Makes sense to me man, there are a ton of routes I'm saving coast to coast. For me onsite climbing is the pinnacle of ownership at a grade. Sure I can get on things a bit out of my pay grade and send after rehearsal and that is what it takes for me to climb harder routes, but all that work keeps pushing my onsite standard higher and higher. And the higher it goes the more options I have when I travel, it is very nice getting on whatever you want because you can onsite well. You also get more pitches in (barring some sort of 45 minute on wall battle to bag that onsite).

Hope all is well out in the east!

Rob,
I had the same experience on Doubleissima last year. I "tried" to onsight it & my performance was miserable: falling, hanging, and all the other questionable tactics. It was a reality check after "onsighting" prizes in New Hampshire like Last Unicorn the month before. I went back the next week and redpointed Doubleissima but knowing the moves and the gear made all the difference. Upon reaching the GT I veritably collapsed in a combination of exuberant laughter and terrible elbow pain.

On Erect Direction: way less sustained than Doubleissima. The belay atop p. 2 is a nice break in the action. I'll follow you up that any time, my partners were nice enough to me to let me take both pitches.

DL

Gabe, I've been told that if I climb up to a spot, look around, place some gear, climb down to the ground and rest, and then go back up, it isn't an onsight. Even more so if I climb down, removing gear as I go, and come back another day. No onsight.

But this is just what other people have said to me; I'm not sure there is a "rule book" anywhere anyway.

I think you're climbing with some awfully fussy (and mis-informed) people, Rich. I'm with Gabe, and you - so long as you haven't climbed the route yourself yet, it's an onsight so long as you don't weight the rope (and place the gear yourself, sad as it is that that needs to be said).

I can hardly avoid seeing other people climb Bonnie's, but I know that it will feel and climb new to me when I do it.

RG's sense of what on-sight means, and apparently RR's, has been around for a while and has been repeatedly published.

On-sight: when a route is climbed first try and with absolutely no prior information of any kind. E. Horst, How to Climb 5.12, 1997.

On-sighting: No beta (information) at all, except for the grade. The minute you start milking any information, you've blown your on-sight and are looking to do a good flash ascent. J. Long, Sport Climbing, 3rd ed. 1997.

Make up your own rules, of course, but there you go.

how about a "mostly onsight?"


http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/free_rider_mostly_onsight/

Can a blind person climb anything onsight?

Technically, if you even know of the existence of the route and it's grade...then it isn't. We could be as pure as we wanted until we entered the realm of absurdity. I have looked at Doubleissima a hundred times as I rapped down the High E rap. I knew how hard it was, I knew generally how long it was, where it went. I still consider it an insight attempt. But whatever. If your ethics call for more stringency than that....good for you! As long as you are honest when you gtalk to people abouit how you climbed it. I put the rope up on it. I fell twice, hung once, didn't hurt myself, and had a blast. As far as I'm concerned, I was successful.

Unfortunately, I have already toproped Stirrup Trouble, so I know exactly what I am in for when I try to lead it.

Sounds like a proud day, RR. Keep it fun or go home.

There is a Brit video dedicated to the topic of the onsight.
It drives home the point that different climbers play different games.