You Can't Do If You Don't Try.

Each failure.. ..will increase your chances for success at your next attempt
Og Mandino (1923 - 1996)

First off sorry about the long time since my last blog, time has been in short supply of late. I was considering writing a piece about some technical aspect of climbing, body positioning or slab technique or something similar but recent climbing based activity has slightly altered the content of this wittering.

So instead I am going to share with you this little nugget of wisdom:

If you want to do a climb, you first need to try it.

If your aim is to climb 8a (a very common goal) doing some training is excellent, working your weaknesses, getting stronger, improving stamina and a host of other things is all very good. But if you don't get on an 8a you'll never do an 8a. This is true at any and every grade. So if you aspire to a certain grade, pick a route/boulder problem of that grade that you think will suit you and get on it. Even if you're dogging your way up it or working each individual move. Then go away and address the areas of your climbing that fall short. Or alternatively decide that the route/problem you thought was the one for you in fact isn't, and then you can get on a different one until you find one that does suit.

There is an obvious caveat here of course. This doesn't work so well with trad onsighting, I'm certainly not suggesting that if you fancy on-sighting a bold E8 you should just have a go. Trad on-sighting is a different game, and is definitely NOT covered by this post.

Of course the alternative is to not be bothered about reaching a particular grade, after all it's not all about the grade is it? Is it?

See you at the crag, I'll be the one hanging from a bolt of a route a few grades too hard for me :o)