Climbing, trusting, and progressing

It has been almost five months since I started bouldering. I thought it might be a good chance to recollect my past recorded videos and see how I did throughout this wonderful journey. I want to share my top 10 favorite climbs since I started. There are definitely great routes I didn't have the chance to record, and I enjoyed those moments mingling with people even when the camera was not on.

No. 1: V0-2

Recorded on Feb 27, 2024

This is the very first recorded send I did back in February, when I was just about three weeks into the bouldering world. I actually tried this route the day before but was not able to finish it. I'm not sure if I was exhausted or if I just didn't figure out the right postures. This send was recorded in the morning, and I hadn't eaten anything besides some breadcrumbs from a sandwich I bought at a coffee shop. I had no preparations whatsoever, and when I chatted with my friend Litong about this route, I just went for it. To my surprise, I finished it on the first attempt (for that day). Then I asked her to help me record this video for the second attempt—it obviously worked again. This route is not exactly energy-consuming despite it is a quite circuitous path. On the fourth-to-last boulder, I realized the importance and effectiveness of flagging on the wall to save energy since it kept my center of mass closer to the wall. Techniques matter! Anyway, this is definitely worth remembering. Thanks, Litong, for the video, and again, for taking me to this climbing journey!

No. 2: V2-4

Recorded on Apr 16, 2024

I finished this V2-4 with pride. No joke, the first few times I tried it, it was too hard for me to stay on the route at the horizontal pinch (the one just above the light green boulder) because I didn't match on it. I thought I had to train harder on my biceps to be able to do this. Then I left this route and went for another V0-2 overhang (the yellow boulder just to the right of this blue route), and only campused on that for almost two weeks. Although it helped, I still think it was mainly because I didn't match on the pinch. Well, I finished this in a session with my friend Nick, where I chatted with him about my uncertainty in finishing it. Oh my, the look on my face was pure joy when I got off the wall. I persistently tried this route again and again at the start of each session since it made me feel like I had the ability to climb outdoors. Meh, no, I was dillusional for sure—but that doesn't I'm not able to do it indefinitely. Allez! Thanks, Nick!

No. 3: Sandbagged V6-8

Recorded on Apr 21, 2024

It's really satisfying to have a sandbagged route that I can get my hands on in my local gym—and why I have to rank my local gym as the best gym in the world. I said satisfying, not just because I was able to try it, but also because, as Jed, the route setter, said, it gave me the incentive to try harder boulders. Once this set was finished, I gave it a try and realized, "Hey! I might be able to finish this V6-8." I never realized that my core strength was good enough to finish it, but yay, I do have good control over my core along with my lower body flexibility.

No. 4: V4-6

Recorded on Apr 25, 2024

This was a pretty random route Nick and I chose to project on a sunny afternoon. We originally wanted to work on another cave route, which is the same grade (V4-6) as this one. Eventually, we gave up after more than 15 attempts because we couldn't figure out the good start for that one. This was probably the first time I felt great about using a volume as a hold to pull myself up to the crimp right after the corner (above the edge).

No. 5: V2-4

Recorded on Apr 27, 2024

It's a funny V2-4 that exploited my middle fingers for days. The key was trusting my knee to generate the momentum needed to reach an upper position, allowing me to place my left foot in the next pocket, which is about one meter away. Also, the end of it is trash. Tall people can just reach it, but as a short guy, I have to trust my jump and the precision of my hand placement on the final pocket at the top. The movement looks cool though! Thanks, Dave, for helping me record the video!

No. 6: V5

Recorded on May 15, 2024

After my spring semester ended, I headed over to California to spend my break. Benchmark Berkeley was the place my friend Falcon introduced me to, and I had a lot of fun climbing there. It definitely has much more facility than Urbana Boulders, my local gym and also the gym where I started climbing. It has a MoonBoard, bunch of gym facilities, some yoga gadgets, several hangboards, and a diverse range of routes with fixed grades (instead of a vague range) marked at the start of each problems. I know some people may say grades are just numbers–I do value them since I'm just a beginner/intermediate(?) climber, and grades definitely help me see whether I've progressed or not. But hey, if I want to climb a V10 in a random tomorrow, I would say it's for fun—because why not? I climb, therefore I have fun.

