Learn it
A project is a climb you cannot do yet. Working one is a different skill from climbing, and these are the parts of it.
- Find the beta by any means necessary. Break it into chunks, start from the middle, watch other people, link sections, rehearse the easy parts.
- Find your pacing. Where do you sprint, where do you take your time. This matters most on long boulders.
- Memorize and rehearse. Take video, mime it on the ground, say it out loud, draw it.
- Mindset. Mental strength counts as much as physical here. Expect to be challenged and stay open to being wrong about the beta.
- Rest. Three to five minutes between attempts, minimum. This is the rule they will break.
Apply it
Everyone picks one problem they cannot do and gets three attempts with a real rest between each.
After every attempt they say one thing they will change. Not "try harder": a named change, like a different foot or a different hand order.
Then they try to send.
Demonstrate understanding
- They name a change between attempts rather than repeating the same one.
- They actually take the rest instead of jumping straight back on.
- They can break the climb into sections and say which one is stopping them.
If the concept isn't sticking
They throw themselves at it over and over. Put a timer on the rest. Most of a project is recovery.
They give up after two goes. Shrink the target to one hard section instead of the whole climb, and make linking two moves the win.