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Post by sillygoose on Oct 19, 2015 4:54:33 GMT -7
My next goal route is at quite inaccessible and I am looking for advise on how to best train for it. I have managed to do all the moves with my best effort being climbing the route with two hangs (reaching the last bolt in one go). As mentioned it is quite hard to access and I do not have many opportunities to get on the route or work on it with a mini-traxion.
-The goal route is a technical 7b+ (around 5.12c).
-Mostly small sharp crimps sprinkled with a few sharp pinches and two finger pockets. The rock is super sharp so my fingers are completely wasted after a couple of burns.
-The route is long (135 feet) with the definite crux section being from the last bolt to the anchor. The route is rather sparsely bolted so this section is about 30 feet of hard climbing.
-The section leading up to the last bolt is hard but there are plenty of rests on decent crimps (but no really nice juggy rests). I can usually reach the last bolt or next to last bolt in one go.
-There is no particular stopper moves per se, but rather a series of hard moves with very small holds for the feet. Also the foot holds are very hard to spot, so if I wait a few week between tries I usually forget where the decent foot holds are and spend energy trying to “re-find” them
-Last moves is a short traverse on small crimps with bad feet leading to a sideways dyno to a jug where the anchor is. This is probably the crux move of the route.
-The route is vertical with no overhanging sections or roofs.
-Not sure if it is relevant but the route is very run out, so you take long falls. This also entails that you need to reclimb long parts of the route if you fall. Hence I usually spend quite some time trying to climb the last section and when I finally reach the anchor my fingers are spent and I do not have much energy to rework the part I am struggling the most with. Also there is no chance of stick clipping the anchor from the last bolt.
What would be the best strategy for training for this type of route? In my current cycle I focused on small crimps for the hangboard phase and focusing on crimpy boulder problems for my power phase. I am a bit at loss what the best strategy for power endurance for this type of route.
How should I approach training for this in my gym. There is a short vertical section on my bouldering wall, but most of the wall is overhanging. It is hard replicating the small foot holds in the gym since even most chips are bigger than the holds on the route. It is also hard to replicate the moves as I am having a hard time remembering the foot placements between the times I am on the route. Should I focus my bouldering section on doing thin moves on the vertical section or will it be fruitful to use a more overhanging section of the bouldering wall? How should I approach working power endurance for the route? I do get quite pumped on the route but a very different type of pump compared to something really overhanging and sustained. My fingers also tend to start hurting quite a bit as I progress on the route due to the sharpness of the rock. I realize that it would probably be best to just get on the route as much as possible but like I said it is quite inaccessible and I am having a hard time getting belayers for the route.
Any advice would be most appreciated.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Oct 19, 2015 7:24:13 GMT -7
First off, get your skin in shape. See chapter 9 for details on skin preparation.
It sounds like the biggest problem is your inability to work the crux. Is it possible to rig a toprope on the route by coming in from above (or from an adjacent route)? If not, is the route popular? If it's not, I would consider fixing a toprope on it, or perhaps fixing some other gear to make it easier to get to the anchor so you can actually work the crux.
This type of route can be really hard to train for (when you need to be able to climb something powerful after lots of draining climbing). Definitely train power endurance, with an emphasis on doing the hardest moves at the end of your circuit. However, you'll probably get the most form learning the crux well and practicing resting as high on the route as possible. There's got to be a place up there where you can get pretty close to a full recovery. Look for that and practice resting there.
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Post by sillygoose on Oct 19, 2015 10:37:36 GMT -7
Thanks for the input Mark. I guess I'll have to reread the chapter on skin care. Not really an option accessing the route from above or adjacent route.
In terms of training PE do you suggest emulating the route as much as possible i.e. circuits on a crimpy vertical wall or is it more beneficial going for slightly overhanging bouldering circuits/roped laps.
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Post by daustin on Oct 19, 2015 12:45:53 GMT -7
-Not sure if it is relevant but the route is very run out, so you take long falls. This also entails that you need to reclimb long parts of the route if you fall. Hence I usually spend quite some time trying to climb the last section and when I finally reach the anchor my fingers are spent and I do not have much energy to rework the part I am struggling the most with. Also there is no chance of stick clipping the anchor from the last bolt.
