[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":23689},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-list":3},[4,164,295,440,564,678,793,898,1015,1127,1244,1360,1451,1552,1635,1718,1825,1919,2028,2122,2203,2291,2380,2478,2592,2694,2799,2885,2978,3060,3171,3252,3327,3411,3495,3575,3655,3739,3826,4038,4152,4233,4309,4387,4472,4571,4663,4740,4826,4921,5002,5084,5162,5239,5309,5399,5486,5578,5676,5765,5855,5957,6035,6165,6306,6423,6497,6589,6722,6798,6876,6962,7036,7122,7227,7301,7385,7507,7600,7676,7761,7843,7925,8033,8244,8359,8433,8518,8601,8684,8769,8849,8927,9025,9111,9191,9285,9372,9451,9546,9634,9733,9837,9941,10026,10101,10186,10316,10393,10478,10572,10644,10751,10828,10909,10998,11075,11154,11231,11312,11389,11481,11591,11685,11764,11844,11944,12077,12154,12233,12341,12420,12514,12600,12679,12756,12838,12947,13031,13111,13200,13369,13551,13744,13945,14094,14235,14399,14622,14825,15000,15196,15405,15617,15733,15857,15978,16105,16248,16404,16566,16756,16958,17188,17343,17550,17746,17943,18167,18420,18696,18855,19036,19174,19351,19554,19692,19821,19947,20073,20208,20392,20567,20773,20957,21114,21233,21351,21479,21602,21723,21865,22065,22304,22459,22646,22834,23041,23251,23476],{"id":5,"title":6,"author":7,"body":8,"category":141,"date":142,"description":143,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":146,"imageAlt":147,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":151,"navigation":152,"path":153,"readTime":154,"seo":155,"stem":156,"tags":157,"__hash__":163},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-heat.md","Climbing in the heat: how to get a good session when it is too hot","The Sendit Team",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":130},"minimark",[11,16,20,23,27,30,33,36,40,43,46,49,53,56,59,63,66,69,104,107,111,114,117,120,124,127],[12,13,15],"h2",{"id":14},"the-grade-did-not-change-the-air-did","The grade did not change, the air did",[17,18,19],"p",{},"There is a particular kind of July session where nothing works. Holds you were solid on in April now spit you off. Your fingers slide, your feet feel vague, and you start quietly wondering whether you have got worse. You have not. The rock is the same. The air around it is not.",[17,21,22],{},"Every climber loses something in the heat, and the honest response is not to grit your teeth through it. It is to change what you are doing. A hot week is not a write-off, it just needs a different plan.",[12,24,26],{"id":25},"it-is-the-sweat-not-the-thermometer","It is the sweat, not the thermometer",[17,28,29],{},"The usual story is that warm rock is slippery rock. The more interesting version is that the biggest problem is you.",[17,31,32],{},"Friction Labs, reviewing the research on climbing performance, makes the point plainly: temperature seems to have minimal effects on skin friction and force production, while humidity has a larger indirect effect through increased heart rate, sweat response and general discomfort. In other words, the heat is not softening the rock. It is opening your pores, and wet skin does not stick.",[17,34,35],{},"That is a useful thing to know, because it changes what you actually do about it. Chasing a few degrees is less important than chasing dry air and dry hands. A muggy 22°C day will feel far worse than a dry 26°C one, and if you have ever had a brilliant session in genuinely hot but bone-dry conditions, that is why.",[12,37,39],{"id":38},"chase-the-hours-not-the-day","Chase the hours, not the day",[17,41,42],{},"Give up on the middle of the day. Between roughly eleven and four you are climbing at the worst time, in the worst light, on the warmest rock, with the most sweat.",[17,44,45],{},"Early morning is the quiet win. The rock has cooled overnight, the air is drier, and nobody else is there. Evening works too, though rock holds heat for hours after the sun leaves it, so a west-facing crag at seven in the evening can still feel like an oven. North-facing walls and anything in tree shade are the reliable picks. If a crag gets sun until noon, arrive at six and be finished by ten.",[17,47,48],{},"The same logic works indoors. Most walls are hottest and busiest from six to nine in the evening. An early session, or a weekday afternoon if you can manage it, is a different building entirely.",[12,50,52],{"id":51},"go-where-it-is-cold","Go where it is cold",[17,54,55],{},"Summer is the season some places come into their own. High-altitude granite, deep forest boulders, shaded limestone gorges and anything with a river running through it. Magic Wood in the Averstal sits at 1,300 metres under pine trees with cold water through the middle, which is exactly why it is a July venue and not an April one.",[17,57,58],{},"Height helps more than most people expect. So does aspect, and so does water. If your local crag is a south-facing suntrap, the fix is not better technique, it is a different postcode.",[12,60,62],{"id":61},"change-what-the-session-is-for","Change what the session is for",[17,64,65],{},"This is the part that actually makes a difference over a summer. If conditions will not let you climb at your limit, stop trying to.",[17,67,68],{},"A hot session is a poor day for redpointing a project and a good day for almost everything else:",[70,71,72,80,86,92,98],"ul",{},[73,74,75,79],"li",{},[76,77,78],"strong",{},"Volume on easy ground."," Mileage, movement, mileage. Nothing here needs perfect friction.",[73,81,82,85],{},[76,83,84],{},"Technique work."," Silent feet, straight arms, precise placements. Bad friction is honest feedback; if your feet are sloppy, you will know immediately.",[73,87,88,91],{},[76,89,90],{},"Weaknesses."," The slab you avoid, the style you are bad at, the arete you have never touched.",[73,93,94,97],{},[76,95,96],{},"Strength and antagonists."," Pull-ups, core, shoulders, the work that never needed the rock to be sticky.",[73,99,100,103],{},[76,101,102],{},"Rest."," Genuinely. A deliberate down week in the worst of the heat is not lost time, it is the down week you were going to need anyway.",[17,105,106],{},"Log the session honestly and the summer stops looking like a gap. Track what you did and by September you will see the volume and the technique work sitting underneath whatever you send in autumn.",[12,108,110],{"id":109},"small-things-that-help","Small things that help",[17,112,113],{},"Skin first. Sweat softens the outer layers, and soft skin wears through fast, so a hot day is when flappers happen. Dry your hands properly before you pull on rather than chalking over damp fingers, because chalk on wet skin is just paste. Liquid chalk under a normal chalk layer gives you a base that lasts. Brush every hold you are about to use, since old chalk and grease from the last twenty attempts are doing you no favours.",[17,115,116],{},"Then the boring things that are not boring at all. Drink more than you think, and take salt with it, not just sugar. Sit in the shade between goes rather than standing in the sun looking at the problem. Give yourself longer rests than usual, because your heart rate is already elevated before you leave the ground. Keep your shoes out of direct sun, as hot rubber goes soft and vague.",[17,118,119],{},"And take fewer, better goes. Six half-hearted attempts on greasy rock cost you skin and teach you nothing. Two properly rested tries with dry hands are worth more.",[12,121,123],{"id":122},"the-season-is-not-the-enemy","The season is not the enemy",[17,125,126],{},"Every climber has a summer where they feel like they are going backwards. Mostly they are not, they are just measuring themselves against conditions that have changed.",[17,128,129],{},"Shift the hours, find the shade, pick sessions that suit greasy skin, and let the project wait for autumn. The rock will be sticky again in October, and the person turning up to it will be fitter, more precise and better rested than the one who spent July losing to a heatwave.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":133},"",2,[134,135,136,137,138,139,140],{"id":14,"depth":132,"text":15},{"id":25,"depth":132,"text":26},{"id":38,"depth":132,"text":39},{"id":51,"depth":132,"text":52},{"id":61,"depth":132,"text":62},{"id":109,"depth":132,"text":110},{"id":122,"depth":132,"text":123},"Training & technique","2026-07-17","July turns every hold greasy and every session into a fight. How to time it, where to go, and what to change so a hot week still moves your climbing forward.",false,"md","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1586627161720-ee2849303aee?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on sunlit rock on a hot summer day","Patrick Hendry","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@worldsbetweenlines",null,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-heat",6,{"title":6,"description":143},"blog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-heat",[158,159,160,161,162],"conditions","summer","friction","skin","training","c-5bU0cKtMOGkA2Y8syZMelhZhprGIUjnn-icLHkFVk",{"id":165,"title":166,"author":7,"body":167,"category":141,"date":279,"description":280,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":281,"imageAlt":282,"imageCredit":283,"imageCreditUrl":284,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":285,"navigation":152,"path":286,"readTime":154,"seo":287,"stem":288,"tags":289,"__hash__":294},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-climb-slopers.md","How to climb slopers: how to hold what has no edge",{"type":9,"value":168,"toc":269},[169,173,176,179,183,186,189,193,196,199,203,206,209,213,216,219,223,226,229,233,236,262,266],[12,170,172],{"id":171},"the-hold-you-cannot-grab","The hold you cannot grab",[17,174,175],{},"Most holds give you something to pull on. An edge, a pocket, a lip for your fingers to curl over. A sloper gives you none of that. It is a rounded, featureless bulge, and the first time you meet one it feels like trying to hold onto a bowling ball. Your hand slides, your feet cut, and you come off wondering what you were meant to do with it.",[17,177,178],{},"The answer is that you were never meant to grab it. You press on it. Once that clicks, slopers stop being the holds you dread and start being the holds you quietly enjoy, because they reward good climbing over raw finger strength.",[12,180,182],{"id":181},"it-is-friction-not-grip-strength","It is friction, not grip strength",[17,184,185],{},"A sloper holds you on by friction alone. There is no positive edge doing any of the work, so the only thing keeping your hand there is how much skin you get on the rock and how cleanly you load it.",[17,187,188],{},"That gives you two things to control. The first is surface contact. Get as much of your hand on the hold as you can: full palm, finger pads spread wide, thumb down and pressing. A wide, soft hand grips a sloper far better than tight, bunched fingers. The second is direction, which is the part most people miss.",[12,190,192],{"id":191},"get-your-weight-under-the-hold","Get your weight under the hold",[17,194,195],{},"A sloper only works when you pull straight down through it, in line with the surface. The moment you lean out or drag it sideways, the angle changes and your hand greases off.",[17,197,198],{},"So the biggest fix for slopers is not your hand at all, it is your body. Drop your hips, keep your arms straight, and get your centre of gravity directly below the hold. Straight arms hang your weight cleanly down the line the sloper wants. Bent arms pull you out and away, which is exactly the direction that makes it slip. Low, heavy and long is the shape you are after.",[12,200,202],{"id":201},"stay-still","Stay still",[17,204,205],{},"Slopers punish movement. Every time you readjust your hand you break the friction for a moment, and on a bad sloper that moment is all it takes to come off. Set the hand once, weight it, and try not to fidget with it.",[17,207,208],{},"The same goes for the whole move. Climb through a sloper smoothly rather than in sharp, snatchy pulls. Slow and quiet keeps the skin planted. Fast and scrabbly rips it off. If you watch a strong climber on slopers, the striking thing is how calm their hands look while everything else does the work.",[12,210,212],{"id":211},"feet-win-sloper-moves","Feet win sloper moves",[17,214,215],{},"Because you cannot pull hard on the hold, your feet have to carry more than usual. High, precise feet let you press your weight up into the sloper instead of hanging off it, which keeps that downward line you need.",[17,217,218],{},"Think about pushing up rather than pulling down. Keep your feet on, keep them loaded, and use them to drive your body into a position where the sloper is underneath you. A good foot placement often does more for a sloper than any amount of squeezing with the hand.",[12,220,222],{"id":221},"skin-chalk-and-the-weather","Skin, chalk and the weather",[17,224,225],{},"Friction is physical, so conditions matter more on slopers than on any other hold. Warm, damp hands are the enemy, which is why a July heatwave makes every sloper feel a full grade worse. This is not in your head. The rock is genuinely more slippery when it is hot.",[17,227,228],{},"Chalk up properly, and brush the hold to clear grease and old chalk before you commit. If you can, save your sloper projects for early morning or the evening when it is cooler and the skin stays dry. Cool, dry skin on a clean hold can turn something you slid off all afternoon into something that suddenly sticks.",[12,230,232],{"id":231},"drills-that-build-sloper-trust","Drills that build sloper trust",[17,234,235],{},"The fastest way to get comfortable is to spend time on them on easy ground, where a slip costs nothing.",[70,237,238,244,250,256],{},[73,239,240,243],{},[76,241,242],{},"Sloper laps."," On a board or an easy overhang, pick a problem that uses rounded holds and climb it again and again until your hands stop panicking.",[73,245,246,249],{},[76,247,248],{},"The hover drill."," Match both hands on a sloper, then lift one and hover it in the air for a few seconds. It teaches you how much a single well-set hand can actually hold.",[73,251,252,255],{},[76,253,254],{},"Slow motion."," Climb an easy sloper problem as slowly as you can. Moving slowly forces good body position and stops you snatching.",[73,257,258,261],{},[76,259,260],{},"Log what worked."," When a sloper finally sticks, note the body position that made it happen. Track your sessions and the patterns show up fast, so you start reading slopers from the ground instead of discovering them halfway up.",[12,263,265],{"id":264},"press-do-not-grab","Press, do not grab",[17,267,268],{},"Slopers feel impossible right up until the day they do not. Nothing about them is about crushing the hold. Get your weight underneath it, keep your arm straight and your hand soft, drive through good feet, and hold everything still. Give them a season of honest practice and the holds you used to skip become the ones you trust. Chalk up, stay calm, and press.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":270},[271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278],{"id":171,"depth":132,"text":172},{"id":181,"depth":132,"text":182},{"id":191,"depth":132,"text":192},{"id":201,"depth":132,"text":202},{"id":211,"depth":132,"text":212},{"id":221,"depth":132,"text":222},{"id":231,"depth":132,"text":232},{"id":264,"depth":132,"text":265},"2026-07-16","Slopers feel hopeless until you stop trying to grip them. How friction, a low body position and staying still turn rounded holds into holds you can actually trust.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F8728466\u002Fpexels-photo-8728466.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","A climber pressing down on a large rounded sloping hold","Katya Wolf","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@katya-wolf",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-climb-slopers",{"title":166,"description":280},"blog\u002Fhow-to-climb-slopers",[290,291,292,293,160],"technique","slopers","grip","bouldering","rEbMyw7fj8BE3kWDfC5dYfADyGaiEG3bAv4WN4SVGB8",{"id":296,"title":297,"author":7,"body":298,"category":141,"date":425,"description":426,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":427,"imageAlt":428,"imageCredit":429,"imageCreditUrl":430,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":431,"navigation":152,"path":432,"readTime":154,"seo":433,"stem":434,"tags":435,"__hash__":439},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fheel-hooks-and-toe-hooks.md","Heel hooks and toe hooks: how to climb with your feet",{"type":9,"value":299,"toc":416},[300,304,307,310,314,317,320,331,334,338,341,344,347,350,354,357,360,363,367,370,396,400,403,406,409,413],[12,301,303],{"id":302},"feet-do-more-than-hold-you-up","Feet do more than hold you up",[17,305,306],{},"Most of us learn to climb from the hands down. We reach, we pull, and the feet just keep us on the wall. That works until the wall tips past vertical. On steep ground your feet start to swing off, your hips sag away from the rock, and every hand move costs twice what it should. This is where hooks come in. A heel hook and a toe hook turn your feet from pedestals into holds that grip, so two more limbs join the effort instead of dangling.",[17,308,309],{},"Learning to hook well is one of the biggest jumps most climbers make. It is not about power. It is about knowing when a foot can pull, and trusting it enough to weight it.",[12,311,313],{"id":312},"what-a-heel-hook-actually-does","What a heel hook actually does",[17,315,316],{},"A heel hook is exactly what it sounds like. You place the heel of your shoe on a hold, an edge or a volume, and pull with it, usually toward your own body. The work comes from your hamstring and glute, not your calf, so it feels more like a leg curl than standing on a foothold.",[17,318,319],{},"Use one when:",[70,321,322,325,328],{},[73,323,324],{},"You are on steep or overhanging rock and your feet keep cutting loose.",[73,326,327],{},"A hold is level with or above your waist and you want to bring your hips in.",[73,329,330],{},"You are topping out and need to haul a foot up beside a hand to rock over.",[17,332,333],{},"The value of a good heel hook is that it takes weight off your fingers. Set it right and you can sometimes let a hand go completely.",[12,335,337],{"id":336},"how-to-heel-hook-well","How to heel hook well",[17,339,340],{},"Placement first. Put the point of the heel, not the back of the shoe, on the best part of the hold. Look at it land, the same way you would place a toe.",[17,342,343],{},"Then engage before you move. Pull the heel toward you and feel the hamstring switch on, so the foot is already loaded before you shift your weight across. A heel that is only resting on the hold will pop the moment you pull with your hands.",[17,345,346],{},"Point your toes and turn the knee. Small changes in how your foot and knee are angled change everything about how the heel bites. If it feels loose, rotate the knee in or out and try again rather than just pulling harder.",[17,348,349],{},"Keep the tension all the way through the next move. The common failure is setting a lovely heel, then relaxing it as you reach, so it slides off at the worst moment. The hook is only working while you are actively pulling on it.",[12,351,353],{"id":352},"toe-hooks-the-quiet-partner","Toe hooks, the quiet partner",[17,355,356],{},"A toe hook is the mirror image. You catch the top of your foot, the laces area, under or behind a hold and pull, dragging your body in the opposite direction to a heel hook. Where a heel pulls you up and in, a toe stops you swinging out.",[17,358,359],{},"Toe hooks shine on roofs and steep aretes, anywhere your body wants to barn-door or your legs want to cut loose behind you. On a roof, a toe hook can be the only thing keeping you attached while both hands move. They are less dramatic than a big heel, but on the right move they are the difference between staying on and spinning off.",[17,361,362],{},"To toe hook well, point the toe hard and pull the foot toward your backside to keep the tension. Rubber on the top of the shoe is what grips, so the harder you point and pull, the more you get. Like the heel, a toe hook only holds while you keep it switched on.",[12,364,366],{"id":365},"the-mistakes-that-cost-you","The mistakes that cost you",[17,368,369],{},"A few errors show up again and again:",[70,371,372,378,384,390],{},[73,373,374,377],{},[76,375,376],{},"Placing and forgetting."," A hook is an active hold, not a rest. Keep pulling on it until the move is done.",[73,379,380,383],{},[76,381,382],{},"Hooking with a soft leg."," If the hamstring or the toe is not engaged, the foot is just balanced there and will slip.",[73,385,386,389],{},[76,387,388],{},"Ignoring the knee."," The angle of your knee and hip decides whether a heel bites or greases off. Adjust the position, not just the effort.",[73,391,392,395],{},[76,393,394],{},"Only trusting hands."," Many climbers set a good hook and still try to do the whole move with their arms. Let the leg take real weight. That is the whole point.",[12,397,399],{"id":398},"how-to-get-better-at-hooking","How to get better at hooking",[17,401,402],{},"The fastest way to improve is deliberate practice on easy ground, where a slip costs nothing.",[17,404,405],{},"Pick a steep board or an overhanging section of the gym and give yourself a rule: every foot move must be a hook. Heel where you can, toe where you cannot. It will feel clumsy at first and your problems will feel harder, which is the point. You are teaching your legs to pull.",[17,407,408],{},"On the Kilter or any home board, setting a few problems that force high heels and toe catches builds the specific strength and the trust together. And when you log your sessions, note the problems where a hook made the move click. Patterns show up fast, and you start spotting hook opportunities from the ground rather than discovering them halfway up.",[12,410,412],{"id":411},"pull-with-everything","Pull with everything",[17,414,415],{},"Climbing gets easier the moment you stop thinking of your feet as things that only hold you up. A heel that hauls your hips in, a toe that stops the swing, and suddenly steep rock feels a grade friendlier. Start on easy problems, place each hook like you mean it, keep it switched on through the move, and give it a season. Your fingers will thank you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":417},[418,419,420,421,422,423,424],{"id":302,"depth":132,"text":303},{"id":312,"depth":132,"text":313},{"id":336,"depth":132,"text":337},{"id":352,"depth":132,"text":353},{"id":365,"depth":132,"text":366},{"id":398,"depth":132,"text":399},{"id":411,"depth":132,"text":412},"2026-07-14","On steep rock your feet can pull, not just stand. How heel hooks and toe hooks work, when to use each, and the drills that teach your legs to take real weight.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1630431155308-bbf2daf27b00?