flashpoint01 Posted August 5, 2005 Posted August 5, 2005 WHAT THE HELL IS BETA? I can tell it stands for "advice" but WTF... Beta? Where the hell did we come up with it? Quote
Geek_the_Greek Posted August 5, 2005 Posted August 5, 2005 Beta is a type of radiation that climbers hurl at each other to help them get up routes... Actually it refers to the climbing moves used to get up sections of a rock route, like "match on the positive edge, then reach high with your left to the mono". This probably isn't what you're asking about, but if you know the beta beforehand, then your ascent cannot constitute a true on-sight! (exception: some beta is often provided in guidebook descriptions, and you can still on-sight a route if you have read the guidebook) Quote
Geek_the_Greek Posted August 5, 2005 Posted August 5, 2005 Dunno where the expression comes from, though. It is kind of dumb. Quote
forrest_m Posted August 5, 2005 Posted August 5, 2005 beta, like the now-defunct videotape format. while it can be purely verbal or written, true beta is a performance art, like air guitar. that being the case, getting good beta is like watching a video of someone doing the route. (back in the days when home videotaping was just getting going, there were two competing formats. just as your video store today often has things on VHS and DVD, back then it was Beta and VHS. as is usually the case in these affairs, getting a "good enough" product to market early enough to get dominant market share (i.e. VHS) was more important than getting a better product (i.e. Betamax) to market late. or something like that. IIRC, beta format survived in some specialized areas because it is higher quality.) Quote
Geek_the_Greek Posted August 5, 2005 Posted August 5, 2005 Ah yes, I am but a grasshopper... I thought maybe it had something to do with beta-versions, or beta-testing. G. the Greek is fond of beta, and of its other 23 alphabetical friends. Quote
fredrogers Posted August 5, 2005 Posted August 5, 2005 My understanding is that it was Russ Clune and a bunch of othe Gunks locals that took to video taping their climbing in the early 1980's using a betamax camera, thus the origin of the term "beta" for getting info on the route. Total drunken OR memory... Quote
flashpoint01 Posted August 6, 2005 Author Posted August 6, 2005 Well the idea about filming routes with a betamax is calming me alot. Thanks every one now i can go on with life. Stupid Beta Quote
archenemy Posted August 6, 2005 Posted August 6, 2005 I assumed that "beta" is used due to its position in the alphabet. Logically, only the person who climbs first could give advice to the person who climbs it second. Thus, the advice is linked with that second climber--beta. Like GtheG mentions, beta-versions are the second versions of something (even though its still a pre-release version). Quote
flashpoint01 Posted August 8, 2005 Author Posted August 8, 2005 Thanks Dru that was really helpfull, why did he invent the term BETA? Quote
Dru Posted August 8, 2005 Posted August 8, 2005 Like was said, from "betamax" like if you watched a video of someone climbing a route you'd know about all the secret holds and kneebar rests and so on that you might not know about if you were trying to onsight it. So if you have knowledge about the route, you've got the beta. Quote
flashpoint01 Posted August 8, 2005 Author Posted August 8, 2005 (edited) Luvin it dru thanks for the tip Edited August 11, 2005 by flashpoint01 Quote
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