What if it's not on paper?

That’s it! Climbing beta downloads for your iPod.

Imagine, It will suggest an appropriate playlist for the approach hike. Then when you are at the base, it will tell you exactly what gear to take, and talk you through the optimal way to rack it up.

You’ll need two purple Camalots in a row for the crux, and you’ll want to place them from left hand jams – so rack them together on your right front gear loop.

You’ll be able to choose, depending on your preferences, whether to have a sultry female whisper beta in your ears as you float up the climb, or a strong firm man directing your every move as you send… Heck, it could even have a Chief setting, which would turn on automatically if you hangdog or move too slowly. The volume will double and the words won't be pretty until you get going again...

At the belays you’ll get history lessons about the route, the Gods who did it first, and the fact that although they rated it 5.8, it is 5.10 now because they were from The Gunks and didn’t know any better. You'll also learn how the route was climbed several times prior to it's first ascent, but since those climbers did not think they were first why should they get the credit...

On the hike out it will continually mix subliminal messages into your music, telling you how well you did, and gradually erasing any memory of that hang you took at the crux, and the draw you grabbed up high when you were gassed.

Chewbacca wrote:

ksolem wrote:That’s it! Climbing beta downloads for your iPod.

Imagine, It will suggest an appropriate playlist for the approach hike. Then when you are at the base, it will tell you exactly what gear to take, and talk you through the optimal way to rack it up.

You’ll need two purple Camalots in a row for the crux, and you’ll want to place them from left hand jams – so rack them together on your right front gear loop.

You’ll be able to choose, depending on your preferences, whether to have a sultry female whisper beta in your ears as you float up the climb, or a strong firm man directing your every move as you send… Heck, it could even have a Chief setting, which would turn on automatically if you hangdog or move too slowly. The volume will double and the words won't be pretty until you get going again...

At the belays you’ll get history lessons about the route, the Gods who did it first, and the fact that although they rated it 5.8, it is 5.10 now because they were from The Gunks and didn’t know any better. You'll also learn how the route was climbed several times prior to it's first ascent, but since those climbers did not think they were first why should they get the credit...

On the hike out it will continually mix subliminal messages into your music, telling you how well you did, and gradually erasing any memory of that hang you took at the crux, and the draw you grabbed up high when you were gassed.

Problem is that this will probably be a reality in a few years.

Yeah. I can see it now...

"Where do we go now? My IPOD stopped working."

JHH60 wrote: climbing with detailed route beta is a lot easier than doing a first ascent.

IMO, there are 1st ascents, and then everything else.
Coming from the Gunks, I'm used to detailed guidebooks with pretty good descriptions and lines drawn on pictures, but that's the nature of the place where there is a different climb every 10 feet.
Getting into the alpine, I'm enjoying the broader descriptions and possible variations of route finding. Adds a whole new element.