The Redpointer's Dilemma

[MarkAnderson]

You're working a near-limit project. You've put many days into figuring out, refining, and rehearsing the beta. You have a sequence that will work (let's call it Sequence A or SeqA).  You've one-hang'ed SeqA many times, and you feel like you could (or even should) send next go using SeqA. But, it's low percentage and you've failed on the same one or two moves on redpoint many times. Maybe you're even regressing a bit.  The crux moves feel trivial off the dog, and redpointing up to it is becoming easy, but you keep f-ing up SeqA on redpoint.  Apparently it's in your head, and now you've lost some confidence in SeqA.

Then you find another sequence (aka SeqB).  This one is new and exciting.  At the moment it doesn't feel as easy as SeqA (in fact there's a foot move you haven't done yet on SeqB, let alone linking the entire sequence in one shot, as you have for SeqA several times), but you realize SeqA felt much harder initially, and SeqB will likely become easier over time.  SeqB seems more powerful, but less finicky--you can execute the moves imperfectly but still stick them, assuming you give 100% on the key dyno, and since the holds are larger and more positive, perhaps you don't need ideal conditions.  On Sequence A, conditions are critical, and trying hard might make things worse by causing you to over shoot holds and/or create too much outward momentum that you can't control, etc.  While less powerful, SeqA has to be done juuuust right, in good conditions, or it doesn't work. 

Both options come at the end of a lot of pumpy climbing, so you only get a couple redpoint tries per day.  It's summer, the holds are sharp, and skin is wearing thin, so not only do you have to keep the dogging sessions short, but overcooking just a bit might cost you a redpoint attempt.  Which sequence do you use and when? 

[Lundy]

I think it depends where you are in your cycle. If this is early days (maybe even power phase where you're just figuring out the moves), I would definitely switch to SeqB. If you're late in your cycle, keep going with A, and if you don't send, try B next season.

But this is just me, who generally is only able to climb hard stuff by tricking it into submission with beta no one else finds, so I almost always am willing to change beta, regardless of how much time I've put into something...

[scojo]

I usually pick the sequence with which I think I'll send in the fewest number of tries. For me I would usually pick sequence A if I felt the send was close. However, I'm pretty impatient...

Though, estimating which sequence will take the fewest number of tries would be challenging, if one of the sequences is pretty risky or you think you're falling off your peak.

[aikibujin]

Since you don't have Seq B wired yet, I think the most logical way is to stick with Seq A on your best RP attempts. I really think you will send this thing on any try now. But if you don't, then work Seq B (maybe even on warmup) to get it as wired as you have Seq A. As you get more familiar with Seq B, you'll have a better comparison between the two sequences and can decide which sequence is more likely (if you don't send first).

[Chris W]

I have successfully sent using Sequence B on several different occasions. I think Tommy Caldwell also used Sequence B to send the Dawn Wall to get around his sideways dyno pitch.

[MarkAnderson]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

The Zen answer* is this: Never fool yourself into thinking you're going to send next go. That's a classic blunder, like getting involved in a land war in Asia. It's counter-productive for many reasons. Foremost, philosophically speaking, once you've decided you're going to send next go, you've given up on the process. Now you're just fixated on the result. This is mentally unhelpful in a number of ways articulated clearly in the Rock Warrior's Way. More specifically, once you think the send is immanent, you stop trying to find the best beta and you stop (or cut short) refining and rehearsing the beta you already have (cause you have to "save yourself for the next go"). That's why you regress--because now you're only practicing the Nth move (the one you fell on most recently), forgetting that it took a lot of practice to dial in moves N-3, N-2, etc. Since you haven't practiced N-3 in a few burns, it's getting hard again, and now you can't even get to move N. The most reliable long-term strategy is to climb as if the send were weeks away, striving to get as much knowledge and practice out of the present burn as possible.

[*Sorry for asking a question I already knew the answer to]

Unfortunately the world isn't always Zen.

I hadn't really considered my training cycle/fitness, but I think I'm still plenty strong/fit. My recent failures were caused by technical or mental lapses (compounded by poor conditions, or so I'd like to think). I feel better than ever when I arrive at the crux. As far as scheduling, I wasn't planning to start a new cycle until October, so it would seem I have plenty of time (though perhaps not plenty of psych).

I think what I'll do is try SeqA on my first go, then if I fall (see how I'm oozing with positivity?) I'll work on SeqB for a bit. Theoretically I should probably commit a long, intense dogging session to SeqB regardless of how it feels initially, but instead I'll probably try it a couple times and see how it feels. If it feels promising, then I will go all in for at least that burn, otherwise I might cut bait and stick with SeqA. It may also depend on how SeqA feels on redpoint.

Another complication is that I've been warming up on the route, redpointing the easier first 3/4's, then yarding on draws to the crux and trying the crux dyno once. So I could pretty easily suss SeqB briefly on the warmup. I'm not sure if that's a good idea. It could just create more confusion/indecision over which sequence to use. On the other hand it might rule out SeqB, allowing better commitment on redpoint. 

[Chris W]

Maybe, if you work Sequence B, you'll find it to be such a crummy option that it will dispel all thoughts of it from your mind and allow you to focus on Sequence A. I like your idea of giving Sequence A a hard go, then, if you don't send, you can spend time working on Sequence B to see if it is truly viable or better. My most satisfying boulder problem send (I don't boulder much because I love the rope much more) came with sequence B. I had tried sequence A multiple times, gotten beta, even watched videos, but it just seemed too fussy and impossible. Finally, I said the heck with it, listened to the way my body wanted to move, threw a high left hand heel match, and skipped all the crap holds with a huge reach to a nice edge with my left hand. It worked and felt more intuitive. 

[willblack]

My strategy is this: Continue beating my head against the wall with sequence A, one hang 17 more times, run out of time, go home and train, come back in 6 months stronger and with better conditions, send second try still using sequence A, never try/speak of/think about the route again. Not saying it's the best strategy, but it's the only one I know.

[srossabi42]

Aug 29, 2017 11:03:47 GMT -7 MarkAnderson said:

That's a classic blunder, like getting involved in a land war in Asia. 

+1

[MarkAnderson]

This story has a happy ending! I sent first go today, using SeqA. My plan was pretty much what I described above. I decided there was pretty much no logical reason to try SeqB on the 1st go, considering that SeqA was far more wired than I could ever hope to get SeqB during my warmup. Although perhaps slight, SeqA at least gave me a chance to send 1st go. So I didn't even attempt any of the SeqB moves during the warmup, I just did everything the same I have every day up to this point. If I fell on the 1st go, then I would have worked SeqB and made a decision from there.

Thanks all for the advice, and thanks aikibujin for the catch!

[Chris W]

Good job! Now go eat a cookie!

[MarkAnderson]

Sept 1, 2017 14:15:58 GMT -7 Chris W said:

Good job! Now go eat a cookie!

+10

[Lundy]

Nice! What was the route?!

[MarkAnderson]

It's an FA at Devil's Head. Maybe light 14c? (hard to judge because the weather was not ideal for most of the campaign). I think I'm going to call it Walk Tall. I plan to do a blog post about it in late September or early October (got get through the backlog, haha).

[Chris W]

Backlog? I think you're doing pretty well. You and Erica Lineberry are the only ones I ever see posted to Trango's site.