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A boulderer pulling in on steep overhanging rock","Gregory Hayes","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@gregoryallen",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fheel-hooks-and-toe-hooks",{"title":297,"description":426},"blog\u002Fheel-hooks-and-toe-hooks",[290,436,437,438,293],"footwork","heel hook","toe hook","hbgb4scKW1Fy4MGzu2U0FYd7SmLm0xBKESpDqbo0hrg",{"id":441,"title":442,"author":7,"body":443,"category":141,"date":550,"description":551,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":552,"imageAlt":553,"imageCredit":554,"imageCreditUrl":555,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":556,"navigation":152,"path":557,"readTime":154,"seo":558,"stem":559,"tags":560,"__hash__":563},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-after-your-climbing-skin.md","Looking after your climbing skin",{"type":9,"value":444,"toc":541},[445,449,452,455,459,462,465,468,472,475,501,505,508,511,515,518,521,524,528,531,534,538],[12,446,448],{"id":447},"the-limit-nobody-trains-for","The limit nobody trains for",[17,450,451],{},"Most climbers train fingers, core and technique, and then get stopped by their skin. You are strong enough for the move, but the tips have gone shiny and hot, the edge feels like it is buttered, and every attempt makes it worse. Skin is the one part of the system that cannot be muscled through, and in summer it takes the most punishment of the year.",[17,453,454],{},"Heat is the problem. Warm hands sweat, sweat softens the skin, and soft skin tears or greases off holds instead of sticking. On rock the sun bakes the stone until the friction goes and the edges feel sharper than they did at dawn. Learn to manage your hands and you get more good attempts out of every session, indoors and out. Ignore them and you lose days to a single flapper.",[12,456,458],{"id":457},"know-your-own-hands-first","Know your own hands first",[17,460,461],{},"There is no single skin routine, because there are roughly two kinds of climbing skin and they want opposite things.",[17,463,464],{},"Sweaty, soft skin greases off holds when it is warm and needs drying out. If your tips go damp and slick after a few minutes, you want more chalk, more brushing, and cooler conditions. Antihydral and similar drying agents help the worst cases, used sparingly, because too much swings you the other way into cracked, glassy skin.",[17,466,467],{},"Dry, splitty skin does the opposite. It looks tough but it cracks along the creases and splits under a sharp crimp. This type wants moisture back in overnight and files that keep the calluses flat rather than letting them build into ridges that peel. Work out which camp you are in before you copy anyone else's setup, because the fix for one makes the other worse.",[12,469,471],{"id":470},"in-the-session","In the session",[17,473,474],{},"The best skin care happens while you climb, not after. A few habits pay off every time.",[70,476,477,483,489,495],{},[73,478,479,482],{},[76,480,481],{},"Chalk to dry, not to coat."," Chalk manages moisture, it does not add grip on its own. A light, even layer that dries the tips beats a thick paste that just fills the texture of the hold. Rechalk when your hands warm up, and blow the excess off.",[73,484,485,488],{},[76,486,487],{},"Brush the holds."," A brushed hold is a grippier hold, and it means you press less hard to stay on, which saves skin. Keep a brush on your harness or in your bag and use it on anything polished or chalked up.",[73,490,491,494],{},[76,492,493],{},"Stop before the tear, not after."," Skin gives you warning. When a tip goes hot, shiny and tender, that is the last honest attempt, not the fifth. One more go on glassy skin is how a manageable session becomes a week off. Walk away with something in the tank.",[73,496,497,500],{},[76,498,499],{},"Mind the sun."," Outdoors, chase shade and cooler hours. The same problem at ten in the morning can feel a full grade easier at eight, purely because the rock and your hands are cool.",[12,502,504],{"id":503},"files-not-just-chalk","Files, not just chalk",[17,506,507],{},"Between sessions, the tool that matters most is a skin file or a piece of fine sandpaper. The goal is simple: keep the surface of your tips smooth and the calluses flat and level with the skin around them.",[17,509,510],{},"A proud callus, sitting up higher than the skin beside it, is a flapper waiting to happen. It catches on an edge and peels a chunk away. Run a file gently over any raised, hard spots until they sit flush, then leave the healthy skin alone. You are levelling the ground, not sanding down to raw skin. Do it when your hands are dry, a little each time, rather than a big session once a month.",[12,512,514],{"id":513},"dealing-with-tears-and-flappers","Dealing with tears and flappers",[17,516,517],{},"Everyone gets them. What matters is what you do next.",[17,519,520],{},"If a flap of skin is still attached and mostly clean, do not rip it off in the moment. Trim it back to the edge of the wound with clean nail scissors once you are home, so nothing catches and reopens it. A ragged flap left hanging tears wider on the next hold.",[17,522,523],{},"Clean the raw patch, let it dry, and keep it uncovered when you are not climbing so it can harden over. Some climbers cover a fresh split with a dab of superglue or a proper skin glue to get through the last problems of a session, which is fine as a short-term patch, but it is not healing, it is buying time. The real repair happens overnight and over rest days.",[12,525,527],{"id":526},"the-overnight-repair","The overnight repair",[17,529,530],{},"Skin rebuilds when you are not using it, and you can help it. If you are the dry, splitty type, a climbing salve or a plain unscented moisturiser before bed puts water back into the tips so they flex instead of cracking. If you are the sweaty type, go easy on the cream and let the skin firm up on its own.",[17,532,533],{},"Sleep, water and food do more than any product. Well-hydrated skin is more elastic and tears less, and a body that is recovering well grows callus faster. None of this is exotic. It is the same recovery that helps your fingers and your head, pointed at the one tissue climbers forget to look after.",[12,535,537],{"id":536},"play-the-long-game","Play the long game",[17,539,540],{},"Good skin is not a single fix, it is a running account. You make small deposits every day, a light file here, a moisturise there, a session ended one attempt early, and you draw on them when a project is finally in condition and you want ten clean goes rather than three. The climbers who send in summer are rarely the ones with the toughest hands. They are the ones who read their skin honestly and stopped fighting it. Learn your own tips, keep them level and cared for, and they will hold up when it counts.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":542},[543,544,545,546,547,548,549],{"id":447,"depth":132,"text":448},{"id":457,"depth":132,"text":458},{"id":470,"depth":132,"text":471},{"id":503,"depth":132,"text":504},{"id":513,"depth":132,"text":514},{"id":526,"depth":132,"text":527},{"id":536,"depth":132,"text":537},"2026-07-13","Skin is the quiet limit on most climbers. How to read your own hands, manage chalk and calluses, deal with tears, and keep your tips in shape through a sweaty summer.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1516594905951-96326d2c3de6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber's chalked hand gripping a rock edge","Brook Anderson","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@brookanderson",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-after-your-climbing-skin",{"title":442,"description":551},"blog\u002Flooking-after-your-climbing-skin",[161,162,561,159,562],"recovery","beginners","DFuzaY2A7AQ6IEHeZXHhUhSNYVAFza543L_pafyhISI",{"id":565,"title":566,"author":7,"body":567,"category":141,"date":663,"description":664,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":665,"imageAlt":666,"imageCredit":667,"imageCreditUrl":668,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":669,"navigation":152,"path":670,"readTime":154,"seo":671,"stem":672,"tags":673,"__hash__":677},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-gaston-how-to-climb-holds-you-push-apart.md","The gaston: how to climb holds you push apart",{"type":9,"value":568,"toc":655},[569,573,576,579,583,586,589,593,596,599,603,606,632,636,639,642,645,649,652],[12,570,572],{"id":571},"the-grip-nobody-reaches-for","The grip nobody reaches for",[17,574,575],{},"Most holds you pull down on. A jug, a crimp, a sloper, the instinct is the same: get your fingers over the top and haul. A gaston asks for the opposite. It is a hold you push away from, thumb pointing down, elbow out to the side, pressing sideways rather than pulling under. Think of prying a set of lift doors apart with one hand. That is the shape.",[17,577,578],{},"It is named after Gaston Rebuffat, the French alpinist who was often photographed in exactly that position, and it is one of the least popular grips in climbing. Most people avoid it because it feels weak and a little awkward, so they twist and campus around it instead. Learn to trust it and a whole set of holds that looked useless suddenly go.",[12,580,582],{"id":581},"why-a-gaston-works","Why a gaston works",[17,584,585],{},"A gaston is opposition, the same physics behind a stem or a lieback. On its own, a hold facing the wrong way gives you nothing to hang from. But push outwards against it while your feet and your other hand pull the other way, and the forces lock. Your body becomes the thing that holds you on, not the grip.",[17,587,588],{},"That is the key idea. You almost never gaston in isolation. It works because something else is pulling against it: a foot pressing out, an opposite side pull, your own hips driving into the wall. Set that opposition well and a thin, sideways edge holds your weight cleanly. Miss it and your hand skates off the second you load it.",[12,590,592],{"id":591},"reading-when-to-use-one","Reading when to use one",[17,594,595],{},"You reach for a gaston when a hold faces into your body rather than up. Picture two holds side by side, both with their best edge pointing inward, towards each other. Pulling down does nothing. But push them apart, one in each hand, and you get a stable, powerful position right in the middle. That double gaston is the classic, and it turns a blank-looking pair of holds into a solid stance.",[17,597,598],{},"More often it is a single gaston paired with a side pull or a good foot. If the only usable edge on a hold points sideways or slightly away, and you have something on the other side to press against, that is the moment. Look at the hold, notice which way its positive edge faces, and let that decide the grip. Fighting a gaston hold with a normal pull is how strong climbers still fall off easy moves.",[12,600,602],{"id":601},"setting-it-up","Setting it up",[17,604,605],{},"The position is specific, and getting it right is most of the battle:",[70,607,608,614,620,626],{},[73,609,610,613],{},[76,611,612],{},"Thumb down, elbow out."," Turn your hand so the thumb points at the floor and your elbow lifts away from your body. Your fingers curl onto the edge and you press outward, away from your midline. If your elbow is tucked in, you are not gastoning, you are just pulling badly.",[73,615,616,619],{},[76,617,618],{},"Load through the feet."," A gaston is only as good as the opposition under it. Get a foot pressing outward or down on the far side so there is something for the hand to work against. The more your legs take, the less the shoulder has to.",[73,621,622,625],{},[76,623,624],{},"Keep the shoulder packed."," This is the grip most likely to nip a shoulder, because the arm is out wide and rotated. Keep the shoulder pulled down and engaged, never hanging loose and passive. A slow, controlled press beats a sudden yank every time.",[73,627,628,631],{},[76,629,630],{},"Stay close to the wall."," Let your hips drift out and the angle turns the gaston into a pure sideways pull with nothing behind it. Hips in, weight stacked over your feet, and the press stays honest.",[12,633,635],{"id":634},"where-it-goes-wrong","Where it goes wrong",[17,637,638],{},"The first mistake is not committing. A half-hearted gaston, where you keep some of your weight ready to bail onto a pull, never sets the opposition properly, so it feels awful and confirms your fear of it. Commit to the press and it holds. Hedge and it will not.",[17,640,641],{},"The second is forgetting the feet. Climbers load the hand, feel it slipping, and pull harder with the arm instead of asking where the counter-pressure is meant to come from. Almost always the answer is a foot doing too little. Find the outward push down low and the hand suddenly has something to work with.",[17,643,644],{},"The third is going too hard on the shoulder. A gaston at full stretch with a cold or tired shoulder is a classic way to tweak something. Warm up the position, keep the joint active, and if a move needs a deep, wrenching gaston you are not ready for, there is no shame in finding another way round.",[12,646,648],{"id":647},"drill-it-in","Drill it in",[17,650,651],{},"Pick an easy problem on a vertical or slightly overhanging wall and climb it hunting for gastons. On the board this is even simpler: set two holds at chest width with their edges facing inward and practise the double gaston, pressing out with both hands while your feet press in. Feel how stable the middle becomes once the opposition is set.",[17,653,654],{},"Then start noticing sideways holds everywhere. Every time you meet an edge that faces into your body, stop and ask whether pushing it beats pulling it. Log the problems where a gaston unlocked a move you had been fighting, and over a few sessions the grip that felt weak and awkward becomes just another tool, the one that quietly gets you through sequences other climbers have to muscle.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":656},[657,658,659,660,661,662],{"id":571,"depth":132,"text":572},{"id":581,"depth":132,"text":582},{"id":591,"depth":132,"text":592},{"id":601,"depth":132,"text":602},{"id":634,"depth":132,"text":635},{"id":647,"depth":132,"text":648},"2026-07-10","A gaston is a hold you push away from instead of pulling down on. How to set the opposition, keep the shoulder safe, and use the one grip most climbers avoid.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1744842091446-ee7a0b8fe2dc?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber gripping a hold on a steep rock face","Creed Ferguson","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@fergilicious_photos",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-gaston-how-to-climb-holds-you-push-apart",{"title":566,"description":664},"blog\u002Fthe-gaston-how-to-climb-holds-you-push-apart",[290,674,292,675,676],"gaston","holds","opposition","hZiYbArHmKV33wr-ieA2vMwuAy77VBtpG7rbMui7cdU",{"id":679,"title":680,"author":7,"body":681,"category":141,"date":778,"description":779,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":780,"imageAlt":781,"imageCredit":782,"imageCreditUrl":783,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":784,"navigation":152,"path":785,"readTime":154,"seo":786,"stem":787,"tags":788,"__hash__":792},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fstemming-how-to-climb-corners-and-dihedrals.md","Stemming: how to climb corners and dihedrals",{"type":9,"value":682,"toc":769},[683,687,690,693,697,700,703,707,710,730,734,737,740,744,747,750,752,755,758,761,763,766],[12,684,686],{"id":685},"a-hold-you-make-yourself","A hold you make yourself",[17,688,689],{},"Walk up to a corner where two walls meet and the holds look thin, and it is easy to feel cheated. There is nothing obvious to pull on. Stemming, sometimes called bridging, is the answer to exactly that. Instead of hanging off holds, you press outwards against the two facing walls and let the opposition hold you in place. Your feet push apart, the friction takes your weight, and suddenly a feature with barely a hold on it becomes somewhere you can stand all day.",[17,691,692],{},"It is one of the few techniques where the wall does the work for you. Learn to read a corner and you will start walking up ground that stops stronger climbers who only know how to pull.",[12,694,696],{"id":695},"why-opposition-works","Why opposition works",[17,698,699],{},"A stem is a simple bit of physics. Push your left foot into the left wall and your right foot into the right wall, and each push holds the other in place. Neither foot would grip on its own, but together they lock. The steeper and smoother the corner, the more you rely on this, and the more precise your foot pressure has to be.",[17,701,702],{},"The prize is that your weight goes down through your legs, which are strong and do not tire quickly, instead of hanging off your fingers, which are neither. A good stem feels almost like standing in a doorway with a foot on each frame. You are braced, not gripping, and that changes how long you can stay there.",[12,704,706],{"id":705},"setting-the-stem","Setting the stem",[17,708,709],{},"The shape matters more than the effort. A few things to get right:",[70,711,712,718,724],{},[73,713,714,717],{},[76,715,716],{},"Feet wide and level."," Spread your feet onto the best bit of each wall you can find, a small edge, a ripple, or just clean rock for a smear. Push them apart, not down. The wider the stance, the more of your push turns into useful sideways pressure.",[73,719,720,723],{},[76,721,722],{},"Hips into the corner."," Keeping your hips close to the back of the corner stacks your weight over your feet and keeps the pressure honest. Let your backside drift out and away from the rock and the stem starts to slip.",[73,725,726,729],{},[76,727,728],{},"Hands palming, not crimping."," In a real corner there is often nothing to hold, so your hands press flat against the walls the same way your feet do. Palm down and out on the sidewalls for balance and a little extra opposition. Look for the odd side pull to steady yourself, but expect to be pressing more than pulling.",[12,731,733],{"id":732},"moving-up-a-corner","Moving up a corner",[17,735,736],{},"You do not stride up a stem, you shuffle. Keep three points of contact pressing while you move the fourth, then swap. Raise one foot to a slightly higher smear, reset the pressure, then walk your palms up the sidewalls to match. Small steps keep the opposition alive. Big reaches break it, and the moment you lose the outward push you are off.",[17,738,739],{},"Watch your feet as they get higher. On a lot of corners the walls narrow as you climb, which actually helps, because a tighter corner needs less pressure to hold. On others the corner opens out and the stem gets desperate right where you want it to be easy. Read that ahead of time so the widening does not catch you by surprise.",[12,741,743],{"id":742},"the-rest-nobody-else-finds","The rest nobody else finds",[17,745,746],{},"The best thing about a stem is the rest hiding inside it. Once you are braced with a foot on each wall and your weight settled over your legs, you can often take a hand off entirely, hang it by your side, and shake the pump out. On a long pitch that no-hands stem can be the difference between clipping the chains and taking the whip.",[17,748,749],{},"Learn to spot these. Any groove, corner or wide feature on a route is a candidate. When you are pumped and looking for somewhere to recover, stop hunting for a jug and ask whether you can bridge across and stand instead.",[12,751,635],{"id":634},[17,753,754],{},"The usual failure is feet too low and too close together. A narrow, low stem gives you almost no sideways push, so your feet skate and you end up fighting it with your arms. Get the feet wider and think about pressing out, not standing on.",[17,756,757],{},"The second mistake is rushing. Stemming rewards a slow, deliberate pace, and punishes the climber who lunges for the next hold and forgets to keep pushing. If a corner feels frantic, you have probably stopped bracing. Reset your feet, get your hips back in, and slow the whole thing down.",[17,759,760],{},"The last one is forgetting your hands can press too. New climbers reach up a corner looking for something to grip and find nothing, then panic. The palms are holds you make, exactly like the feet. Trust them.",[12,762,648],{"id":647},[17,764,765],{},"Find an easy corner or a gym feature where two walls meet, something well within your grade, and climb it using only stems and palms. Ban yourself from proper holds even if they are there. It will feel strange at first, then it clicks, and you start to feel where the opposition lives. Play with hip position and foot width and notice how much the stance changes with each.",[17,767,768],{},"Then try to find the rest on every corner you climb. Bridge out, drop a hand, and see how long you can stand there breathing. Log the routes where a stem saved you a fall or bought you a shake-out, and over a season you will start seeing corners the way good climbers do, not as blank rock, but as a hold you build with your own two feet.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":770},[771,772,773,774,775,776,777],{"id":685,"depth":132,"text":686},{"id":695,"depth":132,"text":696},{"id":705,"depth":132,"text":706},{"id":732,"depth":132,"text":733},{"id":742,"depth":132,"text":743},{"id":634,"depth":132,"text":635},{"id":647,"depth":132,"text":648},"2026-07-07","Stemming turns two opposing walls into a hold you make yourself. How to set the opposition, keep your weight on your feet, and find a rest where there is no rest.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1659666287295-7da26c3f80d4?