Tips for moving fast on multi pitch climbs

I was thinking about this as the recently my climbing partner and myself got somewhat fustrated by the general slowness of those already on a route we wanted to do.

We tend to climb fairly fast together, nothing super fast just not glacially slow! I think the secret often comes down knowing your partner and trusting their jugment.

Nick Thomaswrote:

Other than just getting better and being able to climb faster at a certain grade, what are some tips/techniques you use to be faster and more efficient when it matters?  

Run it out and simul-climb.

Ryan Never climbs wrote:

as a leader you can call down to your belayer when you see the anchor or place you plan to belay from. this give them a heads up to get shoes on and such. 

as a belayer  if you suspect communication issues check in to see if they can hear you around the corner or above the roof. make a plan before it happens.

I really disagree with that.

If the belayer is in sight, then there's not point, they'll see what's up. If they're not in sight, communication is likely to be poor, and as mentioned above, good way to get thrown off-belay when you don't want to.

Kevin Mokracekwrote:

Cams!!  Use cams over nuts especially if the route is easy to moderate.  Cams are fast and easy to place and usually easy to clean.  

When I really want to go fast I place only tricams knowing my wife won’t even try to clean them saving loads of time. 

i think the key to really speeding things up is to have a watch that you are constantly messing around with (you know, to measure climbing time, belaying time, shoe time, racking time, snacking time, peeing time, wagbaggin time, etc).  combine this with constantly making sure the corresponding phone app and go-pro footage is linking correctly to the instatwatter account, etc.

that will help you speed things up a bit.

Ryan Never climbs wrote:

not always the case in either example you use and your leaving a lot up to assumptions. 

my examples are: one is when there is good communication and one before there is bad communication. 

works for me and climbing partners ymmv. 

Sure there are countless exemples & counter-examples. My point being, the more you introduce non-essential communications, the higher the chances of miscommunications.

On the upside, you can get well-received communication and a partner that puts his shoes on a tad faster.

On the downside, you can have miscommunication leading to your belayer taking the wrong course of action, which could have real consequences, based on a misunderstanding.

I guess all I'm saying is, sounds to me like small chances of small gains with small chances of really bad consequences, hence I don't think this is a great tip.

In my experience not enough communication has been much more detrimental than too much communication for speed and safety. I agree it's important to be careful with the commands on belay and off belay. That's one of the few times me and my partners are very methodical and by the book about communications. e.g. when a leader gets to the top of a pitch and says "off belay" we always respond with "you are OFF belay". 

All the time we will say "I see the anchor", or "20 more feet to the anchor". Especially on a rope stretching pitch so the second can say "you've only got 10 feet of rope left" or the second can be prepared to simul climb to allow the leader to reach an anchor.

One thing I ask partners to do is acknowledge statements that don't have a standard response with "okay" so I know they heard me. e.g. I say "watch me" they say "okay". 

Just for kicks I skimmed through this thread, since I love efficiency...and I didn't see anyone touting radios. I know, I know, sacrilege, eh? Whelp, the fact that my belayer always knows EXACTLY what I need, where I am, and how soon I'm going off belay ("2min to anchor", etc) saves a sh**load of time, and is helpful on simul since you can easily mention "can you check up and give me a 15ft belay?" when you're at a tricky section. I resisted them for a long time but 100% sold now, just makes life too easy and less complicated, not to mention safer and faster.

I can't add up all the fun of I've made of radios over the years.  But karma is a funny thing.  In my dotage, I'm hearing-impaired, but don't want to wear my expensive hearing aids while climbing.  Ergo, radios. Okay, I started using them out of necessity, but must admit that they make communication vastly easier. They are especially valuable in the worst situations, when everything is going bad, none of the standard procedural assumptions necessarily hold, and you can neither hear nor see your partner.   I can think of a bunch of occasions in my climbing past when radios would have reduced anxiety and saved a lot of time.  But they also enhance every day climbing interactions as well, especially when the unexpected crops up (snakes and hornet nests, for example), but also because you don't have to shout or ask for repeats and you can pass useful but less consequential details that would ordinarily not be exchanged.  And yes, they can speed up the multipitch process.

They are not all that light and are an extra thing to lug, nor are they in any sense essential (if your hearing is ok to begin with). Like any other tool, they can be misused, as when someone decides on a moment to moment narration of every little thing that occurs to them on their lead.  Still they've turned out to be a lot more useful than I anticipated, and several people (who are not hearing-impaired) who used them with me seem to have gone out and bought their own based on the utility they perceived.

PS: As someone who always thought there were too many belay commands and that they were often absurdly employed when just the wave of a hand would do, I have not embraced radio-talk. No rogers or copy-that's for me.

rgoldwrote:

I can't add up all the fun of I've made of radios over the years.  But karma is a funny thing.  In my dotage, I'm hearing-impaired, but don't want to wear my expensive hearing aids while climbing.  Ergo, radios. Okay, I started using them out of necessity, but must admit that they make communication vastly easier. They are especially valuable in the worst situations, when everything is going bad, none of the standard procedural assumptions necessarily hold, and you can neither hear nor see your partner.   I can think of a bunch of occasions in my climbing past when radios would have reduced anxiety and saved a lot of time.  But they also enhance every day climbing interactions as well, especially when the unexpected crops up (snakes and hornet nests, for example), but also because you don't have to shout or ask for repeats and you can pass useful but less consequential details that would ordinarily not be exchanged.  And yes, they can speed up the multipitch process.

