A buddy at the climbing gym spent 10 minutes explaining why my beta was garbage and it actually made me send the route on the next try.

He said I was wasting energy by cutting feet on every move instead of keeping tension through my toes, and after I tried it his way the hold felt way less far away.

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_gonzalez15d ago

Humble pie tastes better than stubbornness on a tough route.

corablack15d ago

Mike from my climbing group spent 3 hours refusing to take a different beta on a 5.10c. He finally tried my suggestion and sent it first go, then wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day.

lilya7615d ago

Just jumping in here, but I think there's a little nuance missing that might help explain why Mike got all quiet. From what I've seen, some climbers get really attached to their own beta because it's how they've done things for years, not just out of stubbornness but because it feels like their thing. If you take that away with a suggestion that works too fast, it can almost make them feel like they lost a part of their climbing identity, you know? @patricia_gonzalez mentioned humble pie, but sometimes it's more about how the correction lands. Maybe if you'd framed it as "I wonder if this might feel different" instead of just offering a different move, he'd have been less defensive. Your mileage may vary, but I've definitely seen that kind of pride bruise easier than most people expect.