UKC

Hi,

Following a post here i was told, if im able for indoor v3, outdoor 5a should not be a problem strength wise.... maybe wrong no idea.

So I've done the odd indoor v4 boulder, and an indoor 6a sport. Been outside , three different 5a's bested me, and im pretty much finding 4c's handy. 

The outdoors 5c, struggling to hold a slab, everything is tiny, fumbling hands,  no idea where's a good foot... you get the idea.  Any tips,  outside of more climbing? 

Outdoors is totally different, incut holds instead of protruding, the feet are normally more numerous but smaller etc etc.

Just takes time, you can get as strong as you like and a Font slab will still steal all your hopes and dreams 😂

Is that sport 5c (ie F5+), bouldering 5c (ie f5+) or UK trad 5c (eg E2 5c). There's big differences between the French, font & UK trad grades despite them all being 5?

And that's not taking into account the style of climbing & your preference/strengths..... slabs, walls, cracks, chimneys, overhangs.... all can come in 5c versions. Some you'll love, others maybe not so.

Rather than being told what you should be able to do, just start easy & see what you actually can do. Then try something different, maybe harder. Better to leap forward in successful bounds than begin with depressing defeats

Dependent on the answer to previous question, if you're climbing the same rock you'd boulder outside (ie not climbing Peak lime), do some outdoor bouldering. In fact don't need to necessarily do recorded problems - just practise traversing, smearing, topping out on easier stuff you make up yourself. But have someone else to hold you accountable and challenge you to try awkward moves.

Ofc I never do this because bouldering is terrifying, but the folk who do seem to have far better trust in their feet than I ever do. 

This won't work for jamming. That needs proper learning.

And if you are talking trad 5a and it's your first time outside, cut yourself some slack. I wouldn't expect a novice to grit, for instance, to necessarily second VS from the beginning. A period of gaining mileage, and pointers from more experienced climbers to learn how to read the rock, is possibly your best way forward. Climbing in a three/group helps with this as a leader shouting from on high often can't actually give you that much useful feedback. 

I also found it really helpful to do a fair bit of bouldering outdoors on similar rock to what your outdoor route aspirations are on.

And by bouldering I don't mean soloing micro routes. I mean puzzling out moves in a situation where falling off is expected and comfortable.

This is fun because what I had in mind when I also just wrote to do outdoor bouldering on similar rock was bouldering on Peak lime! I found that transformative for me for climbing routes on Peak lime.

Also, there is a gang of people I've seen in the Peak who do gritstone jamming crack boulder problems. There are dozens of such boulder problems at places like Froggatt and Ramshaw.

Yep, that's normal. Enjoy the process!