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jeapord
Nov 13, 2005, 4:29 PM
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I know some of you think route ratings are over-rated, but how long did it take you to climb at least a 5.10a from the time you started climbing????? Just trying to compare my development as a climber to others since I really don't know many rock climbers (I'm in Mississippi)
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cristodelaroca
Nov 13, 2005, 5:04 PM
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it took me about one year,
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maxiter
Nov 13, 2005, 5:19 PM
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Trad, sport, TR? I TR'ed my first 10a after 3 months. But as a new climber, I can't climb all 10a's -- depends on if the style/type of tends towards my strenghts or weaknesses.
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lajhanata
Nov 13, 2005, 5:20 PM
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Sport or trad? Lead or follow/toprope? Don't worry about your score man, just climb at a level that's difficult for you.
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esoteric1
Nov 14, 2005, 12:53 AM
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i was top roping 10c after 2 weeks. go figrue
mark
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thisflash
Nov 14, 2005, 1:03 AM
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I TR'd 10d clean my first day sport climbing. I led my first 10a on the second day.
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blitzkrieg_climber13
Nov 14, 2005, 1:16 AM
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i top roped a 10a roof 3rd try on my second week
led first 10a when i first tried. which was like 4 months after starting.
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sbaclimber
Nov 14, 2005, 1:17 AM
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I was climbing IN 5.10s real quick :P :wink:
....routes on the other hand, probably about 2 years to TR outdoors!?
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pdx_climber
Nov 14, 2005, 1:27 AM
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The first route I led outside was a 5.11a onsight. I'd been climbing for around a year or so.
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grovehunter
Nov 14, 2005, 1:45 AM
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It depends on how bad you want it. I climbed a 5.8 route after a ten year break, first try. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. Then I cleaned a 5.9 right after that. The next week I TR'd a 5.9 route that I was too pumped to do the week before. I'll do a 5.10 soon I know it. I've never climbed past this before, but my focus is different now. I think it has a lot to do with Confidence, if you think you can, you stand a better chance of doing it.
Physically, this is a different story. I'm doing yoga now and running in the sand at the beach to improve my flexibility, balance and endurance. I am also working on my footwork lately and traversing with one hand. As far as my feet are concerned, I have been practicing placing my feet silently and watching where I am going to place them, then commiting to it. This has helped with traversing one handed.
The guy who took me climbing for my first time started at 5.10. I've heard of people nailing 5.11+ first time out. What are you doing to cross train for climbing? Read books on technique and then try to apply what you've read.
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alpinerockfiend
Nov 14, 2005, 2:24 AM
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A lot of this issue has to do with where you learned to climb and who you learned to climb with. Say, for example, you learn to climb with a friend who is on your level, fitness and experience-wise. It may take a while to break the 5.10 level because of various psychological (and maybe physical) barriers. However, if you learn to climb with someone who's been doing it for years, on your first or second time out you may be warming up on .10as. It's all relative.
Also, .10- can be achieved with a minimal amount of climbing-specific fitness and a lot of technique or vise versa. Sometimes the hardest part is breaking the stigma associated with a number that is defined by two digits instead of one :D !
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adrenaline_smack
Nov 14, 2005, 3:16 AM
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it took me about 2 months before i started TRing 5.10, about 7 months before i started onsigting, redpoiting, flashing 5.10s on lead
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fishbelly
Nov 14, 2005, 3:16 AM
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What do you mean by climb? No fall no beta first time onsight. Or just be able to work your way up it.
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p0bray01
Nov 14, 2005, 3:24 AM
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wow some of you guys worked up to 5.10's quick! :shock: I have been climbing for a year...well a little over and am just now hitting 5.10's. And this is not an everyday occurance. BUT I agree that its how you learned. I wanted to get solid technique before moving to beefier stuff. I figured in the long run this would help me more than falling all over hard routes because I had crappy foot work and did not know how to shift my weight etc. However, my argument with sport climbing (from a beginner standpoint ) is that so many climbs (at least the ones I have seen) seem to start around 5.6 This can be tough for a brand new climber and can get discouraging. I am lucky I had a rock gym that I could work at to get my footwork down etc and get better.
I also agree that ratings are not everything....climb what is at your difficulty level. As a matter of fact when my buddies and I go to the gorge we cover the ratings in the guidebook up because of the mental aspect of them. Some 5.10s aint so hard...so 5.9s are much harder than one would think! :shock: Try that! See what happens...once your done have a litle contest to see who can quess the guidebook rating...you never know one may be that 5.10 or higher route.....played to your strengths that day! :D
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p0bray01
Nov 14, 2005, 3:26 AM
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wow some of you guys worked up to 5.10's quick! :shock: I have been climbing for a year...well a little over and am just now hitting 5.10's. And this is not an everyday occurance. BUT I agree that its how you learned. I wanted to get solid technique before moving to beefier stuff. I figured in the long run this would help me more than falling all over hard routes because I had crappy foot work and did not know how to shift my weight etc. However, my argument with sport climbing (from a beginner standpoint ) is that so many climbs (at least the ones I have seen) seem to start around 5.6 This can be tough for a brand new climber and can get discouraging. I am lucky I had a rock gym that I could work at to get my footwork down etc and get better. So keep working at it!
