Tague Yer Time preparation

[richb]

In early June I'm planning to take a crack at Tague Yer Time, a life-goal route for me. It's a 15-pitch route with five pitches of 5.12 and five of 5.11; this represents a significant step up from the hardest long free routes I've attempted in the past (Rainbow Wall, Astro Dog, Rostrum). Any tips from getting ready to on-route tactics would be much appreciated.

From what I gather, TYT's cruxes are stemming corners, thin cracks, and facey boulder problems, all roughly vertical. My partner and I are planning to do the route in a two-day push with a ledge bivy halfway (the approach is a rappel from the rim of the canyon, so we can stash provisions on our way down). We each want to try to send all the 5.12 pitches while climbing all other pitches cleanly whether lead or TR. If the weather cooperates, we'll have two full days for onsight and redpoint attempts. The difficulty is pretty evenly split between the bottom and top halves of the route.

I have been on a full linear periodization cycle this winter/spring, and I'm in a power endurance phase right now. I'm getting ready for my 13b project at Rumney, which is a different style than anything I'll encounter on TYT - overhanging with big powerful moves and kneebar rests. Here in New Hampshire we have a pretty good selection on Cathedral Ledge TYT-style climbing, so I'm planning some days there in mid-May (and praying the black flies come late). It's definitely a worry that I haven't really been placing gear for two years, even though I have a substantial base of trad climbing experience to fall back on.

One of the cruxes of getting ready will be time. Between work, family, and a move into a new home, I will definitely be strapped for training and climbing time. I'm considering holding off on my Rumney project until the fall and just focusing solely on getting ready for TYT.

As far as on-route tactics go, avoiding crushing fatigue seems paramount. I'm interested to know what people think about approach to the crux pitches: should we give all-out onsight/flash attempts, or should we start with working burns? I may only have so many all-out onsight bids in the tank, but getting that pitch first try means more time and energy to devote to the next pitch. It's a risk calculation I haven't come across that often in my sport climbing experience.

Thoughts?

[climbnkev]

Hi Rich,
I haven't climbed TYT but it does look like a very inspiring route. I do know from personal experience the South Chasm View wall bakes in the sun in June until around 2:00pm so be prepared for that. I also have heard that protection can be tricky to place on at least 2 of the crux pitches.

Considering your lack of recent similar climbing and also the fact that you are descending right next to the line to get to the start a "ground up" effort while awesome style could be a rude awakening. I think your aid climbing skills should be a big determiner. If I was in your shoes I would bring 200m of static line and work some of the pitches from the top down then try the climb in a push. Descending with the pigs is going to be a big commitment that will be hard to reverse. Even though you would only have to haul the second half you should plan for that doubling the time it takes to do those pitches. Hauling the last couple pitches to the rim if they are anything like Astrodog would suck.

From my wall experience, 2 day ascents are always the hardest. You have to bring a lot more gear, and still have to climb a considerable amount. if you are stuck on the idea of doing the 2 Boulder bivy then plan on 3 days which gives you a day to rest, fix, work the middle pitches and still fire for the top on day 3.

Good luck!

[richb]

Thanks for the thoughts Kev! I too did Astro Dog in June, but it was back in 2009 and I forgot that the wall is in the sun so much of the day.

I hear you about working the upper crux pitches on the way down. We'd have to be quick about it, however, as time is a real constraint. We only have two days, so the bottom half of the route has to get done on day 1.

Unfortunately TYT shares the last two pitches of Astro Dog, so hauling those wouldn't be fun. I have wondered if we could fix lines on the first two raps of the Slog so that we could jug out and haul from the rim instead of finishing on AD. It would be cheating to skip the last bit of climbing, but maybe the kind of cheating I could really get behind!

[richb]

Quick update here. Since my last post I turned in and defended my doctoral dissertation. I have been so strapped for time that my training has really taken a nosedive. I blew off the final two weeks of my PE phase and just went bouldering at a local outdoor spot 10min from my house, which was super enjoyable and a great way to relieve work stress. There will likely be no projecting at Rumney this spring. My wife and I have so much more to accomplish between now and the end of May: we'll finish work on our new home, move, and I'll begin a new job.

