How to Name a Sports Climbing Route - NOT a Guide

Some ways to name a route

After a person (not my favorite): I won’t comment because I don’t want to offend anyone.

After the characteristics of a climb: In Cebu, there’s a route called Hait (sharp) because of its previously razor-edged jug. Years of mobbing the route have made it skin-friendly.

After the characteristics of a climb and some random humor: In Thailand, there’s a line called “Best Route in Minnesota.” It’s hideous, especially in the rain. But apparently, if it were in Minnesota, it would be the best line out there.

Also, there’s Resteficken in Laos. It’s a great line if there’s nothing else to climb. 

After a distinct move on the route: There’s a boulder in Liloan, Cebu called “One Hit Wonder” because everything else is easy except for a blind, barn-door slap to a sloper.

There’s also another boulder in that area called “Lefter is the Best Medicine.” A climber was trying that route and the FA was giving a running beta. The climber kept feeling for the left-hand hold but couldn’t find it. The FA was yelling “left, more left! lefter!”. 

Circumstances around the bolting or sending of a route: In Iloilo, there’s a line called Engagement. The bolter projected it when he was contemplating his marriage to his long-term partner.

My other favorite is Blackfoot. Apparently, one of the climbers in the bolting team stepped onto a ditch on the day it was sent.

One of the unbolted areas in Ilog. Photo by Eric Paulo.

Routes that I have named

One time I bolted a route with another climber. I suggested the name “What Is Essential is Invisible to the Eyes.” I thought a long name would make a guidebook interesting. But, in retrospect, it might be a mouthful to talk about at the crag.

I did a first ascent on a route that I named “Run Free Chikoy.” Chikoy was a dog at the homestay in Cantabaco. He was poisoned the night before the FA. He performed the roles of a receptionist and a guard-on-duty. If anyone worked to get paid in love and head pats, that was Chikoy.

“Name and Claim”

In sports climbing, the bolter reserves the right to name a route. The most prolific bolter in the Philippines is Kuya Mackie. Almost always, he gifts the naming right to the first ascensionist. Which is why, as a younger climber, I just assumed that the FA gets naming rights.

Giving a route a good name is important to me. I don’t know why. I haven’t reflected on it yet.

I recently FAed a route bolted by Kuya Mackie. I named it Élan because of its high-spirited, energetic sequences.

For context, this is in Ilog, Negros Occidental. I discovered the climbing potential in that area when I was living in Bacolod. A few months after I left, local climbers and Philippine Bolting Fund have put up the first sports climbing crag on Negros Island.

My time in Bacolod has been meaningful. That’s why I wanted to name the route after something that is specific to Bacolod– or at least something that alludes to the place.

Élan didn’t meet that category. So I asked the bolter if I could rename the route, one day after I declared its name. Hence, the name “Yarda.”

Yarda 6c+

Yarda (yard) is the unit of measure used by upholstery and tailoring stores in Bacolod’s central market. In Cebu and other places, they use meters. (I know because I DIY random stuff even if people might think that I do nothing else except climb.)

When I first bought a length of strap at a store in Bacolod, I told the store attendant that I needed two meters. She said they sold in “yarda,” not metros. In my mind, it was tomato-tomato so I said yes I will go for two yards.

Sometimes, I lament my lack of precision but I think there’s also power in good approximations. I managed to scrape a meaningful life months after I’ve foregone the differences between a meter and a yard (although such tolerance doesn’t work in the NFL or Mars Rover missions).

Grades and route names are approximations of the joys that we want to frame in nifty little words (or numbers).

I’m sticking with the name because:

• It’s easy to pronounce.
• It represents something that is distinctly Bacolod.**
• It’s in harmony with the routes next to it: Yuhom and Paglaum. Same language, one word.
• It has a meaning that is a bit contrived but I’d still like to push: approximation works.

**If you can’t relate to it, maybe you need to spend more time in Bacolod’s Central Market.