Projecting strategy on short trips and PE

[jetjackson]

So I just got back from the Red. Prior to going I had my eyes set on working Mercy The Huff and even Ted Wesler on here had sent me some videos to help with beta. We had rented a house at the red for 9 days, so I had 6 total climbing days with 2 rest days in between each 2 days on. I was with a group that included one of my best climbing mates, his wife, my wife and a couple of other beginner/intermediate climbers - so I couldn't just do what I wanted and had to accommodate the needs of the rest of the group. At the moment I'm onsighting 5.11b and flashing some 5.11c's, so I figured 5.12b represented a good challenge and Mercy is heavily repped. I got a couple of power endurance sessions in before I left, but not as many as I would have liked, or at the quality I would have liked (Our gym changed routes multiple times due to a comp and I had to create a new PE circuit every time I went in). I resolved to put in a couple of attempts on Mercy and make a decision as to whether I thought it would be feasible on the trip, and if so, project it.

Due to above mentioned reasons, I didn't even get on Mercy until day 4 of the trip, so I had climbed 2 days, then 1 day off, and I was on day 3. Days 1 and 2 had not been that hard, I'd onsighted a 5.11b, and done a few different 4 and 5 star 5.10's, plus I got on Chainsaw Massacre once and worked the moves bolt to bolt. Chainsaw was going to be my backup project if Mercy seemed unobtainable. Maybe 8-10 pitches total over those first 2 days. So I wasn't zonked when I got on Mercy, but was probably only at 80-90% capacity. 

I worked the moves initially, bolt-to-bolt, placing the draws for a first RP attempt. I had no issue with any of the moves. I purposely did this vs. going for the onsight, because I didn't want to create a mental 'high-point crux'. After resting for about 45 minutes, I got on the route to give it a RP burn. I got about half way up the route and messed up the beta on a back-step, foot flag move and took the whip. Jugging back up, I sat on the bolt for a few minutes before getting back on. I got to the second last bolt and I messed up the beta - basically, when I'd gone bolt-to-bolt I'd started off the wrong hand after sitting on the bolt, so I had the beta incorrect - before I could correct the mistake I pumped out. After hanging for a few I romped it to the chains - this time using the right hand. I came down and had to make a decision about whether or not I thought it was feasible for me on this trip. Because I'd been feeling pretty pumped at second last bolt, after only climbing 1/3 of the route off a hang-dog rest, and even with the rest at the 2nd last bolt, my clipping of the chains was a desperate pump clip, I decided that the project was probably out of possibility for me on the trip. Given that I'd only realistically be able to get 2-3 more RP attempts in for the remainder of the trip with all the other above mentioned group constraints, I decided to make Chainsaw Massacre my project instead. Unfortunately, that didn't work out either - by the time I got back to it on Day 5 after Thanksgiving, I didn't have the power endurance to get to the top of that.

So, questions is, how do you gauge whether you have the PE for a project. If you fall due to pump 50% of the way up the climb, is that an automatic - probably not possible with my current PE? Would you keep projecting if you fell 80% of the way up the climb?

Also, if your OS average is 5.11b, how many RP attempts do you think you would need for a 5.12b - 2-3, 3-5, more?

[daustin]

Sounds like you've assessed the cause of your falls on the RP attempt was incorrect beta, not moves feeling impossible or pump being debilitating despite correct beta. Although you felt pretty pumped by the end, it's amazing how much muscle memory and correct beta can overcome pump.

IMO part of what you have to figure out is how much you want to project vs. how much you want to tour around a destination. It sounds like the RRG isn't your home crag (it's Reimer's IIRC from your other posts?) and maybe this was your first time there? Or even if it's not your first time, it's still a pretty big trip if you're coming all the way from TX. So, I guess what I'd question is -- did you decide not to try Mercy again because you really thought it was unattainable, or because you (or the group) didn't want to come back and sit under that same wall for another day when there's so much other climbing at the Red to experience?