Despite the full plate, there's no reason I can't recover my training season to get in shape for Tague Yer Time. The trip to the Black, however, is in jeopardy because I may no longer have my wife's blessing to go. I have a hard time being rational about such decisions - I always get the feeling that another opportunity may never come along to do a life-goal route. But realistically this might be a wise time to de-prioritize big climbing objectives in favor of putting all my energy toward the big transitions in my family and career.

[climbnkev]

In my experience it is much easier to train for hard sport climbing objectives on a tight schedule. I have similar big wall free climbing objectives/goals but have put them on the back burner while my kids are young. My feeling is that if you get strong enough, even big wall free climbing becomes easier because every pitch of climbing is much less of your absolute ability. When we climbed Freerider it was at the upper end of any climbing we had ever done. So with the added stress of vertical camping, spending the time to redpoint all of the crux pitches was not possible in a 5 day push. My 10 year goal is to go back to the route when I can readily OS .12+ trad routes so I have a better chance of pulling off a 3-5 day ascent.

My recommendation would be to focus on climbing you can do readily and keep the big goals on the horizon driving you forward. I know it's easy to feel that an opportunity may not present itself again, but if it's important enough you can make it happen. Good luck with the new home and job!

[richb]

Congrats on the Freerider ascent. Even if all pitches weren't redpointed that's proud. Haven't been on it a decade ago I did an aid ascent of the Salathe and envisioned being strong enough one day to free it. Another life-goal worthy route for sure!

I hear you. Steadily getting stronger and better in the gym and at the local crags is not only a worthy goal in its own right, it also brings the big wall objectives more within reach when the time finally comes. I take heart from the fact that you are setting ambitious goals 10 years out. I will be 43 in ten years, maybe past my lifetime peak of strength and power but certainly not over the hill. I intend to be climbing hard at that age and beyond.

[MarkAnderson]

Apr 27, 2017 11:48:43 GMT -7 richb said:

... Steadily getting stronger and better in the gym and at the local crags is not only a worthy goal in its own right, it also brings the big wall objectives more within reach when the time finally comes. I take heart from the fact that you are setting ambitious goals 10 years out. I will be 43 in ten years, maybe past my lifetime peak of strength and power but certainly not over the hill. I intend to be climbing hard at that age and beyond.

I got way stronger in my mid-to-late 30's. You can too! I think it's probable that if you keep training you will be significantly stronger at 43 than you are now.

The "lifetime peak" thing is interesting, but not practically relevant. It's probably true that we have a "lifetime peak," but that is primarily based on potential. Most of us are really far from our potential, so it's more important that we get as close to our potential as possible, even if that potential is slightly less than it was a few years ago. In other words, a 30-year-old at 50% of her potential (at age 30) is probably weaker than a 40-year-old at 65% of her potential (at age 40), even if the potential at age 40 is 10% less than the potential at age 30.  

...And that's just considering physical abilities.  Ideally your technique, tactics, mental processes, discipline, etc will continue to improve with experience. 

[richb]

Mark, I sure hope I'm climbing better in ten years, that's the goal!

You point to an important distinction between peak performance and peak physical potential. In hindsight I was referring to my lifetime peak physical potential when I said I might be past it by age 43. The concept would be more useful if we knew the timing of the peak (on average) and what the decline rate was afterwards (on average), but AFAIK those data aren't available in climbing. The far more important variables for how well I'm climbing at age 43 are my dedication to improving and my avoidance of injury.

BTW, still haven't officially called off the TYT attempt but it's not looking good.

[richb]

Just to bring this thread full circle: I called off the trip and the TYT attempt, which definitely turned out to be the best decision for me and my family. We moved into our new place and I started my new job. I joined a gym in our new area and am bouldering whenever I get a chance. As things get less crazy I am planning out my next official training cycle - the first "real training" since early April. The psyche is high...