OFF-SEASON TRAINING
CLIMBING SEASON, HOWEVER YOU DEFINE IT, COMES FAST, IS INTENSE, THEN IS ALWAYS GONE TOO SOON. A WELL PLANNED SEASON IS SPENT DOING WHAT YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR, AND RARELY HAS THE TIME TO WORK OUT STUFF THAT NEEDS REPETITION AND PRACTICE TO BE EFFECTIVE.
FOR US THE ‘ON’ SEASON IS AUTUMN AND WINTER, WITH THE REST OF THE YEAR TO REFLECT AND RECOVER ON THE LAST AND PREPARE FOR THE NEXT. THIS IS AN ON-GOING THING, WE CAN ALWAYS GET BETTER, AND THE WARMER MONTHS MEAN WE CAN DO STUFF COMFORTABLY, WITHOUT THE COLD AND THE EXTRA GEAR.
IT’S FAR EASIER TO DEVOTE TIME TO METHODOLOGY AND TECHNIQUE IN A T-SHIRT ON DAYS WHERE IT IS LIGHT TILL 7PM. THESE ARE CONDITIONS WHERE IT IS NOT HARD TO GET +700m OF VERTICAL ASCENT, OR TO WORK ON SYSTEMS WITHOUT THE PROBLEMS OF GLOVES, OR HAVE TO KEEPING MOVING TO STAY WARM. WHILST SIMPLY GOING CLIMBING WILL BE USEFUL, TIME DEDICATED TO PRACTICE AND VOLUME WILL BE MORE SO, AND STACKING YOUR TRAINING AT THE START OF THE OFF-SEASON GIVES YOU SEVERAL MONTHS TO REFINE AND EMBED IT.
.
LISTED HERE ARE THE THINGS WE FIND TO BE THE EASIEST TO PICK UP THAT HAVE THE MOST EFFECT WHEN IT MATTERS. THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT RUN SIMPLER, THAT REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF GEAR, MESS, TIME AND ENERGY USED, THAT THEN DECREASES RISK AND COMPLEXITY THAT MAKES HERDER CLIMBING POSSIBLE.
.
CLIMBING AS A THREE
EVEN IF YOU DON’T PRACTICING THE METHODS FOR THIS GIVE YOU A SKILLSET FOR EMERGENCY USE AND A PERSPECTIVE FOR SAFEGUARDING THE EXTRA FACTORS LIKE WEIGHTS ON ANCHORS AND SEQUENCES.
ANCHORS AND STANCES NEED TO BE UP A LEVEL, ROPEWORK NEEDS TO BE CLEANER, COMMUNICATION NEEDS TO BE BETTER AND TEAMWORK NEEDS TO BE SMOOTHER – ALL THINGS THAT BODE WELL AND TRICKLE DOWN TO EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF CLIMBING.
BIG ROUTES OFTEN NEED THREE CLIMBERS, TO MANANGE THE LOADS AND EFFORT, SO FAMILIARITY WITH THIS OPENS UP EQUATIONS FOR OBJECTIVES THE TEAM OF TWO CANNOT ENTERTAIN. PROVEN ACROSS THE YEARS, THESE SYSTEMS ARE BARELY ANY MORE INVOLVED THAN CLIMBING AS A TWO, SO REPRESENT THE MOST EFFICIENCY YOU CAN USUALLY HAVE ON A MOUNTAIN.
.
HANGING BELAYS
GRADUATE FROM BEING STUCK WITH ONLY BELAY STANCES, AND LEARN HOW TO MAKE GOOD HANGING BELAYS TO GET THE MOST MILEAGE OUT OF YOUR TIME. THIS MEAN BEING COMFORTABLE WITH CLIMBING TO THE EXTENT OF WHAT YOUR ROPES ALLOW AND HAVING EFFICIENT HANDOVERS, OFTEN GETTING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE METERAGE EACH PITCH WHICH ADDS UP OVER A ROUTE (ESPECIALLY THE DESCENT).
