Measurable mindset training to help you reach your climbing goals


There are tangible, science-based ways to change your relationship with fear, redpoint stress, or any sort of mental stress you experience in your climbing.

  • Has discomfort with falling prevented you from trying more difficult routes?

  • Has your relationship with climbing become strained? It used to bring you joy, but now it feels like something you “should” be doing?

  • Do you focus more on the fear of falling instead of committing to moves?

  • Have you one-hung too many routes without getting pumped because you’re too “in your head” to send?

  • Do you make excuses for your performance (or potential performance) before getting on a route?

  • Do you ever get so mentally fatigued while climbing that you feel like you black out or freeze?

If any of this sounds like you, Headpoint Training might be a good fit.

Climbing as a life long relationship

Like any relationship, you need to tend to it to keep it healthy.

Headpoint Training gives you the tools and systems to keep your relationship with climbing strong for years to come.

It can be easy to get caught up in setbacks like injuries, burnout, fear of falling, comparisons to your past self and to others, and more. 

But Headpoint Training helps you work through these obstacles to protect the reason you started climbing in the first place: because it’s fun.

Headpoint Training graduate, Patrick Thomas

“A few months ago, leading steep ice was a scary idea - but training with Karly allowed me to do it! rewriting those fears and learning how to stop my mind from spinning into panic is one of the greatest breakthroughs I have had in climbing!”

Headpoint Training Includes:

Education and tasks that are customized to your climbing goals.

Build understanding with…

  • Stress and fear from a neuroendocrine standpoint

  • Habit formation

  • Ego, Excuses, and Rhetoric

  • Confidence and Commitment

  • Fear of Falling

  • Fight or flight response

  • Failure vs. success (and other black and white thinking habits)

  • Risk Assessment

Each athlete will…

  • Have 1 on 1 zoom calls every other week with their coach

  • Be supported on current goals and projects

  • Weekly “assignments” - both on- and off-rock for their level

  • Journaling prompts

  • Work with their coach to build mental strategies - turning them into habits on rock

Investment: $987 ($329/mo)

Mental gains are as measurable as physical gains

Headpoint Training uses self-assessed measures of discomfort to determine a climber's starting point and growth within mental training.

With a minimum of a 12-week commitment, there is time to learn and practice tools that stick with you for a lifetime of climbing.

Founder Karly Rager’s background in engineering made her motivated to quantify emotional reactions and stress while working to project challenging routes.

She created metrics to measure progress and results and has used this method to help 40+ climbers develop tools and strategies to manage stress while climbing.

Headpoint training looks different for everyone.

Climber #1 struggles with feeling confident and committing to moves on top rope. Their Headpoint Training plan will not start with them taking giant whips on lead, because that would only cause trauma. It would definitely not help Climber #1 create a lifelong, healthy relationship with climbing.

Climber #2 is confident taking 30 foot sport falls, so they feel comfortable pushing themselves on hard-for-them sport climbs. However they want to climb more cracks and trad routes, but the idea of falling on trad gear makes their body feel shaky and insecure. Their trad leading grades are far below what they send on bolts.

In Headpoint Training, every climber starts at a place that feels slightly uncomfortable — but everyone starts at a different place. It’s all about finding the right dose of discomfort. If you’re shutting down or freaking out, it’s too much. But if you feel nothing, it’s not enough.

Project Direct coaches help you measure your discomfort in different scenarios, and prescribe the right dose to help you expand your comfort zone without pushing too far.

All support is customized to what your goals are and what you personally need to work on.

Headpoint Training graduate, Hayley Mckinney

“I tried everything to fix my head. I read books. I asked random fearless strangers at the crag how they did it. I attended fear of falling workshops by pro climbers. I experimented. Nothing worked…

Fast-forward to now, and I’m not scared anymore. It’s kind of crazy. Karly is the best investment i have made for my climbing. she has completely transformed my head game. I am performing better than ever and having more fun. headpoint training is truly priceless.”

Hear from a headpoint training grad!

Jess [guide, PD athlete, artist, human] shares her experience in Headpoint training and its effect on her climbing!

“I was super blown away about how it affected my relationship with climbing…

Karly was really able to break down aspects of climbing in tangible and goal oriented ways that I can carry with me…

The mind is a muscle.”

Headpoint Training is for every climber.

If you know you could climb harder, but fear of falling keeps holding you back, Headpoint Training is for you. 

If stress about your performance overtakes every session and you’re ready to commit to making a change, Headpoint Training is for you. 

If you struggle to find the words to describe your emotions and experiences while climbing, Headpoing Training is for you.

If you’re committed to climbing for a lifetime and want the tools to make that sustainable, Headpoint Training is for you.