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Ohhh good topic. I was just talking about this the other weekend. Points and more points attacked my plan before I even got to a route. I would be more worried about having to get on onsight, or I have to send this route for the points. It was a total mind block. I explained this issue to my partner and he gave me a different outlook on climbing. Chasing points is fun, but I tend to forget about why I am there in the first place, to climb. Now I just climb from one movement to the next and if I fall I fall. I forgot about sending and started to just focus on single movements. Not only do I feel more relaxed when I work through the crux, but I have a lot more fun climbing now, and I tend to send more often than not. My tick list is basically a way to keep track of my progression.

Don't care so much about the points, but do care about progression. E.i. I am looking for "projects" to move up the grade, and that does certainly affect the choice of crags.

But at the same time, if I go somewhere where I have a 'project', and there are easier climbs that I have not done at the same crag, I always try to do them, just because I can do it quickly and b/c doing the same warm-ups over and over is boring. I take it too far sometimes. A few days ago I was climbing All COws Eat Grass (5.8 at Roadside) b/c we were there in the middle of the week, and I figured that middle of the week and end of the day it would be open and I have never done it, b/c there are always people climbing there and I certainly don't want to wait in line for it... It was open, and I climbed it-- wondering the whole way up about why the heck was I doing it... still not sure.

Sometimes it is fun to go back and repeat easier routes you have already done to get a sense for how far you have come. Nothing says progress like skipping clips on a route you shit your pants on a few years earlier.

Regarding the points, I think it causes people to seek out crags they might not have visited. I for one would have never visited the Unlode last fall, but being desperate for new blood and not wanting to stand it line for the warm up wall made it worth the trip. By the way, those routes are scary as crap.

What is great is now I would have to project those routes. Nothing says regression like projecting your old warm up. Ego in check.

pigsteak wrote:
For you personally, when will you be satisfied and say "enough is enough"?

I'm saying "NOW" for this same question you keep asking.

Anyway, for me personally I get to that point when it's at least 80 degrees.

Comfortably onsighting mid-12 seems like a nice level to plateau at.

I thought I had said enough is enough, but I find myself continuing to project lines that inspire me. And some of these lines just happen to be at my limit. I gave up on the points even though I was never a contender, it was more in the line of personal goals (quantities) for me. I have also given up on chasing the grade. Or more like my body has given up and is constantly reminding me of my age (even though I'm trying like hell to stay in shape). I did reach my original climbing goals which were probably modest by most standards (climb a .12 sport and a .10 trad before 50 - seems they were more within my grasp than I had imagined). And then to answer a couple of your questions, yes, I did choose crags based on the routes I hadn't been on, or a line that might have been recommended to me as a possible project. Has it ruined me? Obviously! Seriously though, I think it has just been a natural progression, condensed somewhat since I got into the game at a later (much later) date. So when all is said and done, since I'm not a slave to the tick list anymore, perhaps I have said that enough is enough. But (there's always a but!) I think I will keep pushing myself, whether it's on the new project that happens to be graded lower than anything I've done in the past, or whether it's just getting through the climbing day without injury.

Oh! Spring season heating up? I'm still climbing from last summer...

Oops, I forgot to apologize Pigsteak! Seems that I am generally the thread killer...

pigsteak wrote:Be Honest here. If you keep a tick list, here or in private, do you find yourself searching the database before a weekend of climbing to see what routes you have not sent at a crag? Do we sacrifice true quality climbing in search of the most points or number of routes sent? Do you personally suffer from this disease? Do you justify your insatiable quest for numbers by saying there is so much climbing and so little time? Do you refuse to visit certain crags because you have sent everything within your ability?

Just curious how people determine where/what to climb as the spring season heats up? Is it based on routes you haven't done? The quest for the next hard tick? Breaking into the next grade?

For you personally, when will you be satisfied and say "enough is enough"?

I don't like repeating routes, but it's not for the reasons you listed.

1) Just like I'd rather read a new book than one I've already read, I'd rather climb a new route. It's my curious tendencies. I like knowing what all is out there. I like the challenge of onsighting. I like having to figure out sequences on routes I've not done before.
2) For the most part, I can remember each time I onsighted or redpointed a route that was hard for me (even if I suck at remembering the beta), and I like keeping those memories untouched. I prefer not to overwrite them.

I'm always satisfied, but I'll never get enough. That's why I love this sport.

I have no problems getting on the same routes as before as long as they are fun, but I definitely want to go to a crag that has something I haven't done before.

Actually, I think it helped me. Before the ticklist I focused my obsession on being a difficulty number chaser, with the points system and number of routes ticked list as other goals it provoked me into getting on routes to add to those lists that I wouldn't have done before. I found quite a few routes that were much more enjoyable than their ratings would have suggested. Also at the end of the day even if I didn't send the project I often feel better about the day if I have ticked a few new routes or forced myself onto a slab or some other route type I normally wouldn't choose.