|
|
Post by jessebruni on Jun 24, 2015 8:35:55 GMT -7
Hey I just saw this on Instagram this morning! Soloing this thing would be pretty awesome with enough pads and spotters. Landing seemed like it had a lot of boulders that you could easily hit if you fell.
|
|
|
|
Post by joev9 on Jun 24, 2015 9:39:45 GMT -7
Hey I just saw this on Instagram this morning! Soloing this thing would be pretty awesome with enough pads and spotters. Landing seemed like it had a lot of boulders that you could easily hit if you fell. Ha ha, I posted it up on Instagram after I dug it up for here. |
|
|
|
Post by foreverv3 on Jun 24, 2015 21:12:57 GMT -7
Just wanted to send a quick shout out to both Mark and Mike for providing me a great training program. As a testament to their meticulously crafted program, I was able to flash one on my goal climbs "New Religion" (V7). This route was the culmination of all the training through my first season; hang boarding and campus boarding training results were evident during the climb.
On to season two. I'm looking forward to training for my next visit!
|
|
|
|
Post by Chris W on Jun 25, 2015 4:40:28 GMT -7
Holy smokes! Looks like an advertisement for stick clips. I used to think stick clips were for weenies, until I rolled an ankle badly falling before the first clip. Awesome send Jesse.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessebruni on Jun 25, 2015 9:09:25 GMT -7
Just wanted to send a quick shout out to both Mark and Mike for providing me a great training program. As a testament to their meticulously crafted program, I was able to send to flash one on my goal climbs "New Religion" (V7). This route was the culmination of all the training through my first season; hang boarding and campus boarding training results were evident during the climb. Looks like you'll need to change your name now! Congrats on the flash dude! |
|
|
|
Post by MarkAnderson on Jun 25, 2015 10:04:25 GMT -7
That's sweet man! Was your goal to flash the problem, or was that just a pleasant surprise? ...and thanks for the compliments.
|
|
|
|
Post by foreverv3 on Jun 25, 2015 15:30:47 GMT -7
Jesse - Thanks. Btw, it was good to see you at Reimers the other day. I'll keep the username because I like the "ring" to it, and I find that I enjoy problems at that grade the most. In addition, I find the most sandbagged routes are typically rated either V0+ or V3. Besides, the names Foreverv4, 5, or 6 sound weird to me.
Mark - The flash was nice, but this problem actually satisfies one of my intermediate goals (which includes building a foundation of climbs and moving more dynamically) which I set as a way to progress toward finishing my dream climbs (High Plains Drifter, Midnight Lightning, Babyface). Being short (5'3") is definitely limiting so I figured that improving my ability to move more dynamically would help overcome some of my shortcomings (no pun intended) as a climber. Babyface is still outside of my range, but I will definitely finish High Plains Drifter during my next trip to Bishop in March 2016.
|
|
|
|
Post by James_E on Jul 5, 2015 16:19:40 GMT -7
Just got back from a week-long trip to Ten Sleep where I vastly exceeded my own expectations and convinced a few friends to get on board with the RCTM. I have now completed two cycles, with this trip marking the beginning of my second peak. During the first peak the weather turned bad and I only got to climb one project, so I wasn't really sure of what to expect during the second peak. Additionally, I had done very little limestone climbing and even less pocket climbing, never sent a 5.12d, and I had never tried a 5.13a (even on TR).
My goals for the trip included onsighting at least one 5.12, and working at least one 5.13a without getting totally shut down (aka not have to pull on any bolts). The second goal is pretty vague, basically I didn't want to spend my vacation projecting, but still wanted to get a feel for some routes near my limit, which I hoped would be around 5.13a. I won't bore everyone with a day-by-day breakdown but here are a few of my accomplishments from this trip:
- Onsight/flashed roughly five 5.12a's
- Onsight/flashed four 5.12b's
- Flashed Tangerine Fat Explosion 5.13a (soft, more like 5.12c)
- Redpointed The Burden of Immortality 5.12d/5.13a (seemed more 5.12d) 3rd/4th try (3rd try i got stung by a bee mid crux)
- Climbed Dances With Cows 5.13a, one hang on my first go
- Climbed Shut The Fuck Up 5.13a, two hangs on my first go
This was my first chance to really test my progress and well, this shit works. I'm psyched to continue down this path and my fiance, who was annoyed at how little "fun climbing" time we had since I started training, is just as excited for me, and may even start a light version of the program to parallel mine. I still have three-ish weeks of peak performance, so hopefully there will be more updates to come.
|
|
|
|
Post by MarkAnderson on Jul 5, 2015 17:56:53 GMT -7
Wow man, that's awesome! What a huge week, hopefully you get some more opportunities over the next month.
|
|
RichF
New Member
Posts: 27 
|
Post by RichF on Sept 8, 2015 22:02:42 GMT -7
After finishing up a (truncated) second RCTM training cycle, my girlfriend and I headed up to Ten Sleep, WY for a week. Due to life getting in the way, we had to stretch out our strength and power phases a little, which didn't leave much time for PE. The best routes at Ten Sleep would definitely require PE, but we just dropped the grades a bit when we got on the more sustained routes.