HANG BELAYS ARE BASED ON CONFIDENCE AND GOOD PLANNING ABOUT WHAT YOUR BELAY NEEDS TO DO, AND WHEN DONE WELL KEEP A TEAM MOVING FAST AND ON LINE. WHERE SOLID STANCES CAN BE OFF TO THE SIDE AND TURN A ROUTE INTO SOMETHING YOU ARE LIVING ON, HANGING BELAYS REPRESENT SPEED AND CONFIDENCE BUT NEED PRACTICE TO ACHEIVE IT.
.
SIMPLER ROPE WORK
THINGS CAN ALWAYS BE SIMPLER, AND THIS IS USUALLY SIMPLY THE RESULT OF PRACTICE AND REPETITION, TO BUILD IN THE WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT CAN BE DISPENSED WITH. SIMPLICITY HERE IS NOT LEAVING STUFF OUT, IT IS CONSOLIDATING WHAT IS REQUIRED, AND OFTEN IS BASED ON THINGS LIKE AMBIDEXTERITY AND CHOICES OF KNOTS.
WHEN YOU HAVE A SIMPLE BLUEPRINT TO WORK TO YOU CAN ADAPT IT, TO LEFT, RIGHT AND REVERSED VERSIONS, KNOWING WHERE THINGS WILL GO AND THE SEQUENCE THEY WILL GO IN. NEEDS ARE MET WITH SIMPLE AND BULLETPROOF SOLUTIONS THAT ARE EASY TO CHECK, AND SYSTEMS CAN BE SCALED TO INCREASE THINGS LIKE GEAR USED AND PLACEMENTS AVAILABLE.
.
GUERRILA TECHNIQUE
ALWAYS DEVOTE SOME OF THE OFF-SEASON TO THOSE DARK ARTS THAT GET YOUT THROUGH THE EDGY STUFF, LIKE BASIC AID, DESCENDING ON BAD GEAR, UNORTHODOX PROTECTION AND CHEAT MOVES. BIG MOUNTAINS DON’T CARE ABOUT ANY CONTRIVED ETHIC THAT DOES NOT ACTUAL DAMAGE, AND IT IS FOOLISH TO RETREAT OF A 800m ROUTE BECAUSE YOU CAN’T BODGE A SHORT SECTION.
THIS DOESN’T MEAN BOLTING AND CHIPPING, BUT IT DOES MEAN THINGS LIKE YARDING ON HOOKS, STACKING PITONS AND WIRES, STANDING IN SLINGS, BELAYING OFF TOOLS AND RAPPING OFF CORD. ANCHORS EXPECIALLY NEED THEIR MORE CREATIVE VERSIONS TESTED FIRST ON EASY TERRAIN, AND THINGS LIKE ESOTERIC PROTECTION WARRENT BEING TRIED FIRST ON TOP ROPE.
.
STRATEGY
PRACTICE YOUR EYE FOR ROUTES AND PLACEMENTS BY FORGOING THE GUIDEBOOKS, AND SPENDING TIME OBSERVING AND MAKING YOUR CHOICES FROM THAT. REAL MOUNTAINS DON’T HAVE ROUTE TOPOS DETAILING EVERY PLACEMENT AND MOVE, SO LEARN HOW TO LEARN BY SEEING WHAT A ROUTE OFFERS.
REMOTE ASCENTS DON’T HAVE THE LUXURY OF LETTING YOU SIMPLY STRAP ON FULL RACKS OF GEAR, SO DEVELOP YOU ABILITY TO MATCH WHAT YOU HAVE TO WHAT YOU CAN CLIMB. HUGE GAINS CAN BE MADE HERE, BUT ALSO HUGE MISTAKES, AND IT IS ONLY THROUGH PRACTICE THAT YOU CAN CLIMB HIGH ALTITUDE PEAKS WITH A HANDFUL OF GEAR.
.
