I’ve just returned from an incredible month-long trip to Europe (summer 2018), with one of the major highlights being my participation in the 4th Congress of the International Rock Climbing Researchers Association (IRCRA) in Chamonix. It was an honor to present alongside some of the world’s leading researchers and coaches during this five-day event.
I shared a video analysis of Margo Hayes’ groundbreaking first female ascent of Biographie (5.15a), as well as Adam Ondra’s historic first ascent of Silence (5.15d). Below, you’ll find the abstract of my presentation along with two PowerPoint slides that offer a glimpse of my findings.
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO OF 2017’S GREATEST ASCENTS AND A PROPOSED CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR MAXIMUM-DIFFICULTY SPORT CLIMBING AND ENERGY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
ABSTRACT
Maximum-difficulty sport climbing reached a new frontier in 2017, marked by several groundbreaking achievements, including the first female ascents of 9a+/5.15a routes and the completion of the world’s first 9c/5.15d route. A qualitative analysis of two of these historic ascents, along with a growing body of peer-reviewed research, supports the concept of maximum-difficulty climbing as an intermittent, near-maximal effort activity. Climbers achieve high efficiency and optimal bioenergetics by adopting a “climb fast between long rests” strategy, which maximizes both anaerobic alactic and aerobic power output. Effective training interventions must target all three energy systems, with particular emphasis on enhancing the anaerobic alactic and aerobic (climbing-specific VO2) systems, which are the most trainable.
Here are two of the 12 slides from my IRCRA presentation.
Slide #9 – Summary of Findings
For a highly detailed analysis of each ascent, read about Margo Hayes climbing Biographie and Adam Ondra’s Silence.
Slide #11 – Keys for Maximum-Difficult Sport Climbing
Regardless of your maximum grade (5.12a or 5.15a), the strategy for success on many of today’s modern sport climbings (i.e. steep, powerful routes) is basically the same. Here are a few keys to refining your climbing strategy and training program to stretch your maximum level to the next grade!
You can learn more about energy system training from my recent series of 4 podcasts on the topic. Subscribe on iTunes (or other podcast player) to “Eric Hörst’s Training For Climbing” podcast. You can also listen to the T4C podcast on Spotify, or here on Training4Climbing.com!
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