13a at 30, 14a at 40?

[erick]

So I just sent my first 13a at the age of 30. Now the wheels are turning and I am starting to plan for some really long term goals. I want to see if 10 years is enough time to reach 14a. Picking a route and projecting it into submission over 10 years does not excite me much, and there are lots of other goals I have (learning to big wall free climb/bouldering/other stuff). So I plan to continue building a really solid base of experience and progress a little more slow. 

I have not picked a 14a goal route yet, but I have started an excel spreadsheet to keep track of my route pyramid. As I figure it, before I attempt a 14a I will need to have climbed 2 13d, 4 13c, 6 or 7 13b, 10+ 13a, and a tons of 12s. I am also likely going to need to push my onsight ability up to around 12d/13a (I'm currently at 12b). I am going to keep following 'the system' and picking goal routes that will help me build my pyramid and work my weaknesses. Here are my questions...

This seems like a massive amount of routes to climb to get ready, which is not really a bad problem. Adding onsight level climbs goes pretty quickly but if I'm only climbing routes harder than that during 'performance" it would be hard to get enough climbing in to do it all unless I do 'easy' projects during base fitness as well. What do you think of this strategy?

I climb at a lot of areas where each route has at least one if not two extensions. If you climb a route (12b) and then its extension (12d) would you consider that another route and add it to your pyramid, or does the extension negate the first? How would you do keep track of it? 

Any other thoughts on how to make the most of long term goal planning? Any other problems you all have run into?

Eric

[MarkAnderson]

Apr 23, 2016 22:41:04 GMT -7 erick said:

So I just sent my first 13a at the age of 30. Now the wheels are turning and I am starting to plan for some really long term goals. I want to see if 10 years is enough time to reach 14a.

It is.

Apr 23, 2016 22:41:04 GMT -7 erick said:

This seems like a massive amount of routes to climb to get ready,

Not when you consider that you have ten years to climb them. That's roughly 30 performance phases. That's less than one send per phase.

Apr 23, 2016 22:41:04 GMT -7 erick said:

If you climb a route (12b) and then its extension (12d) would you consider that another route and add it to your pyramid, or does the extension negate the first?

That sounds like a question for 8a.nu, haha. If I worked the short version as its own project, sent it, then came back years later and did the extension, I would count them separately. Otherwise (if I did both at the same time, the first time), I would only count the extension. But don't take this stuff so literally. A pyramid is just a notional guideline.

Generally, I think the real advantage of setting up a long term goal like this is that you don't need to become totally consumed/distracted by your intermediate goals. So, if your near term goal is 13b, and you have a 13b that climbs a particular way, you should realize that tailoring your training for that specific 13b could be detrimental to your long term goal. Taking that the other way, if you had a 14a in mind, you could start training specifically for it now. If you're inclined to do that, I would only recommend doing so in moderation. Route-specific training might get you the number you seek sooner, but it won't make you a better all-around climber. With such a long time scale, I think your first focus should be to become the best climber you can be. Get specific once you get closer to the finish line. Exceptions to this approach might be: you know that your dream route has a specific move or hold type that you can't do, and it might take you years to train that ability (a hard mono move for example), or the dream route exposes a general weakness, where improving that skill/ability would improve your all-around climbing too.

[erick]

"If I worked the short version as its own project, sent it, then came back years later and did the extension, I would count them separately."

Thats the situation I'm referring to. I felt funny asking about it since its such a contrived question. I don't want to 'chase grades' but setting goals like this will keep me motivated to climb hard and not get burned out since I am building towards something. I am going to make sure each short term goal route will hopefully have a different character than the one before it. Like you said the goal is to be a well rounded climber, not to hit a number.

My next immediate goals based around improving my 'traditional' skills so that I can try and climb at my limit on all terrain. So this next cycle will probably be heavy on the skill development side. I look forward to tracking the progress.

Eric

[Elvis K]

I started climbing at 28, climbed my first 13b at 32. I had previously only climbed two 12d's and one 13a before the 13b. I came close to a 13c recently. I take my training and diet very seriously. My goal is to climb 14a at 35. My pyramid is pathetic.

I think in ten years you will have ticked multiple 14's if you keep at it. Set your goals high.

[jessebruni]

I would imagine improving by 1 letter grade each year is extremely reasonable given specific and intense training. That would put you at 14a by 34 or 35. I doubt it will take 10 years.