. For me, this could be a stroll in the park, having a beer or glass of wine with an amazing view, some easier climbing routes or a nice gentle flat water paddle.

I think as you build up your skills, experience and knowledge, more and more falls in to type 1 fun. Which is great as that’s how you know you’re progressing in my view! But it also means you’re hopefully trying other things to tick the type 2 box.

Type 2 Fun: not so fun at the time, but fun after

Type two fun is where it gets really interesting. And where adventure addiction tends to play out. This is fun where you’re scared or pushed whilst you’re doing the activity, adrenaline pumping, and it maybe not feeling 100% fun in the moment, but you look back on it and wish you could do it all over again.

For me, this is when I’m lead climbing (unless it’s a super easy route) or when I’m trying new things out in my kayak like looping. Or maybe on a really long hike that hurts like hell, but you want to do it all over again once it’s over. Running definitely sits in type 2 fun for me!

A couple of years ago I took part in a Scout challenge called the Southern 50. We basically had to hike 50km as quickly as you can. It was a killer! I remember being in so much pain and really struggling for the last 10k or so. I said never again. But within a week, I was putting the date for the next event in the diary.

When it comes to building my confidence, type 2 fun can be super helpful. Over the last few months I’ve found that doing small things every time I’m out in my kayak that starts to push in to type 2 fun makes for huge progression over a short period of time. You’re not in the space for long enough that it becomes too scary, but in type 2 long enough that you stretch yourself. Some discomfort shows you’re pushing yourself to grow. But too much and I’d be at risk of ending up in type 3 fun…

Type 3 Fun: not fun at the time, not fun after

Type 3 fun is definitely where I don’t want to be when I’m on a journey that’s all about building my confidence, not breaking it. I’ve been close. Swims that have massively knocked my confidence. Or falls in trad climbing that have left me with some pretty impressive bruising. But I’m pretty sure I’ve not actually hit type 3 fun otherwise I’m not sure I’d still be doing those types of adventure today.

8 top tips for climbing beginners

Understanding how to get started as a climbing beginner can be a minefield and very daunting. Plus the sport definitely comes with risks so you want to make sure you do it in safe way. It’s definitely not something you should be jumping in to with absolutely no knowledge or experience first.

I recently posted about my first climbing and kayaking experiences and how I struggled with my confidence when I first started. So, learning from my experience I wanted to share with you what I wish I had done years earlier!

My 8 top tips for a climbing beginner

Find a climbing club near you
Look for a climbing wall and book in for a beginner climbing session
Find out if any of your friends climb and get them to take you with them
Go to a proper climbing shop to look for equipment
Be prepared to fail!
Think about why you want to climb
Try bouldering
Do some research

1.Find a climbing club near you

Climbing clubs are a great way to meet new climbing buddies easily. The BMC has a great tool to help you find one local to you. Some will be happy to help you learn the basics, others will expect you to know them. But either way, they will quite happily point you in the right direction and support you to get started.

2. Look for a climbing wall and book in for a beginner climbing session

The quickest way to learn the basics in a safe way is to book on to a course with a local wall or instructor.

Within just one or two sessions you will probably know enough to climb independently at an indoor wall.

3. Find out if any of your friends climb and get them to take them with you

I wish I had done this! Whilst it could feel a little bold why not see if any of your friends can help you get in to climbing. You obviously want to make sure what you’re learning is safe. But this can be a really easy way to get started.

4. Go to a proper climbing shop to look for equipment

Buying your first harness, climbing shoes or belay device can be daunting with so many options to choose from. Going to a proper shop can save you from expensive mistakes. Outside is one of my faves. And you can sometimes find a pretty good expert in Go Outdoors if you want something local.

5. Be prepared to fail!

Once you get going don’t expect everything to go perfectly right away. Sometimes climbing takes persistance. You’ll come across moves at every grade that need a number of attempts before you finally make it. But you’ll very quickly see progress if you go regularly!

6. Think about why you want to climb

This will help you shape your beginner journey. For example, there’s different types of climbing and for outdoor climbing you may need to supplement your learning from indoors . Plus you can get your friends/club to help you then reach that goal.

7. Try bouldering

Bouldering can be an easy and safe(ish) way to give climbing a go. It often just requires you to understand the basic rules and you can hire climbing shoes from the centre. There’s no rope work involved. Although it does still come with it’s risks so be careful!

8. Do some research

There are tonnes of online pages that you can use to help learn the basics or reinforce them if you’ve already tried climbing or been on a course. For example you have the VDiff climbing basics or the BMC has tonnes of information.

Reflections on my White Water Leader Training with Chris Brain

Practicing leading whilst on a Paddle365 development course.

What is the White Water Leader training all about?

The White Water Leader training is a compulsory part of the British Canoeing White Water Leader qualification. It’s typically 2 days, helping you to understand how to judge the white water environment you’re in to be able to lead a group successfully and safely. The official description can be found on the British Canoeing White Water Leader pages.

