Multi-Pitch climbing mode has been designed to track and analyze your outdoor technical climbing activities like never before. This activity mode provides a way to view real-time data such as your current elevation, pitch, heart rate, and most difficult grade, in addition to a comprehensive summary of your climb on the COROS app. In the summary you will be able to view an analysis and breakdown of each individual section of your climb: Overall, Approach, Climbing and Descend. (only available on the VERTIX 2 at this time).
In the Climb phase analysis, you will find a "Pitch Difficulty-Elevation Chart" by overlay difficulty and elevation to help better understand pitch time, grade and elevation change within the different phases of your climb. Pitch recording is a unique and practical way to help you record and review accurate climbing data for the first time ever on a GPS watch.
Highlights of this new activity mode include:
- Support of multiple climbing types: rock, ice, mixed, alpine climbs.
- Support of multiple climbing grade systems: Rock YDS, Rock French, Rock Aid, Ice, Mixed.
- Allows users to track approach, climbing, and descend separately, along with multiple laps for route link-ups.
- Allows users to record individual pitch grades, and easily identify the hardest grade in each climb.
- Pitch difficulty graphic overlay with time and elevation gain/loss.
- Allows users to link multiple pitches but still record the total pitches climbed according to the guidebook, the hardest grade, the elevation gain, and time consumed, etc.
- Compatible with other outdoor features such as navigation, storm alert, nutrition alert, etc.
Multi-Pitch Mode has 3 phases, Approach, Climb and Descend, users can switch between different phases based on actual need and record the entire climbing activity.
In the Climb phase, users can manually choose grades, Multi-Pitch mode supports Rock YDS, French, Aid, Ice Grades and Mix Grades. The range for the grading system of each mode are as follows:
Rock YDS: Low 5th - 5.14d, and jug the rope.
Rock French: Easy/4a - 7a, and jug the rope.
Rock Aid: A1 - A5, and jug the rope.
Ice Grades: WI1 - WI7, and jug the rope.
Mixed Grades: M1 - M16, and jug the rope.
How to Use Multi-Pitch
Multi-Pitch mode automatically switches your satellite settings to "Dual FREQ + All System ON" to ensure the highest degree of accuracy on your climbs.
Choose Multi-Pitch in the menu.
Your first time using Multi-pitch will require choosing Grade System (Grade System can be changed in Multi-Pitch Settings later). Please choose the correct phase (Approach, Climb and Descend) before starting an activity.
On Approach and Descend Sections, the watch uses the same criteria as Hike mode, sharing the data screens and sensor settings.
In the Approach phase, press the dial to pause the activity, then select "Next" to enter other phases.
The first page (see above) that appears in the Climb phase is default and cannot be edited, but all other data field pages can be customized in the COROS app.
During the Climb phase, press the Lap button to manually record the pitch and grade, here you will have the option to specify how many "Pitches climbed since started". This way even if you forget to press the Lap button after a pitch, you are still able to accurately track where you are at in your climb. After selecting the number of pitches climbed, you'll also have the option to record what the most difficult grade was on the previous pitch(es).
In the Climb phase, press the dial to pause your activity and go to either the next phase (Approach or Descend), end the activity, review pitch data or resume later.
In the activity summary, the COROS app allows users to review individual sections (Overall, Approach, Climbing and Descend). Overall, Approach and Descend share the same content with Hike Mode.
The Climb phase provides all new charts, including pitch time, elevation gain and grade. It also provides "Pitch Difficulty-Elevation Chart", by overlay difficulty and elevation, to help users better analyze pitch time, grade and elevation change.
The COROS Watch Carabiner (for the VERTIX 2)
The first-ever GPS watch carabiner for the VERTIX 2 further contributes to the ease of use you've come to expect out of all COROS watches. With the COROS Watch Carabiner, gone are the days taking off your watch for hand jams, as with one quick clip your watch is locked into place alongside the rest of your gear for quick access and viewing.
As seen in the photo above, the COROS carabiner for the VERTIX 2 clips directly into the belt loop of your climbing harness to accurately track your climbs, whether it be on the big walls of Yosemite or single pitch routes at your local climbing gym. To lock your VERTIX 2 into the carabiner, first remove the watch bands (How to remove, change and fasten COROS watch bands).
Next, slide the metal pin on the bottom side of your VERTIX 2 (furthest away from the carabiner clip) into the carabiner, then push the top of the VERTIX 2 watch body (closest to the carabiner clip) until you hear a “click” and feel the watch body lock into place.
*tip* some climbers may prefer to have the screen “inverted” or upside down (opposite of the photos above) so that when lifting the carabiner for viewing, the data is oriented to view from above. See the photo below for reference.
