How to Use Outdoor Climb (previously Multi Pitch)
Choose Outdoor Climb in the menu. Your first time using this mode will require choosing Grade System (Grade System can be changed in Settings later).
Please choose the correct phase (Approach, Climb and Descend) before starting an activity.
For best results, start tracking your Outdoor Climb before the approach so the watch obtains a strong GPS signal. If the activity is started at the base of the climb, the walls and overhangs make it more difficult for the watch to obtain a strong satellite signal. Learn more getting the best GPS results for your climbing activities by clicking here.
In the Approach phase, single 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.
We recommend climbers record every pitch by pressing the lap button. As soon as you and your partner arrive at the belay station, it is a good idea to record this pitch so you can note the grade and see the height climbed and duration (critical for efficiency improvement when you look back at the data!). If you decide to link two or three pitches or forget to record a pitch, simply press the lap button and select if you have climbed 2 or 3 pitches, then record the hardest grade.
In an extreme case of simul-climbing, such as Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold climbing the entirety of El Cap in just two pitches, they could have recorded one pitch from their watch at the top of Boot Flake and recorded "I climbed 16 pitches according to the guidebook", before continuing the other 15 pitches to finish.
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.
After consistently recording pitches and climbs for an extended period, you will easily be able to track how many pitches you have climbed in a week, a month, or a season - a good measurement of how hard you have been working.
Customize Superlock Setting
Outdoor Climb mode utilizes a unique Superlock setting to avoid unintended unlocking and mis-operation during your climbs.
Before pressing Start, scroll down to Auto Lock and toggle this ON. While recording your climb, the watch will auto lock after 10 seconds of inactivity. To use the watch again, follow these steps:
- Press either the dial or Back button on the watch
- After the lock screen appears, long press the Back button until you see the "Confirm to unlock" screen
- You will have 3 seconds to press the dial to confirm to unlock
When toggled on, Superlock in Outdoor Climb mode functions independently of your Auto Lock settings for your other activities.
What is Outdoor Climb Mode?
Outdoor Climb mode automatically switches your satellite settings to "Dual FREQ + All System ON" to ensure the highest degree of accuracy on your climbs.
Outdoor 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.
Outdoor Climb 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, Outdoor Climb 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.