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Sport Climbing Strategy?

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 afx22 13 Jul 2020

Is there a middle ground between onsighting and redpointing?

I’m a boulderer who very infrequently has a dabble at sport climbing.  Twice last year and twice, so far, this year.

When bouldering, I can usually see all of the holds.  If I’m sport climbing I’m struggling to read the route in advance and therefore climbing many grades below what I’d be capable of - in theory.

I seem to be able to onsight 6a/ 6a+ but struggle to onsight 6b, so far.  My fingers are way stronger than that but I have poor power endurance.

Typically, I climb the bit I can see, maybe get the second quickdraw in, rest (not on the rope), spend ages feeling around and planning the next section, try something, climb down, rest again, repeat, get the next quickdraw in and so on, to the chains.  

This is obviously really inefficient.  I don’t know where I’m going or where the holds are.  I suspect some of this is the nature of limestone that I’ve been climbing on but it feels like I could be doing something better.

Without going on full repointing, is this just how onsighting is?  Is there a middle ground?  Is this the same for everyone else?

Post edited at 12:42
Removed User 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

With practice you'll learn to read the moves quicker.

It's one of the skills in climbing.

 1poundSOCKS 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Flash is the middle ground but you need to get the beta from somewhere.

 JIMBO 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Get yourself a beta monkey and a chalking donkey to go up first to prepare the route for you and then flash it! 💪🐒🐴👍

 Ceiriog Chris 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Exactly what E9  Derik said 

 Iamgregp 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

That's pretty much how it is, but like other say, you get better at reading the rock and figuring out where hold are, or ought to be if they're hidden.

There's probably a bit of a confidence issue holding you back and slowing you down a bit too, you want to stop climbing up and back down again and have confidence to climb up to the next rest without stopping and hesitating and going back down again. 

Get used to taking falls so that when you're onsighting you're bold enough to keep on climbing and take the whipper if you make a mistake - obviously you don't want to as that'll blow your onsight, but you need to be willing to!

I used to do a lot of climbing up and down and all that stuff (occasional case of ledge fever, where you get the willies every time you get off the thing!) but a Hazel Findlay falling course at The Caste really helped.

Post edited at 13:18
 Mr. Lee 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Sounds like you either just need more experience and mileage in order to read the rock better, and maybe to have more confidence? Your power endurance isn't going to improve with just a couple of outings each year, whether you're redpointing or onsighting. You could make up for lack of power endurance by being more efficient through redpointing, or by picking cruxy routes that suit you as a boulderer? Or find a partner who can go first and give you some beta afterwards. 

 Sl@te Head 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Redpointing harder routes will improve your onsight grade....

OP afx22 13 Jul 2020
In reply to Iamgregp:

Falling on the rope is definitely a factor for sure.  If I can work out where I’m supposed to be going, I’m not really close to falling. I know I would be if I were to go up another grade or two further.  I was going to put off dealing with falling until then!

OP afx22 13 Jul 2020
In reply to Mr. Lee:

I find myself locking off, reaching up or out and feeling for holds that I generally can’t see.  It’s difficult to read the route if there’s no chalk to follow.  Also, checking whether holds are loose before weighting them is a bit weird.

 climbingpixie 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

> If I’m sport climbing I’m struggling to read the route in advance and therefore climbing many grades below what I’d be capable of - in theory.

In general, UK limestone sport climbing is pretty tricky to read - you can see the rough shape of the route from the ground and maybe work out where you might be able to rest but you don't know what you're going to find until you're up there. But route reading is also a skill and so it requires practice. If you're only doing it very infrequently then you'll struggle to develop an eye for it.

> is this just how onsighting is?

Pretty much, yes. Whether you're talking trad or sport, going up and down, figuring out the moves, finding rests where you can is what happens when you're onsighting. I guess a key question is why are you treating sport climbing like trad on bolts rather than either going for it and taking falls or redpointing? I'm not saying these are necessarily better approaches but they'd probably do more for your climbing progression than your current mode.

Post edited at 14:14
OP afx22 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

I’m definitely nervous of taking falls.  I guess how much depends on bolt spacing and so on but at 6a / 6a+ there seems to plenty of stuff to hit.  

I’d like to climb on one of those mythical overhanging juggy routes, where I’d fall into space

 Iamgregp 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

The sooner you can deal with the fear of falling the faster you'll make progress in sport climbing, so I'd look to tackle that.

There's all sorts of courses, strategies and drills to help you with this.  A pearl of wisdom from Hazel Findlay's course (which I hope she doesn't mind me posting!) - If you haven't fallen 6 times or more in a sport climbing session you're not trying hard enough!  

My missus and I have both been working really hard in this area over the last 12 months or so and we're really starting to see the benefit.

1
 Iamgregp 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

> I’d like to climb on one of those mythical overhanging juggy routes, where I’d fall into space

See you in Kalymnos!

 Bulls Crack 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

> Is there a middle ground between onsighting and redpointing?

More than you could possibly believe!

 Xavierpercy 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Quite often you can do an easier route that is sufficiently near or adjacent to the route that is near your limit. You can use it to warm up and when you lower down you can transfer the draws across and chalk some holds if they are hard to spot and sometimes have a quick go on the hardest moves. All of this makes climbing the route an easier proposition. 
If you do the harder route you can use the lowering down opportunity to maybe check another route out in the same way.

OP afx22 13 Jul 2020
In reply to Xavierpercy:

I’d not thought of that.  That’s a great idea, thanks.

 bouldery bits 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

Dog it, then send it clean.

 webbo 13 Jul 2020
In reply to afx22:

I was going to suggest similar to Guy. Stick clip your way up a route, top rope it practise the moves and the clips. By the time you red point it, you will wonder why it felt so hard to start with.


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