Sonnie Trotter on The Path

In 2007, Sonnie Trotter, from Tronto, redpointed a route called The Path (5.14) on a quartzite crag near Lake Louise in Alberta. It is a thin, overhanging face route with trad protection and long runouts including the crux. I had noticed that Sonnie tends to climb faster than most climbers, and I wondered if this trait helped him on The Path. I asked him about the crux and what he did that helped him climb it.

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“There is a positive rest before the crux,” Sonnie described. “Then it moves left, followed by a long deadpoint to a flat edge—nearly my entire arm’s length to a hold the size of a broken pencil. I can only manage three fingers on it. Then I jump my feet under my body and cross my arm over to another micro crimp. The body position is strenuous and staying here would mean certain failure. I must keep moving. I crimp with my left hand, crimp with my right, like the holds are on fire, grabbing and letting go of them quickly.”

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Sonnie was able to redpoint The Path with this approach of climbing quickly. I asked him if a slow, more thoughtful approach would work better.

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“I find when I am climbing at or near my limit, I climb better with constant flow,” explained Sonnie. “That seems to be the only way to climb The Path. I needed momentum to stick the crux moves. It didn’t need to be explosive, just continuous.

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Moving implies continuous climbing, which gives you flow and momentum. Unfortunately, climbers usually climb as if each move was separate. They make a move, stop, think, and then make another move. This is not movement. Movement requires each move to flow into the next.

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To move continuously, climb a little faster than usual. This allows seemingly individual moves to flow in combinations and diminishes the interference from your thinking mind. Your mind may doubt you can make another move. With quicker engagement, you begin the next move before this doubt gains power, and completing that move gives you positive evidence that quiets your mind’s nagging, limiting doubts.

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One simple technique to help you climb continuously is making smaller steps. Many climbers make high steps and then push with their high leg while pulling with their arms. This makes their climbing very choppy and halting, and wastes energy. By making small steps on intermediate footholds, you can easily and quickly flow from one move into the next. Making small steps will require you to use much smaller footholds than you might be used to. Instead of treating each foothold as a big platform to hoist up onto, you’ll often dance lightly up a series of small foot purchases, moving quickly while your arms are fixed on two handholds. Your feet avoid slipping because your body has upward momentum and asks less of the small intermediate holds. Practice this until it becomes your primary way of climbing. Later you can complement it with occasional high rock-overs or other balanced high-step techniques.