UKC

Many moons ago, on reasonably mixed and easy ground on the hill I've been overwhelmed by vertigo that's put me on all fours - also, I've sprinted up vertical pitches without a care in the world, when perhaps more caution would have been appropriate really.

I think the brain can play tricks on you.

Is there a way of 'centering the mind' on the hoof so you can accurately "read" the immediate environment safely?

This recent article could be handy - Scramblers, Learn to Manage a Fear of Heights: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/skills/series/scrambling/scramblers_...

I have a similar issue, i'm fine climbing or scrambling roped but narrow paths on steep ground (such as in the alps) have me getting lower and lower to the ground with a full on episode of vertigo every now and again, i wish i could sort it as its frustrating to say the least.

That's an excellent article. Exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, thank you.

I can't, however, recite my phone number backwards even from the comfort of my own home! I'm cursed with an inner chump, I think. I'll have to come up with another exercise that engages the cerebral cortex. Spelling words backwards I find easier than numbers. Maybe that would do the trick..

That's the idea, it's hard to do so makes your brain work,  try counting backwards from 100, or recite the alphabet backwards, it does help

the need for an article like that suggests that not enough children are climbing trees like chimps!

It might be that you suffer from Visual Height Intolerance - there are no easy solutions, but there is some limited evidence that exposure therapy can help. This article may be of interest: https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/base-camp/how-to-get-confidence-in-the-mountai... 

So incremental exposure to exposure itself can be of benefit too. Cheers!