The road to Aus grade 25...again

(quick conversion guide for "y'all" for Australian grades: Aus 18 ~ US 5.10, Aus 21 ~ US 5.11, Aus 24/25 = US 5.12; Aus 28 = US 5.13)

I have been climbing for over 10 years now, but with some long periods away, or with only the occasional social gym climb or day out on easy trad multipitch or outdoor bouldering. Especially after being dropped by my belayer and taking a huge ground fall in 2014, I didn't lead climb for a long time. Previously I had redpointed the obligatory butter-soft grade 24. I'm a terrible redpoint climber who definitely shied away from the mental pressure of redpoint attempts and just tried to onsight everything and then blow off the climb if I couldn't do it.

But, I am back in the game for about two years now, and have started focused training, for the first time ever really. (Everyone seems to crush these days, my old kayaking buddy climbs 28 now FFS!) Bought a hangboard, tried some of these newfangled "comp-style coordination boulders", started a spreadsheet, and (literally) dusted off the old copy of Horst's Training for Climbing.

So. I did the Magnus Midtbo strength test to check in where I am at...and my the "theoretical grade" is French 7c or Aus 27!! I was really shocked, never tried any exercise with added weight (though to be honest, plenty of bodyweight exercise and bouldering). It's shaken me a bit, I'm much stronger than I thought, maybe my technique is particularly crap after all.

So I thought I would keep a little bit of diary here as I continue - I don't want to bother my normal friends with this stuff, might as well geek out on a mountain project subforum.

tl;dr

I did the Magnus Midtbo strength test to check in where I am at:

• Grip strength: 20mm edge max hang for 5 seconds: 120% of bodyweight (14kg added)
• Pullup strength: max pull up: 130% of bodyweight (21kg added)
• Core strength: 20 second L-sit hanging from bar (can't front lever at all)
• Endurance: 2 minutes hanging from bar

My goals are to hit French 8a "theoretical grade" on the strength test, and climb 25 and V6 outdoors.

A bit of a reality check after failing on an outdoor V6/7 boulder project yesterday. Naturally, I had strength to burn, but failed due to technique and tactics.

• Forgot the aspect is actually the sun until 11am, sweated all morning, should have slept in and gone in the evening.
• Beta issues. I desperately lunged square-on at the first move for ages, until someone else else showed up, and did it practically statically with a flag and a twist lock. I reckon I'm a lot worse at twisting than I think I am. The last hard sport climb I tried I also failed on the crux because I couldn't twist hard enough into a crossover.
• But by then I couldn't try it anyway, as my skin was trashed from all the desperate lunging. I had the idea to use some sneaky taping tactics I'd heard about (tape fingers at the start of the session, work the moves, then when you can do every move, take the tape off and send with fresh skin) but of course I didn't actually bother to do this properly.

(FWIW - this is mountain project after all - the other guy that showed up with his beautiful but very aggressive dog, and I left pretty quickly because I felt I was aggravating it. I do like dogs but geez it was a bit scary. At least he admitted "She doesn't like being on the leash, and to be honest she took a long time to warm up to us, and we raised her from a pup!")

Another failure on the V6/7 project, but I did get a consolation classic V5. First shot of the day,  second shot overall.

https://youtu.be/7bo3DyrOkO4

I've decided to bail on the V7 project and instead go on a Sydney V5 consolidation tour trying the classics, including a lot that I've tried before, but never ticked. My list of classic V5's to try next is

1. Berlin Blockade, Frontlines. Not really a classic, but it's actually one of the first problems I ever tried so I'd love to clean it up.
2. Pincer Movement, Frontlines. Saxon Johns problem. Very aesthetic razor arete, a pinch strength tester.
3. Sloper Dan, Frontlines. The "best boulder problem in Sydney" but IMO suffers from spooge and polish because of that reputation. Still should be worthwhile.
4. Anorexia, Crumbly crag. Timmy O'Neill problem. A reachy roof boulder with an infamous cutloose finish. Benchmark, hard for the grade. I've tried it once before.
5. Wish You Were Here, Jannali reserve. Climbed, see the video above ^^^. Awesome "stalactite" roof problem.
6. No Name, Jessica's. Although it's only a single boulder hidden behind some houses, Jessica's is a storied spot with some classic problems. This is the easiest, plumb up the middle.
7. Liquorice Arete, Fear Factory. Slightly obscure overhanging slap and compression arete with a hard mantle.
8. Mr Smiley, Sissy Crag. Bit of a lifetime project. Old school benchmark problem at an old school benchmark crag, unmissable line with a tantalizing jug in the middle of an entirely blank bulge. might really be V6, or "actually V8 lol" for the modern boulderer. Unfortunately suffers really bad from seepage and wet starting holds, so will rarely have good conditions as it's been a very wet year.
   