MINIMALISM
SIMPLIFICATION AND EFFICIENCY ARE ONE THING, LEARNING TO DO WITHOUT IS ANOTHER. THE MORE COMFORTABLE YOU CAN BE BE WITH LESS THE MORE YOUR SIMPLICITY AND EFFICIENCY WILL SHINE.
THIS MEANS LOOKING AT YOUR CLIMBING WITH A REDUCTIONIST PERSPECTIVE, OF WHAT CAN BE STRIPPED AWAY TO ACHEIVE THE REQUIRED AIM. THIS IS MORE ABOUT LOGIC THAN ABOUT MERE SIMPLICITY, AND IS BASED OF KNOWING INTIMATELY WHAT GEAR AND PHYSICS CAN ALLOW, THEN EXPLOITING THOSE FACTORS RATHER THAN SIMPLY USING LESS STUFF.
MINIMALISM IS EQUATION-BASED, USING GEAR AT ITS FULL POTENTIAL SO YOU NEED LESS OF IT, AND NEEDS LOTS OF TINKERING AND TESTING RATHER THAN JUST BUYING COOL BLING.
.
SIMU-CLIMBING
EVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T, KNOWING HOW THIS WORKS CAN SAVE HOURS OF PITCHING STUFF. LEAVE THE STEEP STUFF TO THE EXPERTS, BUT EVEN THE MOST MIDDLE OF THE ROAD TEAM CAN USE THE SAME METHODS ON EASY TERRAIN LIKE GLACIER SNOUTS AND SPILL CONES THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE GO SLOW WITH TRADITIONAL PITCHES.
SIMU IS BASED ON COMMUNICATION AND TEAMWORK, AND FOR ALL IT’S REPUTAION MOSTLY IS DONE WELL WITHIN EVERYONES LIMITS. IF IT’S FREAKY AND COMPLICATED AND STARTS TO TAKE TOO LONG, THEN REVERT BACK TO PITCHING THINGS TO SAVE YOURSELVES THE STRESS.
BUT, DONE RIGHT, ON GROUND THAT ALLOWS SMOOTH AND CONFIDENT PROGRESS, THIS IS A MAJOR WAY TO SAVE TIME AND ENERGY OTHERWISE SPENT STANDING IN THE COLD.
.
LONG PITCHES
CRAGGING AND SPORT CLIMBING CAN MAKE IT EASY TO FORGET YOU HAVE 60m ROPES TO WORK WITH, AND THAT ALPINE PITCHES ARE PARTLY DICTATED BY HOW FAR YOU CAN TAKE THAT. GET YOUR HEAD USED TO LOOKING OUT AT 50m INCREMENTS AND RACKING FOR THAT DISTANCE, AS WELL AS CLIMBING ALONE OUT OF EAR SHOT AND POSSIBLE LINE OF SIGHT.
WORK OUT YOUR COMMUNICATIONS, AND HOW TO MAKE GEAR LAST, AND HOW TO LOOK FOR PLACEMENTS THAT WORK MOST FOR YOU, AND TO A DEGREE HOW TO RUN STUFF OUT AS PART OF A STRATEGY. FIND THAT PLACE IN YOUR HEAD BOTH AS LEADER AND AS BELAYER, WHERE YOU ARE ENGAGED FOR WHAT CAN BE HOURS, AND HOW THAT FITS INTO YOUR PLAN.
.
ALL OF THIS THINGS SIMPLY MAKE ‘GOOD CLIMBING’, BUT CAN ATROPHY UNLESS PRACTICED AND CERTAINLY CAN’T BE RELIED ON TO WORK IF NOT ALREADY TRIED OUT, WITH THE CONSEQUENCES TOO HIGH TO BE FIRST TRIED AT 6000m.
TO THE ALPINIST THERE IS MORE TO BE GAINED HERE THAN BY TIME SPENT BOULDERING OR ON SPORT, WITH ALMOST ENDLESS GAINS RATHER THAN BEING LIMITED BY THINGS LIKE STRENGTH, AGE AND GRADES.
.