They are not all that light and are an extra thing to lug, nor are they in any sense essential (if your hearing is ok to begin with). Like any other tool, they can be misused, as when someone decides on a moment to moment narration of every little thing that occurs to them on their lead.  Still they've turned out to be a lot more useful than I anticipated, and several people (who are not hearing-impaired) who used them with me seem to have gone out and bought their own based on the utility they perceived.

PS: As someone who always thought there were too many belay commands and that they were often absurdly employed when just the wave of a hand would do, I have not embraced radio-talk. No rogers or copy-that's for me.

10-4, RGold!

I used radios in the 2000s when they first came out with small, inexpensive ones. I lost one (not when climbing) over 10 years ago and didn’t replace them. But I sometimes do miss them. Perhaps it’s time to see what’s available now. 

This is going to sound ridiculous but last week was the first time I've ever swung leads (at least that I can remember) in ~7 years of trad climbing. Usually my fiancee isn't game to lead or my partner and I are each hoping to lead all the pitches on a particular route and then swap and follow the other person's route. 

I can confidently say that it cut at least 15% of the time off the climb, if not more (probably less important if you're climbing rope-stretchers instead of 30m guidebook pitches). Skipping the 2nd going direct, the rope transfer, the swapping of belayers, the gear transfer (or, having a smaller gear transfer), etc. saves so much time, no matter how dialed you are.

As a counterpoint to Matt, block leading can also be very efficient in the right circumstances. If the climbing is difficult or heady, it lets one person stay in the leading headspace while giving each person a physical break after each pitch they climb - which can result in more confident and faster leading on those long, hard pitches. Flipping the rope can be a PITA but isn't bad if well managed, and sometimes it's faster for the follower to hand the leader a sling with the cleaned gear than to move all of the remaining rack from one person to the other. I like doing both depending on the context.

MattHwrote:

 Skipping the 2nd going direct, the rope transfer, the swapping of belayers, the gear transfer (or, having a smaller gear transfer), etc. saves so much time, no matter how dialed you are.

Gotta disagree with this statement for some situations.  There might be a slight time savings at the belay but that is only part of the climb.  If you are climbing routes that are near or at your limit and you actually get pumped while following a pitch the very last thing you want to do be efficient is lead the next pitch after following a pitch.  Regardless of how much time you saved at the belay you are gonna move way slower on the next pitch if it is remotely hard for you.  I've personally found leading in blocks to be way more efficient in the long run.  A couple of examples why; the 1st leader isn't pumped, they have had time to check the topo and look at next pitch, they won't be sitting too long to get cold, they have possibly had food/water and possibly most importantly they are in the correct mental mindset.  I find (as well as most of my partners) that leading numerous pitches in a row allows one to get in to a groove and be in the right headspace.  Inversely, while following numerous pitches in a row you are able to rest and relax for a longer duration which allows you to be more rested when it is your block.  

Depending on the length and breakdown of the route I will either figure out how long each block will be or time duration.  Say on a 20 pitch climb I'd either break it down in blocks of 5 if the climbing is hard or even blocks of 10 if the climbing is easier.  

The benefits of leading in blocks becomes more important the harder the climbing becomes and less important the easier the climbing is. 

Don't fuck around

I love swapping leads. But sometimes block climbing gets the job done faster.  

Tip for efficiency: Everytime you rest/chalk up/look up to routefind, think about if it is really necessary. I’ve seen strong climbers take forever because they stop at every other hold to chalk up or route find or rest when they are on easy terrain. If it’s safe/reasonable to do so, eliminating unnecessary stoping can add up to a lot of saved time.
Of course this isn’t always possible/a good idea, but I think most people will find that they spend a lot of unnecessary time “resting” on route.
Also, try climbing a route with a GoPro. You may look like a gumby, but It can be a really valuable tool for improving your climbing. You can analyze the videos to see where you were being inefficient or making mistakes. When you’re leading, perception of time and memory of details can be skewed, so watching it afterwards can help improve your climbing skills pretty quickly.

Grab & Go! It works often. It's quick...

In your best Inigo Montoya voice, call down to your follower "I do not suppose you could speed things up!?"

Drederekwrote:

Throw the cordalette away, leave the alpine draws at home.  Both are huge timewasters.

Completely disagree.  Alpine draws are essential in trad climbing.  This should read "leave the SPORT draws at home".  I cringe whenever I see sport weenies use their sport draws on gear and watch them twist and turn a decent placement into a death trap.

Cordalettes are invaluable.  They're small, light, and extremely versatile if you know how to use them.  Almost any anchor situation can be rigged with a cordalette.