To onsight a route means to walk up to it and send it first try, having never seen anyone on it or being told any beta. Onsight climbing is hard to do, especially at grades near your limit.
In this article by Andrew Bisharat from his site eveningsends.com, he shares some onsight climbing tips, including some from Ethan Pringle and Alex Honnold.
The onsight climbing tips Bisharat includes begin with reading the rock and working the rests…
“Onsighting is organic. When you do it, it feels like it simply just happened. Really, it’s the culmination of all of the training you’ve done, the routes you’ve redpointed and the things you’ve learned about reading rock climbs and executing moves efficiently.”
Next, Bisharat talks about achieving flow, something you can work on while training in the gym:
“Climb efficiency can be practiced in the gym, too. All the holds are marked, and there is usually only one sequence that is set with anthropomorphic movements in mind. Spend a lot of time climbing easy routes in the gym, flowing up the holds to a rhythm. Efficiency does not necessarily mean climbing faster. It means moving to a beat and not stuttering. Achieve flow.”
He describes the importance of being decisive and having patience in onsight climbing. As Ethan Pringle puts it:
“It’s key to learn how to read sequences from the ground, but even better to learn to improvise while you are on the wall. The better you know how to move over rock, the easier and more natural this will become. You won’t spend as much time hesitating or screwing around with your feet. Knowing when and where to stop, how long to rest, when to punch it, how not to hesitate, and how to just decide to do something and go with it is crucial. Commit to your decision.”
And finally, Alex Honnold says, in onsight climbing, sometimes you just have to go for it:
“I’d get to a point where I was stuck, and figured there was only one place I couldn’t see, and therefore there had to be a hold there. Then, I’d go for it.”
So, there you go. This article has awesome and very helpful information in it- check it out and use the tips to improve your own onsight climbing!
READ IT HERE: Onsight Climbing Tips for Sport Climbers
(Keith Ladzinski photo, courtesy of eveningsends.com)
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