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General Climbing Discussion

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The Art of Onsight Trad Climbing 9-Nov-2005 At 5:36:14 PM wombly

Message

For me, climbing is about new experiences, and I just don't find I get nearly as much out of repeating a route than jumping on something new. I guess it has a lot to do with solving the puzzle of each route - repeating a route for me is something like redoing a crossword - it's just not the same! Hence, onsight leading is the reason i climb. Leading on trad gear adds to the puzzle - you've got to figure out what gear to take, when to place it and whether you can carry it all or just go for broke on a lighter rack. Leading on trad also makes me appreciate the climb a lot more, and adds to the sense of commitment and mental focus. When climbing on bolts (particluarly when the're only a move or two apart), I get much lazier and tend to just clip and go, although this changes if i'm on a long (ie >100m) bolted route...

3) i have enough trouble predicting where i'll be in 6 months, let alone climbing in a generation.

1,4,5) Lots of climbing, and in a varied style, as you never know what is coming up on most trad climbs. I try to get onto a hard, safe routes to train physically, and easier, runout routes to get my brain ticking over.

6) if i've got a couple of good pieces between me and carnage, then maybe. otherwise i'm just too bloody frightenend and i'll tend to hang on rather than fall!