Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Fairly Difficult Climbing, Done Well

I posted this video before of Adam Ondra making an onsight climb of one of the most difficult climbs out there. I am posting it again, because I read a thoughtful analysis of his climbing style here. Part of the analysis:

Ondra's style is one of relentless progress earned through exact placement of hands and feet and fearless response to the route's challenges. He routinely skips clips or delays them facing falls of 30 to 40 feet on very difficult terrain, confident that he will find a spot to recover and clip again. He climbs according to the needs of the route, square to the wall when necessary and is fantastic at high-stepping and reaching while staying in balance. His decision-making process is usually immediate and highly accurate, even in unlikely sequences. …Where most of us are second-guessing or retreating into bad movement patterns, Ondra is immediately adapting to the moves. He climbs as if he has nothing to learn from the moves, no need to adjust or rethink them, just to push ahead into the next one and repeat until the chains. Most of us only feel like this on onsights in very familiar terrain or of very low difficulty compared to our limit.”

When I watched the video, I was struck by how fast he moves. He’s never been on the climb before but he confidently places his feet and hands and just goes. Quite amazing.

BD athlete Adam Ondra onsights Mind Control (8c+), Oliana, Spain from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

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