Between Pitching and Free Solo Climbing "Easier" Terrain, Part IV: Short-Pitching

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“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” I did a video about this concept, borrowed from a military friend of mine, a few months ago. And while shortening up a pitch to something less than a rope length isn’t exactly the same thing, I think there are some parallels.

Basically, the concept of “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” is about doing something well the first time - by not rushing - and therefore not having to eat the time of redoing something. Think of a climbing knot as a classic example.

This idea of doing a shorter pitch and therefore having to do more pitches than you would if you used a full rope is similar in many ways. Basically, you are trading off the distance traveled for each belay by getting into and out of the belays faster. While this video isn’t about doing shorter pitches in fully vertical environments but rather doing short pitches on scrambles, the principles are the same. Because scrambles are “well within our abilities,” and are lower angle, there are often many places to stop and set up a quick terrain or body belay. More frequent belays that require less rigorous of a set up can be formed and broken down much quicker, keeping the team moving. Less time managing rope means more time on the go. Better communication (due to the proximity of climbers) means less mistakes, fewer pauses to make sure you are on the same page, and quicker transitions.

While this video is not about slowing down our deployment of systems and while it’s also not about big vertical walls, some of the lessons from it are applicable to other climbing scenarios, too. That is a beautiful thing about climbing: experiences don’t have to be compartmentalized. We can apply what we learn anywhere it makes sense.

So, take a look at the video about applying short-pitching to moderate, scrambly terrain. Think about how you might apply those skills in that environment, but also think about what you can take from those skills and apply elsewhere.