How to find Route's

When you go out with a partner or group, typically someone knows a route or has a plan of somewhere someone has been. I recently started Solo Climbing and realized, i want to try some new Routes. I bought rock climbing guides, and purchased all the Apps that iPhone and iTunes has to offer. As it turns out, i can't find one Route. The pictures and descriptions in the books are like mystical secrete code, and i don't find that anything is recognizable just on the angle the pictures are taken. So far, i have started by just climbing what i think to be routes, but then if i can't find my way, i end up bailing on gear to rap. back down. By chance, i went to one crag and saw someone climbing, so i went back the next day and climbed it myself, took pictures from every angel, then went home to the book and after hours, found what route i just climbed. I did this for a few routes, and even had to correct myself on the labeling of one as it looked just like another. I would love to be able to pick a route, go to the crag, identify it, and climb. Can anyone offer some words of wisdom on finding routes?

If you can't find it with all the guides, apps, bells, and whistles. Then you can't climb it. Consider getting a mentor.

Your post is ambiguous, but am I to understand you don't bring your book to the crag? If you don't DO.

Most guidebooks have similar topo keys. I find it's usually easiest to find prominent features at a crag (for example, a big dihedral, a wide crack, an alcove, a roof, etc), and use those features to locate your route (which may climb those features, or may be to either side of them).

I just went through all the posts, comments, and pictures from Mr. Klein since he joined MP and I must say - well done sir! You're my favorite addition to the site in a while. Excellent trolling and total dedication to your craft.

Austin Baird wrote:I just went through all the posts, comments, and pictures from Mr. Klein since he joined MP and I must say - well done sir! You're my favorite addition to the site in a while. Excellent trolling and total dedication to your craft.

Too much effort and content to be a troll. I think. Elenor doesn't hold a candle to how much work this guy has put in to MP. He's even added several routes already at a nearby crag. I haven't climbed them personally, but the descriptions seems relatively consistent with what you would expect.

I think this is serious.

Thanks for the reply's. Yea, i am in love with Climbing. I even went yesterday i the blizzard and did Highway to hell again to try and recover a cam i found. (No luck). Funny thing is, i was in the Marine corps for 5 years and Land navigation and Mountaineering where 2 fields i specialized in. Although that was 10 years ago, i still spend a lot of time through the year hiking, camping, and skiing and so on. If you put me in any forest around the wold, i can find my way, but i am having difficulty with routes. I noticed, like for instance with the Rock climbing New jersey Guide by Falcon Guide's, For the Rib, the angle of the picture when it was taken makes it look different then from where i was standing. Not to mention the all might mystical starting point "start at the righto raised platform of rock at a tree". Really, what the hell. Look at my comparable pictures from the guid, and from where i was standing. i walked right past it the first time i searched. The only reason i found it was i saw someone climb it. I love Mountain project, it is the best sight for climbers to share information. I chose to climb the Delaware water Gap first because there are so many undocumented routes that are not on this site, and it is not climbed that much because every one i talk to in the climb shops like eastern mountain, say the highway takes away the charm. I disagree. i find this a very enchanting place to climb, defiantly not for the beginner, get a few under your belt. I wanted to contribute and climb the routes not yet posted, and be the one to share the information. i am going to make a point to give others what i am having difficulty with. I will post each route with a satellite image of location with measured distance from known marker, and well document route location and landmarks as best i can. I will also give GPS coordinates from base of the route. If i get a few mixed up or mislabel an already known route, please feel free to correct me. I plan on spending the winter wondering the the mountain locating the routes, and the spring climbing them. happy trails.

This is a good example. Like I said before, I would focus on finding a prominent feature (a big corner up high, a crumbly dihedral mid-route, a small roof, etc.). This should make it fairly easy to locate things, even with a poor photo:

Unrelated to your original question...but since you plan on adding routes to the database, you should consider using the new topo creator on Mountain Project, as opposed to drawing straight lines / arrows offline. Check out this post: mountainproject.com/v/new-f…

I'm a noob at climbing as well. I have been adding lots of routes to the db. I must confess that when it asks me to pinpoint on a map where a new "area" is I just kind of go close enough. I guess I'll update my stuffs if I ever get GPS's. Sounds and looks from the pic that you did correctly find the route. No site you could use there to find a climbing partner? Preferably someone more experienced? I don't mind bouldering solo but only went tr solo once and never did it again. Something about being on a route without anyone aroun...

Thanks, clearly to find the routes will take some concentration. i will use my winter to work on this. I have updated Highway to Hell with the picture below to locate the route as well as better photo's. Ill check out the MP tracker, sounds interesting.

I just tried the MP Marker for photo's on my images of the Rib, this is a great tool. Thanks. I added some stuff to the rib i think will help find the rout fast. When i go back ill get a GPS and topi location.

Jonah,

An important thing in what Ryan is saying: do find that first feature; then check that two or three more obvious features are also located where they should be around that first feature.

More than once I've convinced myself based on one feature and been wrong.

Here's what I do: I approach the area at the crag where the routes that i like to do supposedly are. Locate a party, ask them what they are on, then count either bolt lines or chalk lines to determine which routes are which. If the party don't know what they are climbing( and it happens frequently) I count bolt lines or chalk lines from the easiest to find landmark. that puts me in proximity of the desired route usually

If the routes have no parties, bolts or chalk on them they should be either VERY obvious or not worth climbing. Simple as that.
Looking for ice routes is much more involved and can be very difficult for obvious reasons...there is actually a mystical code if you are looking for caves
a little off subject but that metollius cam you found is mine btw. send it to Rock and Resole in boulder and put "Ellenor Stone" on it. thanx!