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber pressing through their feet on a steep wall","Se. Tsuchiya","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@s_tsuchiya",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fstemming-how-to-climb-corners-and-dihedrals",{"title":680,"description":779},"blog\u002Fstemming-how-to-climb-corners-and-dihedrals",[290,789,790,436,791],"stemming","corners","balance","sY7gW2h3_BH2uTnzWtICgR_vQg1s8bpkeLpxTg6eLno",{"id":794,"title":795,"author":7,"body":796,"category":141,"date":885,"description":886,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":887,"imageAlt":888,"imageCredit":889,"imageCreditUrl":890,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":891,"navigation":152,"path":892,"readTime":154,"seo":893,"stem":894,"tags":895,"__hash__":897},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fflagging-how-to-use-your-free-leg-for-balance.md","Flagging: how to use your free leg for balance",{"type":9,"value":797,"toc":877},[798,802,805,808,812,815,818,822,825,845,848,852,855,858,860,863,866,868,871,874],[12,799,801],{"id":800},"the-leg-you-are-not-standing-on","The leg you are not standing on",[17,803,804],{},"Most of the time we think about the foot that is doing the work: the one pressing on a hold, taking weight, driving the next move. Flagging is about the other one. It is the technique of holding your free leg out somewhere useful, so it acts as a counterweight and steadies the whole body instead of dangling underneath you doing nothing.",[17,806,807],{},"If you have ever reached for a far hold and felt your hips swing away like a door on a hinge, you have met the problem flagging solves. That swing is the barn door, and it comes from your weight sitting off to one side of your points of contact with nothing on the other side to balance it. A flagged leg puts weight back on the empty side and the door stays shut.",[12,809,811],{"id":810},"why-a-spare-leg-is-worth-so-much","Why a spare leg is worth so much",[17,813,814],{},"Climbing is a balancing act more than a pulling one. On a lot of moves you only have three useful points of contact: two hands and one foot. That leaves your body free to rotate around them, and gravity will happily spin you into the least helpful position it can find.",[17,816,817],{},"Your free leg is the cheapest fix available. Swinging it out to the side or behind you shifts your centre of gravity across, back over your feet, and the rotation stops. No extra strength required, no better hold needed. You are just using a limb you were about to waste. Watch a strong climber on a slab or a delicate wall and their free foot is almost never hanging straight down. It is always pointed somewhere, doing a job.",[12,819,821],{"id":820},"the-three-flags","The three flags",[17,823,824],{},"There are three positions worth knowing. They are the same idea aimed in different directions, and which one you use depends on where your weight needs to go.",[70,826,827,833,839],{},[73,828,829,832],{},[76,830,831],{},"The side flag."," Your free leg goes out to the side, foot pressed or smeared flat against the wall for a little friction and a lot of balance. This is the one you reach for when you are stepping through on one foot and need to stop your hips turning out. It is the most common flag and the first to learn.",[73,834,835,838],{},[76,836,837],{},"The rear flag, or back flag."," Your free leg swings behind your standing leg and presses on the wall on the far side. It looks awkward the first few times and feels brilliant once it clicks. Use it when the hold you want is up and across, and a side flag would put your leg in the way. The rear flag lets you turn a hip into the wall and reach long.",[73,840,841,844],{},[76,842,843],{},"The inside flag."," Your free leg crosses in front of the standing leg. It is the least used of the three and can feel cramped, but on some sequences it is the only way to keep your weight centred without moving your feet. Keep it in the toolbox even if you rarely take it out.",[17,846,847],{},"None of these need a foothold. The flagging foot is pressing on blank wall or just hanging in a shape. Its whole purpose is balance, not weight bearing.",[12,849,851],{"id":850},"when-to-reach-for-it","When to reach for it",[17,853,854],{},"Flagging earns its keep any time you are down to one foot. That happens more than you would think: a high step where the other foot has nothing to go to, a long reach off a single good foothold, a move on a slab where the holds are spread out and you are stepping through from one to the next.",[17,856,857],{},"The tell is that swing. If you set off on a move and feel your hips start to rotate, or you find yourself gripping harder with your hands to fight a spin, that is a flag waiting to happen. The hands are rarely the answer. Move the free leg to the opposite side of the swing and let it do the fighting for you.",[12,859,635],{"id":634},[17,861,862],{},"The usual mistake is a lazy flag: the leg goes out but stays limp, so it adds no real counterweight. A flag works because you actively press the foot into the wall and hold tension through the leg. Point the toe, put a bit of pressure on, mean it.",[17,864,865],{},"The other mistake is flagging on the wrong side. The free leg has to go to the side opposite your swing, the empty side, or it does nothing. If you are barn-dooring to the right, the leg needs to go left. Get the side wrong and you have simply moved the problem across. When in doubt, feel which way your body wants to spin and send the leg the other way.",[12,867,648],{"id":647},[17,869,870],{},"Pick an easy vertical problem or a stretch of slab, something well below your limit, and climb it trying to keep one foot flagged on every move where you are on a single foot. Slow right down. Notice how much quieter your body goes once the free leg is placed, and how the hands stop having to work so hard.",[17,872,873],{},"Then find a move that keeps spitting you off sideways and treat it as a flagging puzzle rather than a strength one. Try a side flag, then a rear flag, and feel which one settles you. Nine times out of ten the move was never too hard, your balance was just leaking out through a leg you were not using.",[17,875,876],{},"Log the sessions where flagging turned a scrappy move into a calm one, and the problems where you kept swinging off. Over a few weeks you will see the pattern, and reaching a leg out to stay balanced will stop being a thing you remember to do and start being a thing you just do.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":878},[879,880,881,882,883,884],{"id":800,"depth":132,"text":801},{"id":810,"depth":132,"text":811},{"id":820,"depth":132,"text":821},{"id":850,"depth":132,"text":851},{"id":634,"depth":132,"text":635},{"id":647,"depth":132,"text":648},"2026-07-06","Flagging turns a spare leg into a counterweight that kills the swing before it starts. Here is how the rear, side and inside flags work, and when to reach for each.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1659125017950-c0d2cd51c0ac?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A boulderer with one leg swung out to the side as a counterweight on a steep wall","Dennis Yu","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@far_out",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fflagging-how-to-use-your-free-leg-for-balance",{"title":795,"description":886},"blog\u002Fflagging-how-to-use-your-free-leg-for-balance",[290,896,436,791,293],"flagging","dVtPMWsETUiokTgw00EO8vltXzCp3UKY7UOsBTptO8g",{"id":899,"title":900,"author":7,"body":901,"category":141,"date":1005,"description":1006,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":552,"imageAlt":1007,"imageCredit":554,"imageCreditUrl":555,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1008,"navigation":152,"path":1009,"readTime":154,"seo":1010,"stem":1011,"tags":1012,"__hash__":1014},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-climb-an-arete.md","How to climb an arete: balance, palming and trusting the edge",{"type":9,"value":902,"toc":996},[903,907,910,913,917,920,923,927,930,933,937,940,966,970,973,976,980,983,986,990,993],[12,904,906],{"id":905},"what-an-arete-actually-is","What an arete actually is",[17,908,909],{},"An arete is the outside corner of the rock, the edge where two faces meet and point out at you rather than folding away. Gritstone is full of them, from the classic prows on the moors to the boulder edges you walk past in the gym. They look striking and they climb like nothing else, because most of the time there is nothing obvious to hold. The line is the feature.",[17,911,912],{},"That is the whole puzzle. On a normal wall you pull in towards the rock. On an arete the holds often face opposite directions on either side of the edge, so pulling in does not work. You have to squeeze the corner instead, and let your feet and body position do most of the job.",[12,914,916],{"id":915},"squeeze-do-not-pull","Squeeze, do not pull",[17,918,919],{},"The core idea on an arete is compression. Instead of pulling down on holds, you press in on both sides of the edge at once, so your two hands and two feet work against each other and pinch the rock between them. A flat side pull for the left hand, a sloping edge for the right, and the tension between them is what keeps you on.",[17,921,922],{},"It feels strange the first few times. You are not hanging off a positive hold, you are holding a shape. The rock stays put because you are gripping it from opposite sides, the way you would carry a heavy box with no handles. Trust that squeeze and a lot of blank-looking edges suddenly go.",[12,924,926],{"id":925},"palm-the-blank-sides","Palm the blank sides",[17,928,929],{},"Half the holds on an arete are not holds at all. They are flat panels of rock that you press a palm against for balance and a little friction. A hand pushing flat on the side of the edge gives you something to stack against without needing anything positive to grip.",[17,931,932],{},"Use palms to steer and to hold the compression. Often one hand is on a real edge and the other is just pressed flat on the face, and the two together keep you square to the rock. If you catch yourself hunting for a crimp where there plainly is not one, drop the hand flat instead and push.",[12,934,936],{"id":935},"feet-win-it","Feet win it",[17,938,939],{},"Aretes are footwork problems wearing a scary costume. Because there is little to pull on, your feet carry more of your weight than usual, and where you put them decides everything.",[70,941,942,948,954,960],{},[73,943,944,947],{},[76,945,946],{},"Smear the sides."," Just like your hands, your feet often press flat on the blank faces either side of the edge rather than standing on holds. Drop the heel, get rubber on rock and trust the friction.",[73,949,950,953],{},[76,951,952],{},"One foot each side."," Bridging your feet onto opposite faces lets you push out against the corner and take the swing out of your body. It is the footwork version of the same squeeze your hands are doing.",[73,955,956,959],{},[76,957,958],{},"High feet, hips in."," Getting a foot high and pressing your hips close to the edge keeps your weight over the rock instead of hanging off your arms. The higher you can step, the less your hands have to hold.",[73,961,962,965],{},[76,963,964],{},"Outside edge."," Standing on the outside edge of the shoe, little-toe side, lets you turn a hip into the rock and reach past the corner without spinning off.",[12,967,969],{"id":968},"stop-the-barn-door","Stop the barn door",[17,971,972],{},"The classic way to fall off an arete is the barn door. Your body swings out sideways like a door on a hinge, because your weight is off to one side of the edge with nothing to counter it, and once it starts you cannot pull it back.",[17,974,975],{},"The fix is counter-pressure and body position. A flag, one leg swung out to the side as a counterweight, kills the swing before it starts. So does dropping a heel or a knee to hook the corner, or twisting so your hips face the rock rather than sitting square. If you feel the door beginning to open, the answer is almost never to grip harder with your hands. It is to move a foot or a hip to rebalance.",[12,977,979],{"id":978},"commit-to-the-edge","Commit to the edge",[17,981,982],{},"Aretes ask for commitment more than most climbing. Because the holds are indirect and the position feels precarious, it is tempting to climb them tentatively, half in and half out. That usually makes the barn door worse. Once you have the compression set and your feet placed, move with intent to the next position rather than fluttering between them.",[17,984,985],{},"Watch someone good on an arete and it looks calm and continuous. They are constantly resetting the squeeze, one side then the other, feet following hands, never letting the tension drop long enough to swing.",[12,987,989],{"id":988},"build-it-in","Build it in",[17,991,992],{},"Most walls have an arete somewhere, even if it is just the corner of a bouldering panel. Seek them out and treat them as their own skill. Climb an easy one focusing only on pressing the two sides together. Try one with your feet smeared rather than on holds. Practise flagging the moment you feel a swing.",[17,994,995],{},"Log the sessions where the compression clicked and the problems where you kept barn-dooring, and you will see fast whether the fix is your feet, your hips or your nerve. Aretes stop feeling like a trick the day you accept the rock is not going to give you a handle, and start climbing the shape instead.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":997},[998,999,1000,1001,1002,1003,1004],{"id":905,"depth":132,"text":906},{"id":915,"depth":132,"text":916},{"id":925,"depth":132,"text":926},{"id":935,"depth":132,"text":936},{"id":968,"depth":132,"text":969},{"id":978,"depth":132,"text":979},{"id":988,"depth":132,"text":989},"2026-07-03","Aretes reward balance and body position over raw pulling power. Here is how to use compression, palm the blank sides, keep your hips in and stop barn-dooring off the edge.","A climber balanced on the outside edge of a gritstone arete with feet smeared on the blank sides",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-climb-an-arete",{"title":900,"description":1006},"blog\u002Fhow-to-climb-an-arete",[290,1013,436,293],"arete","jBcLre0CvxYDIvcLQFzZ0Hn4a7kSQ-DpdHuGi7dS448",{"id":1016,"title":1017,"author":7,"body":1018,"category":141,"date":1117,"description":1118,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":146,"imageAlt":1119,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1120,"navigation":152,"path":1121,"readTime":154,"seo":1122,"stem":1123,"tags":1124,"__hash__":1126},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-climb-slabs.md","How to climb slabs: trusting your feet on low-angle rock",{"type":9,"value":1019,"toc":1109},[1020,1024,1027,1030,1034,1037,1040,1043,1047,1050,1053,1079,1083,1086,1089,1093,1096,1099,1103,1106],[12,1021,1023],{"id":1022},"why-slabs-feel-so-wrong","Why slabs feel so wrong",[17,1025,1026],{},"Slabs are the walls that lean back below vertical, where the rock is under your hands rather than over your head. They look like the easy option and they humble people daily. The reason is simple. On a steep wall your hands do a lot of the work, so strength covers for sloppy feet. On a slab there is nothing to pull on, so the feet do everything, and any gap in your footwork shows up at once.",[17,1028,1029],{},"That is what makes slabs worth practising. They are the honest test of whether you can actually stand on rock, or whether you have been getting up things by hauling.",[12,1031,1033],{"id":1032},"weight-over-your-feet-not-into-the-wall","Weight over your feet, not into the wall",[17,1035,1036],{},"The instinct on a slab is to hug the rock. You feel exposed, so you lean in, press your chest to the wall and try to get as close as you can. It feels safer. It is the fastest way to slip.",[17,1038,1039],{},"Leaning in tips your weight away from your feet and out towards your heels, and the moment the pressure comes off the front of the shoe, it skates. What you want is the opposite. Stand up tall, get your hips back over your feet, and keep your weight stacked straight down through the soles. Trust the friction. A shoe pressed straight down onto rock holds far more than most people believe, and far more than a shoe you are trying to smear while hanging off it sideways.",[17,1041,1042],{},"Think of it as standing on the rock rather than clinging to it. The closer your body gets to a normal, upright standing posture, the more the rubber does its job.",[12,1044,1046],{"id":1045},"use-the-whole-foot","Use the whole foot",[17,1048,1049],{},"On steep ground you climb on the front point of the shoe, the bit right by your big toe. On a slab that often changes. When there is no real edge to stand on, you are relying on friction across as much rubber as you can get down, so you roll onto the ball of the foot and drop the heel a little to press more of the sole flat against the rock. That is smearing, and a slab is where it earns its keep.",[17,1051,1052],{},"When there is an edge or a dish, use it, but keep the same principle. Set the foot deliberately, look at it, and then commit your weight through it in one move rather than dabbing and hoping. Slabs reward patience with the feet more than any other angle.",[70,1054,1055,1061,1067,1073],{},[73,1056,1057,1060],{},[76,1058,1059],{},"Quiet feet."," Place, do not slap. A foot that lands softly lands where you aimed it.",[73,1062,1063,1066],{},[76,1064,1065],{},"Look at the foot until it is weighted."," Do not glance away mid-move. Watch it bite, then trust it.",[73,1068,1069,1072],{},[76,1070,1071],{},"Small steps."," High, greedy steps drag your weight off your lower foot. Move up in shorter reaches and stay balanced.",[73,1074,1075,1078],{},[76,1076,1077],{},"Heels down when you smear."," Dropping the heel presses more rubber onto the rock and stops the calf pumping.",[12,1080,1082],{"id":1081},"hands-are-for-balance-not-power","Hands are for balance, not power",[17,1084,1085],{},"On a slab your hands are steering, not lifting. Often the best handholds are nothing more than a flat palm pressed on the rock, or a couple of fingers laid over a ripple to stop you tipping. Use them to keep your balance while your feet do the climbing, and resist the urge to grab and pull. If you find yourself yarding on your arms on a slab, it usually means your feet are in the wrong place or your weight has drifted back.",[17,1087,1088],{},"Palming works because it adds a second point of downward pressure. A flat hand pushing down and slightly out gives you something to balance against without needing a positive hold at all.",[12,1090,1092],{"id":1091},"the-head-is-half-the-battle","The head is half the battle",[17,1094,1095],{},"Slabs frighten people because a slip means a slide, and a slide feels worse than a clean fall even when it is harmless. That fear makes you lean in, which makes you slip, which confirms the fear. It is a loop worth breaking.",[17,1097,1098],{},"The way out is to commit to your feet on easy ground until trusting them stops feeling like a gamble. Spend a session on slabs well within your grade. Stand up on smears you are sure will hold. Feel how much they take before they go. Once your body has proof that the friction is real, the panic that pulls you into the wall starts to fade, and you can climb the harder ones with your weight where it belongs.",[12,1100,1102],{"id":1101},"build-it-into-your-sessions","Build it into your sessions",[17,1104,1105],{},"You do not need a special wall for this. Most gyms have low-angle terrain that everyone walks past on the way to the steep stuff. Warm up on it. Downclimb it. Pick a slab problem a couple of grades below your limit and climb it as slowly and quietly as you can, watching every foot.",[17,1107,1108],{},"Log the sessions where slabs clicked and the moves where you skidded, and the pattern will show you fast whether the problem is your weight, your feet or your nerve. Footwork is a skill you build by repetition, not one you are born with, and the slab is the most patient teacher there is.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1110},[1111,1112,1113,1114,1115,1116],{"id":1022,"depth":132,"text":1023},{"id":1032,"depth":132,"text":1033},{"id":1045,"depth":132,"text":1046},{"id":1081,"depth":132,"text":1082},{"id":1091,"depth":132,"text":1092},{"id":1101,"depth":132,"text":1102},"2026-07-02","Slabs punish bad footwork and reward balance over strength. Here is how to stand on nothing, keep your weight in the right place, and stop skidding off the easy-looking wall.","A climber balanced on a low-angle slab with their weight stacked over their feet",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-climb-slabs",{"title":1017,"description":1118},"blog\u002Fhow-to-climb-slabs",[290,436,1125,562],"slab","udlMQRkEEIpZf6DZfM_q7TdUn8LvT3WpiIwVco2rmIc",{"id":1128,"title":1129,"author":7,"body":1130,"category":141,"date":1233,"description":1234,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":146,"imageAlt":1235,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1236,"navigation":152,"path":1237,"readTime":154,"seo":1238,"stem":1239,"tags":1240,"__hash__":1243},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcompression-climbing-how-to-squeeze-your-way-up.md","Compression climbing: how to squeeze your way up",{"type":9,"value":1131,"toc":1226},[1132,1136,1139,1142,1145,1149,1152,1155,1158,1162,1165,1197,1200,1204,1207,1210,1213,1216,1220,1223],[12,1133,1135],{"id":1134},"what-compression-climbing-is","What compression climbing is",[17,1137,1138],{},"Most of the time you climb by pulling down. You grab a hold above you, you pull, you move up. Compression is the opposite idea. It is what you do when the holds face each other, or face outwards, and the only way to stay on is to squeeze them together. Instead of hanging off the holds, you press in from both sides and use the tension between your hands and feet to hold yourself to the wall.",[17,1140,1141],{},"Think of carrying a heavy box with no handles. You do not hook your fingers under it, you clamp it between your palms and lift. Compression on the wall works the same way. Two slopers either side of a bulge, a pair of opposing pinches on an arête, a wide feature you have to hug. The grip is in the squeeze, not the grab.",[17,1143,1144],{},"It shows up most on steep ground and on rounded features, which is why it feels so common on modern competition boulders and on outdoor problems with big arêtes and prows. Once you can read it, you start seeing it everywhere.",[12,1146,1148],{"id":1147},"why-it-feels-so-different","Why it feels so different",[17,1150,1151],{},"Pulling down is intuitive. You have done it since you were a child on monkey bars. Compression is not, because it asks your body to generate force sideways and inwards rather than straight down, and it loads muscles you might not lean on much otherwise.",[17,1153,1154],{},"The squeeze comes from your chest, shoulders and back working together, not just your fingers. Your core has to stay tight so the force you make with your hands actually reaches your feet. And your feet matter more than they do almost anywhere else, because a compression position falls apart the moment a foot cuts. Lose the foot tension and the whole structure swings open like a door.",[17,1156,1157],{},"That is the other thing people miss. Compression is a full-body shape, not a hand skill. You are building a rigid frame between four points of contact and squeezing it shut. Soften any corner of that frame and you are off.",[12,1159,1161],{"id":1160},"how-to-climb-a-compression-sequence","How to climb a compression sequence",[17,1163,1164],{},"Break it down and it stops feeling random.",[70,1166,1167,1173,1179,1185,1191],{},[73,1168,1169,1172],{},[76,1170,1171],{},"Read the direction of the holds."," Before you pull on, look at which way the holds face. If they face each other or point outwards, you are squeezing, not pulling. That one observation changes how you set up.",[73,1174,1175,1178],{},[76,1176,1177],{},"Set your feet wide and high."," Compression lives or dies on feet. Get them on, get them weighted, and keep them pressing outwards into the wall to hold the tension. High feet keep your hips in and stop you barn-dooring off the shape.",[73,1180,1181,1184],{},[76,1182,1183],{},"Squeeze before you move."," Build the tension first. Press both hands in, lock your core, feel the wall stop trying to spit you off. Only then move a limb. If you move before you have the squeeze, you come away.",[73,1186,1187,1190],{},[76,1188,1189],{},"Move one point at a time."," Keep three points pressing while the fourth travels. Make small moves, stay compact, and re-establish the squeeze every time you land a hand or a foot. Big lunges are rarely the answer on compression.",[73,1192,1193,1196],{},[76,1194,1195],{},"Stay close."," The further your hips drift from the wall, the harder you have to squeeze to stay on. Keep your body in, keep it tight, and let the structure do the holding rather than your forearms alone.",[17,1198,1199],{},"The feeling you are chasing is a kind of quiet rigidity. When it works, a move that looked desperate becomes a slow, controlled press, because the tension is holding you rather than your fingers clinging on.",[12,1201,1203],{"id":1202},"how-to-train-it","How to train it",[17,1205,1206],{},"Compression rewards a particular mix of strength and body tension, and both respond quickly to focused work.",[17,1208,1209],{},"On a board or a steep wall, set or pick problems that use slopers and pinches rather than positive edges, and force yourself onto features you would normally avoid. Wide pinches, dual-tex slopers and arête-style holds all teach the squeeze. Climbing on them, badly at first, is most of the learning.",[17,1211,1212],{},"Off the wall, the gym staples carry over well. Press movements build the inward force, so dips, push-ups and bench work all help. For raw squeeze, nothing beats actually gripping something hard: pinch blocks, wide grippers, even hanging plates pinched between two fingers and a thumb. Keep the loads sensible and the volume low, because pinch and shoulder work can be taxing on the joints.",[17,1214,1215],{},"The piece people skip is core and foot tension, which is what actually transmits the squeeze to the wall. Front planks, hanging leg raises and any drill that teaches you to keep your feet on steep ground will do more for your compression than another set of curls. The strongest hands in the world are useless on a sloper arête if your feet keep cutting.",[12,1217,1219],{"id":1218},"building-the-habit","Building the habit",[17,1221,1222],{},"The climbers who look calm on steep, rounded ground are not always the strongest. They have learned to read when a move wants a squeeze instead of a pull, to set their feet before their hands, and to build tension before they travel. It is a skill of recognition as much as power.",[17,1224,1225],{},"Log the problems that keep throwing you off, and look for the pattern. If the holds were facing each other and you kept trying to crank down on them, the answer was probably compression all along. Spot it earlier next time, set your feet wide, squeeze before you move, and the wall starts to feel a lot more solid under your hands.