Climb Better with Modern Agile
How applying agile principles helped achieve rock climbing goals
After just 60ft off the ground, with another 940ft to go, it was clear I was on the wrong route. Pure friction slabs were the order of the day and my calves were already burning. Despite being technically within my climbing grade, my hands were sweaty from the weirdness of being on a slab without any of the familiar features I was used to.
At the same time my own psyche was telling me loud and clear that I needed time to build up to a long route, it was also clear we all needed to find our climbing groove. Climbing as a three is more complicated and slower than a two, as someone is always in the middle of the system. Our team was formed of three friends who had not seen each other in more than a decade. We had three different styles; three different rope systems; even three different accents; and it was clear we hadn’t figured out how to move effectively as a team. The piles of tangled rope were evidence of that.
At the first belay I said “I just want to check in”, initiating the eponymous core protocol from Live In Greatness to share were my head was at. I made it quite clear that at this point I would be rappelling off the route. This was my chance to escape with one quick abseil while the ropes still reached the ground. As a team of two I proposed that my friends continue up the route and that I would be happy to hang out while they did. This was resoundingly rejected. Either we climbed the route together or we went and did something else.
Rob proposed that we climbed one more pitch, then retreat if it still felt uncomfortable. Lauren, with knowledge of the route, explained that would only become more awkward with traverses making it difficult to return to lower abseil stations. He proposed some alternative routes on more compact granite, and bolted with big ledges where we could practice our rope system away from uncomfortable hanging belays. Three different ideas, and I found myself explaining more core protocols, Decider and Resolution, for us to collectively agree what to do without stressing our new partnership beyond repair.
I call Make Safety a Prerequisite the grounding principle of Modern Agile. In climbing, that is literally true. Without psychological safety, our team of three wouldn’t have the ability to come together as a collaborating team to get off the ground and achieve any significant climbing routes. Without the safety of an effective rope system, we dramatically raised the chance of hitting the deck.
This first attempt at a multi-pitch on the Chief in Squamish helped us quickly re-assess where we were as individuals, and what our shared definition of a successful climbing trip would be. We agreed this was to reconnect as friends, and to climb fun routes with great moves. This was our definition of Making People Awesome, and to Deliver Value Continuously meant being able to dance across the rock with the minimum of hassle.
The fourth principle of Modern Agile is to Experiment and Learn Rapidly. After we all abseiled off the Chief, we jumped in the car and headed north to climb Front Side 180, a 5.8 720ft route on compact granite. This rock led to a style of climbing that we were much more familiar with, which was one less variable to deal with in our experimentation on the rope system. This route has plentiful bolts and comfortable belay ledges, reducing the objective risks and complications even further. This left us being able to focus much more on how we managed the ropes, and also to get a great climb out of the (incredibly hot) day.
At the base of the climb we discussed approaches. We then each led a pitch of climbing, which allowed us to demonstrate our individual preferences for rope management at each belay, and invited discussion. This allowed us to see the benefits of using half ropes, more akin to a British style of multi pitching, and compare with more Euro and North American styles. We ultimately settled on a single rope with the middle climber tied in via an alpine butterfly knot. Our first pitch of the week involved about 30 minutes of time faffing with tangled rope. By the end of the week our switch overs were down to about 5 minutes. We were safer, and we getting valuable climbing in more quickly. We were awesome.