We were so psyched with our performance, and can directly relate it to the training over the last 6 months. I don't really want to spray about grades, because that isn't the point, but it would be cumbersome to explain this if I left them out. My previous best onsight was an 11c. In one day, I onsighted an 11d and a 12a! I chose routes that were steeper, shorter, and favored the power I had been training. But then at the end of the week, I onsighted an 11c (Full Charge) that was significantly longer (10 bolts), with steep pumpy climbing down low, and a technical powerful crux at the top! I also onsighted a long 11a that didn't have any chalk and had pretty old-school bolting. My recently developed techniques (see below) allowed me to sort out the route on the fly and keep it together on a fairly heady route. I was as proud of that send as several others with much higher numbers.
What is more significant for me than the actual grades, is the degree of improvement in a short amount of time, and the massive increase in technique I have experienced recently. Our training over the last 6 months has incorporated more than just the periodized training program. I've applied so many lessons from the rest of the book, and the many discussions here on the forum. Rather than just going into the gym and getting pumped on random routes, we've sought out the terrain and hold styles that we actually climb outside. I previously often avoided the more vertical crimpy routes/problems indoors due to a fear of injury on a tweaky hold. But, thanks to hangboarding, I have much more confidence in what is a reasonable hold is for me, and feel more comfortable trying hard on this terrain. I've mostly stayed in the vertical to slightly overhanging terrain lately and have gotten much better at it. I have more of a trad/crack background, than bouldering and sport. So technical face climbing has always been a weakness. But focusing on those weaknesses has produced major improvement that will apply to sport or trad.
So thanks to the Andersons for the book! And thanks to all of you who contribute to the forum! I don't often comment here, as I feel I still have so much to learn before I have much to add. But I'm learning fast, and am psyched to keep training to see where it can take me!
|
|
|
|
Post by rob on Sept 9, 2015 2:53:23 GMT -7
I don't often comment here, as I feel I still have so much to learn before I have much to add. But I'm learning fast, and am psyched to keep training to see where it can take me! Sounds like a great week man, congrats! Always motivating to hear about other peoples successful trips. I'm sure you have lots to add Rich, I'm not a particularly amazing climber (far from it in fact), but I feel everyone has something to contribute! One of the great things about this forum is hearing everyone's opinion on the same program, from 5.10 climbers to 5.14 climbers... I don't think you could find that anywhere else. |
|
|
|
Post by Chris W on Sept 9, 2015 5:47:55 GMT -7
Rich, you may have more to add than you think. Congratulations!
|
|
|
|
Post by MarkAnderson on Sept 9, 2015 6:55:57 GMT -7
That's awesome Rich, and you're very welcome.
|
|
|
|
Post by colinobrien on Sept 11, 2015 11:38:44 GMT -7
Like Rich, I also capped off an amazing year of training at Ten Sleep over Labor Day. Last year, I set a goal of sending 12a before turning 30. I had been stuck in the 10d/11a range for far too long, in large part because of a focusing more on trad and alpine. With 30 approaching, I decided to get out of the rut in hopes of expanding my range into the 11s more comfortably. After a winter training cycle, I came back in the spring and redpointed an 11b I had been stuck on in Livingston first go, and soon had a number of 11bs and Cs under my belt. In the gym, I focused primarily on bouldering as it was a huge weakness for me, and kept to the training program religiously. Equally as important, I really followed the book's advice on nutrition and supplementary exercises.
With the big 30 coming on Labor day itself, I set out on Sunday in Ten Sleep looking for the right climb. I found a short, rather obscure but very bouldery 12a. The day before, I had onsigted 2 11bs and one or two hung some 11cs. After sussing the moves on TR, I managed to stick the 12a first go on lead. Later that day, I very nearly got the epic "I Only Do Eyes," which is 17 or 18 bolts of pretty sustained 11b.
I've been recommending the program to a lot of friends, not just for the jump in grades. Going to the gym with purpose and a plan makes it way, way more fun for me. I get excited for hang board workouts, make sure to eat right before LBCs, and genuinely enjoy working through harder and harder boulder problems. The gains outside have been huge - I feel like I can walk up to 11s with confidence now, and my lead grade is so, so much closer to what I can TR. So, thanks to the Andersons, and to all the posters here. It's been an awesome year.
|
|
|
|
Post by MarkAnderson on Sept 11, 2015 12:54:14 GMT -7
Awesome Colin! I'm so glad to hear it's improving the quality of your climbing experience, not just the difficulty of the routes you can climb.
|
|