This is just a minor point in the overall scheme of your situation, but when you say you need to re-climb long parts of the route after a fall, are you actually climbing the moves or do you just mean jugging up on the belayer's side of the rope? If you're not doing the latter but you'd be able to (which I'd think you would on a vertical climb), that might help save some energy to rework the final crux run to the anchor... Also in terms of tactics for remembering the beta, if you don't already, I'd recommend writing down the beta in as much detail as possible after your attempts. Maybe even bring a notepad or phone up with you on the climb so you can jot it down while it's most fresh in your head. For me personally, I think the act of writing down the beta is actually more important to remembering it, rather than actually using your notes as a reference later (though they're absolutely still very helpful) -- the process of writing it down really cements my mental picture of the beta. Also if you take a camera up with you you could take photos of specific sections that are the trickiest to remember. |
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Post by sillygoose on Oct 19, 2015 13:52:54 GMT -7
This is just a minor point in the overall scheme of your situation, but when you say you need to re-climb long parts of the route after a fall, are you actually climbing the moves or do you just mean jugging up on the belayer's side of the rope? If you're not doing the latter but you'd be able to (which I'd think you would on a vertical climb), that might help save some energy to rework the final crux run to the anchor... The problem is that it is run out so you could end up climbing 20 feet above the bolt and fall off, meaing you can´t drag yourself up that part. I´ll try jotting down a few notes the next time I'm on it and maybe take a few pictures. Thanks |
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Post by jcm on Oct 19, 2015 15:03:33 GMT -7
Another strategy that can help to prepare for and project a far away or difficult to access route is to choose and more local and more accessible trainer route to project in parallel. The trainer route should be as similar as possible to the main project in style and rock type. On days that you can't make it to the main project, but can still get outside somewhere more convenient, working of the trainer project will help you dial in the skill set you need, toughen you skin, and build that same sort of PE. Plus, this way you can often get two sends when you fitness peaks and things start to click, instead of just one.
Also, the OP (Sillygoose)really should post the name of the route and crag in question. After all that detailed description, we're dying to know where it is. There are posters on this site from all over, and many are also very well-traveled. There is a good chance someone here is familiar with the specific route, and can offer good suggestions for working that route, or for other "trainer routes" you could get on.
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Post by sillygoose on Oct 20, 2015 0:36:02 GMT -7
Another strategy that can help to prepare for and project a far away or difficult to access route is to choose and more local and more accessible trainer route to project in parallel. The trainer route should be as similar as possible to the main project in style and rock type. On days that you can't make it to the main project, but can still get outside somewhere more convenient, working of the trainer project will help you dial in the skill set you need, toughen you skin, and build that same sort of PE. Plus, this way you can often get two sends when you fitness peaks and things start to click, instead of just one. Also, the OP (Sillygoose)really should post the name of the route and crag in question. After all that detailed description, we're dying to know where it is. There are posters on this site from all over, and many are also very well-traveled. There is a good chance someone here is familiar with the specific route, and can offer good suggestions for working that route, or for other "trainer routes" you could get on. This has pretty much what I have been doing lately but mostly because my climbing buddies have not been that interested in this particular route.
Route is called Alvedans at a crag called Dale close to Stavanger in Norway. Although I would argue that the crag is world class I have my doubts that anyone on the forum is familiar with the route or the crag for that matter. A bit of an obscure place on the west coast of Norway.
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Post by jcm on Oct 21, 2015 8:01:21 GMT -7
Route is called Alvedans at a crag called Dale close to Stavanger in Norway. Although I would argue that the crag is world class I have my doubts that anyone on the forum is familiar with the route or the crag for that matter. A bit of an obscure place on the west coast of Norway.
Haha, fair enough. The climbing in Norway sounds outstanding. |
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Post by sillygoose on Oct 27, 2015 23:36:43 GMT -7
I finally got the opportunity to get on the route on 3 of the past 4 days. Took pictures on Saturday, fell 1 move before the anchor twice on Sunday and sent the route on my second burn Tuesday (after some refined beta for the top part). I am super stoked. No way I would have done this without RCTM. Thanks Mike and Mark!
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