   

Right on dude, keep it up. I’m right around the same level as you and strength ability, I get the frustration. I feel like I have been stuck trying to break into 5.12 V6/V7 for like 2 years now, progress is slow but steady I reckon. I’m 6’1 and 175 lbs though, we can’t all be 5’8 and 130 lbs !!!!

Have you been finger boarding or doing pull ups??  Are they helping?  

Im at the point where I don’t know if I should be training or climbing more, honestly. 

Here is a reality check. If you can consistently redpoint V6/V7, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot redpoint at least some 7c+/8a (.13-) routes. 

Frank Stein wrote:

Here is a reality check. If you can consistently redpoint V6/V7, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot redpoint at least some 7c+/8a (.13-) routes. 

You're not wrong. So much of what holds you back (what holds me back) is mental.

Sendtember was more like Sweat-tember down here today but I had a good morning at the Frontlines ticking two more V5s.

I tried Sloper Dan as well. As usual, a gang of inexperienced youths were in session, leaving visible damp patches on the slopers with their unchalked hands, and grinding dirt into the start foothold with unwiped feet. Ah, moderate classics. I did a stand start but unfortunately ran out of time and energy to put it together. One woman sent while I was there, props to them, none of the rest looked close.  

• Berlin Blockade, Frontlines. youtu.be/KYGHvmRqAVA
  
• Pincer Movement, Frontlines youtu.be/WfoiQ1mISsI
• Sloper Dan, Frontlines
• Anorexia, Crumbly Crag.
• Wish You Were Here, Jannali reserve.
• No Name, Jessica's.
• Liquorice Arete, Fear Factory
• Mr Smiley, Sissy Crag.

A public holiday was declared because the Queen died so I drove up to the mountains for a bonus day of climbing with a friend.

Unfortunately it was raining so we had to choose between a few "dry" caves that are usually possible to climb at in the rain. It was still pretty damp and slimy so no redpoints happened. Dogged up a 24 and had a play on a 26 (one of the only permadraw'd routes in the Blue Mountains).

Thoughts -

• Climb faster, get less pumped - it works
• I got pretty tired on the little approached with just a pack and rope. Generally you get more trashed outdoor climbing as well.
• I should probably drop any pretence and just get a sport knee pad. My knee is pretty bruised today.
• Interestingly I had a bit of anxiety, that if I had too many attempts, I would flame out and be unable to get to the anchor again and clean all the draws. Which is dumb, because we had a stick clip, and also I have aid climbed and can high step. But it was probably my biggest redpoint phobia haha.  

Went out with a few friends to a wilderness sport crag. The 40 minute approach hurt a bit but it was worth it for the beautiful canyon setting.

There are 5 or 6 sectors like this scattered along both sides of the canyon.

 I tried to onsight a grade 22 hanging draws (yds 5.11) and almost made it, I misread literally the second-to-last hold before the clipping jug, and whipped.

Then I tried a grade 24 (yds 5.12-) that I had tried a long time ago, and not been able to do the crux. This time I was able to dog through first go, hanging draws. I then did a redpoint attempt but forgot the crux beta and fell off. I should have had another go but "felt tired" aka wimped out.

Next day I tried another project that is "only" 22 but it is a bit old school, slabby and very beta intensive. My mate - who is a strong sport climber - failed to onsight, then blew a second attempt, before redpointing 3rd try. He claimed he hasn't had a grade 22 cause him that much trouble in "like 5 years!"

I failed to redpoint after i think a warm-up dog and a further 4 redpoint attempts, which was a bit disappointing, but I was actually just happy that I had that many attempts in me. Usually I flame out after just a handful of leads close to my limit.

I got a grade 21 onsight, and another "hard" 21 second shot, but other than that, there's been a lot of failure to send. Now I'm a bit down, and tomorrow I have to go back to work.  

Here is a bouldering photo.

You keep mentioning your mental weeeaknesses but keep training your physical attributes despite being stronger than you need to be. Stop training strength and train your brain. Here are some ideas, maybe you haven't tried some of them yet...

-wire in confidence on small feet

-take practice falls

-meditate

-practice doing what you intend on each go, even easy problems/routes

-asses your headspace before/during tries and see what works best for you

-learn to have FUN!

An update. I have climbed two more V5's outdoors in the last couple of months, for a total of five V5s in the second half of this year, and in a few different styles. Really happy with this it's the best I've ever climbed above a mat.

I've had some persistent pulley soreness in my right hand, so I've backed off the pure finger strength training - I stopped indoor board climbing and crimpy bouldering for the last month or so, and did some general weight training for overall strength instead. If I pop something, it's gunna be outdoors dammit.

On rope not much has changed, mostly I have been getting some mileage on moderates. Perhaps its falling in to old habits, but happy to consolidate a bit before another round of pushing my tendons. Today we got outdoors and I did sport pitches at Aus grade 17, 22, 20, 21, 19 and only fell once off the crux of the 21 before getting it second shot, so feeling fairly solid.