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1227},[1228,1229,1230,1231,1232],{"id":1134,"depth":132,"text":1135},{"id":1147,"depth":132,"text":1148},{"id":1160,"depth":132,"text":1161},{"id":1202,"depth":132,"text":1203},{"id":1218,"depth":132,"text":1219},"2026-06-30","Compression is the technique for holds that face each other, where you make progress by squeezing rather than pulling down. Here is how it works and how to train it.","A climber pulling in on a steep overhanging wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcompression-climbing-how-to-squeeze-your-way-up",{"title":1129,"description":1234},"blog\u002Fcompression-climbing-how-to-squeeze-your-way-up",[290,1241,293,1242],"movement","strength","LyEMm7vI0yqJhAYi6FgZl4qfgfa4RLswQkBEFdteYBQ",{"id":1245,"title":1246,"author":7,"body":1247,"category":141,"date":1233,"description":1349,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1350,"imageAlt":1351,"imageCredit":1352,"imageCreditUrl":1353,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1354,"navigation":152,"path":1355,"readTime":154,"seo":1356,"stem":1357,"tags":1358,"__hash__":1359},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flock-offs-building-the-strength-to-stay-still.md","Lock-offs: how to build the strength to stay still",{"type":9,"value":1248,"toc":1342},[1249,1253,1256,1259,1262,1266,1269,1272,1275,1279,1282,1314,1317,1319,1322,1325,1328,1331,1334,1336,1339],[12,1250,1252],{"id":1251},"what-a-lock-off-actually-is","What a lock-off actually is",[17,1254,1255],{},"A lock-off is the moment you hold yourself still on a bent arm so the other hand is free to move. You pull a hold in towards your shoulder, lock it there, and reach. While that reaching hand travels, the locked arm is doing all the work, holding your body in one fixed position against gravity.",[17,1257,1258],{},"It sounds simple, and the idea is. The hard part is the staying still. Most climbers can pull up. Far fewer can stop halfway through a pull and hover there long enough to place the next hand with any control. That pause, held under load, is the lock-off.",[17,1260,1261],{},"You see it everywhere once you look. The slow, deliberate reach on a vertical wall. The climber who matches a small crimp without a scramble. The steady move out of a roof where everyone else throws and hopes. None of it is dynamic. It is strength held quiet.",[12,1263,1265],{"id":1264},"why-it-is-worth-the-effort","Why it is worth the effort",[17,1267,1268],{},"The obvious payoff is reach. If you can lock off at chest height rather than chin height, the next hold sits closer and you arrive at it calm instead of snatching. A controlled reach lets you adjust your grip, find the best part of the hold, and commit only when you are ready.",[17,1270,1271],{},"The less obvious payoff is reading the climb. When you can hold a position, you buy time. Time to spot the foot you missed, to feel whether the hold is any good, to back off a move that is not on rather than falling off it. A climber who can lock off is rarely rushed.",[17,1273,1274],{},"There is a cost side too. Throwing for holds is cheap on the day and expensive over a season, because dynamic moves are harder to control and harder on the fingers when you land them badly. Learning to lock off is part of learning to climb in a way your body can keep doing for years.",[12,1276,1278],{"id":1277},"how-to-do-it-well","How to do it well",[17,1280,1281],{},"The instinct is to treat a lock-off as an arm thing. It is not. It is a whole-body shape, and the arm is just the part you notice.",[70,1283,1284,1290,1296,1302,1308],{},[73,1285,1286,1289],{},[76,1287,1288],{},"Get the hip in first."," A square-on lock-off, chest to the wall, is the weakest version there is. Turn the hip on your pulling side in towards the wall and drop the opposite knee, and the lock suddenly costs far less. The arm holds, but the hips carry.",[73,1291,1292,1295],{},[76,1293,1294],{},"Pull to where you need to be, not as high as you can."," You do not need to lock at full contraction. Lock at the height the next reach needs and no further. Holding a deep lock you do not need just burns the arm.",[73,1297,1298,1301],{},[76,1299,1300],{},"Keep the shoulder engaged."," Let the shoulder pull up into your ear and you hang off the joint rather than holding it. Set the shoulder down and back, keep a little tension through it, and the position feels solid instead of fragile.",[73,1303,1304,1307],{},[76,1305,1306],{},"Weight your feet."," A lock-off with light feet is a pull-up waiting to fail. Push down through the foot on your locked side, keep the other foot pressing, and let your legs share the load. The arm holds the line, the feet hold the weight.",[73,1309,1310,1313],{},[76,1311,1312],{},"Move the free hand smoothly."," Once you are locked, reach in one quiet motion. Hesitate and re-grab and you spend the lock you worked for. Trust the position, place the hand, then move your weight onto it.",[17,1315,1316],{},"The feeling you are after is stillness. Not a strain you are winning by a hair, but a held shape you could sit in for a breath if you had to.",[12,1318,1203],{"id":1202},[17,1320,1321],{},"Lock-off strength responds quickly to focused work, because most climbers have simply never asked for it.",[17,1323,1324],{},"On the wall, the cleanest drill is the slow up-and-down. Pick easy, big holds on a vertical or slightly steep wall. Pull to a lock at chest height, hold for a slow three count, then lower under control rather than dropping. Reach to a hold, touch it, come back without weighting it. You are teaching your body to hold and to lower, which is exactly what a real lock-off asks.",[17,1326,1327],{},"Pick a height to own. Climbers tend to be strong at the top of a pull and weak in the middle. Practise locking at ninety degrees, the halfway point, where it is hardest, and the easier angles look after themselves.",[17,1329,1330],{},"Off the wall, the same idea carries over. On a pull-up bar, hold at the top, then hold at ninety degrees, then lower as slowly as you can manage. If full lock-offs are out of reach, a band under one foot or a partner taking some weight lets you train the position before you can hold all of it. Build slowly, keep the volume sensible, and give your elbows and shoulders time to catch up with your ambition.",[17,1332,1333],{},"The piece people skip is the lower. Coming down slowly builds the same strength as holding still and is far kinder to learn on. If you only ever pull up fast and drop off, you are training half the skill.",[12,1335,1219],{"id":1218},[17,1337,1338],{},"The climbers who look unhurried on hard ground are not always pulling harder than you. They have learned to find a position and stay in it, to set the hip and the shoulder and the feet so the arm has less to do, and to reach only once they are settled.",[17,1340,1341],{},"Watch for the moves where you snatch. If you keep throwing for a hold you could in theory reach, the answer is usually a lock-off you have not built yet. Log those moves, train the held position, and the next time you arrive there you can take the hold slowly. Quiet strength reads as control, and control is most of what looks like climbing well.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1343},[1344,1345,1346,1347,1348],{"id":1251,"depth":132,"text":1252},{"id":1264,"depth":132,"text":1265},{"id":1277,"depth":132,"text":1278},{"id":1202,"depth":132,"text":1203},{"id":1218,"depth":132,"text":1219},"A lock-off is holding a bent arm steady while your other hand moves. Here is why it matters, how to do it well, and how to train the strength to stay still.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1649603202795-2c0a1b3a49e1?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber holding a locked-off position on a steep wall, reaching for the next hold","Iori Ikeda","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@iorin",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Flock-offs-building-the-strength-to-stay-still",{"title":1246,"description":1349},"blog\u002Flock-offs-building-the-strength-to-stay-still",[290,1241,1242,293],"8E6Foc-csoVS9tDlbITOgw1OTr83SFfYTmj22bfHZ58",{"id":1361,"title":1362,"author":7,"body":1363,"category":141,"date":1439,"description":1440,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1441,"imageAlt":1442,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1445,"navigation":152,"path":1446,"readTime":154,"seo":1447,"stem":1448,"tags":1449,"__hash__":1450},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fside-pulls-and-underclings.md","Side pulls and underclings: holds that don't pull down",{"type":9,"value":1364,"toc":1431},[1365,1369,1372,1375,1379,1382,1385,1388,1392,1395,1398,1401,1405,1408,1411,1415,1418,1421,1425,1428],[12,1366,1368],{"id":1367},"the-hold-that-does-not-pull-down","The hold that does not pull down",[17,1370,1371],{},"Early on, climbing makes sense in one direction. You find a hold, you pull down on it, you go up. Jugs reward that, and for a while it is enough. Then you meet a hold that faces sideways, or one that is upside down, and pulling down on it does nothing. Your hand greases off, your feet cut, and you come off a move that looked easy from the ground.",[17,1373,1374],{},"Those are side pulls and underclings, and they are not awkward versions of a normal hold. They are holds that want to be used in a particular direction, and once you learn to give them that direction they turn solid. The trick is never in the hand. It is in where you put the rest of your body.",[12,1376,1378],{"id":1377},"how-a-side-pull-works","How a side pull works",[17,1380,1381],{},"A side pull is a hold you pull sideways on rather than down. Picture a hold with its best edge facing to your right. If you stand square underneath it and pull down, your fingers skate off the rounded part. The hold has nothing for you in that direction.",[17,1383,1384],{},"Now move your body to the left of it and pull across, towards your centre. Suddenly the edge bites. You are loading the hold the way it faces, and the wall pushes back through your arm in a straight line. The hold has not changed. Your position has.",[17,1386,1387],{},"The whole skill is opposition. A side pull only feels secure when something is pulling the other way, and that something is usually a foot. Get a foot out wide on the opposite side, press into it, and your body hangs between the hand and the foot like a taut line. Climbers call it a layback when it is exaggerated, but the same idea runs through almost every side pull on the wall. Pull in with the hand, push out with the foot, and let the tension hold you on.",[12,1389,1391],{"id":1390},"how-an-undercling-works","How an undercling works",[17,1393,1394],{},"An undercling is a hold you grab from below, palm up, and pull up into. They look hopeless until you use them, because the higher your hand sits the weaker an undercling feels, and the lower it sits relative to you the more powerful it becomes.",[17,1396,1397],{},"That is the key to the whole thing. An undercling pays you back when you get your feet high. Find the hold, take it palm up, then walk your feet up the wall until the undercling is around waist height. Now your arm can pull up and in against it, your body presses away, and you get a stable platform to reach from. Try to use the same hold with your feet low and your arm stretched above your head and it gives you almost nothing.",[17,1399,1400],{},"So the move is always feet first. See the undercling, get your feet up, stand into it, then reach through with the other hand while the undercling holds your body to the wall. Done well it is one of the most stable positions in climbing. Done with low feet it is one of the most desperate.",[12,1402,1404],{"id":1403},"reading-which-way-a-hold-faces","Reading which way a hold faces",[17,1406,1407],{},"Before you pull on anything, ask which direction it wants to be loaded. Most holds tell you if you look. The thickest, most positive part of the edge is the bit you want pointing towards your pulling direction. A hold with its good edge on the left is a right hand side pull. A hold scooped out underneath is an undercling waiting for high feet.",[17,1409,1410],{},"On the ground this is easy to practise. Look at a problem and name each hold out loud: down pull, side pull, undercling, pinch. Then plan where your body has to be to load each one properly. Most blown sequences are not a strength problem. They are a climber pulling down on a hold that was never going to reward it.",[12,1412,1414],{"id":1413},"drilling-it","Drilling it",[17,1416,1417],{},"Pick something a couple of grades below your limit and climb it twice. The first time, use every hold as a straight down pull and feel how many moves fight back. The second time, look for the side pulls and underclings and set your body up for them. Wide foot and pull across for the side pulls. High feet and stand in for the underclings. The same route will feel like a different climb.",[17,1419,1420],{},"A good standalone drill is to find a single side pull at a comfortable height and move your feet around underneath it. Notice how the hold feels solid when your weight hangs opposite it and useless when you stand square below. That contrast is the lesson, and once your body knows it you stop wrestling holds and start reading them.",[12,1422,1424],{"id":1423},"the-habit-worth-building","The habit worth building",[17,1426,1427],{},"Strong fingers help, but reading direction helps more, and it improves far faster. The climbers who flow through steep, holds-everywhere sequences are not gripping harder than you. They are giving every hold the angle it asks for, then letting opposition between hand and foot do the holding.",[17,1429,1430],{},"Log the moves that keep spitting you off and look at the hold you were on. More often than not it was a side pull you tried to pull down on, or an undercling you used with low feet. Fix the direction, fix your feet, and the move quietly solves itself.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1432},[1433,1434,1435,1436,1437,1438],{"id":1367,"depth":132,"text":1368},{"id":1377,"depth":132,"text":1378},{"id":1390,"depth":132,"text":1391},{"id":1403,"depth":132,"text":1404},{"id":1413,"depth":132,"text":1414},{"id":1423,"depth":132,"text":1424},"2026-06-26","Most beginners only trust a hold they can pull straight down on. Side pulls and underclings reward the opposite. Here is how to read them and use your body to make them feel solid.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1696105539018-a73a53770934?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber pulling sideways on a hold on an indoor wall","Nathan Cima","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@nathan_cima",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fside-pulls-and-underclings",{"title":1362,"description":1440},"blog\u002Fside-pulls-and-underclings",[290,1241,675,562],"1yMjsRU2bgsr6bV-mKXjzn__YWJ3Y2VTQn4oClYl1IY",{"id":1452,"title":1453,"author":7,"body":1454,"category":141,"date":1439,"description":1540,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1541,"imageAlt":1542,"imageCredit":1543,"imageCreditUrl":1544,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1545,"navigation":152,"path":1546,"readTime":1547,"seo":1548,"stem":1549,"tags":1550,"__hash__":1551},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rockover-standing-up-on-a-high-foot.md","The rockover: how to stand up on a high foot",{"type":9,"value":1455,"toc":1533},[1456,1460,1463,1466,1470,1473,1476,1480,1483,1509,1512,1516,1519,1522,1525,1527,1530],[12,1457,1459],{"id":1458},"what-a-rockover-actually-is","What a rockover actually is",[17,1461,1462],{},"A rockover is the move you make when you bring a foot up high, then stand on it to reach the next hold. Instead of hauling yourself up with your arms, you shift your weight sideways over the high foot until your leg can press you up. The hands go quiet, the leg does the work, and you rise into the next position rather than yanking towards it.",[17,1464,1465],{},"It is one of the most common moves in climbing and one of the first that separates people who climb with their feet from people who climb with their arms. Slabs are built on it. Vertical walls are full of it. Even on steep ground, the ability to commit your hips over a foot is what lets you reach in control instead of throwing for the hold and hoping.",[12,1467,1469],{"id":1468},"why-it-feels-so-hard-at-first","Why it feels so hard at first",[17,1471,1472],{},"The reason a rockover feels awkward early on is that it asks you to do the opposite of what fear tells you. To stand up on a high foot you have to move your weight away from the wall and out over your knee, and every instinct says hug the rock. So new climbers keep their hips back, leave their weight on their arms, and try to muscle up off a bent leg. The foot skids, the arms tire, and the move feels impossible.",[17,1474,1475],{},"The other half of it is flexibility and trust. A high step puts your knee up near your chest, which feels cramped, and standing up out of that position takes both hip mobility and the belief that the foot will hold. It almost always will. Rubber on a decent foothold has far more friction than it feels like it should, and most failed rockovers come from not committing, not from the foot actually slipping.",[12,1477,1479],{"id":1478},"how-to-do-one","How to do one",[17,1481,1482],{},"Break it into four parts and it stops being mysterious.",[70,1484,1485,1491,1497,1503],{},[73,1486,1487,1490],{},[76,1488,1489],{},"Pick the foot, then look at it."," Choose the highest foothold you can use without your hips collapsing, and watch your toe onto it. Place it precisely, big toe down, so you can pivot on it later. A sloppy placement you cannot trust is the root of most blown rockovers.",[73,1492,1493,1496],{},[76,1494,1495],{},"Turn the hip in."," Drop the same-side hip towards the wall and let your knee fall out to the side. This is the quiet trick. Turning the hip brings your centre of gravity over the foot and stops you fighting the move square-on.",[73,1498,1499,1502],{},[76,1500,1501],{},"Shift, do not pull."," Move your weight sideways and up until it sits over the high foot, then press through that leg to stand. Keep your arms straight and light. They are there for balance, not to lift you.",[73,1504,1505,1508],{},[76,1506,1507],{},"Rise and reach."," As the leg straightens, your hand floats up to the next hold. If you have committed your weight properly the reach feels calm, almost slow, because the hold comes to you.",[17,1510,1511],{},"The whole thing lives or dies on that weight shift. Stay over your old foot and the leg has nothing to push against. Get your hips over the new one and a move that felt desperate turns into standing up off a chair.",[12,1513,1515],{"id":1514},"where-to-practise-it","Where to practise it",[17,1517,1518],{},"Find an easy slab or a low-angle section a couple of grades below your limit and make a drill of it. Climb it using the highest feet you can, and on every move force yourself to stand up fully on the lower foot before you reach. No pulling with the arms. If you can take a hand off at the top of each rockover and tap the wall, you have done it properly.",[17,1520,1521],{},"A useful exercise is to climb something with your hands on jugs and your eyes only on your feet, choosing high steps you would normally avoid. Without the option to pull hard, you are forced to learn the weight shift. It feels slow and deliberate at first. That is the point.",[17,1523,1524],{},"Strength helps a little, but a rockover is mostly balance and commitment, which means it improves fast once you stop fighting it. Drill it for a few sessions and you will start spotting high feet you used to walk past, and standing up on them like they were always there.",[12,1526,1219],{"id":1218},[17,1528,1529],{},"The climbers who flow up vertical ground are rarely the strongest in the room. They have simply learned to trust their feet and put their weight where it belongs. The rockover is the clearest version of that habit: commit over the foot, let the leg do the work, keep the hands honest.",[17,1531,1532],{},"Log the moves that catch you out. When a sequence keeps spitting you off, ask whether you are trying to pull through a section that wants a rockover instead. More often than not the answer is in your feet, and the fix is to stand up rather than hang on.