From your self assessment, it doesn't sound like Mercy was DEFINITELY out of reach for you on the trip, especially if you'd felt like you'd figured out your beta and were confident that you could execute it without major errors on your next RP attempt(s). So if you truly thought it was unattainable, I think maybe you weren't giving yourself enough credit. To answer your question, I don't think you can really make a judgment about whether you have enough PE for a project until you've given it a RP attempt without making any major beta screw ups. Bad beta can make PE pretty much irrelevant pretty easily. If you can't figure out the beta or the beta is too hard for you to even attempt on RP, then it's probably a strength and/or power issue.

If you have the right beta and are still feeling hideously pumped <50% through the climb, then maybe you just don't have enough PE for it to be a realistic project. Or maybe there's a really good 55% of the way through the climb and if you just got to that point you'd be able to recover enough to fire the rest! Point is, I don't think there's a generalizable formula to answer your question, but I would suggest breaking to the route down into sections or boulder problems as opposed to just x% of the total climb.

[jetjackson]

Thanks for the detailed answer Daustin!

Yeah, home crag is Reimer's and typically 30-40 foot limestone routes, where PE isn't usually the deciding factor. I'm used to not being able to do the route because of a beta/strength/power issue - rather than because I'm getting pumped out. So I guess I'm working on better understanding power endurance during projecting. You're probably right, even if I worked the moves another 3-4 times, I probably would have found more efficient beta and that could have helped with pump management.

As much as I would have liked to just go back to Mercy for 2 extra days and work the project 5-6 times - the group wouldn't have wanted to do that. I still had a lot of fun, and my wife saw some good gains in her climbing also, which was great to see. Plus I met Emily Harrington and Adrian Ballinger - that was cool too

[MarkAnderson]

I'm about 95% certain you made the right decision. PE routes are the most tantalizing because "all the moves feel easy!" Many a fool, myself included more times than I can remember, has been duped into a PE project that is realistically out of reach. There's even a route at Rifle called "Next Try", for some poor guy who spent all summer confidently proclaiming he would send Zulu on his next try.

The Red in particular is notorious for this. Many, many climbers will completely hit a wall on their project that they just can't overcome no matter how many times they try it. Beta isn't a huge factor at the Red, so you don't see the same rapid progress from gaining efficiencies that you do at more technical crags. Once you know which holds are the jugs, you either have the enduring to paddle up them or you don't.

[jetjackson]

Thanks. That makes me feel better about it.

[Lundy]

I would just add that, because of the nature of the Red, if you plan a trip there again in the future, the chances are that you have the power to do moves on climbs that are many grades above your current level, so really nail the PE work in advance. Two PE sessions isn't even close to the kind of endurance training you need to make the Red work for you. I used to climb there quite a lot (I have a deep love for that place...) and I would give up on power and strength work almost entirely for like two months in advance of trip, just doing lots of linked bouldering, 4x4s, and 4x4 routes. That was the only way I could really send some of those climbs. Also, not that everyone has time for this, but I have found that a one week trip to the Red is pretty short, and it is honestly pretty hard to send that quickly. I always found that if I gave myself two weeks, my second week would be a send-fest as I used the first week to gain that extra little, super specific PE training I needed...

And yeah, I've watched lots of folks whip off the top boulder problem on Mercy sooooo many times that they wanted to quit climbing, so probably a good call... Amazing climb, though, eh?!

[jetjackson]

Yeah, fantastic climb! Really enjoyed it.

Good point on PE - I think I needed a lot more of it. Also, I could have done with the confidence that would have come with say, only being able to get to move 25 on a 50 move circuit and then 8 workouts later doing multiple reps of the 50 move circuit. But as I mentioned, the gym kept changing things up.

[jetjackson]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tClPS16l7fY - there is the video of my RP attempt - I talk through the beta and why I didn't try to project it, as per above.