Fast Forward 1

Tonight was the first of three sessions of the Fast Forward 1 course at Sportrock, focusing on wall contact and sequencing. I was a little hesitant at first, concerned that the class might be geared more toward beginner than intermediate climbers, but the staff member at the front desk guaranteed me that was not the case and I would most certainly learn something (and to see him if I didn’t).  There are three of us taking this course, and I quickly realized that we were all on somewhat similar levels – everyone had some previous climbing experience and was looking to move forward with their strength, power, endurance and techniques.

The course instructor is a guy named Patrick, and he really knows his stuff. We spent the entire two hours working on technique, doing traverse routes across the wall. I didn’t realize how sloppy my technique had gotten, particularly my foot work (I have “Happy Feet”, because I don’t plant and trust but jump and wiggle around a lot). I think the largest factor contributing to my “Happy Feet” is my worn, purple 5.10 climbing shoes. Having just gotten back into climbing, my feet have slipped off many holds due to poor traction and no edging ability, and as a result I test every foot hold two or three times before putting all of my weight on the hold, and then I’m quick to move from it if the hold is less than ideal. That was my biggest problem of the evening, and I am glad it was pointed out to me.

My homework for the week is to practice my technique and do at least 5 wall traverses the next time I’m at Sportrock. Start with center of gravity distributed evenly > shift weight to right side of body > move left foot > move left hand > shift weight to left side of body > move right foot > move right hand > distribute weight and center of gravity.  Repeat (or reverse if moving the other direction).  Same applies for moving up the wall.

Sounds easy, right?  In theory, it is.  But it is a lot to think about in the middle of a climb, so that means I need to ingrain it into my movement and technique so it comes naturally.

PS – I passed my belay certification with little difficulty. There were a few things Sportrock does differently than the way I learned it at JMU, but I was shown the differences and told that either my way or their way works (I just had to do it their way to pass the test). I will probably make a point to practice and use their techniques, just to avoid any potential conflicts.