Adventures in Routesetting

Posted an article on the FusionFortySeven website that pertains to routesetting.

Everyone knows the feeling: it's the night before the competition. The routes are set and all that needs to be done is to wait until dawn to see them unveiled to the competitors and watch as they pantomime the moves in their minds and through hand gestures hoping to unlock the sequences created. I think the nerves for the routesetter are as present as they are for the competitors. We're constantly thinking, "does that move go how I envisioned it?" "will they do it differently?" "is that route really 5.12 or will they think it's easier?" There's so many variables that go into crafting a worthwhile competition climb and it really comes down to the climbers' performances on the line to finally determine whether the routesetter's efforts were worthy or not. For me, I'm less nervous and more relieved that the hardest part of my work is done. Now all that has to be done is sit back, watch, and enjoy.

It's Monday, and the final week before the competition. We are on schedule with routesetting - an amazing feat considering the amount of work it takes to change every route at the gym. So far I am very pleased with the new routes and we've received mostly positive feedback from those that have fore-run them. There are still a few tweaks here and there and a few tape/boundary issues that we need to see to. Tomorrow will most likely be spent retro-bolting a couple of new lines to see that they are safely leadable. That's one nice thing about the gym being all concrete, if we need a lead anchor somewhere, anywhere, we just drill it right there. We've had much better participation and help routesetting this year, which is a great thing - much easier on myself, my elbows, and my motivation. Plus, the variety we get from multiple routesetters is so much nicer. I think I set 17 of the 30-something routes last year which nearly broke me. This year has been a good change of pace

From Adventures in Routesetting I've grown to dislike the term "routesetting." Yes, I know it's in the title of this blog and it's used a lot, but in a sense the term is a misnomer for what goes on at our climbing gym. I spend more time designing, building, crafting, drilling, and constructing from scratch (meaning nothing but a solid sweep of concrete) a climb. Not just a "route," but a real climb. A route, in the typically understood gym-speak is transient. A gym route typically comes and goes. Ours is perhaps one of the few gyms in the country, for better or worse, that keeps many of its routes up for a prolonged period of time. (Perhaps with the exception of the bouldering wall at CATS in Boulder.) Our routes tend to become treated as outdoor climbs do. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not as I like to see routes change often. But I think people get very attached to our routes and think of them as their own. Take for instance Quarry Daze