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1534},[1535,1536,1537,1538,1539],{"id":1458,"depth":132,"text":1459},{"id":1468,"depth":132,"text":1469},{"id":1478,"depth":132,"text":1479},{"id":1514,"depth":132,"text":1515},{"id":1218,"depth":132,"text":1219},"The rockover is the move that turns a high step into a stand. Here is what it is, why it feels so hard at first, and how to drill it.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F5384172\u002Fpexels-photo-5384172.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","A climber stepping up onto a high foothold on an indoor wall","Allan Mas","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@allan-mas",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rockover-standing-up-on-a-high-foot",5,{"title":1453,"description":1540},"blog\u002Fthe-rockover-standing-up-on-a-high-foot",[290,1241,436,791],"2WqMU2G-2ZgnlFYr2CwKHOHww8taIQkvW_kSmMkuwo0",{"id":1553,"title":1554,"author":7,"body":1555,"category":141,"date":1621,"description":1622,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1623,"imageAlt":1624,"imageCredit":1625,"imageCreditUrl":1626,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1627,"navigation":152,"path":1628,"readTime":1547,"seo":1629,"stem":1630,"tags":1631,"__hash__":1634},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fknee-bars-how-to-find-a-no-hands-rest.md","Knee bars: how to find a no-hands rest",{"type":9,"value":1556,"toc":1615},[1557,1561,1564,1567,1571,1574,1577,1580,1584,1587,1590,1604,1607,1609,1612],[12,1558,1560],{"id":1559},"what-a-knee-bar-actually-does","What a knee bar actually does",[17,1562,1563],{},"A knee bar is a rest hiding in plain sight. You wedge the soft part of your lower thigh, just above the knee, against a hold or a feature, push your toe into an opposing foothold, and flex your calf so the two press hard against each other. Done well it locks your body into the wall with no hands at all. On steep limestone and on overhanging plastic it is one of the most useful things you can learn, because the thing that pumps you out is your arms taking all the weight, and a knee bar hands that job to your legs.",[17,1565,1566],{},"The best of them let you drop both hands, shake out one arm at a time, chalk up, breathe, and read the next section while you recover. A move that felt like a sprint becomes a place to stand. Strong steep climbers are not always stronger than you. Often they have simply found the rest you walked straight past.",[12,1568,1570],{"id":1569},"how-to-set-one-up","How to set one up",[17,1572,1573],{},"Three points of contact is the goal: the knee bar itself, the toe driving into it, and your free foot pressing somewhere on the wall for balance. Find a foothold, then look for anything above and opposite it that your thigh can push up into. A flat edge, the underside of a bulge, a jug you are not using for your hands. Slot the leg in, point your toe at the opposing hold, and flex the calf to jam the two together. When it bites you will feel the pressure run through your shin, and your hips will settle in towards the rock.",[17,1575,1576],{},"The distance between your toe and the top of your knee is fixed, so a knee bar either fits a gap or it does not. Climbers call that span your shindex. Once you have a sense of it you start seeing slots at the right width everywhere, and you stop trying to force your leg into gaps that were never going to hold.",[17,1578,1579],{},"Use your other leg to take the swing. Flag the free foot against the wall so that when you release the bar your weight has somewhere to go instead of barn-dooring you off sideways.",[12,1581,1583],{"id":1582},"spotting-them-before-you-pump-out","Spotting them before you pump out",[17,1585,1586],{},"The reason most climbers miss knee bars is that they are looking for handholds, not leg slots. Retrain the eye. When you read a steep problem from the ground, hunt for the obvious things first: a roof lip, a big incut foothold under a bulge, two features the right distance apart. Those are where the rests live.",[17,1588,1589],{},"A few reliable signs a knee bar is on:",[70,1591,1592,1595,1598,1601],{},[73,1593,1594],{},"A roof or a steep bulge with a positive foothold tucked underneath it.",[73,1596,1597],{},"A jug you have already used for your hands that sits at thigh height once your feet come up.",[73,1599,1600],{},"Two opposing features roughly a shin apart, one to push the toe into and one to take the knee.",[73,1602,1603],{},"That moment on an overhang where your hips have drifted away from the wall and you need to pull them back in.",[17,1605,1606],{},"If a position feels almost solid but slips, do not give up on it. Small changes fix most failed knee bars. Try a higher or lower foothold, a different toe angle, a touch more hip height, or swapping to the other leg entirely. A bar that felt impossible can turn rock solid with an inch of adjustment.",[12,1608,1219],{"id":1218},[17,1610,1611],{},"Knee bars reward time on steep ground more than raw strength. Pick an overhanging route or a board problem a few grades below your limit and make a game of finding a knee bar on it, even where you do not strictly need the rest. You will learn what your shindex fits, how hard to flex to make a bar hold, and how much weight really comes off your hands when you commit to one.",[17,1613,1614],{},"Keep a note of the ones that worked. The crux you keep falling off is often not a strength problem at all. It is a rest you have not found yet, and once you log where the good knee bars are on a project, the redpoint starts to feel a lot more like standing and a lot less like hanging on.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1616},[1617,1618,1619,1620],{"id":1559,"depth":132,"text":1560},{"id":1569,"depth":132,"text":1570},{"id":1582,"depth":132,"text":1583},{"id":1218,"depth":132,"text":1219},"2026-06-24","What a knee bar does, how to set one up, and how to spot the rests that let you drop a hand on steep ground.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1501450753566-4977b58843ef?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber working a steep indoor wall","roya ann miller","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@royaannmiller",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fknee-bars-how-to-find-a-no-hands-rest",{"title":1554,"description":1622},"blog\u002Fknee-bars-how-to-find-a-no-hands-rest",[290,1241,1632,1633],"steep","resting","LgVwMg-tJnv0Cx0ef5q6EOf97MRdAzI9yBwpHW9VzsI",{"id":1636,"title":1637,"author":7,"body":1638,"category":1703,"date":1704,"description":1705,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1706,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":1708,"imageCreditUrl":1709,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1710,"navigation":152,"path":1711,"readTime":1547,"seo":1712,"stem":1713,"tags":1714,"__hash__":1717},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fboard-angles-explained.md","Board angles, explained",{"type":9,"value":1639,"toc":1697},[1640,1643,1647,1650,1653,1657,1660,1674,1677,1681,1684,1687,1691,1694],[17,1641,1642],{},"If you are new to adjustable boards, the first confusing thing is the number on the wall. Someone says they climbed a problem at 40, and you nod along without quite knowing what 40 means or why it matters. Here is what the degrees actually describe and how each range feels under your hands.",[12,1644,1646],{"id":1645},"what-the-number-measures","What the number measures",[17,1648,1649],{},"The angle is how far the wall leans back from vertical. Zero degrees is a flat, vertical wall, straight up and down. As the number climbs, the wall tilts towards you, so 45 degrees is leaning back halfway between vertical and a flat ceiling, and a true roof would be 90.",[17,1651,1652],{},"That overhang changes where your weight goes. On a vertical wall, you stand on your feet and your hands mostly keep you balanced. As the wall leans back, gravity starts pulling you off it, so more and more of your weight hangs from your fingers and your core has to fight to keep your hips in. The bigger the number, the harder you have to pull just to stay on.",[12,1654,1656],{"id":1655},"the-ranges-and-how-they-feel","The ranges and how they feel",[17,1658,1659],{},"Most adjustable boards swing through a wide arc, and each part of it climbs differently:",[70,1661,1662,1665,1668,1671],{},[73,1663,1664],{},"Around 20 to 25 degrees feels slabby and balance-led. Feet matter most, fingers least.",[73,1666,1667],{},"Around 30 to 40 degrees is the popular middle ground, steep enough to train pulling but still standing on feet.",[73,1669,1670],{},"Around 45 to 55 degrees is properly steep, where body tension and finger strength dominate and feet cut easily.",[73,1672,1673],{},"Up past 60 degrees you are into near-roof territory, all core and power, where keeping your toes on at all is the challenge.",[17,1675,1676],{},"Most LED boards grade their problems at a reference angle, commonly 40 degrees. That is worth remembering, because the same set of holds becomes a very different climb as you move the wall.",[12,1678,1680],{"id":1679},"how-the-angle-rewrites-a-problem","How the angle rewrites a problem",[17,1682,1683],{},"Take one problem and steepen the board, and you change far more than the difficulty number. Holds that felt like jugs at 25 degrees turn into crimps you can barely hold at 50, because you are now hanging more weight off the same edge. A foothold you happily stood on becomes a smear you have to keep tension on or your feet swing off.",[17,1685,1686],{},"The moves themselves change character too. On a shallow angle you can often reach statically, weight over your feet, moving in control. Steepen it and the same span might force a deadpoint or a dynamic move, because you can not stay locked off long enough to reach slowly. A heel hook that was a nice-to-have at 30 degrees becomes the only way to keep your body on the wall at 50.",[12,1688,1690],{"id":1689},"pick-a-number-and-stick-with-it-at-first","Pick a number and stick with it at first",[17,1692,1693],{},"When you are learning, the most useful thing is to choose one angle and get familiar with it before you go chasing steeper settings. Climb enough problems at, say, 40 degrees and you build a real feel for what each grade demands, which makes the grades mean something to you.",[17,1695,1696],{},"Once you have that baseline, changing the angle becomes a deliberate choice rather than a mystery. Want it harder without jumping a grade? Add a few degrees. Want to work on standing on your feet? Drop it back. The number on the wall is one of the most powerful dials you have, and it stops being confusing the moment you have spent a few sessions feeling what it does.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1698},[1699,1700,1701,1702],{"id":1645,"depth":132,"text":1646},{"id":1655,"depth":132,"text":1656},{"id":1679,"depth":132,"text":1680},{"id":1689,"depth":132,"text":1690},"Boards & systems boards","2026-06-19","From slab to roof: what the degrees mean on an adjustable board and how they change a problem.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1697456642802-59bfd518d5a2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on an outdoor rock face","Curdin","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@giger_00",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fboard-angles-explained",{"title":1637,"description":1705},"blog\u002Fboard-angles-explained",[1715,1716,562],"board","angles","PEVszf9vCcj_JsNPFBWb5pMcP3zPjv0EA2yGnuYn6Qo",{"id":1719,"title":1720,"author":7,"body":1721,"category":1811,"date":1704,"description":1812,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1813,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1817,"navigation":152,"path":1818,"readTime":1547,"seo":1819,"stem":1820,"tags":1821,"__hash__":1824},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchalk-showdown-loose-block-and-liquid.md","Chalk showdown: loose, block and liquid",{"type":9,"value":1722,"toc":1806},[1723,1726,1730,1733,1759,1763,1770,1773,1776,1796,1800,1803],[17,1724,1725],{},"Chalk is the least glamorous thing in your bag and the easiest to overthink. At its core it is simple: climbing chalk is magnesium carbonate, the same drying agent gymnasts and weightlifters use, and its only job is to soak up the sweat on your fingers so your skin grips rock or plastic instead of sliding off it. Everything beyond that is a question of format, mess and what your gym will actually let through the door.",[12,1727,1729],{"id":1728},"the-four-formats-and-what-each-is-for","The four formats, and what each is for",[17,1731,1732],{},"There are really only four things on the shelf, and they all start as the same powder.",[70,1734,1735,1741,1747,1753],{},[73,1736,1737,1740],{},[76,1738,1739],{},"Loose chalk"," is the default. It is the most common form, gives the best feel straight onto the skin, and works with a standard chalk bag clipped to your harness or hung off your waist for bouldering. The catch is dust. Loose chalk gets everywhere, hangs in the air, and for that reason some gyms restrict or ban it outright.",[73,1742,1743,1746],{},[76,1744,1745],{},"Block chalk"," is a solid lump you crush yourself into a bag or a bowl. It tends to be the cheapest by weight, produces less waste because you control how much you break off, and lets you get the texture you want. It is a bit more faff, but it is the value pick for people who chalk up a lot.",[73,1748,1749,1752],{},[76,1750,1751],{},"Liquid chalk"," is chalk suspended in alcohol. You rub a coin-sized amount into your hands, the alcohol flashes off in a few seconds, and you are left with a thin, even base layer. Crucially it throws off very little dust, which is exactly why more and more gyms now mandate it. The downside is that the alcohol is drying, so heavy daily use can leave your skin tight and prone to splitting.",[73,1754,1755,1758],{},[76,1756,1757],{},"Chalk balls"," are a refillable mesh ball that sits inside your chalk bag. You squeeze rather than dip, which keeps spillage down and the bag tidier. They use loose chalk inside, so the feel is the same, just with less mess.",[12,1760,1762],{"id":1761},"how-to-actually-choose","How to actually choose",[17,1764,1765,1766,1769],{},"Start with the rule that overrides all the rest: ",[76,1767,1768],{},"check your gym's chalk policy before you buy."," Plenty of indoor walls now require liquid chalk only, some allow chalk balls but not loose, and a few are relaxed about everything. There is no point buying a kilo of loose chalk for a wall that bans it.",[17,1771,1772],{},"A pattern that works well for a lot of climbers is to combine formats. Put down a base layer of liquid chalk at the start of a session, let it dry, then top up from a chalk bag of loose or a chalk ball as you go. You get the longevity and low dust of liquid with the quick reapplication of loose. If your gym only permits liquid, you simply skip the second step.",[17,1774,1775],{},"For format-by-use, it breaks down roughly like this:",[70,1777,1778,1784,1790],{},[73,1779,1780,1783],{},[76,1781,1782],{},"Indoor bouldering:"," whatever the gym allows. Liquid base plus a ball is a tidy, low-dust setup.",[73,1785,1786,1789],{},[76,1787,1788],{},"Sport and trad outdoors:"," loose chalk in a bag is hard to beat for feel and speed of reapplication, with block chalk as the cheap way to keep it stocked.",[73,1791,1792,1795],{},[76,1793,1794],{},"Hot, sweaty days or sweaty hands generally:"," lean on liquid chalk, which copes better with serious moisture.",[12,1797,1799],{"id":1798},"look-after-your-skin-and-go-easy","Look after your skin, and go easy",[17,1801,1802],{},"Chalk does not fix bad skin, and over-chalking actively dries you out, especially the alcohol-based liquids. Keep your hands maintained between sessions with a climbing salve or balm, file down rough patches before they tear, and resist the urge to coat your fingers like a doughnut. You genuinely do not need much — a light, even layer outperforms a thick clumpy one, and it keeps holds cleaner for everyone else too.",[17,1804,1805],{},"The practical takeaway: there is no single best chalk, only the right format for your gym's rules and your hands. Confirm what is allowed, keep a small amount of loose or a ball for feel, add liquid if you want a low-dust base, and spend more energy on skin care than on the brand on the bag. Log how your skin and grip hold up across a few sessions in Sendit and you will quickly learn what your hands actually want.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1807},[1808,1809,1810],{"id":1728,"depth":132,"text":1729},{"id":1761,"depth":132,"text":1762},{"id":1798,"depth":132,"text":1799},"Gear reviews","Loose, block, liquid or a ball — what each chalk is for and which your gym will actually allow.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1698732994632-4956f36630d5?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber with their gear at the crag","Chaewool Kim","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@koreandirtbag",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchalk-showdown-loose-block-and-liquid",{"title":1720,"description":1812},"blog\u002Fchalk-showdown-loose-block-and-liquid",[1822,1823,562],"gear","chalk","JSwkZt0NPh_9AOwuzPwXEMge2Na8Yos9PF1DRndIzo4",{"id":1826,"title":1827,"author":7,"body":1828,"category":1904,"date":1905,"description":1906,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1907,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":1909,"imageCreditUrl":1910,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":1911,"navigation":152,"path":1912,"readTime":1547,"seo":1913,"stem":1914,"tags":1915,"__hash__":1918},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbelay-devices-explained.md","Belay devices explained",{"type":9,"value":1829,"toc":1898},[1830,1834,1837,1840,1844,1847,1850,1853,1857,1860,1874,1877,1881,1884,1895],[12,1831,1833],{"id":1832},"what-every-belay-device-has-in-common","What every belay device has in common",[17,1835,1836],{},"Every belay device does the same fundamental thing: it adds friction to the rope so that one person can hold the weight of another. The rope bends sharply around the device, and when you pull the brake strand down and back, that bend pinches the rope hard enough to lock it off. No belay device holds a fall on its own. Your brake hand does. The device just multiplies what your hand can manage.",[17,1838,1839],{},"Hold that idea, because it is the thread running through all the types below. Whatever you are using, the brake hand never leaves the rope.",[12,1841,1843],{"id":1842},"tube-style-devices","Tube-style devices",[17,1845,1846],{},"A tube is the simple, familiar one: a metal channel with one or two slots that the rope runs through, clipped to your harness with a screwgate. It is light, cheap, works with a wide range of rope diameters, and handles two ropes at once for double-rope trad and abseiling. Many people learn on one.",[17,1848,1849],{},"The trade-off is that a tube provides no extra help. If you let go of the brake strand, the rope runs free. That puts the whole job on your technique and attention, which is fine when your technique is good and your attention is on the climber, and unforgiving when it is not.",[17,1851,1852],{},"Some tubes have a guide mode, an extra attachment point that lets you belay one or two seconds directly off the anchor. In that mode the device pinches the rope automatically when a second weights it, which is handy for bringing people up multi-pitch routes.",[12,1854,1856],{"id":1855},"assisted-braking-devices","Assisted-braking devices",[17,1858,1859],{},"Assisted-braking devices add a mechanism that helps lock the rope when it loads suddenly. They split roughly into two kinds.",[70,1861,1862,1868],{},[73,1863,1864,1867],{},[76,1865,1866],{},"Mechanical (camming) devices"," have a moving part that rotates and pinches the rope when it pulls through quickly, similar in feel to a seatbelt. They are popular for sport climbing and busy gym sessions.",[73,1869,1870,1873],{},[76,1871,1872],{},"Geometry-assisted (passive) devices"," have no moving parts but are shaped so that a hard pull pinches the rope against the carabiner. They tend to be lighter and work with two ropes.",[17,1875,1876],{},"The word that matters is \"assisted\", not \"automatic\". These devices reduce the consequences of a moment's lapse, but they can still let rope through if you are clumsy with the brake hand or if you hold the device wrong to feed slack. Treat the assist as a backup to good habits, never a replacement for them.",[12,1878,1880],{"id":1879},"choosing-and-using-one","Choosing and using one",[17,1882,1883],{},"The honest answer is that the best device is the one you have been properly taught to use and use the same way every time.",[70,1885,1886,1889,1892],{},[73,1887,1888],{},"For mostly indoor and single-pitch sport, an assisted-braking device suits the repetitive catching of a busy session.",[73,1890,1891],{},"For trad and multi-pitch with double ropes and abseils, a tube with guide mode is hard to beat for versatility.",[73,1893,1894],{},"Many climbers carry both and pick by the day.",[17,1896,1897],{},"Two rules sit above the kit choice. Match the device to your rope diameter, because a device set up for a thick rope feels grabby on a skinny one and dangerously slick the other way round. And keep your brake hand on the rope at all times, with every device, no exceptions. The hardware buys you margin. The habit keeps your partner off the ground.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":1899},[1900,1901,1902,1903],{"id":1832,"depth":132,"text":1833},{"id":1842,"depth":132,"text":1843},{"id":1855,"depth":132,"text":1856},{"id":1879,"depth":132,"text":1880},"Gear","2026-06-18","Tubes, assisted-braking and the differences that matter when you are holding a fall.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F6700830\u002Fpexels-photo-6700830.