As I get close to redpointing a route I’ve been working, I start running through the movement in my mind more and more frequently. I close my eyes and rehearse each move and sequence, and really see myself sending the route.
If you struggle—or even hesitate—to remember your beta while you’re on your projects, you waste precious energy. When you’re going for the redpoint, you have to be smooth and efficient. As soon as you’re on the wall, it’s go time.
So many factors go into being able to redpoint at your limit. You need the strength and you need to figure out what to do, but you also need to remember what to do; you need to retain beta long enough to send. You need to be able to memorize your routes and commit them to memory. This is a feat of memory for sure—we have probably a hundred holds that we to memorize on each route, and over the years, we catalog thousands of different moves. Visualizing, mentally going through your routes in detail, will help with this.
Here’s how to run through your sequence:
- Close your eyes and start either at the beginning of the route or on a section you want to work on.
2. Climb it in your mind, at the pace that you would actually climb it.
- Really imagine the feet, every feature, everything that you’d see in person. Imagine your body position, the clips, how you hang on to each hold, and your breathing patterns.
It’s that simple. But it will make a huge difference during your next redpoint attempt.
If there is a section that is unclear, where I can’t quite imagine what I do, when I get on the route again I work on that section with attention and the intention to remember the details.
I run through my sequences just before I go to sleep, while laying down. I don’t have a smartphone, so I also end up going through moves during down times when other people do their smart device thing, like when I’m sitting on the toilet, riding (passenger) in the car, sitting on the couch.
If you’re not already visualizing your projects, try it. Sit (or lay) down, close your eyes, and run through the entire sequence. Try to see every move clearly and in real time. And—this is just as important—see yourself sending.