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hadley
May 22, 2002, 3:24 AM
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Anyone have advice on getting better at route finding?
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tim
May 22, 2002, 4:17 AM
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Climb Charlotte Dome
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jtcronk
May 22, 2002, 5:08 AM
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Wish I could give you something a little more definite, but here it is. Climb a lot. The more you do, the better your skills will be. Get a good idea of what you're doing before you get on a route and try to keep your plan in the back of your mind while you're climbing. There's my two cents worth....
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offwidth
May 22, 2002, 5:43 PM
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Try to get a look at the line from a distance while looking at a topo of the route. Usually there are "landmarks" on the face that will help you determine which way to go. Then when climbing, before your lead take a glance at the topo and look for your landmarks. Don't get tunnel vision when climbing; keep looking around and think about where you need to go. Often a line will leave easier unprotected climbing in order to get someplace that will take protection (or the easier climbing may lead to a blank face).
Of course at mentioned above, climbing a lot should help too.
Hope this helps.
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benfieldj
May 22, 2002, 5:51 PM
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Time and experience are the best teachers of route finding. One trick is if the route sees much traffic look closely and you can follow the polish on the rock almost like a trail.
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spike_in_milton
May 22, 2002, 6:49 PM
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Those guide books aren't always what they're cracked up to be either for finding routes. The Niagara Escarpment guide is great in a lot of ways, but just try to find "Sinusitis" at Rattlesnake Point: "2m to the left of Median". And what's it say for Median? "Just to the right of Sinusitus". !@#$%@!!!
(ya, I found it eventually ).
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stevematthys
May 22, 2002, 9:22 PM
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dont climb looking only at what is right infront of your nose. look up and see where the crack system goes, or if it is a runout set some bomber placements and climb to the next are of protection
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mikedano
May 22, 2002, 10:33 PM
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I agree it can be difficult. And some guidebooks are pretty bad in the route-finding department.
I would suggest:
--examine the guidebook in detail, and scope out the climb on the approach.
--Ask anybody and everybody around the climb or at the local shop what the route is.
--If it's a long climb, take the guidebook with you, or at least photocopy of the topo. Although your perspective will be skewed while you're on the wall, it could come in handy.
--If you're unsure, just take the best looking route. It's probably the right one.
--Have fun!
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blindslap
May 30, 2002, 2:41 AM
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when your begining it helps to photocopy the topo of your route and stick it in your back pocket. when you reach a good stance wip it out and you can check your line.
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clam
Jun 10, 2002, 3:04 PM
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Study the topo. Try to imagine the route before you get on it - the steepness, type of features (corner, flake, roof, scars, faces, etc.); when it goes left, right, straight, where the belays are (very important). Look at the actual route (if you can, this is not always possible but as a beginner you should choose routes that you can see clearly) and see if you can pick out the features. Keep looking at the route as you climb going from one prominent feature to another, one belay to another. Take the topo with you (xerox, maybe two copies in case one blows away). Choose the most obvious routes first. Then go from there. Have some signals worked out between you and your partner in case you get out of ear shot or out of sight. Practice them.
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radistrad
Jun 10, 2002, 3:34 PM
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Pratice pratice pratice...
thye more you climb and study the topos the better you'll understand them and the better your be able to pick out the features of/on the route.
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doki
Jul 1, 2002, 5:57 PM
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Radistrad looks like i need you men if you can show me the basic thing on trad climbing that would be great!
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ergophobe
Jul 10, 2002, 1:15 AM
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I advise the exact opposite of what everyone else has said. Don't study the topo - that makes you better at topo following. If you want to get better at route finding, leave the topo at home and go out and climb without it. This will help you develop a sense of how to find the logical route. Once you do, you will find that most routes follow a logical path and you use the guidebook for confirmation.
If you're afraid of getting in over your head, then take the book with you, but don't look at it until *after* you have decided where to go and have made a guess at the grade. Then look at the book. Is there a route there at the grade you guessed? Great! No? Keep practicing. You don't have to actually even climb the thing to practice in this way, just walk along picking out lines and guessing where you would go and what the grade would be.
This will actually make your route finding better over time.
Tom
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transse
Jul 13, 2002, 5:18 PM
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I agree the topo of the route helps some. Yet on some routes, mostly slab or face, the topo doesn't do anything. So, put it away and follow the placements. The odds you will follow the FA line is small, but if you find gear who really cares. Be decisive about you decision and climb through.
Jake
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wildtrail
Jul 13, 2002, 7:28 PM
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Get a map!
Sorry. Had to.
To answer the question, refer to the third (I believe) post by jtcronk.
Steve
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jmlangford
Jul 13, 2002, 11:08 PM
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If you are talking about mountaineering, experience is the best way to learn routefinding. Just doing a lot of it will help it become almost second nature. You will get more and more familiar with different types of rock and topography and how certain types of geological formations behave the same in completely different areas. I have found that routefinding on descents is more critical because 1) you are tired from the ascent, 2)it is usually very late in the day, 3)if you take the wrong gully and end up at the top of a cliff with not enough gear to rappel, it is all the way back to the top, wasting more energy and daylight. When on mountaineering trips, take the lead instead of following someone all the time-the more you do it, the easier it will become. I don't think any classroom or book can adequately teach it.
Good luck!
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ergophobe
Jul 15, 2002, 7:12 PM
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mtngeo,
Don't blame gyms. This is my thirtieth year climbing and I remember long before gyms there were people afraid to step one foot away from where the guidebook said they should go. I started climbing in an area that didn't have a guidebook yet, and that helped a lot.
The key thing is, once you develop a sense for where routes go, that sense will help you a lot. When I can't understand a topo and feel lost, I just put it away and ask: "Where would I go if there were no topo?" I find that I am almost always on route when I do this. I think that if your approach is to study topos with a magnifying glass, you will stunt this development and you'll never really develop that sense. You may get lost less over the short term, but I think my approach keeps you safer over the long term.
Cheers,
Tom
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timpanogos
Jul 19, 2002, 7:16 AM
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The freedom of climbing where you want (and can place pro)is great - I'm finding that two of the scarier things about "on-site" route finding are:
1. Your running out of rope, and need 3-4 solid placements for a belay station.
2. once to the top of a 3 pitch climb, how the heck do I get back down?
Some of those walk offs (more accurately known as class 4 scrambles) in search of the hidden rap station can be pretty exciting!
It's amazing what a welcome sight those dreaded rusty pitons, 1/4" bolts and/or rainbow of sun hardened webbing can be once found!
If nothing else, closely study the descent information in the guide books before starting out.
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rendog
Jul 19, 2002, 3:47 PM
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come climb in the canadian rockies for a while. Serving an appreticship up here is pretty good in teaching the skills for route finding... 'cause if you get off route too bad you're in for a world of trouble.
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