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","A close-up of a climber's hands and chalk","cottonbro studio","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@cottonbro",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbelay-devices-explained",{"title":1827,"description":1906},"blog\u002Fbelay-devices-explained",[1822,1916,1917],"belay","safety","IItsr5iPsCnBh1cmluOIbs8zSJlMljqqjq2Vhekm4zU",{"id":1920,"title":1921,"author":7,"body":1922,"category":141,"date":2016,"description":2017,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2018,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":2019,"imageCreditUrl":2020,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2021,"navigation":152,"path":2022,"readTime":154,"seo":2023,"stem":2024,"tags":2025,"__hash__":2027},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fantagonist-training-for-climbers.md","Antagonist training for climbers",{"type":9,"value":1923,"toc":2010},[1924,1928,1931,1934,1938,1941,1961,1964,1968,1971,1997,2000,2004,2007],[12,1925,1927],{"id":1926},"climbing-is-all-pull","Climbing is all pull",[17,1929,1930],{},"Think about what your body does on the wall. You pull down, you pull in, you close your fingers, you round your shoulders forwards to hug the rock. Hour after hour, session after session, it is almost entirely pulling and closing. Over time that one-sided diet shapes you. Shoulders drift forwards, chests tighten, and the muscles and tendons that should balance all that pull get steadily outmuscled.",[17,1932,1933],{},"Antagonist training is the unglamorous fix. The antagonists are the muscles that do the opposite of the climbing movement: the ones that push, that open the hand, that pull the shoulders back. Training them does not make you a better climber in any direct, send-it-tomorrow way. What it does is keep your shoulders and elbows healthy enough to keep climbing, which over a few years matters far more than any single grade.",[12,1935,1937],{"id":1936},"what-gets-out-of-balance","What gets out of balance",[17,1939,1940],{},"A few specific imbalances crop up again and again in climbers.",[70,1942,1943,1949,1955],{},[73,1944,1945,1948],{},[76,1946,1947],{},"Shoulders and chest."," All that pulling and hugging the wall pulls the shoulders forward and tightens the front of the chest. The muscles that retract the shoulder blades and rotate the shoulder outwards get weak and lazy by comparison.",[73,1950,1951,1954],{},[76,1952,1953],{},"Elbows."," Heavy gripping loads the muscles on the inside of the forearm and elbow constantly. The opposing muscles on the outside rarely get worked, and that mismatch is part of why climbers so often grumble about sore elbows.",[73,1956,1957,1960],{},[76,1958,1959],{},"Fingers and hands."," Climbing only ever asks your fingers to close. The muscles that open the hand do almost nothing, and that lopsided loading contributes to cranky finger and forearm tendons.",[17,1962,1963],{},"None of this is dramatic on any given day. It accumulates quietly, and then one session your shoulder or elbow starts complaining and does not stop.",[12,1965,1967],{"id":1966},"the-exercises-that-fix-it","The exercises that fix it",[17,1969,1970],{},"The whole point is that these are simple, cheap, and do not need much time. You are not building a bodybuilder's chest, you are restoring balance.",[70,1972,1973,1979,1985,1991],{},[73,1974,1975,1978],{},[76,1976,1977],{},"Pushing."," Press-ups are the obvious one and they cost nothing. Dips, shoulder presses, or any overhead push also work. A couple of sets a few times a week is plenty.",[73,1980,1981,1984],{},[76,1982,1983],{},"Shoulder external rotation and pull-aparts."," With a light resistance band, rotate your forearm outwards against the band, and pull a band apart in front of you to draw the shoulder blades together. These wake up the small muscles that hold the shoulder in good position.",[73,1986,1987,1990],{},[76,1988,1989],{},"Reverse wrist work."," Light reverse wrist curls, or simply extending your fingers against a rubber band looped around the fingertips, train the wrist and finger extensors that climbing ignores. This is one of the most common pieces of elbow-pain prevention advice for climbers.",[73,1992,1993,1996],{},[76,1994,1995],{},"Reverse flies and rows variations."," Anything that pulls the shoulder blades back and down counteracts the forward-rounded climbing posture.",[17,1998,1999],{},"Keep the loads light and the reps controlled. This is maintenance work, not a strength contest. Done with bad form and too much weight, antagonist training can become its own source of strain.",[12,2001,2003],{"id":2002},"fitting-it-in-without-it-becoming-a-chore","Fitting it in without it becoming a chore",[17,2005,2006],{},"The honest truth about antagonist work is that nobody enjoys it, so the trick is to make it frictionless. Tack a couple of band exercises onto the end of a climbing session while you are still at the wall. Do press-ups and band pull-aparts at home on a rest day. Keep a band in your bag so there is no excuse. Two or three short doses a week, every week, beat one heroic session you never repeat.",[17,2008,2009],{},"You will not feel a difference in a fortnight. You feel it over years, in the shoulders and elbows that do not blow up, and in the simple fact of still climbing while training partners are sidelined nursing tendons. Logging these little maintenance sessions alongside your climbing can help, if only because seeing the gaps is what nudges you to keep them up.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2011},[2012,2013,2014,2015],{"id":1926,"depth":132,"text":1927},{"id":1936,"depth":132,"text":1937},{"id":1966,"depth":132,"text":1967},{"id":2002,"depth":132,"text":2003},"2026-06-17","Push to balance all that pull — the unglamorous exercises that keep shoulders and elbows healthy.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1682685796186-1bb4a5655653?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","NEOM","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@neom",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fantagonist-training-for-climbers",{"title":1921,"description":2017},"blog\u002Fantagonist-training-for-climbers",[162,2026,1242],"injury prevention","Px5DJLS6g78W3Qe6ixWssAeWHUF3WRKowGevBdv0bwQ",{"id":2029,"title":2030,"author":7,"body":2031,"category":141,"date":2108,"description":2109,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2110,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":2112,"imageCreditUrl":2113,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2114,"navigation":152,"path":2115,"readTime":1547,"seo":2116,"stem":2117,"tags":2118,"__hash__":2121},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcore-for-climbers-tension-where-it-counts.md","Core for climbers: tension where it counts",{"type":9,"value":2032,"toc":2102},[2033,2037,2040,2043,2047,2050,2053,2056,2060,2063,2089,2092,2096,2099],[12,2034,2036],{"id":2035},"core-is-not-about-your-abs","Core is not about your abs",[17,2038,2039],{},"Say \"core training\" and most people picture sit-ups and a six-pack. For climbers that misses the point entirely. The core you need on the wall is not about how your stomach looks, it is about body tension: the ability to hold your whole midsection rigid so that force from your feet actually reaches your hands, and so that your feet stay on the wall when the ground gets steep.",[17,2041,2042],{},"Here is what that means in practice. On a steep overhang, if your core is soft, pushing with your foot does nothing, because the force just bends you in the middle and your hips sag away from the wall. Engage your core and that same foot push transfers right through your body to keep weight off your fingers. Climbers talk about feet \"cutting loose\" and swinging off on steep ground. That swing is a tension failure as much as a foot failure.",[12,2044,2046],{"id":2045},"what-good-tension-feels-like","What good tension feels like",[17,2048,2049],{},"Watch a strong climber on a roof and notice how their body stays connected, like a single taut unit, hips pressed up towards the wall, feet pasted onto small holds. Now watch someone struggling on the same terrain and you will often see the feet flying off and the hips dropping. The difference is rarely raw finger strength. It is the ability to keep the body tight enough that the feet stay loaded.",[17,2051,2052],{},"The other place core shows up is in keeping your feet on through reachy moves. As you extend for a far hold, your core has to fire to stop your lower body swinging out, so your foot stays on its hold and gives you the base to reach from. Lose that and you barn-door off into space.",[17,2054,2055],{},"So the quality you are after is not endless crunches. It is the ability to create and hold tension across your whole trunk, and to fire it at the right moment.",[12,2057,2059],{"id":2058},"drills-that-carry-over","Drills that carry over",[17,2061,2062],{},"The best core work for climbing looks a lot like climbing positions, holding tension rather than thrashing through reps.",[70,2064,2065,2071,2077,2083],{},[73,2066,2067,2070],{},[76,2068,2069],{},"Front plank and side plank."," The humble starting point. Hold a solid plank with hips level, glutes and stomach engaged, for honest time rather than counting reps. This builds the rigid-trunk position you need on the wall.",[73,2072,2073,2076],{},[76,2074,2075],{},"Hanging leg and knee raises."," Hang from a bar and lift your knees, or your straight legs if you can, slowly and under control. This trains exactly the bring-the-feet-up action you use to keep feet high on steep ground.",[73,2078,2079,2082],{},[76,2080,2081],{},"The hollow body hold."," Lie on your back, press your lower back into the floor, and lift your shoulders and legs slightly so your body forms a shallow banana shape. Hold it. This teaches the all-over tension that translates directly to staying tight on a roof.",[73,2084,2085,2088],{},[76,2086,2087],{},"Front lever progressions."," For stronger climbers, tucked or one-leg front lever holds build huge climbing-specific tension. Build up to them slowly, they are demanding.",[17,2090,2091],{},"Quality beats quantity throughout. A shaky thirty-second plank held properly does more than a hundred sloppy sit-ups.",[12,2093,2095],{"id":2094},"take-it-onto-the-wall","Take it onto the wall",[17,2097,2098],{},"The most useful core training of all is climbing steep ground with deliberate attention to tension. On an overhang, focus on keeping your hips pressed up towards the wall and your feet weighted, rather than letting them dangle. Pick steep problems on purpose. Notice the moment your feet want to cut loose and try to keep them on by tightening through your middle.",[17,2100,2101],{},"Strong core work off the wall gives you the raw capacity. Climbing steep, with intent, teaches you to actually use it. Put the two together and the overhangs that used to spit you off start to feel like something you can stay attached to.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2103},[2104,2105,2106,2107],{"id":2035,"depth":132,"text":2036},{"id":2045,"depth":132,"text":2046},{"id":2058,"depth":132,"text":2059},{"id":2094,"depth":132,"text":2095},"2026-06-16","Why climbing core is about body tension, not six-packs, and drills that carry straight onto the wall.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1502126324834-38f8e02d7160?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber high on an alpine ridge","Brad Barmore","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@bradbarmore",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcore-for-climbers-tension-where-it-counts",{"title":2030,"description":2109},"blog\u002Fcore-for-climbers-tension-where-it-counts",[162,2119,2120],"core","tension","tshSgJgO4SeDFGRZ6KFX6hLeO0LY6HW31wlb2nS7_6w",{"id":2123,"title":2124,"author":7,"body":2125,"category":141,"date":2191,"description":2192,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2193,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":2195,"imageCreditUrl":2196,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2197,"navigation":152,"path":2198,"readTime":1547,"seo":2199,"stem":2200,"tags":2201,"__hash__":2202},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-drop-knee-explained.md","The drop knee, explained",{"type":9,"value":2126,"toc":2185},[2127,2131,2134,2137,2141,2144,2147,2161,2164,2168,2171,2174,2177,2179,2182],[12,2128,2130],{"id":2129},"what-a-drop-knee-actually-does","What a drop knee actually does",[17,2132,2133],{},"A drop knee, sometimes called an Egyptian, is a way of turning your hip into the wall so hard that your bent knee points down and inward. You take two feet that are roughly level, point one set of toes outward, and rotate the knee down so the hip pulls in tight to the wall. The effect is twofold. It pulls your centre of gravity in towards the rock, which takes weight off your arms, and it lengthens your reach on the opposite side because the turned hip pushes that shoulder upward and outward.",[17,2135,2136],{},"On steep ground that second point matters enormously. The thing that makes overhangs feel desperate is that your body hangs away from the wall and your arms hold all the weight. A drop knee fights both problems at once, which is why strong steep climbers reach for it constantly.",[12,2138,2140],{"id":2139},"when-to-reach-for-one","When to reach for one",[17,2142,2143],{},"The classic situation is two footholds at a similar height with a long reach above. If you simply face the wall and pull, the far hold is miles away and your hips sag off the rock. Drop the knee on the side away from the reach, and your body rotates so the reaching arm gets longer and your hips press in. The move that felt like a dyno becomes a static stretch.",[17,2145,2146],{},"A few signs that a drop knee is the answer:",[70,2148,2149,2152,2155,2158],{},[73,2150,2151],{},"The reach is long and to one side, and squaring up leaves you short.",[73,2153,2154],{},"You have a foothold out wide that you could turn off, not just stand on.",[73,2156,2157],{},"You are getting barn-doored away from the wall and need to lock your hips in.",[73,2159,2160],{},"You want a rest on steep ground and need to take weight off your arms.",[17,2162,2163],{},"It is less useful on slabs and gentle vertical ground, where you are not fighting to stay on the wall and a simple high step does the job with less faff.",[12,2165,2167],{"id":2166},"how-to-find-the-position","How to find the position",[17,2169,2170],{},"Set the foot you want to drop with your toes pointing outward, roughly in the direction your knee will end up. Then rotate that knee down and in while you push your hip towards the rock. You should feel the inside of your hip and your standing leg take real tension, and you should feel your weight settle onto the feet rather than the hands.",[17,2172,2173],{},"The most common mistake is not committing to the turn. A timid half-drop does almost nothing. The hip has to rotate properly into the wall for the position to bite. The second mistake is dropping the knee too far below the foothold, which can put an uncomfortable load through the knee joint. Keep the rotation in the hip and do not crank the knee into a position that hurts.",[17,2175,2176],{},"Watch your shoes too. A drop knee asks a lot of the toe you are turning off, so place that foot precisely and trust it. If the foot pops, the whole position collapses and you swing out.",[12,2178,1219],{"id":1218},[17,2180,2181],{},"Drop knees feel awkward until they suddenly feel obvious. The fastest way there is to over-use them on easy steep terrain. Pick an overhanging route a few grades below your limit and look for a drop knee on every move, even where you do not strictly need one. You will learn how the hip turn changes your reach and how much weight comes off your arms.",[17,2183,2184],{},"Once it clicks, you will start spotting drop knees in the route read before you even pull on, and steep climbing stops feeling like an arm contest. That is the whole point: the same move, far less pump.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2186},[2187,2188,2189,2190],{"id":2129,"depth":132,"text":2130},{"id":2139,"depth":132,"text":2140},{"id":2166,"depth":132,"text":2167},{"id":1218,"depth":132,"text":1219},"2026-06-15","What a drop knee does, when to reach for one, and how to find the position on steep ground.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1650819521156-d69c6a5a4564?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber working a bouldering problem","Ruben Vermeulen","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@ruben7511",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-drop-knee-explained",{"title":2124,"description":2192},"blog\u002Fthe-drop-knee-explained",[290,1241,1632],"n5VsHnedfPqN9py-HqWuYCxy38FeNKODMVbBFkvfpvI",{"id":2204,"title":2205,"author":7,"body":2206,"category":1703,"date":2279,"description":2280,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2281,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":2282,"imageCreditUrl":2283,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2284,"navigation":152,"path":2285,"readTime":154,"seo":2286,"stem":2287,"tags":2288,"__hash__":2290},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-a-board-session-that-works.md","Building a board session that works",{"type":9,"value":2207,"toc":2272},[2208,2211,2215,2218,2232,2235,2239,2242,2245,2249,2252,2255,2259,2262,2265,2269],[17,2209,2210],{},"A board will happily let you flail for ninety minutes and call it training. You pull on, try a few random problems, get pumped, peel some skin and go home tired. That is exercise, not progress. The fix is a simple shape to the session that puts the hard work where it counts and protects you from the worst of the overuse.",[12,2212,2214],{"id":2213},"the-shape-warm-up-hard-tries-volume-down","The shape: warm up, hard tries, volume, down",[17,2216,2217],{},"Almost every good board session follows the same four phases in the same order. The order is not arbitrary. It puts your most demanding work when you are freshest and your easiest work when you are tired, which is exactly backwards from how most people climb when left to their own devices.",[70,2219,2220,2223,2226,2229],{},[73,2221,2222],{},"Warm up: raise a sweat and ease the fingers in gradually before any hard pulling.",[73,2224,2225],{},"Hard tries: your limit problems, while you are fresh and sharp.",[73,2227,2228],{},"Volume: a stack of easier problems for movement and capacity.",[73,2230,2231],{},"Down: a few very easy problems to wind down and finish well.",[17,2233,2234],{},"Get this order right and almost everything else takes care of itself.",[12,2236,2238],{"id":2237},"warm-up-like-you-mean-it","Warm up like you mean it",[17,2240,2241],{},"The board is the worst place to skip a warm-up. Steep angles and small holds load fingers hard, and cold tendons do not forgive much. Start with a few minutes of general movement to get blood flowing, then climb easy problems several grades below your limit, dropping the angle if you need to, until your fingers feel warm and your shoulders are switched on.",[17,2243,2244],{},"Spend longer here than feels necessary. Ten to fifteen minutes of progressively harder easy climbing is normal, and it is the cheapest injury insurance you will ever buy. Your first hard try should not be the first time your fingers meet a small crimp that day.",[12,2246,2248],{"id":2247},"hard-tries-are-the-point-of-the-session","Hard tries are the point of the session",[17,2250,2251],{},"Once you are warm, this is where the real adaptation happens. Pick one or two problems at or just above your limit and give them proper attempts. The key is rest. Limit-level tries need real recovery between them, often three to five minutes, so each go is a fair, fresh attempt rather than a tired flail that teaches your body the wrong movement.",[17,2253,2254],{},"Resist the urge to chain attempts every ninety seconds. Quality over quantity is the whole game here. A handful of genuinely fresh, focused tries on a hard problem will do more for you than twenty desperate ones. If you crack the project, pick the next thing up; if you do not, that is fine, that is what projecting is.",[12,2256,2258],{"id":2257},"volume-then-down","Volume, then down",[17,2260,2261],{},"After the hard tries, switch to volume. Climb a stack of problems a couple of grades below your max, moving smoothly, focusing on good footwork and clean movement rather than survival. This builds capacity and grooves technique while you are tired, which is when efficiency actually matters. Keep moving but keep it controlled.",[17,2263,2264],{},"Finish with a few easy problems to wind down, then get off the board before your skin and fingers are completely cooked. Knowing when to stop is a skill. The session that ends with something in the tank beats the one that ends with a tweaked pulley and a week off.",[12,2266,2268],{"id":2267},"keep-it-honest-with-a-record","Keep it honest with a record",[17,2270,2271],{},"The reason structure works is that it makes sessions repeatable, and repeatable sessions are the only ones you can learn from. Note what you sent and what you projected, the angle, and how the hard tries felt. Over a few weeks that record is what tells you whether the plan is working or whether you are just spinning your wheels. Logging it as you go, rather than trying to remember afterwards, is exactly the kind of thing Sendit is there to handle so you can keep your head on the climbing.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2273},[2274,2275,2276,2277,2278],{"id":2213,"depth":132,"text":2214},{"id":2237,"depth":132,"text":2238},{"id":2247,"depth":132,"text":2248},{"id":2257,"depth":132,"text":2258},{"id":2267,"depth":132,"text":2268},"2026-06-12","A simple structure — warm up, hard tries, volume, down — that turns board time into progress.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1682872073234-3af7e7c26585?