taking it outside...

[twan]

Thanks.

I'm not trolling here. Pretty serious about it. My first outdoor lead was last year, To Defy Laws Of Tradition at Military wall. It was fine, I hurt my finger which is another story in-of-itself. The route just flowed...could have been the cocaine highway running right down the bolts, but who knows . I sent it without issue, but the draws where hung and the more experienced climbers we went with made the whole situation feel different.

To Defy The Laws is at Left Flank..

[DHB]

It's been said by others already, but I'll put it a different way:

A lot of those low quality/ low grade climbs are kind of hard to figure, especially when you're taking them on the first time. And on climbs like the ones at roadside there are jugs to be had, but often the face you're climbing is heavily featured (with good and not so good holds) and, like you said, you spend more time feeling for the damn things than you do actually climbing.

Some of it has to do with just plain getting stronger and being able to use whatever hold you find. I climb 9s to warm up, and if it's one I'm not used to I'll do a lot of searching. Luckily, I have the endurance to be able to feel around, but I also am strong enough to just go with a decent hold if I'm tired of searching. If you're still trying to make the transition from obviously marked gym routes, then try and find a wall or route that sees a lot of traffic and, therefore, has more chalk on the good holds for you to follow. Or, go climbing with someone who can walk you through the tricky sections. Or let your partner go first and figure it out.

[louisville_climber]

To Defy The Laws is at Left Flank..

+1

[twan]

The time you spend searching around for better holds, you could have move a number of holds further. Chances are you're not going to find a better hold.

[whatahutch]

There is a good chance Jayh isn't going to spend much time looking for a better hold on a wall full of decent holds. Chances are he has hit all the moderates and a few more too.

[twan]

I've watched several people grab a moderate hold, move around looking something better for several seconds, and end up right back at the hold they started with.

[louisville_climber]

http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/produc ... fm?PC=1078

I found this book helpful when I was first starting out. Basically, I learned the basic concept of cleaning from this book. It's pretty good, and you can get a used copy online for around $8.

[jayh]

To Defy The Laws is at Left Flank..

it is, my bad. i dont even know where the hell Ive been.

[jayh]

http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/produc ... fm?PC=1078

I found this book helpful when I was first starting out. Basically, I learned the basic concept of cleaning from this book. It's pretty good, and you can get a used copy online for around $8.

thans man. looks interesting, I'll check it out.

[krampus]

I am going to see if I can say the same thing again but in a slightly different way so as not to be repetitive.
http://www.redriverclimbing.com/RRCGuid ... ute&id=740

you just gotta bust em out once in a while