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SKILLS: The Unknown: Top Ten Tips to Improve your Onsight Grade

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 UKC Articles 19 Apr 2017
Gain lots of experience of onsighting and aim high! Natalie Berry in Chulilla, Spain, 4 kbOnsighting is widely considered the purest and most satisfying style of climbing; ascending unknown territory with no information on the moves, using only your eyes and gut instinct to guide you. That feeling of unlocking a flowing sequence of tricky moves in the heat of the moment, guessing and guessing correctly, or readjusting and succeeding by the skin of your teeth are reasons why this style is so appealing to many climbers.

Natalie Berry shares ten top tips for improving your onsight game.



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 wert 19 Apr 2017
In reply to UKC Articles:
Thanks, good/useful article.
 Alex Riley 19 Apr 2017
In reply to wert:

I find trying so hard i want to puke helps my onsight grade too
 SenzuBean 19 Apr 2017
In reply to UKC Articles:

Good article. I felt however that the description for route reading and how to improve at it could've been improved or added to somewhat. Here's an article from a general sports perspective that more or less explains how to improve at it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power-prime/201211/sport-imagery-a...
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 Greasy Prusiks 19 Apr 2017
In reply to UKC Articles:

Great article. More of these advances skills articles please!

I also heard an interesting tip from Adam Ondra on the recent episode of climbing daily. He talked about being able to read the language of chalk, for example looking for a chalky area bellow a crimp is often a thumb print. The position of the thumb tells you which hand people have been using on a hold
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 SenzuBean 19 Apr 2017
In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

> I also heard an interesting tip from Adam Ondra on the recent episode of climbing daily.

youtube.com/watch?v=GAm2Lx0WxqE&

In reply to SenzuBean:
I agree that visualisation is an important skill in sport, but personally in climbing I tend to use it mostly in redpointing where I've worked the moves already. I guess looking at the holds and figuring out a possible sequence from the ground involves some form of visualisation in itself. I used to sketch routes and try to visualise moves in competitions, and I think it works better when onsighting indoors as the holds are generally easier to see. I've added a quick line in about route mapping.

Interestingly, I reckon I tend to imagine how I will be feeling/how I should 'act' at certain sections on an onsight attempt rather than what the exact moves will be, especially if the sequence as viewed from below is a bit vague.
Post edited at 23:27
 Morgan Woods 19 Apr 2017
In reply to Natalie Berry - UKC:

Also don't dismiss down climbing. Can be a good way to get some gear or draws in, suss some moves then rest back on the ground. Purists might disagree.
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 SenzuBean 20 Apr 2017
In reply to Natalie Berry - UKC:

> .Interestingly, I reckon I tend to imagine how I will be feeling/how I should 'act' at certain sections on an onsight attempt rather than what the exact moves will be, especially if the sequence as viewed from below is a bit vague.

That random article I linked says (more or less) that that is a form of visualizing too. I guess my point was that visualization can be much more than just which hands go where, gear/clip spots, and where you're going to stop for a rest.
 Misha 21 Apr 2017
In reply to UKC Articles:
4 and 9 are definitely an issue for members of the slothful climbers society...

Wish I had a driving instructor like that (though mine was pretty good anyway).
 jezb1 21 Apr 2017
In reply to UKC Articles:

Thought the article was going to be crap, but I was well wrong!

Good article! I've recently had some coaching and done quite a bit of cpd with regard to my instructing / coaching work and the tactics described in the article have had a real effect on how I climb as well as what I teach.

The only thing I'd have added was something about the warm up - all part of the performance preparation. I used to be awful at it and then wonder why I fell off due to flash pump...!

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