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Luis Andrés Villalón Vega","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@avillalonv",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-a-board-session-that-works",{"title":2205,"description":2280},"blog\u002Fbuilding-a-board-session-that-works",[1715,162,2289],"sessions","HS0mycwWZJQnuuA2Biqo4aTXjEzeddLjAHuBWfO--tM",{"id":2292,"title":2293,"author":7,"body":2294,"category":2366,"date":2279,"description":2367,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2368,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":2369,"imageCreditUrl":2370,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2371,"navigation":152,"path":2372,"readTime":1547,"seo":2373,"stem":2374,"tags":2375,"__hash__":2379},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fflash-onsight-redpoint-send-styles-explained.md","Flash, onsight, redpoint: send styles explained",{"type":9,"value":2295,"toc":2361},[2296,2299,2303,2306,2332,2335,2339,2342,2345,2348,2351,2355,2358],[17,2297,2298],{},"Two climbers can both tick the same 7a, and the climbing world will treat those ascents very differently. The grade tells you how hard the moves are. The style tells you how the climb was done, and to a lot of climbers the style matters just as much.",[12,2300,2302],{"id":2301},"the-main-styles-from-purest-to-most-worked","The main styles, from purest to most worked",[17,2304,2305],{},"The styles describe how much you knew and how many tries it took.",[70,2307,2308,2314,2320,2326],{},[73,2309,2310,2313],{},[76,2311,2312],{},"Onsight."," You climb it clean, first try, with no prior information at all. You have never watched anyone on it, you have had no beta, you have not even read about the moves. You read the rock as you go. This is generally considered the highest, purest style because nothing is given to you.",[73,2315,2316,2319],{},[76,2317,2318],{},"Flash."," You climb it clean, first try, but you had some information beforehand. You watched someone do it, you got beta, you read a guidebook description, you knew where the crux was. Still first go, still no falls, just not blind.",[73,2321,2322,2325],{},[76,2323,2324],{},"Redpoint."," You climb it clean from bottom to top, no falls and no resting on the rope, but only after practising the moves over multiple attempts. You might have spent a session, or a season, rehearsing the sequence before linking it.",[73,2327,2328,2331],{},[76,2329,2330],{},"Pinkpoint."," An older term for a redpoint where the quickdraws were pre-placed rather than clipped on lead. These days most people just call it a redpoint and do not bother distinguishing.",[17,2333,2334],{},"For boulderers the words are simpler. A boulder problem done first try with no beta is an onsight, first try with beta is a flash, and any clean ascent after working the moves is just a send or a \"tick\".",[12,2336,2338],{"id":2337},"why-style-matters-as-much-as-the-grade","Why style matters as much as the grade",[17,2340,2341],{},"If grade were everything, nobody would care how a route went down. But climbing has always valued the manner of the ascent, not just the difficulty.",[17,2343,2344],{},"Think about what each style asks of you. An onsight demands that you read holds you have never touched, find rests on the fly, and commit to moves you have not rehearsed. It tests your head and your route-reading as much as your fingers. A redpoint, by contrast, lets you remove all the uncertainty and pour everything into pure execution, which is how people climb at the absolute edge of their physical limit.",[17,2346,2347],{},"That difference is why a 6c+ onsight can feel like a bigger achievement than a 7a redpoint for the same climber. One was a leap into the unknown, the other was a polished performance. Neither is better in any absolute sense, they just reward different things.",[17,2349,2350],{},"Style also shapes how you train and what you chase. If you only ever redpoint, you can get very strong on familiar moves but freeze the moment you face something new. If you only ever onsight, you may never find out what you are physically capable of when the uncertainty is taken away. Most well-rounded climbers do a bit of both.",[12,2352,2354],{"id":2353},"a-quiet-matter-of-honesty","A quiet matter of honesty",[17,2356,2357],{},"There is an unwritten rule underneath all this: you report your ascent honestly. If you fell once and pulled back on, it was not a flash. If you had beta, it was not an onsight, even if no one would ever know. The whole vocabulary only works because climbers are honest about it with themselves and each other.",[17,2359,2360],{},"Keeping a record of how each climb went, not just whether you ticked it, is where the real picture of your progress lives. Watching your onsight grade creep up tells you something that your hardest redpoint never will. Sendit lets you log the style alongside the grade, so over time you can see not just what you climbed, but how. And that, more than any single number, is the honest story of how you are improving.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2362},[2363,2364,2365],{"id":2301,"depth":132,"text":2302},{"id":2337,"depth":132,"text":2338},{"id":2353,"depth":132,"text":2354},"Climbing terms","The words climbers use for how a route was done, and why the style matters as much as the grade.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1753210915829-7f67e32d14fc?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Oliver Schwendener","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@oliverschwendener",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fflash-onsight-redpoint-send-styles-explained",{"title":2293,"description":2367},"blog\u002Fflash-onsight-redpoint-send-styles-explained",[2376,2377,2378],"terms","glossary","grades","QLwe6BItGIZHnnEMy2NL_HxEjZ2_jnRyN9dFXpSuY8g",{"id":2381,"title":2382,"author":7,"body":2383,"category":2464,"date":2465,"description":2466,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2467,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":2468,"imageCreditUrl":2469,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2470,"navigation":152,"path":2471,"readTime":2472,"seo":2473,"stem":2474,"tags":2475,"__hash__":2477},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-bring-to-the-climbing-gym.md","What to bring to the climbing gym",{"type":9,"value":2384,"toc":2459},[2385,2388,2392,2395,2398,2402,2405,2425,2428,2432,2435,2442,2456],[17,2386,2387],{},"One of the best things about indoor climbing is how little you need to start. You can rock up to most gyms with nothing and hire everything you need at the desk. But a small, well-chosen kit makes sessions smoother and cheaper, and there is a sensible order in which to buy things as you get hooked.",[12,2389,2391],{"id":2390},"what-you-actually-need-for-a-first-session","What you actually need for a first session",[17,2393,2394],{},"For your very first visit, the honest answer is: comfortable clothes you can move in and a bottle of water. That is it. The gym will rent you shoes, and for bouldering that is all the gear you need. If you are going to climb on a rope, you will also hire a harness and, depending on the gym, a belay device, and you will go through their induction.",[17,2396,2397],{},"Wear something stretchy that lets you high-step and reach without restriction. Leggings or loose shorts and a t-shirt are ideal. Avoid anything too baggy that will snag, and leave the jewellery and rings at home, since rings in particular can cause nasty finger injuries on holds.",[12,2399,2401],{"id":2400},"the-short-packing-list","The short packing list",[17,2403,2404],{},"Once you are going regularly, a small bag sorts you out every time:",[70,2406,2407,2410,2413,2416,2419,2422],{},[73,2408,2409],{},"Climbing shoes, once you decide to buy your own.",[73,2411,2412],{},"Chalk and a chalk bag or bucket. Loose chalk or a chalk ball both work.",[73,2414,2415],{},"A water bottle. Climbing is thirstier work than it looks.",[73,2417,2418],{},"A small towel or a brush for dirty holds.",[73,2420,2421],{},"Tape, for taping over a split tip or a tweaky finger.",[73,2423,2424],{},"A light snack for longer sessions.",[17,2426,2427],{},"That covers almost any indoor session, bouldering or roped.",[12,2429,2431],{"id":2430},"what-to-buy-first-and-when","What to buy first, and when",[17,2433,2434],{},"Resist buying everything at once. Let your climbing tell you what you need.",[17,2436,2437,2438,2441],{},"The first proper purchase for most people is ",[76,2439,2440],{},"shoes",". Hire shoes are fine to begin with, but they are worn, stretched and shared, and a pair that fits you properly transforms how you stand on small footholds. When you buy, go for a fairly neutral, comfortable shoe rather than an aggressive downturned one — your feet are not ready for the discomfort and you do not need the performance yet. They should be snug, not agonising.",[17,2443,2444,2445,2447,2448,2451,2452,2455],{},"Next is ",[76,2446,1823],{},", which is cheap and worth owning straight away. After that, if you move onto ropes, your own ",[76,2449,2450],{},"harness"," and ",[76,2453,2454],{},"belay device"," are a good buy once you know you are sticking with it. Get fitted in person rather than guessing sizes online.",[17,2457,2458],{},"Everything beyond that — brushes, a rope, a rope bag, fancier shoes — comes naturally as your climbing pulls you in particular directions. There is no rush, and no piece of kit will make you better faster than simply turning up and climbing. Keep the bag simple, pack it the night before, and you will spend your energy on the wall rather than rummaging at the desk.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2460},[2461,2462,2463],{"id":2390,"depth":132,"text":2391},{"id":2400,"depth":132,"text":2401},{"id":2430,"depth":132,"text":2431},"Beginners","2026-06-05","A short packing list for indoor sessions, plus the few things worth buying once you are hooked.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1559261585-1335ca732d58?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Steve Bruce","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@stevebruce",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-bring-to-the-climbing-gym",4,{"title":2382,"description":2466},"blog\u002Fwhat-to-bring-to-the-climbing-gym",[562,1822,2476],"checklist","F0r8667th2v8MVg3zYxlqfU47YSv-qtKz_UelT9q_4Q",{"id":2479,"title":2480,"author":7,"body":2481,"category":2555,"date":2556,"description":2557,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2558,"imageAlt":2559,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":2563,"mapLat":2564,"mapLng":2565,"mapPath":2566,"mapZoom":2583,"meta":2584,"navigation":152,"path":2585,"readTime":1547,"seo":2586,"stem":2587,"tags":2588,"__hash__":2591},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-at-stanage.md","Bouldering at Stanage",{"type":9,"value":2482,"toc":2549},[2483,2487,2490,2493,2497,2500,2503,2523,2526,2530,2533,2536,2540,2543,2546],[12,2484,2486],{"id":2485},"the-edge-everyone-visits","The edge everyone visits",[17,2488,2489],{},"Stanage stretches for several kilometres along a hillside above Hathersage in the Peak District, a long dark ridge of gritstone looking out over the Hope Valley. It is probably the most famous edge in the world, and almost every climber in Britain ends up there sooner or later. Some come for the hundreds of trad routes; just as many come for the bouldering, which is spread along the base of the edge and across the blocks scattered below it.",[17,2491,2492],{},"If you have only climbed grit indoors, the real thing takes some getting used to. But once it clicks, Stanage becomes the kind of place you return to for a lifetime.",[12,2494,2496],{"id":2495},"what-the-climbing-feels-like","What the climbing feels like",[17,2498,2499],{},"Gritstone bouldering at Stanage is a particular flavour. The rock is rough and grippy when conditions are good, but the holds are rounded and unhelpful. You climb on slopers, rounded breaks, shallow crimps and friction smears, and a lot of problems come down to a committing mantle or a topout where the holds run out and you simply have to trust your feet and rock over.",[17,2501,2502],{},"A few things define the experience:",[70,2504,2505,2511,2517],{},[73,2506,2507,2510],{},[76,2508,2509],{},"Friction is king."," Cool, dry, breezy days give superb grip. Warm or humid conditions turn the slopers greasy and the grades feel a number harder.",[73,2512,2513,2516],{},[76,2514,2515],{},"Topouts matter."," Many problems are highballs, finishing well above the pads. Reading the topout before you commit is part of the game.",[73,2518,2519,2522],{},[76,2520,2521],{},"Footwork over power."," Grit rewards precise, trusting feet far more than raw pulling strength.",[17,2524,2525],{},"The bouldering covers the full range. There are gentle, friendly problems perfect for a first outdoor session, and there are notorious test pieces that have defeated strong climbers for years. You can spend a whole day on easy circuits or throw yourself at a single hard line — both are valid Stanage days.",[12,2527,2529],{"id":2528},"when-to-go","When to go",[17,2531,2532],{},"Grit is a seasonal rock, and Stanage is best from autumn through to spring. Cold, dry, windy days are what you want, when the friction is at its peak and your skin stays cool. Summer can be poor for the harder stuff, though shaded blocks and easier problems are still enjoyable. The edge dries reasonably quickly after rain given a breeze, but give it time, because climbing on damp grit is both pointless and bad for the rock.",[17,2534,2535],{},"The classic plan is to watch the forecast for a crisp window and then make the most of it.",[12,2537,2539],{"id":2538},"going-there","Going there",[17,2541,2542],{},"Stanage is easy to reach and well loved, which brings responsibilities. Park in the proper car parks rather than clogging the lanes, stick to the paths to limit erosion, and brush off your chalk and tick marks when you finish a problem. Some sections have seasonal nesting restrictions, so check before you go.",[17,2544,2545],{},"Bring a pad or two, a brush for cleaning slopers, and warm layers because the edge is exposed. A flask of something hot makes a winter session far more pleasant.",[17,2547,2548],{},"There is a reason Stanage is the place every UK boulderer ends up. The rock is honest, the setting is beautiful, and there is enough here that you could climb it for years and still have problems left to try. Keeping a tick list as you work along the edge is the best way to remember what you have done and what is still waiting on your next dry, cold day.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2550},[2551,2552,2553,2554],{"id":2485,"depth":132,"text":2486},{"id":2495,"depth":132,"text":2496},{"id":2528,"depth":132,"text":2529},{"id":2538,"depth":132,"text":2539},"Locations & crags","2026-05-29","The most famous gritstone edge in the world, and why every UK climber ends up there eventually.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fbouldering-at-stanage.jpg","Satellite view of Stanage Edge, Peak District","Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.arcgis.com\u002Fhome\u002Fitem.html?id=10df2279f9684e4a9f6a7f08febac2a9","satellite","Stanage Edge, Peak District",53.3375,-1.634,[2567,2570,2573,2576,2577,2580],[2568,2569],53.3585,-1.6262,[2571,2572],53.3512,-1.63,[2574,2575],53.344,-1.6325,[2564,2565],[2578,2579],53.33,-1.6358,[2581,2582],53.3232,-1.6378,13,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-at-stanage",{"title":2480,"description":2557},"blog\u002Fbouldering-at-stanage",[2589,293,2590],"locations","gritstone","_TTT4ItlyqPOQMrTQDX1DIK_5T05Q03eprhLqX6uJiY",{"id":2593,"title":2594,"author":7,"body":2595,"category":2678,"date":2679,"description":2680,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2681,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":2683,"imageCreditUrl":2684,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2685,"navigation":152,"path":2686,"readTime":154,"seo":2687,"stem":2688,"tags":2689,"__hash__":2693},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-films-worth-watching.md","Climbing films worth watching",{"type":9,"value":2596,"toc":2673},[2597,2600,2604,2607,2614,2620,2627,2631,2634,2640,2643,2646,2650,2653,2670],[17,2598,2599],{},"Climbing films are oddly good at converting people. You sit a friend down who has never touched a hold, press play, and an hour later they are asking where the nearest gym is. Something about watching a person inch up impossible rock cuts past the usual scepticism. Here are the ones worth your evening, and worth showing the curious.",[12,2601,2603],{"id":2602},"the-films-that-broke-through","The films that broke through",[17,2605,2606],{},"A handful of climbing documentaries have reached well beyond the climbing world, and for good reason.",[17,2608,2609,2613],{},[2610,2611,2612],"em",{},"Free Solo"," is the obvious starting point. It follows Alex Honnold's ropeless ascent of El Capitan's Freerider in Yosemite, and even people who could not name a single grade come away rattled by it. What makes it more than a stunt reel is the way it sits with the discomfort of the people around him, the partner and friends who have to hold the knowledge of what he is attempting. It is a film about risk and the cost of obsession as much as about climbing.",[17,2615,2616,2619],{},[2610,2617,2618],{},"The Dawn Wall"," tells a slower, rope-bound story on the same wall: Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson's years-long effort to free climb the hardest route on El Capitan. It is the better film for showing what most climbing actually is. Falling, working a section over and over, the grind of returning to a single hard move. The drama is in persistence rather than danger, which is closer to the truth of the sport.",[17,2621,2622,2623,2626],{},"If you want the lineage behind both, ",[2610,2624,2625],{},"Valley Uprising"," is a rowdy history of Yosemite climbing across the decades, full of the characters and feuds that built the place. It explains why El Cap looms so large in the climbing imagination.",[12,2628,2630],{"id":2629},"beyond-the-big-rocks","Beyond the big rocks",[17,2632,2633],{},"Not every great climbing film is set on a thousand-metre wall.",[17,2635,2636,2639],{},[2610,2637,2638],{},"Reel Rock"," is less a film than an annual tour, a touring collection of short pieces that has become a fixture in gyms and cinemas. The quality varies, as anthologies do, but it has captured an enormous range of climbing over the years, from gritstone to alpine choss to bouldering in the woods. If you want a sense of the breadth of the sport, this is the place to graze.",[17,2641,2642],{},"For something quieter, the older Patagonia and outdoor-brand short films are worth digging out. They tend to dwell on landscape and character rather than the hardest possible objective, and they age well precisely because they are not chasing a record.",[17,2644,2645],{},"Older heads will point you towards the climbing films of decades past, the grainy gritstone footage and the early big-wall expeditions. They look dated now, but they carry a flavour of the era and a reminder that the sport did not begin with sticky rubber and crash pads.",[12,2647,2649],{"id":2648},"watching-well","Watching well",[17,2651,2652],{},"A few thoughts before you queue these up.",[70,2654,2655,2664,2667],{},[73,2656,2657,2658,2660,2661,2663],{},"Show ",[2610,2659,2618],{}," before ",[2610,2662,2612],{}," to anyone new. It gives them an honest picture of the work involved before the rope-free spectacle reframes climbing as death-defying.",[73,2665,2666],{},"Take the danger on screen with some perspective. The vast majority of climbing is roped, padded and far less precarious than a free solo. Films naturally gravitate to the extreme because it is cinematic, not because it is normal.",[73,2668,2669],{},"Resist the urge to compare yourself. These are the strongest climbers alive working at the edge of what is possible. The point is to be moved, not measured.",[17,2671,2672],{},"What these films do best is convey the feeling rather than the numbers: the focus, the fear, the absurd joy of moving over stone. That is the thing that hooks people, and it is the thing that keeps the rest of us coming back long after the novelty should have worn off. Watch a couple, and you will probably find yourself itching to get on the wall before the credits finish. When you do, it is worth keeping a record of the climbs that lit the same spark in you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2674},[2675,2676,2677],{"id":2602,"depth":132,"text":2603},{"id":2629,"depth":132,"text":2630},{"id":2648,"depth":132,"text":2649},"Climbing culture","2026-05-22","From Free Solo to The Dawn Wall — the films that capture climbing and pull new people in.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1577434150594-9eff5643b78a?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber outdoors","Rahadiansyah","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@rahadiansyah",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-films-worth-watching",{"title":2594,"description":2680},"blog\u002Fclimbing-films-worth-watching",[2690,2691,2692],"climbing culture","films","inspiration","FacSMstcjgE0Alqucl4Luk9EpxR2gInTkke-BIW9u7k",{"id":2695,"title":2696,"author":7,"body":2697,"category":2785,"date":2786,"description":2787,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2788,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":2789,"imageCreditUrl":2790,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2791,"navigation":152,"path":2792,"readTime":154,"seo":2793,"stem":2794,"tags":2795,"__hash__":2798},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbreaking-through-a-climbing-plateau.md","Breaking through a climbing plateau",{"type":9,"value":2698,"toc":2779},[2699,2703,2706,2709,2713,2716,2742,2745,2749,2752,2758,2764,2769,2773,2776],[12,2700,2702],{"id":2701},"why-progress-stalls","Why progress stalls",[17,2704,2705],{},"For your first year or two, climbing gives gains away. You get fitter, your skin toughens, you learn to trust your feet, and the grades tick up almost on their own. Then it stops. You spend months camped on the same number, and the projects that once felt like progress now feel like a wall.",[17,2707,2708],{},"A plateau is not a sign you have hit your ceiling. It is usually a sign that the things which made you better early on have stopped being the limiting factor. The general fitness and confidence came easily. Now the gaps are specific, and \"just climb more\" no longer finds them. Breaking through means working out which specific thing is actually holding you back, rather than grinding harder at everything.",[12,2710,2712],{"id":2711},"find-the-real-limiter","Find the real limiter",[17,2714,2715],{},"Before you change your training, spend a few sessions honestly watching yourself fall. Most plateaus trace back to one or two of these:",[70,2717,2718,2724,2730,2736],{},[73,2719,2720,2723],{},[76,2721,2722],{},"Technique."," You fall off because your feet cut loose, your hips stay square to the wall, or you over-grip every hold. No amount of extra strength fixes a movement problem.",[73,2725,2726,2729],{},[76,2727,2728],{},"Finger strength."," You can do the moves on big holds but the route's actual crimps spit you off. The limiter is the contact points, not the moves.",[73,2731,2732,2735],{},[76,2733,2734],{},"Power and power endurance."," You can do every move in isolation but fade halfway up, or you cannot link a powerful sequence even rested.",[73,2737,2738,2741],{},[76,2739,2740],{},"Tactics and head."," You climb well on the warm-up and fall apart on the redpoint, hesitating, downclimbing, gripping out of fear rather than running out of strength.",[17,2743,2744],{},"The fix follows the diagnosis. If you cut feet on overhangs, drill body tension and footwork on steep ground. If small holds end your attempts, careful hangboard work or just more time on crimpy problems addresses it. If you pump out, train linking and pacing. Throwing a strength plan at a technique problem is the most common way to stay stuck.",[12,2746,2748],{"id":2747},"change-something-deliberately","Change something deliberately",[17,2750,2751],{},"Once you know the limiter, change a variable on purpose rather than drifting.",[17,2753,2754,2757],{},[76,2755,2756],{},"Volume and intensity."," Plateaus often hide behind sessions that look hard but are not structured. If every session is a flailing attempt at your max, you never build the base underneath it. Try a block of easier mileage to clean up movement, or conversely a block of genuinely hard, short efforts if you only ever climb in your comfortable midrange.",[17,2759,2760,2763],{},[76,2761,2762],{},"Variety."," Climbing the same wall, the same angle and the same style for months narrows you. Travel to different rock, climb a style you avoid, jump on slabs if you are a steep-wall climber. Your weaknesses are exactly the things you have been quietly avoiding.",[17,2765,2766,2768],{},[76,2767,102],{}," This is the one most people get wrong. Strength and skin and tendons adapt during recovery, not during the session. If you have been climbing four or five days a week and stagnating, taking a genuine deload week or trimming to three quality sessions often does more than any new exercise. Tired climbers move badly and plateau hard.",[12,2770,2772],{"id":2771},"be-patient-with-the-breakthrough","Be patient with the breakthrough",[17,2774,2775],{},"Real progress at this stage is slow and uneven, and it rarely announces itself. You will not feel transformed. You will just notice one day that a move which used to stop you no longer does, and a grade that felt impossible feels merely hard.",[17,2777,2778],{},"The climbers who get through plateaus are usually the ones who got specific. They stopped doing more of everything and started fixing the one thing that mattered. Tracking your sessions, what you fell on and why, and how rested you felt makes that one thing far easier to spot, which is half the battle. The other half is the patience to work on it without expecting it to pay off next week.