How many goes have you given a route?

[TimL]

I'm thinking in terms of redpointing a single pitch crack or sport route, but you could also consider an alpine route as fair game. I have one particular route that I'm trying that is really difficult because of the style of climbing that it involves. This weekend on the 23rd go on the route I feel off the last hold. To do it, I could give another 23 goes if I'm unlucky. The thing is that I've onsighted this grade, so it's more the style of climbing versus the grade. When does not completing a route become absurd after so many trys? When does it push you to train harder?

[NTM]

It depends on how badly you want to send it. I have a friend who tried a route for an entire season, then took a season off from it just to stay sane, then got back on it the 3rd season and sent it mid-way through that. On the other hand, I have tried some routes that seem like something I am interested in linking up and after several tries, realized that I would get more climbing in if I just let it go.

If it's truly important to you, train more. If it's a mental and physical drain, let it go.

[Kimmo]

on a roped climb, i've probably tried 20 times. on a boulder problem, maybe 50?

 

on roped climbs, i kinda have a feeling as to whether or not it'll go for me pretty quickly or not. if it feels like it might be a long long process, i'd rather at this point in my life train and get more fit at home than hoof out to the climb to beat it into submission.

 

but everyone's different. maybe go 24'll be the magic one for ya. good luck and fire!

[kevbone]

When does not completing a route become absurd after so many trys?

 

It never does. Keep it up. You will get it.

[Drederek]

I think thats a great way to get better. You'll learn alot about what makes you climb well and what keeps you from climbing well. You'll learn more of the mental aspect of sportclimbing, which is what will get you up this route in the end.

[selkirk]

I don't like projecting

so probably no more than 2 or 3 goes before getting a route clean.

 

I always thought I learned more by climbing a variety of stuff than long term projecting.

[G-spotter]

Bouldering - dyno in Hope, something like 70 tries over 3 years. Getting closer (touching but not holding sloper you dyno to) but no success yet.

 

Alpine - 3? For big alpine routes you don't really want to be failing multiple times. It gets too expensive.

Edited November 11, 2008 by G-spotter

[willstrickland]

Trad routes max was maybe 8-10 if you count lead attempts, many more if you count TRing prior to leading, maybe 25 including TR prep.

 

Hardest sport redpoint took about 20+, but I always tried to lead it from the ground, never worked it bolt to bolt or did top down linkage which would have been smarter and likely much faster.

 

Boulder problems, at least 40-50 on a couple of things.

[marc_leclerc]

My hardest trad lead only took me 4 lead attempts to send.

 

For sport it's only a couple tries. I usually either on-sight or never get it... mostly because there are not many hard 5.11 or low 12's where I live, Which is the grade I have to work over and over to redpoint.

[Mtguide]

I recently saw a video of Chris Sharma making multiple attempts, soloing an arch somewhere in the Mediterranean or Adriatic. They showed him falling from the crux over 70 times (in rapid replay) over two days, until he finally nailed it, which was shown at normal speed. Each time he fell it was about a 35 or 40 foot drop into the sea, a pretty good smack from that height, though of course nothing like decking on solid ground. But you had to be impressed by his patience and persistence, and it is a pretty remarkable route, long and pretty much completely overhanging from beginning to end, on rough marine limestone. I think it was rated a 5.14/something.

 

In the late 60's Fred Beckey became a standing joke among Seattle climbers for his fanatical obsession with his project route over several years on the N.face of Bear Mountain in the Chilliwacks near the Canadian border. He would call people in the middle of the night trying to round up climbing partners, pester the hell out of the guys at the National Weather Service office in Seattle (I've heard they eventually quit taking his calls, hanging up on him the minute they recognized his voice). Some of this is no doubt part of legend rather than fact. I have no idea how many different people worked on that route with him, but it was a lot, and of course, in the end, the fact remains that he finally did complete it. He just never quit, determined to finish the route. By today's sport climbing standards, the rating difficulty isn't that high, but it is a huge wall, and it holds up still as a very respectable trad climb by anyone's standards, with extremely complex route finding, immense exposure, plenty of solid hard free climbing to satisy anyone, a North Cascades classic. It's one hell of a big, tough, remote wilderness wall. Anyone who's ever even tried to do the approach has come away with plenty of respect for Fred's effort. And, in the true spirit of never giving up, Fred is still climbing at the age of 86, or is it 87 now?

 

Most folks who succeed at whatever they do, are usually the ones whose greatest talent is to just outwork, out-gut, out last everyone and everything else.

 

 

[dirtysloper]

 

 

Hardest sport redpoint took about 20+, but I always tried to lead it from the ground,

 

ditto

[TimL]

This route, must notably the style of climbing, is making me work really hard for the redpoint. But it's really good and I'm learning tons. I've always been more of a face climber than a steep roof/overhang climber. This spring I decided to change my styles as I wanted to climb harder and climb harder at a different type of climbing dynamic horizontal roof climbing. So far this is the last route to fall in my circuit, but it might take more time than I thought. Funny thing is this is not my hardest redpoint, it's just a type of climbing I suck at.

 

I go in stages as the type of climbing I do. Since moving to Spain I've more focused on rock. I also go between periods of only wanting to climb onsite to sometimes sitting beneath a project for a long time giving goes and goes for a redpoint.

[RuMR]

i no longer measure in tries...i measure in seasons!!

 

[matt_warfield]

Don't worry, Rudy. Train hard over winter and you'll get that 5.8 proj next year for sure.

[RuMR]

its official now...my kid outclimbs me...

[matt_warfield]

Get tricky and get him in an offwidth or something not intuitive for kids. You can get the upper hand again at least temporarily. Maybe a cold bivouac or alpine start or no breakfast. Seize control while you can.

 

All kidding aside, I saw him climb and he is good!