The Differences Between On-sight, Flash, & Redpoint

Whether you’ve just started climbing in a gym, or you’ve been going for a few months, you’ve probably hear other climbers use words like on-sight, flash, and redpoint. Here’s a simple, brief article that goes over each of them.

On-sight

When a climber has NO knowledge or experience of a route before their first attempt AND completes it without falling.

Knowledge of the route can come from watching others try it, hearing tips and recommendations about it, or practicing parts of it before attempting the whole thing.

Flash

When a climber has SOME knowledge of a route before their first attempt AND completes it without falling.

Knowledge of the route can come from watching others try it or hearing tips and recommendations about it.

Redpoint

When a climber has SOME knowledge and/or experience of a route AND completes it without falling.

Whether you’ve been given step by step instructions or climbed different sections on the route before, this is when you complete the entire route without falling.

*Redpoint can also be used to describe when a climber pushes themselves to their absolute max. This can be used to describe the whole route, or a specific part of it; for example, the crux (which is the hardest part of a route).