Your Climbing Timeline: A Guide to the Location Bar Race

Every climber has a story, and so much of that story is told over time. We have our "trad dad" phase, our "bouldering season," the year we moved across the country, and the summer we discovered a new favorite crag.

The Location Bar Race is the movie of your climbing life. It’s a dynamic animation that shows the ebb and flow of your focus, revealing how your priorities, habits, and home crags have evolved from your first logged climb to today. Its purpose is to help you understand the chapters of your climbing journey.

How to Read the Chart: A Quick Guide

Imagine a horse race, but instead of horses, the competitors are your most-visited climbing areas.

• The Bars: Each moving bar represents a specific climbing location (e.g., "Red River Gorge," "Joshua Tree").

• The Length of the Bars: The length of each bar represents the cumulative number of pitches you have logged at that location.

• The Animation: The chart plays through time. As you log more pitches, a location's bar grows, creating a "race" to become your most-climbed spot and revealing your focus during that specific period.

What Your Chart Can Tell You: Spotting Life Transitions

By watching the race unfold, you can identify the chapters of your climbing life.

The Local Legend

• What it looks like: One bar takes an early lead and never lets go. It remains the longest bar for almost your entire climbing career.

• What it means: You have a true home crag. You've mastered its intricacies, and your climbing style has been heavily influenced by this one special place.

The Migratory Bird

• What it looks like: Two or three bars are constantly trading the lead back and forth in a predictable cycle. You'll see the 'Hueco Tanks' bar surge ahead and grow rapidly from November to February, only to stall as the 'Rocky Mountain National Park' bar begins its own race to the top from June to September.

• What it means: You have a clear seasonal rhythm. This pattern reveals how you chase prime conditions between a few favorite, high-quality destinations.

The Specialist's Deep Dive

• What it looks like: A new bar for a destination like "Kalymnos, Greece" suddenly appears, shoots up rapidly for one or two seasons to become a contender, and then plateaus as your focus returns to your home crags.

• What it means: This represents a focused, international trip or a deep dive into a specific project area outside your normal circuit. It's a snapshot of a temporary, intense obsession.

The Ex-Pat

• What it looks like: A bar that dominated the race for years suddenly stops growing completely. At the same time, a brand new bar appears and starts its steady climb to the top.

• What it means: This is the clear signature of a major life transition, most likely moving to a new city or state. The chart visually pinpoints the moment your "old home crag" was replaced by your new one.

Putting Your Insights into Action

This chart is primarily a tool for fun and reflection on your personal history.

1. Reflect on Your "Terroir" Over Time: How has your focus on certain crags influenced your skills? Did your "granite slab phase" in 2021 set you up for success on your "limestone sport" phase in 2023? Recognizing this evolution is a key piece of self-knowledge.

2. Relive the Memories: Watching the race is like flipping through a photo album. It will remind you of specific trips, partners, and periods of your life, connecting your climbing journey to your life story.

The Location Bar Race is your personal highlight reel, a story of the places that have defined you over time. It's a celebration of the journey and a reminder that every climb we do becomes a part of our own unique, evolving history.