Bizarre beta: four points off

 Jernej Kruder on Three degrees of separation 9a+ (5.15a)


Dynos. There are hardly any hard climbs without dynamic movement, but flying through the air before grabbing the next hold after fully separating from the wall, that's another level. Four-points-off dynos are like 360 dunks, they are the pinnacle of dynamic climbing (well, then there are 360 dynos that you can see on Instagram, and even hula hoop dynos, but that's a different story).

Three degrees of separation 9a/+ was first ascended by Chris Sharma in 2007 and has not seen many repeats since then. The first one to repeat it was no other than Adam Ondra who suggested 9a+ stating that it was the hardest route in Céüse back in 2015. The third ascent was done by Jernej Kruder, who you can see in the video projecting it. The route is unique thanks to its three big, powerful, and hard dynos. The first and hardest one (at 3:25), as well as the second one (at 3:45) are four-points-off dynos with an impressive distance to go from the starting holds to the jug. Although Jernej Kruder says in the video that the second one is a three-points-off dyno, it looks like he fully separates from the wall for a split second, if you go frame by frame. And then there is the final three-points-off dyno (at 4:09) going sideways and slightly crossing hands. Dynamic movement is common in, if not the definition of, hard climbing, but three huge dynos on the same sport route is something exceptional.

 

Martin Bergant on In time 9a (5.14d)


Another hard sport route, another four-points-off dyno. Martin Bergant does a crazy jump at the very beginning of In time 9a (at 7:11  and 7:36 in the video), before even clipping the first quickdraw! It's a really good illustration of a big dyno technique - first going up on your arms to feel the position (some say it's unnecessary if you're good enough, but if your name is not Tomoa Narasaki you probably want to do it), going back down as low as possible (this will give you more distance to accelerate over and is a crucial movement pattern not only in huge dynos, new climbers often lock off desperately trying to reach from one hold to another, when a minimal momentum would get them there with much less effort), and pushing with your feet just if like you were jumping, while at the same time pulling with your hands not only upwards but also towards the wall. Sounds easy but in practice it's not. Especially, pulling towards the wall is scary as sometime your face might almost scratch it, but the closer you go the easier it is to get to the next hold. I like to imagine that I'm trying to get the next hold with my head instead of my hands, somehow this way I stay closer to the wall and jump higher (but I'm no expert in dynos).

Also, look at the scenery of this Slovenian crag. The small pond hidden between the steep walls, the waterfall, the forest. If I would ever need to choose a 9a to project, this would be one high on the list together with David Lama's Avaatara.


Chris Sharma on Es Pontás 9a+ (5.15a)

The classic deep water solo route in Mallorca first ascended by Chris Sharma, perhaps the most iconic one in the world. Deep water soloing has its own tactics and projecting a hard route in this style is much more difficult and complicated than in sport climbing or bouldering. Everything gets wet after a fall, you need additional climbing shoes and chalk bags for next attempts. Even with that you need to wait to dry out yourself, and additionally conditions are rarely optimal. On top of that, the most usual style of projecting a deep water solo route is ground-up (water-up?), so sometimes it takes many falls to discover a hidden hold or a beta tweak. It's also more dangerous and even relatively safe falls can hurt a lot. Probably, that is why Es Pontás, although grade-wise being within reach of many top climbers, was repeated only by three: Jernej Kruder, Jan Hojer, and Jakob Schubert (the last video nicely presents all the struggle).

The crux of the route is a huge dyno, you can see a failed attempt at 0:46 followed by a nasty back slap on the waves and a successful attempt at 2:56 in the video. Maybe it's not the most bizarre beta, but what makes it special is the fact that it is a four-points-off dyno 10 meters above the water. You have to think not only about generating momentum, jumping close to the wall, sticking the hold etc, but also about the possible fall - although this height is not very dangerous it can hurt or even cause an injury. For that reason, you want to enter the water as straight as possible keeping tension in all your muscles not to get twisted in a weird way. A pro tip I got from a friend is to squeeze your butt when jumping from higher cliffs. Trust me, it might save you a lot of pain.

 

Dan Osman on Bear's Reach 5.7 (5a)

Wait, 5a? Yes, you read it right. I know, videos of people climbing 5+ routes usually are not breathtaking, but this one is, because it's done without a rope. Given that this post is about four-points-off dynos, I bet I have your attention now, don't I? He performs this ultimate party trick (if you party on a cliff) at 1:10 in the video. Is it necessary? Nope. Is it the best way to do it? Probably not. Does it look cool? Hell yeah! You can say what you want, but Dan Osman sure was cool - check out this no-hand knee bar rest while free soloing (of course) and with no knee pads (additional style points). He scaled the Bear's Reach on Lover's Leap, which is a 120 m wall, in 4 min 25 s (Alex Honnold bettered this result by 10 s). And they say speed climbing is boring...


Charlie Barron on Tartarus V11 (8A)

We've seen a huge dyno before clipping the first quickdraw, another one high above the water, and a free-solo dyno, is there anything that can shine after all that? Yes, doing a first ascent while flashing a huge four-points-off dyno, and that's exactly what Charlie Barron does in the video. He flashes an old dyno project and does it in such a good style that one could believe he's been projecting it for weeks. He goes super low to initiate the movement, jumps from a relatively small foothold, and goes so close to the wall he almost scratches his chin. Sending it would be really impressive on its own, but a flash is just insane. He gave it a font 8A, while other climbers who tried it suggested it might be slightly stiff. It does look much bigger than, for instance, Rainbow Rocket 8A, although they share the grade. Anyways, check out Charlie Barron's Instagram, the stuff he does looks absurd, he might be the new dyno king.

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