Many years back, I developed something for myself to enhance my climbing; something that worked ridiculously well. And all it cost me was the price of a whiteboard.
It became known as The List. Now that I’m a pro coach, I can completely see where I was coming from and why it is so useful, including from an academic point of view.
This post originally appeared on my personal blog in October 2015 but has been recreated here as a teaching point.
A Quick Note Before We Begin
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The List (of true greatness)
In my house in Llanberis, North Wales during my younger, single days, I would awake slowly on my days off, go downstairs and make a cup of tea. I would then sit on my stool by the back door, watching the dog run around the yard and try to figure out my plans for the day.
That was where the problem came in. North Wales has a fair amount of bouldering, enough to fit almost any conditions, and with Llanberis at the foothills of the mountains, I had a pretty good idea of where to go to get the best out of my day. The problem was that said climbing is spread liberally around the area; making it quite hard to remember all the options in your head. Trying to remember all the problems I was currently working on proved even harder.
Whole days have been lost to indecision; my mind not pinning down the right option early enough to actually be able to go. Having to make things up at the last minute often meant I was lacking in company too, and often ended up frequenting the same old places and missing some great new projects.
The average grade [of project] has gone from 7a+ to 7c
And then, one week, after threatening to do it for such a long time, I got hold of a white board and hung it in the kitchen. I ignored suggestions to put house jobs and shopping lists on there and dedicated it to my projects: climbs that I was currently working on. There has always been a good range, with a wide variety of crags, some sheltered, some very open and a good grade spread too. Basically, a list that would always give me something to go and play on.
So, from then on the Sunday/Monday morning (for those [were] generally my days off) routine would continue as before, but with one crucial difference: as I sat by the back door, I would glance over at the board and then out the door. I’d match the conditions to the crags, pick the best option for the day and then I’d be off.
Similarly, when making plans, I now text a photo of The List of True Greatness, as it is currently known, to whoever is keen, giving them the crags as options, if not the problems, often with a recommendation as to which will suit them best. Instead of the hundreds of crags North Wales has to offer, instantly we’ve narrowed it down to a dozen.
Well, a dozen to begin with. When the list went up back in May, there were 13 lines on there. When I retook the photo six months later, there were 18, and more crucially, only six lines on both lists. As projects are done, they are rubbed off (a really nice feeling) and replaced by new ones – often by more than one new one… What’s more, the average grade went from 7a+ to 7c.
So I think it’s fair to say it worked spectacularly well. Shortly after time or writing, at a social event, everyone I spoke to commented on how much I’d been getting out over that summer and it was quite obvious the list had given me that extra bit of drive. As you’d expect from me, there are a couple of rules to it, but really not many.
The (Original) Rules
- Only climbs you have tried may go on the list. It’s not just a wishlist, this is a project list.
- There must be a variety of venues represented on the List, preferably with only one line at a crag at a time.
- These are LOCAL problems only – there is not point putting Font problems on there, for example, if you only get there once a year. All climbs must be accessible for a day trip from home.
- The List MUST be somewhere obvious, not hidden in the shed. The whole point is to get you off your backside so make sure you see it often.
- Problems cannot be removed from the List until they are completed (or fallen down).
The (Revised) Rules
As time went on – this article is being updated ten years after it’s inception – the original rules have been tweaked. I now add some climbs I’ve not attempted, although a) these are few and far between and b) their addition is tentative. However, for the most part, this rule can stay in place.
Since the first list, I have certainly removed climbs that were not completed; it would’ve been simply a list of things I didn’t want to do otherwise! However, the premise is still sound: don’t simply give up on things too quickly. Instead, a compromise should really be offered up in the form of an end-of-season purge to clear out things that no longer fit, for one reason or another.
Meanwhile, there are now sections at the bottom for entire new crags hitherto not visited. But other than that, things have remained the same. So here are the revised rules:
- Only climbs you have tried may go on the list. It’s not just a wishlist, this is a project list
- There must be a variety of venues represented on the List, preferably with only one line at a crag at a time
- These are LOCAL problems only – there is not point putting Font problems on there, for example, if you only get there once a year. All climbs must be accessible for a day trip from home
- The List MUST be somewhere obvious, not hidden in the shed. The whole point is to get you off your backside so make sure you see it often
- Problems cannot be removed from the List until they are completed (or fallen down). HOWEVER at the end of the season, a ‘purge’ of climbs no longer of interest may be done
Give it a try, it is very worthwhile and as motivating as anything else i’ve done to date.
An Adendum
That was the original post in it’s entirety but there were a few details that were unintentionally ommitted.
How To Create the Ideal List
Making the ideal List isn’t simply a case of picking some projects and sticking them on a whiteboard. There’s a little more thought that went into this.
Lakes-based climbing coach and course provider Esther Foster wrote an excellent piece on Top Tips for choosing routes and climbing venues in which she gives some sound advice on picking the right place to climb. We can combine Esther’s advice with that here too.
The key to the ideal List is variety. Notice with some of the images before we have a wide range of grades. This allows for those days you are on fighting form, the days you’re not quite at the races, the days when your menstrual cycle means you’re not up for it (or you’ve caught that nice spot in the cycle). Whatever it is, you should have some grades that are around your flash grade and some that are just above your max.
The next important element relates to Esther’s article: the aspect. This works on two levels including the aspect of the crag in general (is it sheltered? does it dry quickly? is it exposed?) but also the aspect of the climb (does it seep? are the holds fickle in certain conditions? is it popular in busy times?). Again, the key is variety and the perfect List will have a wide range of options to match any weather conditions.
Finally – bearing in mind that there will be other issues I’ve not thought of – consider the approach. Yes, you may be the type of climber that only likes roadside crags but assuming there’s at least some willingness to walk a bit, consider having a range of different approaches. This way, you’ll be covered for an after-work blast or a full day off, as well as a June or December day with daylight hours changing dramatically.
Summary/Conclusion/Another Pun
So there you have it. A concept and an article from a much-younger me that worked a treat to drag me up the grades. Yes, essentially it is goal setting but it is more subtle than that; utilising SMART goals (in a good way) and some clever tactics to increase one’s chance of success.
There is plenty of room for you to interpret this in your own way but the principle is solid. It is a thoroughly recommended technique for really helping to maximise not only your chances of success but also how much you’re likely to enjoy your day.
References/Further Reading
BBC Bitesize (n.d.) The value of goal setting in sport, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8byrdm/revision/1
Foster (2020) Top Tips for choosing routes and climbing venues, https://www.estherfoster.co.uk/post/top-tips-for-choosing-routes-and-climbing-venues