“You are NOT allowed to say you are bad at a style of climbing until you have spent at least 30 days climbing it.”
The wise words of Karly Rager echoed from my speaker in an episode of The Average Climber, The 30-day Rule. Karly had sent this episode to me after suggesting I embark upon *Sport Mode*, a thought so alien and terrifying that I quivered in my house slippers. (Fine. A slight exaggeration.)
What is Sport Mode? A directive to climb only sport routes for the next 3-4 months; additionally, until I had 10-15 clean sends of 5.10+ individual routes, I was not allowed to climb any trad or even boulder. This premise was a vast departure from the majority of the climbing I’ve done. Until this year, I probably had climbed at most 10 sport routes but hundreds of pitches of trad routes. In fact, trad climbing was my gateway into the cult of rock climbing; my mentor who introduced me to outdoor trad climbing was trad dad and thus a mini trad dad was born. As I learned to place gear and felt more comfortable, I started to climb more multipitches. My comfort in grades increased. I went on a trip to Patagonia. I moved to California. And finally, last year, after working with Karly on my head game, I was ready to start projecting 5.10+ trad routes. Trying very hard over 0.3 sized cams became more normal and I began to have grand visions of esoteric alpine climbs.
But ever the astute coach, Karly pointed out something vital; with my dive into climbing via trad, I had spent years climbing cracks and getting comfortable with gear but have never truly spent time face climbing or learning sport climbing strategies. Karly made the metaphor of resort skiing vs. backcountry skiing; it was time for me to resort ski!
I began my initial forays into Sport Mode at Gold Wall with a friend who had climbed there awhile. It was…let’s just say rough. I tried to TR the route, completely misread it, and fell 500 times. I ended up leading it and wasn’t able to make it to the top. It was slightly demoralizing but I was undeterred! The 30 day goal remained! Next up, Joshua Tree!
I arrived in Joshua tree for thanksgiving, armed with a stick clip and a list of routes - all of which were promptly thrown out the window when a man in a parking lot suggested two amazing routes - a 5.10b on New Jersey Dome called Soccer Mommy and a 5.11a that he claimed was absolute perfection. I set my eyes on the 5.10b and had to climb bolt to bolt on day 1, psyching myself up that I - a long time crack lover - could infact climb an overhanging face climb with dynamic movement. By the end of the day, I clipped the chain! And by the end of the week, I was down to 2 hangs. Sport Mode sends were soon to happen!
I began to also repeatedly visit crags along Mickey’s beach, ticking off more 10’s, project-shopping for an 11, and taking some practice falls. I began to have try-hard moments wild enough to elicit power screams! And dare I say, I began to enjoy sport climbing and the unique styles of different crags. And most interestingly, I’ve had some major realizations during this process:
-
Every time I’ve concluded I’m simply not strong enough or fit enough for a climb, that was simply not true. The issue was my strategy - frequently I didn’t shake out enough at a good rest spot or I clipped off the world’s worst pinch. I didn’t need to get stronger or do another 4 months of hangboarding - I just needed to be more efficient.
-
HEAD GAME. My head game has always been a struggle for me, especially after a climbing accident involving a belayer dropping me on lead a few years ago. But channeling max-effort has led to moments of really trying much harder and learning to stay calm even when unsure of my next few moves. This is something I definitely need to continue to work on however! The journey isn’t over!
-
I’ve started to actually record my roped climbing. I used to primarily record bouldering but I started to record the entirety of me climbing a roped route - this is actually what helped Karly identify some inefficiencies in my climbing.
-
WARMUPS! I’ve noticed that often, a single warmup route before I hopped on more routes was simply not enough. Note that this isn’t even from just the perspective of warming up my body. My brain sometimes needs time to adjust; I need to feel ready and truly one with the rock. I need to remind myself of the style and patterns of the area. Gold Wall frequently has hidden jugs and funky movement. Mickey’s Beach has a lot of huecos and pockets; almost ever 10 has a solid hold above a bulge or roof. I’ve found that at least 2 warmups helps me feel in tune and far more ready for the day.
These insights have come with 11 days of sport mode but I’m far from done! I truly wish to see through all 30 days. Part of me has also wondered if I should take this experiment further and stick to the true ethos of 30 days of a style of a climb - as in, should I aim to get 30 days of Gold Wall climbing done in 2025? Or 30 days of Stinson Beach climbing? (I think I might actually go through all 10s and 11s even in 10 days at Sinson beach but this could be fun!)
Until next time, folks, Sport Mode continues.