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Post by aikibujin on Nov 22, 2017 10:19:36 GMT -7
I’m taking John’s suggestion that I start a new thread on my process and progress on Sonic Youth, the first 5.13a I’ve tried to project. So why Sonic Youth, and why 5.13a? When I first started climbing in 2003, I got to 5.12b redpoint level within the first couple of years simply by just climbing as much as I could. Then I felt like I hit a wall. 5.12b’s usually took everything I had to redpoint, the few 5.12c’s I tried felt impossible, and 5.13a might as well be on the moon. But in the back of my mind I always thought, it would be really cool if I can climb 5.13 someday, because it just seemed like such a lofty goal for the average climber.
Fast forward to 2014, I started climbing again after getting a steady job (health insurance!), a family, and a 7-month old baby boy. I remember taking the lead test 5.9 at Rock’n and Jam’n, and getting so pumped I couldn’t clip the anchor at the top. Frustrated, I asked Mark for advice, and he told me that I should get a hangboard and start training. Since I can’t climb nearly as much as I wanted to, that actually gave me a laser-like focus on training and using my time as efficiently as possible.
This year, I’m back to my previous high point of 5.12b. Not only that, the 5.12b’s I tried took me less and less time to get: my first 5.12b this year took 9 tries, second one took 4 tries, and the third one went down on the first redpoint attempt after two beta burns. Looking at those numbers, I felt like I can definitely try something harder, and all of a sudden 5.13a doesn’t feel like it’s on the moon anymore.
Sonic Youth has actually been on my radar for a while. The first place in Clear Creek I ever climbed at was High Wire, and on the approach to High Wire you can’t help but notice that impressive looking New River Wall full of hard looking routes. I used to climb a lot at the New River Gorge, I thought the New River Wall is named after that (now I know it’s probably more related to the “River Wall” just upstream), so I thought it’d be cool to climb something there. Mark had also recommended it as a good first 5.13a to project. So when someone I knew wanted to work on it, I jumped on the chance to get on it and see what it feels like.
So that was a long-winded explanation on how I chose Sonic as my first 13a to project.
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 22, 2017 11:51:07 GMT -7
Day one on Sonic was just trying to see if it’s even possible for me, so I just went bolt-to-bolt and tried out all the moves. Again, beta alert: if you don’t want beta on Sonic, stop reading! Like mentioned in the other post, Sonic starts out with a V5/V6-ish boulder problem right off a ledge that pulls over a roof. The first hard move for me is a RH crossover dyno (which I’ve rarely done, time to start Moonboarding?!) to a good jug. A lot of people actually deadpoint to the jug with their LH, but I couldn’t do that move on my first tries (possibly due to wingspan) so I worked out the alternative RH dyno. The second hard move I encountered was the move I fell off in the video: a RH gaston in a flake under the roof. Again, most people make a deadpoint to the flake, but the hold you’re aiming for is only two fingers wide, so a deadpoint requires a bit of precision. I worked out the high drop knee beta so I can reach the gaston fairly statically by bumping my RH along the flake. That seems like a higher percentage move for me, but quite strenuous because I have to lockoff pretty hard with the LH. After that it’s a few more pumpy but not too bad moves pulling over the roof, then you get an ok stemming rest in an overhanging dihedral.
The second section of the route is to climb the overhanging dihedral for the next two bolts. After the boulder problem in the beginning, I expected the dihedral to go fairly easy, but it is actually deceptively hard. The moves are on small crimps, gastons, a tight finger crack, and slopey feet., It took me a few tries going bolt-to-bolt just to figure out one sequence that worked, and I’m still not sure if that’s the most efficient sequence. At the top of this section you get another stemming rest that is really good, then you’re faced with the final crux section to the anchor.
The third section had me totally stumped on my first day. Once you leave a good rail you can clip from, the moves become very sequency and somewhat insecure. There are tons of holds everywhere, crimpy gaston, sharp sidepull, pinch, two-finger edge, sloper, tiny crack you can barely get your finger tips in, pocket, razor-like flake facing the wrong way, and lots and lots of super glassy footholds everywhere, so it’s probably one of these cruxes that everyone has to figure out their own beta. I thrashed around up there for a long time, trying every combination of handholds, footholds, and body positions I can come up with, but in the end I couldn’t find a single move that worked. I lowered off totally spent and somewhat disheartened, but decided that I will come back another day and just work on the top crux when I’m fresh.
