It’s easy to focus the majority of our attention on the hard parts of our projects, because that is where we struggle and so that is where we feel like we need to work.

But don’t forget to spend time on the rest of the moves, on the easy moves. Every move counts.

If I fall on the easy part after the crux, I don’t get to count that route partially done.

If I don’t clip the anchors, I don’t send.

Because we often can do the easy parts of the route the first time through, we tend to do it the same way without really thinking about what we are doing. But your first time through probably wasn’t the most efficient way through, because you didn’t actually work the moves out, you just did them.

I say you audit the entire route, audit all of your beta. It’s all up for negotiation.

The thing is, if you are running the easier moves, but doing it in a way that is actually more difficult than it needs to be, you are wasting energy that you’ll need for the crux moves.

You will be feeling tired at the last rest, and wondering why it feels like a high-gravity day.

I make a habit of reviewing my beta on every part of the route, even the easy parts. In fact, even on routes that I know really, really well, I still review my sequences, and change things if I think it will help.

I can fall on the easy moves, just like I can fall on the hard moves. Just the other day, I fell unexpectedly on the warm-up section of my project. My foot just popped off. Luckily my belayer was paying attention to me. It’s an easy section, and I wasn’t really focused on those moves. It reminded me that it doesn’t matter if it’s hard or easy because, in the end, every move counts.