Ultimately by having your White Water Leader qualification you can lead a group of up to 4 people on ‘moderate’ white water, which is classed as grade 2(3). You need to have completed this training as well as the White Water Safety and Rescue course before being able to be assessed, with 3 years in total to complete your qualification. This isn’t a coaching qualification although I find the line sometimes gets a little blurred. Your job is to help someone paddle a river safely and have fun whilst doing it!

Why did I decide to work towards my White Water Leader qualification?

It seems like a pretty bold decision for someone who has confessed to having big confidence issues when it comes to paddling. And you’re right! But I’ve progressed so much over the last 8 months so it felt like the right time. I’m at my most confident when I’m leading and leadership is something I’ve always enjoyed in the corporate world as well as the adventure world. I like to think its a strength of mine. Although I definitely still doubt myself sometimes. And to be honest, my friends were going on the training and I thought it would be fun.

I also decided it was about time I started giving back after 4 years of leaching off of everyone else’s knowledge and experience. My club has given me so much and I’d love to be able to do the same for other new people in the sport. It will also put me in a better place to deliver on my #ShePaddles club champion role where I’m trying to get more women in to paddling.

Why choose Chris Brain as our coach?

There are tonnes of providers out there but I tend to go with people who friends have personally recommended. A friend had recently completed some training with him and a trusted coach of mine only had good things to say about him too. Trusting my coach or the people I paddle with is very important to me. I’ll be posting soon about my ‘trusted circle’. Chris is very well known in the UK paddling community. He’s been paddling a long time and has a huge amount of experience. He’s written a lot of knowledge based articles for well known publications like these top tips to help keep you safe on the water with The Paddler Magazine. As well as these blogs as one of the Palm ambassadors. That all helps me have trust that he’ll be able to help me out if for some reason things went wrong!

I do think you need to select a coach based on their own personal style and areas of focus. Some are all about getting down the biggest things you can whilst others are all about the skills progression. From what I had seen of Chris I thought it could work well. And it did! Well, he might disagree about me though. Although he’s agreed to continue coaching me so hopefully that’s a positive sign haha.

How did white water leader training work?

The course is spread over two days and covers off 4 areas:

Personal paddling skills
Rescue skills
Safety, leadership and group skills
Theory

On the first day, we paddled the Leven in the Lake District. It’s a grade 3 river with a very short grade 4 (in the guidebook) feature called Backbarrow and a grade 5 fall that was a definite must portage for us. I found it the perfect river for white water leader training. It’s good a good range of features that allow for different leadership decisions. The day flowed really nicely. We explored how you would start the day with a group of ‘students’. And then progressed that as we moved down the river. At each feature we talked about the different ‘methods’ or ways in which you could lead a group down it successfully.

The second day we paddled the Tees in North Yorkshire where we worked in a very similar way although this time we each took turns leading our group down a section of the river. I don’t know why, but I always get unnecessarily nervous when I feel like I’m being watched, judged or assessed. Chris didn’t make it feel like that at all. He created a relaxed, supportive environment for us to learn. It was just the limiting beliefs I always have going round in my head, but that’s a whole other blog post for another day. We also spent a bit of time on the second day looking at boat based rescues. It’s an area I’ve had less practice in so I was first in there to give it a go when Jon sacrificed himself for the benefit of the group!

How about Chris as a coach on those days? I really liked Chris’s coaching style. He has a very relaxed approach which as mentioned creates a really nice environment. He clearly knows his stuff and responds really well to the different needs of the group. Whilst we were covering a syllabus as such, it didn’t feel like that. We naturally flowed though different topics as and when they became apparent so it felt more ‘real’ than being forced because you’re on a course.

I’ve also found Chris to be very supportive following the two days as well. He gave us some individual feedback at the end of the course. And then sent us a trip report via email. We’ve been in touch regularly, planning that further coaching he’s agreed to do (he must be mad being happy to coach me!) and getting my assessment booked in (the date is currently a secret…). He gave me confidence that I could do this and I knew he’d be there to support me.

Was it what I was expecting?

Yes, it was totally what I was expecting. I’ve been paddling for 4 years (white water for 3 years) now and so have been on a good number of club trips where I’ve picked up some of the knowledge already. But even if I didn’t have that, there’s no content in there that you wouldn’t expect. You need to be able to take people down a river safely ultimately. And with that comes having good paddling skills yourself, knowing how best to lead a group down and rescue skills (amongst others).

What did I learn from the White Water Leader training?