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richb
Junior Member
Posts: 55
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Post by richb on Nov 22, 2017 12:05:19 GMT -7
Congrats on starting a sweet new proj. It sounds like you have beta from others on the first crux - what about the third section? That's what I'd zero in on next, going back up there armed with some sequences to try.
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 22, 2017 12:38:16 GMT -7
Congrats on starting a sweet new proj. It sounds like you have beta from others on the first crux - what about the third section? That's what I'd zero in on next, going back up there armed with some sequences to try. Thanks! I'm super psyched as you can probably tell. You’re right, I was climbing with someone who has been working on SY and has a lot of beta. I eventually did the move with some fine-tuning of his beta. Here I’m recapturing what happened the first couple of days I got on the route.
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Post by jonfrisby on Nov 22, 2017 12:50:35 GMT -7
There's a really good heel out right in the first rest. There's a head scum before the final crux that allows a true no-hands. I am coming to Denver for an interview next Friday and am trying to stick around Sat to climb
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 22, 2017 14:04:23 GMT -7
The following week I returned to SY with the goal of simply working out the top crux if I can. Unfortunately, two days before it snowed about 2-3 inches. I thought the overhanging nature of the route would keep it dry, and that was mostly true. What I didn’t expect was how humid it was down there, next to a river, after a snowstorm, at the bottom of a canyon. I brought a little hygrometer with me (inspired by a TraingBeta episode with Jonathan Siegrist), and it read 40F, 70% humidity (yes, seventy. Seven zero). But the rock looked dry, so I was determined to give the top crux a go. As soon as I touched the route, everything felt slippery. The rock was moist to the touch due to the high humidity. Undeterred, I pulled on the draws and aided my way to the top crux hellbent on giving it at least one go. For the move that stopped me on my first day, my climbing partner’s beta is going from a LH sharp pinch/sidepull and RH crimpy gaston, match feet low on a small edge, bring left foot high to a good foothold, and throw LH to a higher pinch/sidepull. I tried that move a few times but couldn’t even get my LH close to the higher pinch. I tried the same move again this time, and still couldn’t touch the higher pinch. So I started experimenting with different sequence and beta, but nothing else worked for me and I kept coming back to the same move I couldn’t do. Eventually, I figured out that instead of matching my feet on the low foothold (which placed my center of gravity too low to set up for the throw), I need to bring my right foot high first, get my body higher so now I’m pushing down on the RH gaston instead of pulling down, then bring up my left foot to set up for the throw. This crucial bit of micro beta allowed me to generate enough momentum to hit that higher LH pinch/sidepull. I tried to do another move after sticking the pinch sidepull, but greased right off a slippery foothold. I decided the condition was just too humid to attempt any more moves so I lowered off and called it a day, but I was ecstatic. Even though I only make a single move in a day, but that was the move I was most unsure about. Now that I’ve stuck it in not so great conditions, my confidence is soaring that the rest of the moves will go.
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 22, 2017 18:30:23 GMT -7
There's a really good heel out right in the first rest. There's a head scum before the final crux that allows a true no-hands. I am coming to Denver for an interview next Friday and am trying to stick around Sat to climb I've read about the head scum on MP, but that heel at the first rest is news to me. Do you mean a heel hook for the actual rest? Or a heel that helps with climbing above the rest? I just reviewed my video and can't really see where to get a heel at the first rest, but I'm admittingly not very good at spotting heel hooks. I tend to climb on Fridays, and will most likely be climbing next Friday as well!
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Post by jonfrisby on Nov 23, 2017 8:29:43 GMT -7
Sorry, left heel. When you’re youre stemming in the corner with the good hold before the weird seam sequence, we got a (left) heel on the left part of the dihedral on a little ledge. It’s for the rest - stem right foot on a smear with the left heel to get most of the weight off your hands. I used the same slippery foot sequence moving through the seam. I did each of the three parts last summer, hope to get back soon to link them
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Post by avaserfi on Nov 23, 2017 8:58:20 GMT -7
Sonic Youth is on my hopeful to do list for after a bouldering trip I've got coming up. I'm really trying to focus on bouldering, but this thread is making it hard!