I also agree that ratings are not everything....climb what is at your difficulty level. As a matter of fact when my buddies and I go to the gorge we cover the ratings in the guidebook up because of the mental aspect of them. Some 5.10s aint so hard...so 5.9s are much harder than one would think! :shock: Try that! See what happens...once your done have a litle contest to see who can quess the guidebook rating...you never know one may be that 5.10 or higher route.....played to your strengths that day! :D
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adrenaline_smack
Nov 14, 2005, 3:39 AM
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the biggest influence was having a good group of friends to learn from who climb stronger than you, they already made the mistakes and learned their technique the hard way, it rubs off on you and you kind of skip alot of the pull up route technique transition
oh yea and being college student and having a sweet gym at your school and plenty of classes to skip for the local bouldering and crags helps too
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p0bray01
Nov 14, 2005, 3:42 AM
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sorry for the double post...it wont let me delete it... :(
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jamaica
Nov 14, 2005, 3:55 AM
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the second climb for me to lead was a 10a onsight
Jamaica 8^)
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bdplayer
Nov 14, 2005, 4:59 AM
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I climbed a toprope 5.10c about a month after I got onto the rock for the first time. Flashed a 5.10d on lead in the New River Gorge about two months after that. One thing that really helped is that my partner and I have never really tried to climb harder ratings, but to climb better on whatever rating we were on. We constantly give each other feedback on technique and how smoothly we climb, and then climb the route again, trying to get our technique down. It really helps.
Another thing I noticed from watching kids climb is that it gets a lot easier if you don't know a climb's supposed to be hard (they love to climb and don't realize how hard it's supposed to be!!!). There have been times I've gotten on a route with no idea of the rating and smoked it only to find out it was rated 5.frik'n hard. It's the approach I try to incorporate anymore, not caring about the difficulty, but rather the asthetics of the route and the climb. I would rather a climb a 5.6 TR that is a fun climb and really enjoyable than lead a 5.13 that doesn't leave me with that great feeling of accomplishment.
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vegastradguy
Nov 14, 2005, 5:52 AM
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well, in the gym i was leading .10's within a few months.
my first outside .10 was a sport route- probably 6 or 7 months after i started in the gym.
my first .10a trad lead was almost two years to the day after i started climbing.
my first solid .10 (.10c) trad lead took 2 1/2 years.
i'm still working on the .10's now a year later, and who knows how long it will be before i manage to break into the .11's....
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ikellen
Nov 14, 2005, 6:42 AM
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As an interesting point of thought, I climbed 5.10 no problem (a/b/c/d, didn't matter), then took a break from climbing for three months. I came back last week and couldn't make it up a 10a.
Once you get to .10, keep climbing at or close to 10, as that way you won't lose the bragging right :P
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p0bray01
Nov 14, 2005, 3:05 PM
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In reply to: I would rather a climb a 5.6 TR that is a fun climb and really enjoyable than lead a 5.13 that doesn't leave me with that great feeling of accomplishment.
I totally agree! Sometimes we forget the essence of fun! 8^)
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azrockclimber
Nov 14, 2005, 4:22 PM
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keep in mind that these ratings mean very little.
A run-out, difficult to protect .10d trad line will take you a long time to climb confidently. While a short sporty .10d is very attainable depending on your body type, your dedication, and whether or not you are predisposed to climbing or not.
For example go hop on shockly's ( 5.6) at the gunks. you will feel like crap if you are concerned about ratings. But if you love climbing you will feel great.
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thrmaln
Nov 14, 2005, 4:24 PM
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Hello All,
I have been climbing for about 9 months and have been having the time of my life. I have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing people and have amassed a circle of climbing buddies spanning all levels. As to the question, I made it to 5.10 outdoors TR fairly quickly (about 3 months) since my main climbing partner leads in the 5.10 c/d range. I can clean the anchor on about 90% of the climbs he leads, but there is still the occasional 5.9 the gets me. I can lead sport in the 5.10a/b range and just recently starting climbing trad and led a 2 pitch 5.5 with my shiny new gear.
My current goal is to get better at leading harder sport routes maybe up to 5.10d then start working on my Trad leading to about 5.9. In actuality, I don't care to much what the rating is, but rather how fun the route is. I am equally happy seconding easy trad as I am climbing a fun route at the edge of my ability. If I could find a 5.6 with 20 pitches that would be a lot of fun. I also like taking newbies out and spending a whole day introducing people who thought that they could never climb to this wonderful sport. I took the wife out for her first time yesterday and even though she did not climb, she had a blast hanging out with a bunch of girls who did. The girls want to take her to a local gym and get her climbing which has me elated. Its all good!
Best regards,
Marc Webster
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rockkid55
Nov 14, 2005, 4:30 PM
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You should rephrase the question, jeopard . . .
Ask, "How quickly did you lead a 10a outside?"
Or, "How quickly did you lead a 10a trad climb?"
These people who are saying they led 10c on the roof--or any 5.10--after a few weeks of climbing are either
A) Lying
B) 12 year old kids who have no body fat
C) Talking about gym or easy sport climbs (this one's the most likely)
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