As mentioned, I already had a good foundation in the basics of white water leading. But before the course I definitely doubted how much I reeeeeally knew. I had told Chris that I wasn’t in a hurry to do my assessment because I really wasn’t sure if I would be good enough to do it. Not just right now, but ever. But going on the training taught me:

To have confidence in my own capability – I can do this and will be an amazing leader. I always feel at my best and most confident when I’m leading others. I just need to shut that monkey up on my shoulder and get on with it.
There’s never a must or an always – there’s so many ways you can lead a river. And that can vary river to river, group to group and even day to day on the same river depending on the water levels.
How I can help facilitate fun – it’s only in the last few months that I’ve started ‘playing’ on a river, surfing and throwing myself in to stoppers or attempting to tailie. And lots of that has been in features on flat water rivers because of Covid. Helping others play on the river therefore doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me and I’ve seen a real shift in my behaviour when on a river since then, always looking for play spots.
Shuttle logistics are still a pain – No matter how many shuttles you’ve done, it’s still a headache sometimes to juggle seat and boat spaces!
You don’t always have to be at the front – As a leader, it’s important to be in the position of most usefulness and that isn’t always at the front.
My own personal paddling skills – I always knew I was going to need to work on my personal paddling, that was a certainty. By working through the syllabus over the couple of days, it helped me make a mental note of the actions I need to take before my assessment.
More about the best equipment for me – This isn’t necessarily part of the formal syllabus (I guess it could come under personal paddling) but Chris was very helpful in guiding me on how I might be able to help my own paddling with different boats and paddles. I found that super helpful and have since bought a Pyranha Ripper (you can see a cheeky picture of my new boat here in my Instagram post) which I’m finding so much better for me compared to my old boat (which I hated).

What comes next after the White Water Leader training?

What comes next really depends on the individual. You might choose to do the training but not progress to assessment, be ready for the assessment right now, or you might have a few things to work on and plan to do the assessment in the future. For me it was:

Redo my White Water Safety and Rescue course as it’ll mean more to me now as a leader.
Agree a goal date for my assessment.
Create an action plan for my own development – whilst I haven’t written this down yet I have it in my head and have already one loads (like my White Water Safety and Rescue training, weekly Lee Valley trips and a 3 day kayaking development course with Paddle365).

Would I recommend it to others?

Definitely! If leading is something that floats your boat that is. My one plea is don’t let your limiting beliefs tell you you can’t. It’s totally possible and I’m hoping at some point next year I can be your living proof of that. And I would highly recommend Chris Brain as a coach. There’s a blog post coming soon with tips to help you pick a paddle sports coach.

For more info on Chris Brain, check out his website, Instagram or Facebook page.

What does adventure mean to me?

Seeing as this is all about adventure, I started thinking about what adventure actually means to me. Or why I enjoy doing it. What a question that is! I think it’s a very personal things and means something different to each and every one of us.

I’m sure there’s more but there are 4 things that stand out for me. I asked on my Insta story the other day about what it means to you. And someone said being with friends too. I think that’s so true. Whilst these 4 things motivate me, doing it with my friends makes it extra special. Something doesn’t have to tick all these boxes. Just one will do! But all four is an added bonus.

Adventure for me is:

Admiring the view after a huge sport multi-pitch in El Chorro, Spain.

#1 Getting outdoors

This is probably the most important one. I love being outdoors, in nature, surrounding by trees, rocks, water.

My big smile after paddling the Dart loop on massive. I was soooo scared!

#2 Something that scares or excites me

Whilst I maybe get a bit too scared at times with my climbing and kayaking, I think it’s this that gives you the adrenaline rush. And eventually actually makes it addictive.

One of my first attempts at a loop in my playboat

#3 Doing new things. Or things I can learn and grow in.

I love the feeling of progression. The feeling of being able to see or feel like I’m getting better. Sometimes it leads to frustration but there’s nothing better than finally cracking a route or a freestyle move.

A bit of roof bouldering. My hands were wrecked after this!

#3 Physically challenging

I didn’t think about this one at first but actually I think it also plays a part in why I like adventure. Feeling my just being pushed physically. And actually seeing myself get stronger in the process too.

Why am I starting this blog?

Well, to be honest, it wasn’t planned. It’s never been a life ambition of mine. And to be honest, I don’t know if I’ll be able to commit enough to it to make it work. But we’ll see! We were thrown in to the midst of another lockdown. And to save me from going completely crazy after once again being banished to the lonely confines of my flat I thought I know, I’ll write a blog. And now I’m instantly regretting it as building this blog page is f**king me off. How do people understand how to use these things?!?!?!

But, in all seriousness…I feel like I’ve been on an amazing journey over the last year. And even the last 4 years. Mainly thanks to some amazing people that have jumped on the bus that is my life along the way. I’m doing things I never would have dreamed of doing. Or didn’t have the confidence to start doing.

It’s not been easy. I have massive confidence battles every time I get out for an adventure. Lots of people thought I wouldn’t last a month in a kayak. And I’ve lost as well as gained adventure buddies along the way. But I’ve also learnt so much. And I wanted to share that journey with others.

Having coached lots of women in the corporate world, one of the biggest topics that comes up is confidence. You can deliver corporate shit all day long about how to build your confidence, but real life experience of it is a totally different ball game.

And now that I’m involved in the #shepaddles British Canoeing campaign too (which is all about getting more women in to paddling), I wondered if sharing my story could help others out there. All the plans I had to run female development sessions and do some great advertising have kind of gone out the window. But maybe this could help?

It’s not just for women though, it’s for all. I promise to be honest. I promise to be open. And I promise that these won’t be the best pieces of writing you’ve ever read. But I’ll try. Let me know what you like, what you don’t like and if you want me to talk about anything particular.

And thank you for joining me on this journey!