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 23, 2017 13:51:29 GMT -7
Day three on SY, the condition was much better: 39F, around 30% humidity. I went to Wall of the 90s first and got on Wet Dream (12a), before dropping by the New River Wall and put in another session on SY. My goal on this day is to work out rest of the moves all the way to the top, and I did that relatively quickly. From the good two-hand rail where you can clip from, there are only eight moves (4 LH moves and 4 RH moves) to a hero jug at the top, pulling two small roofs on the right side of the dihedral in the process. All four LH moves are decent pinch sidepulls, and three out of the four RH moves are bad gastons (the last RH move for me is a deadpoint to the hero jug). There are a few ok edges for feet, but there are also a lot of super polished smears. I was popping off my feet a lot more often than usual. There is one bolt (the second to the last) in the middle of all this. I can't do any of the LH moves statically, and while I can reach the RH gastons fairly statically, they all feel a bit desperate. So I can't see myself stopping in the middle to make a clip. Since the fall is clean, I think the best option for me on redpoint attempt is to skip this bolt. But my mental game has always been a bit weak, so the last few moves to the hero jug will feel pretty heady. Combining the bad feet, the tension-y moves, the angle of the wall, and the mental aspect, this last section feel like the hardest section of the entire route. I can see myself linking the first two sections fairly quickly, and spend the majority of my time on this last section, refine the beta and get the sequence dialed.
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 23, 2017 13:56:28 GMT -7
Sorry, left heel. When you’re youre stemming in the corner with the good hold before the weird seam sequence, we got a (left) heel on the left part of the dihedral on a little ledge. It’s for the rest - stem right foot on a smear with the left heel to get most of the weight off your hands. I used the same slippery foot sequence moving through the seam. I did each of the three parts last summer, hope to get back soon to link them Ok, that makes a lot more sense. I can envision where a left heel would go. I'll give that a try next time I get on it. Thanks!
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 23, 2017 14:01:09 GMT -7
Sonic Youth is on my hopeful to do list for after a bouldering trip I've got coming up. I'm really trying to focus on bouldering, but this thread is making it hard! Haha, the psyche is really high!
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Post by RobF on Nov 23, 2017 14:04:51 GMT -7
Is that the route in one of the early masters of stone vids where Kurt Smith removes his baseball cap and goes on about not allowing haircuts like his in town???
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Post by jrblack on Nov 23, 2017 19:57:10 GMT -7
aikib: can you do all the moves on the route now? What's your best go at the route? Ie, have you done it in 5 hangs or something like this? Or is it too soon to be be doing fully RP burns?
I know a lot of people work routes from the top down: get the top 1/4 really dialed (because that's where you'll be the most tired). Do you plan to do this?
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Post by aikibujin on Nov 23, 2017 21:37:47 GMT -7
Is that the route in one of the early masters of stone vids where Kurt Smith removes his baseball cap and goes on about not allowing haircuts like his in town??? I have no idea! I've never seen Masters of Stone. aikib: can you do all the moves on the route now? What's your best go at the route? Ie, have you done it in 5 hangs or something like this? Or is it too soon to be be doing fully RP burns? I know a lot of people work routes from the top down: get the top 1/4 really dialed (because that's where you'll be the most tired). Do you plan to do this? I did all the moves on the route after my third day on it, but it is way too early to be doing full RP burns right now. If it's that easy, it wouldn't be a mega project! I still need to refine my micro beta and make sure I have the best sequence. Just because I did the moves, doesn't mean it was the best way to do them. Especially the moves near the top, I can't do more than 4 moves in a row. I think I still need to work out better beta for my feet. I've divided the route into three sections separated by the two rests, and my plan is to work on linking the moves in these sections separately first. My fourth day on it (last Sunday), I started linking the bottom section (which is the video I posted in the other thread). I feel my beta is pretty good, the only thing I may need to refine is the clipping stance. I suspect I'll be able to link this section in just a couple more tries. I'm not too certain on my sequence for the middle section, so I'll need to experiment with some different options. But this middle section is the easiest section, so I don't think I will need to spend a lot of time on it. The top section is going to be the hardest. Once I link the bottom and the middle section (which I think won't take too long), I may very well end up working this route top down. My plan is to aid through the bottom and the middle sections once I have linked them, and spend most of my time working on the top section. Luckily there is a really good rest before you fire into the top section, so I should be able to recover quite a bit. If the top is going to take me a long time, I'll climb the bottom and the middle from time to time just to refresh my memory.
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