This two-part article focuses on speed and efficiency in multi-pitch climbing – not just on big walls, but also on long ridges or wherever you might find yourself. Can such an article do justice to this topic?
At the very least, it can be a well-intentioned kick in the pants to re-examine old patterns and habits. And there are certainly a few tips in there that will be directly helpful on your next trip. Tactical principles, specific techniques, and equipment recommendations will be covered in the second part of the article. The first part is intended as an introduction. I realize that hardly anyone reads long texts anymore. But I don't want to oversimplify things, so give the article a chance!
Note: All instructions, descriptions, and recommendations in this article are provided to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, it should be clear that much lies in a gray area between safety and efficiency. Some of it may not comply with the manufacturer's instructions for using the equipment. Each user must decide for themselves which techniques they understand and can take responsibility for. Neither the author nor Lacrux.com can be held liable for any disadvantages or damages resulting from the information in this article.
What's all the fuss about?
Right from the start, I want to make one thing clear: values like performance, success, or efficiency shouldn't play too prominent a role in mountaineering and climbing. And, quite unlike the style of an ascent, speed shouldn't be a relevant factor in its evaluation.
When a rope team struggles upwards for days under adverse conditions, that impresses me far more than a speed ascent under conditions that no longer have much in common with alpinism.
Fritz Miller
So, just take it easy and everything will be fine? Not quite, I'd say. With a thunderstorm approaching or a serac below, you'd better get moving. The same applies if, as the temperature rises, rocks could fly or avalanches could come tumbling down the face. And we don't even have to think that far ahead: in hot weather, you'd rather be back down at the bottom, cooling off in a stream or lake, than getting roasted on the rock face.
On short autumn or winter days, on the other hand, it's important to make good use of the daylight.
And quite apart from external conditions or even alpine hazards, it's always gratifying when your rope team functions like a well-oiled machine. I like this image: everything runs smoothly, no hiccups, minimal friction. If a route is successfully completed in this way, the rope team can pat themselves on the back: well done! Yes, there are certainly other criteria for a successful ascent besides whether you've "spotted" the route.
Climbing ability is not everything
Climbing ability may be the single biggest factor in the overall performance of a climbing team. But it's only one among many. It therefore makes sense to also focus on other areas. If you seriously engage with the processes of multi-pitch climbing, you will benefit enormously – not least because you open up a range of new possibilities. These include, firstly, in-a-day ascents of long routes like the Heckmair Route on the Eiger North Face or the Nose on El Capitan. But of course, these are major challenges, and not everyone will pursue such goals. Secondly, and this is certainly the crucial point:
Multi-pitch climbing can be integrated much more easily into mountain holidays or even into everyday life.
Fritz Miller
Together with my wife, I was able to climb many long rock routes while the grandparents looked after our young daughter for a few hours. If we weren't such a fast climbing team, we wouldn't have been able to undertake all these climbs that were so valuable to us. We developed our ability to climb quickly and efficiently as a team over many years. In my early days, I wasn't fast at all, let alone efficient. In my early to mid-twenties, I then began to focus more on these aspects.
Salbit West Ridge in summer 2008
An anecdote from the summer of 2008: Lukas Binder and I were checking out the Salbit West Ridge, without a doubt one of the best and most spectacular rock climbing routes in the entire Alps. A climbing team that averages three pitches per hour on this route is doing well. Four to five pitches per hour is exceptionally fast. After thoroughly checking out the West Ridge, Lukas and I were climbing it at an average rate of about 15 pitches per hour.
Lukas was a talented climber, but not very fit. For me, it was exactly the opposite.
Fritz Miller
To make matters worse, we rarely climbed on granite at that time. We didn't know anyone who could teach us speed climbing. We also didn't have pulley rope clamps, adjustable self-belay slings, thin single ropes with Kevlar-reinforced sheaths, and so on.
Speed and efficiency are two different things.
