Climb Fast!

I’m prepping for a weekend course on getting someone to climb faster on moderate terrain. It’s something that a lot of people can improve on. One thing that has helped me succeed on getting up (and down) big, technical routes at high altitude is the ability to move efficiently on the moderate terrain. As a guide, I often encounter other parties on the classic routes, especially in popular areas like the Canadian Rockies and the Alps. I’ve found that while most do just fine on the technical cruxes, its on the moderate terrain and at belay stations that people seem to spend more time than they need to. The M7 crux will (and should) take as long as it needs to; that’s why it’s called “the crux.” But, there is no need climbing the rest of the WI4-5 pitches at the same snail’s pace.
I think that so many people spend the bulk of their time working on climbing harder grades, that they neglect honing their speed and efficiency on the “easy” terrain. The good news is that the prescription is simple. It’s a mantra that is echoed by many of the ultra heavy metal bands I frequently listen to: MAXIMUM VOLUME YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS! It really does boil down to doing a lot of climbing at and below your maximum grade. Sure, pushing your grade and comfort zone has it’s place too, but the bulk of your time out should be on terrain you are completely comfortable with so you can forget about the climbing and focus on maximizing your efficiency. You shouldn’t be worried about falling off or getting pumped. Instead, you should think about things like: “Can I move my body higher before replacing the next tool? Can I move up without looking at my feet? Can I climb with one ax daggering? Can I go any further before placing the next screw? Is my pace right at or below my threshold for this length of pitch?” Or, simply “What can I be doing to move quicker here?”  These and many other things are what can help you motor up the easier stuff, saving time (and energy) for the truly harder pitches and for successfully completing longer objectives.

One of the most common reasons for climbing slower on moderate terrain is due to swinging the axes more often and harder than need be. This is usually due to the desire for more security found by having an ax solidly placed and done frequently. However, you can often get by with fewer swings and less secure placements by having more secure feet, The best way to work on feet is on moderate and easy terrain. The more time you devote to getting better, more secure footwork, the more efficient and faster you will climb, especially on the moderate pitches!

Also, though a subject for a post in and of itself, the construction, management and transitions at the belay stations are other places where time can be gained or lost. Being as thoughtful and efficient as possible here will really impact the time. Saving 5 minutes per belay station on a 12 pitch route saves one hour! Also, remember that in the winter, it gets dark fast AND once it’s dark you’ll move at half speed if you’re lucky. Sometimes, moving faster means being safer. I can think of numerous times when I’ve had to climb under seracs or avalanche threat on moderate ice and wanted to spend as little as time as possible there. These are places where moving fast and efficiently is imperative to maintain some semblance of an acceptable level of risk.
So work on your efficiency on the moderate terrain and at the belay stations to get up and down(or at least to the bivy site!) those bigger routes before it get’s too dark.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 2nd, 2011 at 11:14 am and is filed under Alpinism, Training and Technique. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.