As a parent my time to climb is a lot more limited than it used to be, so I’ve been thinking about where I want to get as a climber and how to get there. I’ve always been motivated by quality of climbs that I do more than the volume of climbing that I do, so I tend to pay attention to the perceived classics. When the new Rumney guidebook came out recently one of the first things I did was flip through it and see what the updated collection of 3-star classics was. I intend to do as many as I can at all grades, but these are the ones listed that are 13a and harder:
| Route | Status |
|---|---|
| The Skewer (13a) | |
| Journey to a Mushroom Planet (13a) | Beta WIP |
| Butt Bongo Fiesta (13a) | Sent |
| Tin Monkeys (13a/b) | Sent |
| Beat Junkie (13b) | Sent |
| Coral Sea (13b) | Sent |
| Cote d’Azure (13b) | Sent |
| Thin Man (13b) | Sent |
| Predator (13b) | Sent |
| Rocket Man (13c/d) | Beta WIP |
| Urban Surfer (13d) | Sent |
| Barracuda (13d) | Beta Dialed |
| Cold War (14a) | Sent |
| Parallel Universe (14a) | Beta WIP |
| China Beach (14b) | Beta WIP |
| Livin’ Astro (14c) | Beta WIP |
| Livin’ Astroglide (14c) | |
| Jaws 2 (15a) |
Of these, Jaws feels like it’s out of reach, but China Beach and Livin’ Astro really motivate me. As a parent I haven’t had a lot of time to get outside and I’ve had to be efficient with my training. I’ve been trying to play the long game and build base fitness that is slow in coming. As part of this I opted to redo the Lattice Assessment last month to assess where I am and where I need to go.
| Profile Attribute | Expectation for 14c | Reality | Training Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push:Pull | 1.9:1 – 2.1:1 | 1.9:1 | Low |
| Push Ability | 44 | 23 | High |
| Pull Ability | 22 | 12 | High |
| Finger Strength | 100% (avg), 95% (tall) | 100% | Low |
| FS Difference | 0% | 8% | High |
| Lactate Curve | 0.1 | 0.2512 | High |
| Anaerobic Capacity | 28% | 13.19% | Very High |
| Aerobic Power | 205 s | 144 s | High |
| Aerobic Contribution | 25% | 2.1% | Very High |
Apparently my profile is in good shape for a 13a climber, and the Lattice folks think that 5+ years would be a realistic timeline to get to 14c. Neither this nor the summary of results was surprising. I was happy to see that my endurance numbers (while still in rough shape) had improved markedly since my last assessment a few years ago despite reduce training volume.
Some other fitness considerations include:
- Mobility
- Finger health
- Shoulder health
- Skin health
More observations to come!