Yesterday I Went Shopping. Talk Is Still Cheap.

True Story:

A kid at the crag wanted to try to flash a steep, cruxy 12b, which would have been his most impressive flash by far.  The hardest moves are right off the ground and ease up considerably after the 2nd bolt, leading to a mostly juggy pump-fest to the chains.  Standard protocol is to stick clip the 2nd bolt, where blowing the tough clip would certainly be disastrous.  I gave the kid, who boulders stronger than I do, beta.  Good beta.  He climbed through the crux, and the very moment the 2nd bolt was at his waist, he said "Take!"

Huh?

He then proceeded to go bolt-to-bolt to the top, looking shaky the whole way.  After a rest, he tied in under a nearby 13a.  "Aren't you going to try the 12b again?" I asked.

"No, I'd just send it, so I'm going to move on."

Huh?

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True Story:

A fairly new female climber at the crag wanted to try a pumpy 12b, which is at least a full number above her hardest redpoint.  While the route has no real crux, and there is a great rest in the middle, it's a much harder proposition to link it all together than it might seem at first.  She went bolt-to-bolt until she reached a slightly more difficult move just below the rest, which she immediately deemed too reachy (though the previous season I watched a 9-year-old warm up on it).  After a few half-hearted abortive attempts, she retreated to the ground.  Later I overheard her tell another girl, "that 12b isn't that hard, it's just reachy," and that "if it weren't for that move," she could have done it.

Huh?

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True Story:

In every gym in this country, there lurk sickeningly strong climbers who rarely touch real rock but crush seemingly impossible gym routes easily.  If asked, and sometimes when they aren't asked, they will tell you that they COULD climb 5.14 or V12.  It would be easy, actually, if they really wanted to.

Huh?

WANT MORE? READ THE REST IN: The Hard Truth: Simple Ways to Become a Better Climber