Out of the Comfort Zone in the High Atlas
- Katherine Holdstock
- Feb 23, 2024
- 6 min read
I’ve just returned back from my latest adventure; a Winter climb of Mount Toubkal with The Bucket List Company. This trip was booked in late last year as my first experience of a Winter climb, that is, a climb involving snow and crampons. At 4167m tall, it seemed like a tough but doable expedition and great training for future climbs. It was over 19 years ago since I last went to Morocco so I was excited to get back into the mountains and to take on a new challenge.
On New Year’s Eve I had a conversation with my friend Cookie about getting out of my comfort zone in relation to my experience in Namibia and the growth and change that comes with being uncomfortable. As I’ve been studying on my coaching journey I have started to research more on comfort zones and the psychology behind stretching ourselves beyond comfort and into discomfort. In this blog post, I will use my journey in the mountains to illustrate the zones in the comfort model and how getting uncomfortable can help us on our personal development journey.
1. The Comfort Zone
I’ve been on a few adventures since 2021 and have found a degree of comfort in travelling solo, being part of a tour group or race and managing myself while in another country. After safely arriving in Marrakech the previous day the first part of our trip was a trek over the Tizi n’Auguersioual pass towards Tachedirt village. While not the easiest of starts due to a steep climb and high temperatures, this was very much in my comfort zone. I felt very safe and confident in my abilities to achieve the goal of the trek and was joined by a crew of fellow hikers who I had a lot of banter with from the outset. We arrived in Tachedirt with some absolutely stunning views across the valley and with a great deal of anticipation for the climb to come but largely in good spirits.
2. The Learning Zone
Skipping the fear zone (for now) this climb of Toubkal was the perfect learning opportunity and there were a number of new experiences that extended my comfort zone. Learning how to use crampons and an ice axe near to the refuge at 3100m was really good fun and I quickly picked up some technique from Kayleigh and Keith two very experienced mountaineers from Scotland. I can't say I was a fan of the ice axe arrest due to having to pretend to fall and therefore be out of control, however the fear was manageable and we were in a safe environment.
The second learning for me was a more private matter as the week prior to the trip my GP and I decided it would be better for me to come off one of the anti-depressants I had been taking due to its efficacy and side effects. This meant that I was subject to some side effects from withdrawal; headaches and a changing heart rate. Whilst not uncomfortable I found that I needed to better manage myself as the effects of altitude can be similar. Dealing with this slight issue grew my comfort zone further and I can go on further adventures safely in the knowledge that I have the ability to cope with anything similar in the future.
3. The Growth Zone
The growth zone is the sweet spot in discomfort where we push ourselves beyond what we believe to be possible to realise our aspirations. Summit night was most definitely where growth occurred for me and this trip had more growth than I had anticipated. We woke at 4am (well, some of the group had set alarms for 3.30) and had a very quick breakfast before gathering our kit together to start the climb at around 5am. Despite some tiredness there was a nervous excitement among the group as we attached crampons to our feet. Within minutes of setting off we were on our first scramble being helped up by the local team. From then on the climb was steep, icy and in the dark with many members of the team having to dig deep.
About an hour into the climb, still dark, steep and icy I started to feel my heart thumping and started gasping for breath. I knew immediately that I was experiencing panic and fell towards the back of the group while trying to control it. I became somewhat more clumsy on the slope, losing grip or plunging poles into soft snow and sinking. I was starting to feel out of control and so the panic grew. I slipped once more and fell into the slope on my knees while I steadied myself asking others to pass while I caught my breath. Our UK guide Jake came beside me as I muttered the words “I’m panicking”, before he helped me to take my pack off while I slowed my breathing. A few minutes later the pack was back on and we were back climbing however the next couple of hours were uncomfortable as I had to try to control my breathing.
Another challenge was finding myself at the back of the group and dealing with the thoughts in my head around holding up the group and what people’s perceptions of me would be. By then I was up a steep, dark, icy mountain having a prolonged panic episode and telling myself I wasn’t good enough. Fun times. And this was exactly when the magic happened. I made it to the growth zone; being able to manage significant discomfort to reach my potential. One can always look at success as being reaching the summit of a mountain, however for me the success was being able to overcome the setbacks I was facing and summiting in spite of them. In fact, by the time we were about 45 minutes away from the top I’d picked up the pace and was thriving (as I write this I can immediately here the banter from the group!).
4. The Fear Zone
You’ve probably realised by now that I didn’t go through the phases of the comfort model in a linear fashion and in fact I (perhaps thankfully) hit the fear zone post summit. I was particularly tired and stressed out with having to share a bunk room with 15 other people. I short temperedly but politely asked those on bottom bunks to hurry up with their packing so I could access my bags and was met with the reply of “you could have got up the mountain quicker”. This immediately struck a nerve and triggered all the emotions that had been brewing under the surface. This was my moment in the fear zone: being affected by the comments of others and lacking confidence in my own abilities.
Like any good mountain guide, out popped Jake who took me outside and showed me the route I had climbed reinforcing the effort it had taken to get to the top. I could easily have come away from this trip thinking that Mera Peak, which I’m due to climb in November, would be a step too far however, through the pep talk from Jake, some support from Brahim our local guide and some of the others in the group I quickly moved into the learning zone once again and reminded myself not to be affected by flippant remarks of others who know little about me. The fear of not being good enough is not the same as not being good enough.
Conclusions
My comfort zone has been expanded through my experiences on Toubkal which will inevitably help me to achieve further potential as I tackle mountains at higher altitude, or higher technicality or in difficult conditions. Learning from my adventures and setbacks will never cease, so long as I am fit enough to continue to challenge myself both mentally and physically.
At Marrakech airport I was witness to an altercation (which involved passenger A biting passenger B) that got me talking to the couple I was sat next to. I mentioned I had been on a trek in the mountains and they enjoyment I had in doing so. We reconnected once landed at Gatwick and the lady said “you’ve inspired me to go to the gym, or even climb a mountain”. This brought me back to my own “why”; why I go on my own adventures and also why I am becoming a coach. To take myself out of my own comfort zone and inspire others to do the same. While my own learnings are taking place in extreme environments we can apply the same theory of comfort zones to more everyday scenarios which will move us closer towards realising our aspirations and achieving our full potential.
If you're looking for your own adventure, I would highly recommend The Bucket List Company: https://thebucketlistcompany.co.uk
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