How were we still able to be so fast? For one thing, we were motivated and focused (no distractions, no staging). We could move quickly, knew the route, and always knew where we were going. Furthermore, we traveled light and minimally and were prepared to cover longer distances without intermediate protection. We functioned perfectly as a rope team, especially in terms of team spirit. Tactically and in terms of belaying technique, there was still some room for improvement. So, we weren't even particularly efficient. Speed and efficiency are two very different things.
You can be fast by moving fast. But you can also be fast through efficiency. And you can be efficient and slow at the same time – and still do everything right.
Certain circumstances, such as unstable terrain or climbing at high altitudes, demand calm and cautious action. Efficiency is always good, speed is often helpful, but not always necessary or even advisable.
Established techniques vs. new approaches
My interest in specific ascent times is no longer particularly strong. Regardless, I continue to work on optimizing my techniques and tactics for fluid, efficient climbing. It should be clear that my approaches often deviate from the teachings of alpine associations, which certainly won't appeal to everyone. Ultimately, it's up to us to only use techniques we truly understand and whose risks and side effects we are aware of. Even established belaying techniques carry inherent dangers.
A few examples:
- HMS fuse: When directly burdened by a heavy person, you have to grip really well, otherwise you might not be able to hold on.
- Plate belaying with Alpine TuberIf the device rests unfavorably, the clamping effect is lost. Even in a three-person rope team, the clamping effect can be negated by the different pulling directions of the ropes. Thin ropes can flip over, thus eliminating the clamping effect. This flipping can also lead to rope damage caused by ridges on the webbing between the rope slots. And more often than you might think, alpine belay devices are suspended from the wire for belaying – also not exactly ideal…
- Tube safety device from the bodyIf you are thrown hard against the wall, you may lose control of the brake rope.
- Half rope technique, fall in only one strandThere are various situations in which a fall cannot be stopped. The belayer will burn their hands in the process.
With this short list, I want to illustrate how often double standards are applied: Established techniques from the realm of established doctrine are considered safe, while modern, admittedly sometimes quite demanding techniques are dismissed as too risky or simply unnecessary. Even, or perhaps especially, by very experienced climbers. So it's refreshing that there's one point on which everyone agrees: Moving extremely slowly is definitely not good. It annoys everyone behind you in line. Eventually, it gets dark, and the ropes get tangled during the rappel. It's going to be a long night for the mountain rescue team. And the next morning, their alarm clock rings early again… So get to work: Read the second part, work on your skills, and push yourself. And if you happen to run into a scruffy-looking guy with an Edelrid helmet one day, give him my regards.
Appendix
For reference, here are a few well-known routes that I was able to climb more or less quickly:
- 08/2008: Salbit “Westgrat” in 2h18 with Lukas Binder. Fastest ascent at the time.
- 10/2010: Grandes Jorasses “Colton-MacIntyre” with Michi Wohlleben. Ascent of the Grandes Jorasses north face without using cable cars, huts, transfers, etc. Les Praz – summit – Les Praz in well under 48 hours (I don't remember the exact time).
- February 2011: Winter ascent of the Eiger North Face "Heckmair" in 5 hours 10 minutes with Michi Wohlleben. At the time, the third fastest team ascent.
- 10/2014: El Capitan “The Nose” in 11h55 with Flo Böbel. Not a particularly fast time, but it was our first real big wall climb in Yosemite Valley, the route was completely unknown to me, and it was jammed with other climbing parties from bottom to top.
- 12/2015: Solo ascent of the Ortler North Face. Sulden – summit – Sulden in 4h49. 2100m ascent and descent via the same route.
- 07/2020: Zugspitze “Jubiläumsgrat” to the summit of Alpspitze in 1h40. More trail running than climbing, but even the so-called “easy terrain” needs to be mastered.
That might interest you
- Ascent report by Fritz Miller: «Via Pesche e Mele» on the Poncione d'Alnasca (530 m, A4+, 6c)
- Simon Gietl: First solo integral Tre Cime traverse in winter
- Attitude counts – even away from the wall
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Cover image credits: Fritz Miller
Written by: Stefanie Keicher