Sounds like you need to get better, not stronger. I wouldn’t train at all if I were since you already have the baseline strength (according to the Magnus assessment metrics). You only have so much time to train and the fact is, hangboarding is great for getting strong but doesn’t do anything for your climbing technique. Some things to try:

Rooting: It’s a bit of an abstract concept but google the videos from Power Climbing. The idea is to rewire your brain so that your whole body engages, not just the portions of your body required for the move. Focusing on the high foot and trailing hand. Sort of like a lock off but it’s more complex than that.

Problem/route mastery: Don’t consider a route complete until you do it “right”. Dialing in a route and repeating it a few times will help train your movement efficiency. You might be amazed at how even if you send, how much easier you can make a route/problem feel by continuing to dial in the beta and improve your efficiency.

Climb, fall, and send a lot. This seems obvious but I think a lot of people only do one of these things. Since you’re already strong enough to achieve your goals grade-wise, you should always be climbing rather than training if you have the choice. Training is obviously better than nothing, but if you have the choice, you should climb more. Again, your baseline strength seems plenty sufficient to achieve your grade goals. I would also fall a lot, meaning climb above your target grade goal. If .12a is the goal, try some .12+. Fall all over it, work out the beta, and try hard. This will get you more comfortable falling and by extension, more willing to “go for it” on hard moves. It will make you more efficient at reading and refining beta because it’s harder to “cheat” on routes that are at your limit. You can’t rely on strength to pull through moves if they’re at your limit. You instead have to do them efficiently. Lastly, send. Climb routes that are easy for you but try to do them as well as possible. Move efficiently, read the beta well, climb on your feet, etc. It’s easier to focus on technique on easier climbs when strength/endurance is less of an issue. Also, clipping chains is good for you mentally. It creates confidence and positive thinking which helps on harder routes.

I agree yeah, I'm plenty strong right now.

I want to focus on endurance for a bit, not even forearm pump endurance, but just all-day climbing fitness, so I can have 5 attempts at a route instead of 2 before being "done".

Well, here's some send footage to break up the walls of text.

Update. I haven't had any good outdoor days for redpointing the last couple of months.

Though, I have made some life changes that hopefully set me up for the future for a while yet. We have managed to buy an apartment in Sydney and move in, which hugely improves my stability as I have only rented before this. While I no longer have the Earlwood urban crag 10min away, I am closer to the big cliffs (1hr 30min to the Blue Mountains) and still have good access to urban outdoor bouldering around Sydney (30-45min) and a great gym scene.

As far as having fun goes, I have restarted a regular gym night with some old friends, and also did some DWS on a recent beach/climbing holiday which was excellent.

Fire me up! I’m about in the same boat as you. Keep it up.

I had Sunday free and figured I'd go bouldering by myself for an hour or two...then I thought, No! A full free day is too good to waste, you know people, find a partner and go drive up to the mountains.

Ended hitting up an old mentor of mine, who replied quickly and was very psyched.

I have to say our new place is amazing for access. Leaving just before 7am (and skipping the motorway toll and taking the surface road with traffic lights!) I was parked outside my mates place in Wentworth Falls at 8:15. He was shocked to see a Sydneysider so early and hadn't finished breakfast.

We had to option of going sport climbing at our redpoint limits, or going for an easier day at a remoter, more trad spot. He wasn't really keen for projecting, out of respect for the guy that helped teach me to climb I went with what he wanted.

The cliff was empty which was amazing (later one other party of 2 showed up). The spots not secret at all, but I decided to leave the name out here anyway. It has really long pitches as well, a lot of stuff had belays bolted for 2 or 3 pitches with a 50m rope, but with a modern extra long single rope, some incredible long pitches are possible.

This was his project, a grade 22.

(That one other party is in the background) I got the onsight which was a great climb for me. Towards the top I was resting before a final hard section, I had a really dry mouth and tried to yell down "Watch me it's about to get sketchy" but only deranged gasping came out until I calmed down and forced the words out haha.

So no progress with number chasing (although I'll gladly take another grade 22 onsight) but I got about 100m of climbing done and had a great day with an old friend.

Actually, I lie. (Honesty being so very important as the Enormocast has just discussed). I recently have three grade 22's lead first try, but they're all recorded as flashes!

This might actually be my first 22 onsight, placing draws! So not too bad for number chasing after all.

Sam M wrote:

Actually, I lie. (Honesty being so very important as the Enormocast has just discussed). I recently have three grade 22's lead first try, but they're all recorded as flashes!

This might actually be my first 22 onsight, placing draws! So not too bad for number chasing after all.

Who cares about the semantics anyway! I enjoy these updates, if you can flash or onsight 22s you should def be able to redpoint a 25.

Princess Puppy Lovr wrote:

Who cares about the semantics anyway! I enjoy these updates, if you can flash or onsight 22s you should def be able to redpoint a 25.

Agreed, just gotta find the right one or two that fit your strengths.