It was so incredible! I started by soaking and power washing two holds that had just been taken off the wall so that they could dry by the time I needed to use them. I knew what I wanted to do with the route. I just didn’t know how it was all going to play out. I had done some work on paper, but the wall just couldn’t be captured on paper – neither could the route. I had put much thought into what I wanted to do… I just didn’t know how to do it. AJ encouraged me to start by putting a hold on the wall. Okay. One of the holds I knew I wanted was still drying, but I knew where I wanted it on the wall. I screwed another hold to the wall that I wanted to be next in the sequence of heel and toe hooking hell that I was attempting to create. It had begun. Fist bump from AJ. I worked out the heel and toe hooks first, and then worked on the transition up onto the less overhung face of the upper wall. In the photo, the holds that I placed first are just on the underside of the lip where the fellow in the white t-shirt is positioned. I realize they are difficult to see in this photo, but they are there. The holds on the upper face of the wall are easier to see, the largest one being the dish-shaped green hold directly to the white t-shirt’s left. The holds I was waiting on to dry finally did, with the assistance of the fan, and I placed the green knob (underside of the lip directly below the left foot of the white t-shirt), finishing two thirds of my route. The last part I worked on was the beginning of the route – a traverse on the grey wall to get to the meat of the project. Some of the green holds can be seen and some can’t, but the footholds for the transition to the brown wall were the hardest to place. I originally placed them the way they eventually ended up, but there were many self-doubting moments between those two points in which holds got moved up, down, sideways, and all around in general. I set this route with my own weaknesses in mind: pinches, heel hooks, toe hooks, reaches, cross-overs, footwork, and preplanning my moves well in advance. This is definitely a problem you can do the hard way, the easy way, or some way in between! I left all of those options open! Unfortunately, since some of my climbing friends and buddies read my blog, I can’t give away any more beta than I already have. I have offered some major hints here, though. What I can definitely say about the process of route setting is that it is awesome! I love it! It involves so much creativity and offers a deeper understanding of both the problem itself, and how to steer others toward the beta you intend them to use for it. This could definitely become a habit! Set a little, climb it, see if it goes, reset, climb again, see if it goes, and the cycle continues…