Random thoughts aside, this V5 was one of the few routes I figured out myself without any betas from others. Additionally, it has the dynamic vibe I like and helped me practice my slab skills. The heel hook on the second-to-last sloper was a spontaneous move. Skills, skills, skills! Thanks, Falcon, for his guest pass and all the fun climbing time we spent there.

No. 7: V4-5

Recorded on May 20, 2024

Mosaic Boulders is a relatively small bouldering gym very close to the UC Berkeley campus—just two blocks away from the famous Sather Gate. I'd say it's probably the same size as Urbana Boulders. But that's what I love most about small gyms near schools: I get to meet new friends without any pressure. We share similar vibes and are willing to open up to exchange our thoughts without mental barriers, at least that's how I view it.

This is the first-ever "dynamic" route I finished. While it's graded a V4-5, only the start is the hardest. The rest is pretty straightforward. Before I attempted it, I saw a girl try it about 50+ times. I think that was one of the reasons that motivated me to give it a try. It's about perseverance and relentless attempting!

No. 8: V4-5

Recorded on Jun 25, 2024

I spent 10+ attempts on this route before finishing it. Initially, I was trying, like others, to catch the medium-sized jug on the volume, which requires a lot of momentum to boost myself up there. Then I thought, no, there has to be an easier way. So I considered more static moves, and the result was using the one boulder in between (the small sloper) to support me and get closer to the medium-sized jug, which was much easier. I like how I did it in a relatively static way.

No. 9: V4-5

Recorded on Jun 25, 2024

This route is a bit random and came about the other day when I was looking for new routes to work on. The start is definitely a bit dynamic, but I think the key is precision on the crimps on both sides of the volume. After less than 10 attempts, I was able to finish it with confidence in jumping at the start. It looks cool. Thanks, Nate, for recording the video!

No. 10: V6-7

Recorded on Jun 30, 2024

Oh my, oh my, this is my first (probably actually legitimate?) V6-7. It's this boulder that made me believe that I have indeed been making progress in climbing. The first move is a toehook on the big jug while catching the upper side of the next big jug. Then the next move is to jump to the crimp, landing with my foot. What's really fascinating is how my climbing friends, who gave me the beta, suggested using a "chest" or "shoulder" bar to lay back on the second-to-last boulder in order to reach the top of this route. It's not possible to grab the top boulder without this move, since the top part is smooth and offers no friction. A good problem, and I guess it marks nice progress for me as well!

I want to conclude this post with some notes, things I did and routines I had in mind throughout my climbing sessions:

• Climb the same finished route a bit more to discover new possibilities, train my intuition to apply techniques spontaneously, and gain confidence for tackling harder routes.
• Do longer warm-ups before my climbing sessions: 10+ minutes consisting of (power or not) pull-ups, stretching the entire body (feet, neck, hips, wrists, ankles, etc.), hangboarding on jugs for a sufficient amount of time. And of course, climb on easy routes (V0-2) and harder routes that I've finished before tackling real problems.
• Have more regular training session! Having solid muscles, great flexibility and endurance is always better.
• Talk to strangers and share thoughts! One special thing I've gained from climbing is building trust, and I mean that in two ways. The first kind of trust is about trusting myself and every movements, especially the seemingly risky ones. The second kind of trust is about being kind and nice to the people I interacted with. This has helped me a lot in terms of having in-person social interactions, especially since I have an introverted personality. People are beautiful. Trust climbers around you.
• Take proper rests! Honestly, I didn't take enough rests between sessions because, like most climbers, stopping climbing is the hardest part. But hey, recovery is important. Resting during sessions also helps me take some time off, talk to people instead of feeling the pressure of not being able to solve a project, and relax my body and muscles. I just love climbing
• I still have not yet buy a brush. And until now, it becomes necessary for me to use brush on some harder routes. Brushing for others is also a good manner 😉
• Record my sends with proper notes. This helps me remember the techniques I applied on each send and may consolidate my memory to prepare myself for future project tackling. I designed the following climbing journal page, printed several pages, and clipped them onto a lap board of A6 size. It's portable, and I can use a pencil to freely draw anything I want. The only recent drawback I've found is that I always feel a bit shaky after my send due to my torn muscle.

Keep climbing and keep having fun!