A healthy fear of heights can be useful in certain scenarios, but instead of calling it quits, use these techniques to tame your fear and get your climb on.

1. It’s OK to Be Afraid

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, most climbers have some fear of heights. It’s part of the reason we climb. First, accept that it’s okay to be scared. In fact, it’s so ok, that if you have a mini-freak out on the wall, that’s totally acceptable. It’s almost a rite of passage for a climber. So, take a moment and accept your fear. It is natural, and you are not alone.

2. Remember to Breathe

I used to be so terrified of heights that I’ve been known to cry on a wall or two. Sometimes I would seize up and my legs would shake uncontrollably. I would refuse to let go of the wall and things would generally disintegrate into an utter disaster.

Then I learned to breathe. When you feel that uncontrollable panic well up, ask your belayer to take up the slack. Then, in a resting position, close your eyes and breathe deeply. In through your nose, and exhale, loudly, out through your mouth. Repeat this process until you begin to feel your body relax. Sometimes, it helps to picture that panic exiting your system as you breath out. By allowing the panic to pass, you enable yourself to collect your thoughts and let go of your fears. With a little practice, you can tame your fears and send the route.

3. Start Small

When you are first starting out on the wall, start small. Climb up several feet and have your belayer take. Sit in your harness and let go of the wall. Allow yourself to hang there. Get used to the feeling of being suspended in the air when you are only a few feet off the ground. If you are nervous, hold the rope for some comfort.

When you start small, or start with easier routes, you become comfortable with what you are doing over time. Don’t feel the need to come out swinging. The great thing about climbing is that both beginners and experts can enjoy the same routes. Simply do what you have to do to get comfortable with being in a harness and scaling a wall.

4. Exposure Therapy

Your fear of heights won’t dissipate from standing on solid ground. In order to get comfortable up high, you’ll need to go up high, again and again. Some days will be easier than others and progress can seem glacially slow. However, the important thing is to get on the crag and keep trying. If you aren’t having a great day, tell yourself that’s ok and thank yourself for trying.

Perhaps you’re further along in your climbing career and you’ve begun lead climbing. Lead climbing is where the climber leads the rope up the wall. Many climbers get nervous with this style of climbing because a fall can mean a drop of twenty feet or more in the outdoors. Many lead climbers are uncomfortable with falling. In order to gain some comfort in your ability, take a fall class. This is a course where the main purpose is to climb partway up the wall and learn how to fall with confidence. Take a fall class whenever you feel the jitters build up. It keeps that sensation of falling and being caught by your gear and belayer fresh in your mind. You can always take practice falls as well.

5. In Gear We Trust

For some, it helps to know the numbers. How much weight can a climbing rope hold? Most standard, dynamic ropes suitable for climbing are rated at a minimum of nine Kilonewtons. Protection, such as personal anchoring systems, slings, cams, wedges and quick draws are rated in the 20 Kilonewton range and your harness is required to be rated at minimum of 15 Kilonewtons. But what does that mean?

Let’s let physics shed a little light on the situation. Force equals mass times acceleration. The acceleration due to gravity is a constant number, 9.8 meters per second. So, let’s take our rope, the lowest rated piece of gear, as an example. Nine Kilownewtons is equal to 9,000 Newtons. So, we are left with the formula that states 9,000 Newtons equals the mass of our object (in this case, us) times 9.8 meters per second. A little algebra leaves us with a mass of 918.37 kilograms or 2,013.6 pounds. To put things in perspective, that’s around one ton or the weight of a small car, meaning your climbing rope can hold the weight of two Harley Davidsons. Needless to say, understanding the capacity of the gear gives you some confidence in the system as a whole.

Now you’re armed with a few tricks to help you shed your fear of heights. Remember, the process of letting go of fear takes constant work and attention. With a little effort, you can climb with confidence.