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2780},[2781,2782,2783,2784],{"id":2701,"depth":132,"text":2702},{"id":2711,"depth":132,"text":2712},{"id":2747,"depth":132,"text":2748},{"id":2771,"depth":132,"text":2772},"Mindset & community","2026-05-15","Why progress stalls, and the changes — volume, technique, rest — that get it moving again.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F27901181\u002Fpexels-photo-27901181.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","Sergio Arreola","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@sergio-arreola",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbreaking-through-a-climbing-plateau",{"title":2696,"description":2787},"blog\u002Fbreaking-through-a-climbing-plateau",[2796,2797,162],"mindset","progression","Rziwba4vr9UdS03GJyKxxl-U2D1B61aHqe-bds8yEqs",{"id":2800,"title":2801,"author":7,"body":2802,"category":1703,"date":2874,"description":2875,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1623,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1625,"imageCreditUrl":1626,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2877,"navigation":152,"path":2878,"readTime":1547,"seo":2879,"stem":2880,"tags":2881,"__hash__":2884},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fset-your-own-board-problems.md","Set your own board problems",{"type":9,"value":2803,"toc":2869},[2804,2808,2811,2814,2817,2821,2824,2827,2853,2856,2860,2863,2866],[12,2805,2807],{"id":2806},"why-bother-setting-your-own","Why bother setting your own",[17,2809,2810],{},"Climbing other people's problems is easy and endless. There are thousands of shared lines to pull on, and you could spend years working through them. But setting your own changes how you see the wall. Instead of solving a puzzle someone else built, you start asking what makes a move hard, why one hold sequence flows and another fights you, and where your own weaknesses actually live.",[17,2812,2813],{},"That shift is worth more than it sounds. When you set, you have to think like the wall. You notice that a hold faces slightly the wrong way for a left hand, that the distance between two crimps demands a foot you had not considered, that the move you imagined as a static lock-off is really a deadpoint. You learn movement from the inside out.",[17,2815,2816],{},"There is also the simple fact that you can target what you avoid. Bad at slopers? Set a problem that is nothing but slopers. Weak pulling off small feet? Strip the footholds back until your toes are working hard. A self-set problem is a training prescription you wrote for yourself.",[12,2818,2820],{"id":2819},"how-to-set-a-line-worth-repeating","How to set a line worth repeating",[17,2822,2823],{},"A good board problem has a clear idea. It is not a random scatter of holds you happened to like the look of. Before you start, decide what the problem is about: a powerful first move, a balancy sequence on poor feet, a long reach to a sloper. Then make every hold serve that idea.",[17,2825,2826],{},"A few habits that lead to better lines:",[70,2828,2829,2835,2841,2847],{},[73,2830,2831,2834],{},[76,2832,2833],{},"Set the crux first."," Find the hard move you want, then build the rest of the problem to set it up and follow on from it. Working backwards from the crux keeps the problem focused.",[73,2836,2837,2840],{},[76,2838,2839],{},"Mind the feet."," Footholds shape difficulty as much as handholds. Removing a foot or pushing it further out can turn a soft move into a proper one without changing a single hand.",[73,2842,2843,2846],{},[76,2844,2845],{},"Make it climb in one style."," A problem that switches randomly between crimping and slopers and big jugs often feels disjointed. Pick a texture and commit to it.",[73,2848,2849,2852],{},[76,2850,2851],{},"Test it honestly."," Climb your own line. If it only works one way and that way feels contrived, adjust it. If you can skip the move you cared about, tighten the holds around it.",[17,2854,2855],{},"Angle is part of the design too. The same holds at 25 degrees and at 45 degrees give completely different problems, so think about which angle expresses your idea best before you commit.",[12,2857,2859],{"id":2858},"naming-grading-and-sharing","Naming, grading and sharing",[17,2861,2862],{},"Once a problem climbs well, give it a name and a grade. Grading your own setting is humbling and useful in equal measure. You will overgrade things you found hard for personal reasons and undergrade things that suit you, and comparing your guess to how others find it teaches you a lot about your own biases.",[17,2864,2865],{},"Sharing is where it gets fun. A board problem you set can be repeated by anyone on the same board layout, in your gym or across the world. Watching someone else find a different sequence through your line, or shut down on the move you thought was easy, is one of the quiet pleasures of board climbing.",[17,2867,2868],{},"Sendit lets you set, grade and share board problems and keep track of which of your lines are getting repeated. But you do not need any of that to start. Stand in front of the board, decide what you want the problem to be about, and build it one move at a time. The first few you set will be clumsy. Keep going. Setting well is a skill like any other, and it makes you a sharper climber every time you do it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2870},[2871,2872,2873],{"id":2806,"depth":132,"text":2807},{"id":2819,"depth":132,"text":2820},{"id":2858,"depth":132,"text":2859},"2026-05-08","Why setting your own lines makes you a better climber, and how to set ones worth repeating.","Inside a climbing gym",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fset-your-own-board-problems",{"title":2801,"description":2875},"blog\u002Fset-your-own-board-problems",[1715,2882,2883],"setting","creativity","HXR3yiX8EOGENuXGvM7EkOihWsjX4V6fLzovtlWcnrA",{"id":2886,"title":2887,"author":7,"body":2888,"category":141,"date":2965,"description":2966,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":2967,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":2968,"imageCreditUrl":2969,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":2970,"navigation":152,"path":2971,"readTime":1547,"seo":2972,"stem":2973,"tags":2974,"__hash__":2977},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fmantling-how-to-top-out-with-confidence.md","Mantling: how to top out with confidence",{"type":9,"value":2889,"toc":2959},[2890,2894,2897,2900,2904,2907,2933,2936,2940,2943,2946,2949,2953,2956],[12,2891,2893],{"id":2892},"the-move-that-finishes-the-climb","The move that finishes the climb",[17,2895,2896],{},"Plenty of boulders are won at the bottom and lost at the top. You fight through the crux, pull onto the finishing jug, and then have to get your body up and over a rounded lip with nothing good to pull on. That last bit is the mantle, and it undoes more climbers than the hard moves below it. It is essentially a press-up done over the edge of the wall, and if you have never practised it on purpose, it tends to feel far more frightening than it should.",[17,2898,2899],{},"The reason it spooks people is that a mantle asks you to commit your weight onto your hands, push your body up, and rock over the top while you are high above the pads and looking down. Strength helps, but mostly it is a sequence problem. Break it into stages and it stops being a panic and starts being a procedure.",[12,2901,2903],{"id":2902},"the-sequence-step-by-step","The sequence, step by step",[17,2905,2906],{},"Think of the mantle in four phases. Set the hands, get the feet, press, and rock over.",[70,2908,2909,2915,2921,2927],{},[73,2910,2911,2914],{},[76,2912,2913],{},"Set the hands."," Get both hands onto the top, flat on the surface if it is rounded, or pulling down on whatever edge exists. On a real top-out the surface is often a slopey shelf, so you are pressing down rather than gripping.",[73,2916,2917,2920],{},[76,2918,2919],{},"Get a foot high."," This is the part people skip. Bring a foot up onto a hold or smear near the lip so you can drive with your leg instead of trying to muscle the whole thing with your arms. A high heel hook on the lip is gold when it is available.",[73,2922,2923,2926],{},[76,2924,2925],{},"Press."," Straighten your arms to push your shoulders above your hands. Your wrists bend back and your palms take the weight, which feels alien at first and is exactly why you practise it low down.",[73,2928,2929,2932],{},[76,2930,2931],{},"Rock over."," Shift your weight forwards over your hands and bring a knee or foot up onto the surface. Once your centre of gravity is over the top, the fight is basically over.",[17,2934,2935],{},"The order matters. Most failed mantles come from trying to press before the feet are set, so all the load lands on the arms and the climber stalls halfway up with their hips pinned below the lip.",[12,2937,2939],{"id":2938},"drills-to-build-it","Drills to build it",[17,2941,2942],{},"You do not need a top-out to practise mantling. The basic press is easy to rehearse safely close to the ground.",[17,2944,2945],{},"Find any waist-height ledge, boulder, or sturdy box. Place both palms flat, press down until your arms are straight and your hips rise, then bring a foot up and rock over onto it. Do it slowly and feel where your weight goes. The two things to drill are pressing into a flat palm with the wrist bent back, and the forward shift of weight over the hands. Both feel uncomfortable until they are familiar.",[17,2947,2948],{},"It is also worth strengthening the press itself. Triceps dips, planche-style presses, and simple press-ups all carry directly onto the wall. The wrist position is its own thing, though, so spend time loading a flat-palm press rather than only training pulls.",[12,2950,2952],{"id":2951},"commit-and-look-up","Commit, and look up",[17,2954,2955],{},"The last piece is mental. A mantle done tentatively, with your weight hanging back and your eyes locked on the drop, almost always fails. Once your hands and feet are set, the safest thing you can do is commit decisively to the rock-over. Look up and forward, not down. Hesitating mid-press is what leaves you stuck.",[17,2957,2958],{},"If top-outs make you nervous, that is normal and worth respecting outdoors, where the consequences are real and a spotter and good pads matter. But the move itself is learnable, and a few sessions of deliberate low-down practice will turn the scariest part of a boulder into the part you trust.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":2960},[2961,2962,2963,2964],{"id":2892,"depth":132,"text":2893},{"id":2902,"depth":132,"text":2903},{"id":2938,"depth":132,"text":2939},{"id":2951,"depth":132,"text":2952},"2026-05-01","The press-up move that finishes so many boulders, broken down step by step.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1597698063932-9450882bb1be?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Yente Van Eynde","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@yente95",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fmantling-how-to-top-out-with-confidence",{"title":2887,"description":2966},"blog\u002Fmantling-how-to-top-out-with-confidence",[290,2975,2976],"topout","mantle","kfmwksNTLaKfB5FAvUYYGRflII1qHXMX5XxksoI9aLU",{"id":2979,"title":2980,"author":7,"body":2981,"category":2785,"date":3046,"description":3047,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3048,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":3049,"imageCreditUrl":3050,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3051,"navigation":152,"path":3052,"readTime":1547,"seo":3053,"stem":3054,"tags":3055,"__hash__":3059},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flearning-from-climbing-on-youtube.md","Learning from climbing on YouTube",{"type":9,"value":2982,"toc":3040},[2983,2986,2990,2993,2996,3007,3010,3014,3017,3020,3024,3027,3030,3034,3037],[17,2984,2985],{},"There has never been more good climbing to watch. Send footage, training breakdowns, beta videos, full films — it is all a search away and most of it is free. Watched well, it is one of the cheapest ways to improve. Watched lazily, it is just nice footage that makes you feel like you trained when you did not. The difference is how you watch.",[12,2987,2989],{"id":2988},"watch-movement-not-the-result","Watch movement, not the result",[17,2991,2992],{},"Most people watch a hard send the way they watch a goal in football — they see the moment it goes in and miss everything that set it up. To actually learn, slow the footage down and watch the boring parts. How does the climber set up for the crux move? Where are the feet before the big pull? When do they breathe, and when do they shake out?",[17,2994,2995],{},"A few habits make a clip far more useful:",[70,2997,2998,3001,3004],{},[73,2999,3000],{},"Drop the playback to half speed for the crux section.",[73,3002,3003],{},"Watch the same move three or four times, looking at one thing each time — feet, hips, hands, timing.",[73,3005,3006],{},"Pause at the moment before the hard move and ask what they did to make it possible.",[17,3008,3009],{},"The lesson is almost never the obvious dynamic move. It is the quiet drop knee, the high foot, or the body position that turned a desperate lunge into a controlled reach.",[12,3011,3013],{"id":3012},"copy-principles-not-exact-beta","Copy principles, not exact beta",[17,3015,3016],{},"Beta videos are brilliant for routes you are actually trying. The trap is treating someone else's sequence as gospel. Climbers come in different heights, with different strengths and different ape indices. The exact heel hook that works for a tall climber with long arms might be useless for you, and a static reach for them might be a jump for you.",[17,3018,3019],{},"So take the principles, not the choreography. Notice that they keep their hips close on the steep section, or that they rest on the obvious jug before committing. Then go and find your own way through the moves. The footage tells you what is possible and roughly where the difficulty lies. Your body works out the rest.",[12,3021,3023],{"id":3022},"keep-a-critical-eye","Keep a critical eye",[17,3025,3026],{},"A lot of training content is genuinely good. Some of it is confident nonsense dressed up well. You do not need to be an expert to filter it. Be wary of anyone promising a fixed number of grades in a fixed number of weeks, or selling a single drill as the secret nobody else knows. Real progress is slower and more boring than that, and honest coaches say so.",[17,3028,3029],{},"When advice contradicts itself across channels, that is usually a sign the truth is \"it depends\" — on your level, your weaknesses, and how much you can recover. Treat videos as ideas to test, not instructions to obey. The good ones give you something to try on your next session; the bad ones just give you something to feel anxious about.",[12,3031,3033],{"id":3032},"turn-watching-into-doing","Turn watching into doing",[17,3035,3036],{},"The biggest failure mode is watching hours of inspiring climbing and changing nothing. Footage only counts if it reaches the wall. After a video that taught you something, write down the one thing you want to try — keep the hips in on overhangs, place the foot before looking up, rest before the crux — and bring exactly that to your next session.",[17,3038,3039],{},"One idea, properly tested, beats ten ideas admired from the sofa. Watch with intent, steal the principles, stay a little sceptical, and take it to the wall. That is how a screen full of strong climbers actually makes you a better one.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3041},[3042,3043,3044,3045],{"id":2988,"depth":132,"text":2989},{"id":3012,"depth":132,"text":3013},{"id":3022,"depth":132,"text":3023},{"id":3032,"depth":132,"text":3033},"2026-04-24","How to use climbing films and channels to learn movement — and watch with a critical eye.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F9830455\u002Fpexels-photo-9830455.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","Enes Eev","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@eneseev-pex",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Flearning-from-climbing-on-youtube",{"title":2980,"description":3047},"blog\u002Flearning-from-climbing-on-youtube",[3056,3057,3058],"community","learning","youtube","Dk-TbWl8hX26_Xhnh7i1JCI4OCq8rn8nwK0tVHmpajs",{"id":3061,"title":3062,"author":7,"body":3063,"category":2555,"date":3155,"description":3156,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3157,"imageAlt":3158,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":3159,"mapLat":3160,"mapLng":3161,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":3162,"meta":3163,"navigation":152,"path":3164,"readTime":154,"seo":3165,"stem":3166,"tags":3167,"__hash__":3170},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-peak-district.md","Climbing in the Peak District",{"type":9,"value":3064,"toc":3149},[3065,3069,3072,3076,3079,3082,3112,3115,3119,3122,3125,3129,3132,3135,3146],[12,3066,3068],{"id":3067},"two-kinds-of-rock-in-one-national-park","Two kinds of rock in one national park",[17,3070,3071],{},"The Peak District sits in the middle of England, ringed by Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and the M1, which means a huge slice of the country can reach it within a couple of hours. What it offers, almost uniquely, is two completely different climbing styles within a short drive of each other: rough gritstone in the Dark Peak to the north and east, and steeper, smoother limestone in the White Peak to the south. Learn to climb both and you have a thorough education in British rock.",[12,3073,3075],{"id":3074},"gritstone-the-soul-of-it","Gritstone: the soul of it",[17,3077,3078],{},"Gritstone is what the Peak is famous for. The edges — long, broken lines of dark sandstone perched on hillsides — give some of the most distinctive climbing anywhere. The rock is coarse and grippy, the holds are rounded, and the style is all about friction, balance and commitment. Cracks take hand jams and protection, while the blanker faces ask you to trust your feet on smears and pull on slopers that feel like nothing until you weight them properly.",[17,3080,3081],{},"Grit has a reputation, and it is partly deserved. The grades can feel stiff, especially on the bold, sparsely protected face climbs the area is known for. But there is plenty here for everyone:",[70,3083,3084,3090,3103],{},[73,3085,3086,3089],{},[76,3087,3088],{},"Stanage Edge"," is the headline act, with hundreds of routes and superb bouldering along its length.",[73,3091,3092,3095,3096,2451,3099,3102],{},[76,3093,3094],{},"Burbage",", ",[76,3097,3098],{},"Froggatt",[76,3100,3101],{},"Curbar"," offer everything from gentle cracks to terrifying highballs.",[73,3104,3105,2451,3108,3111],{},[76,3106,3107],{},"The Roaches",[76,3109,3110],{},"Hen Cloud"," in the Staffordshire moorlands give a wilder, more remote feel.",[17,3113,3114],{},"Grit also boulders beautifully. Many climbers come purely for the blocs scattered beneath the edges, with their slopers, mantles and committing topouts.",[12,3116,3118],{"id":3117},"limestone-steeper-and-more-sustained","Limestone: steeper and more sustained",[17,3120,3121],{},"Cross into the White Peak and the rock changes entirely. The limestone dales hold steep sport and trad crags with a more continental feel — pockets, crimps and sustained, pumpy climbing rather than friction and balance. Crags around the Wye and Manifold valleys give bolted sport routes that suit climbers wanting to push their endurance, while there is hard trad here too for those who want it.",[17,3123,3124],{},"If grit teaches you to be calm and precise, Peak limestone teaches you to keep moving while your forearms fill up. The two complement each other well across a season.",[12,3126,3128],{"id":3127},"practicalities-for-a-visit","Practicalities for a visit",[17,3130,3131],{},"The Peak climbs year-round, but each rock type has its season. Gritstone is best in cool, dry, breezy conditions — autumn through spring is prime, and summer friction can be poor. Limestone, being steeper and often more sheltered, can give good climbing on warmer days and stays in condition through more of the year.",[17,3133,3134],{},"A few things worth knowing before you go:",[70,3136,3137,3140,3143],{},[73,3138,3139],{},"Most crags are a short walk from roadside parking, but access is a privilege. Stick to paths, park sensibly, and follow any seasonal nesting restrictions on the edges.",[73,3141,3142],{},"Grit needs cool, dry skin and dry rock. It holds moisture, so give it time to dry after rain.",[73,3144,3145],{},"For trad, you will want a standard rack; for grit, a good selection of cams and nuts plus a cool head.",[17,3147,3148],{},"Few areas pack so much variety into such a small space. You can boulder grit in the morning and clip bolts on limestone in the afternoon. Keeping a record of which edges and dales you have visited makes it easy to plan return trips and chase the classics you missed first time round.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3150},[3151,3152,3153,3154],{"id":3067,"depth":132,"text":3068},{"id":3074,"depth":132,"text":3075},{"id":3117,"depth":132,"text":3118},{"id":3127,"depth":132,"text":3128},"2026-04-17","Gritstone edges and limestone crags within reach of half of England — a tour for visiting climbers.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fclimbing-in-the-peak-district.jpg","Satellite view of The Roaches, Peak District","The Roaches, Peak District",53.332,-1.625,12,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-peak-district",{"title":3062,"description":3156},"blog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-peak-district",[2589,3168,3169],"outdoor","peak district","Yl-zvheKuuS2iAZCuazywyJUK8DeFMLkrtW_JId0cBo",{"id":3172,"title":3173,"author":7,"body":3174,"category":2785,"date":3242,"description":3243,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3244,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1543,"imageCreditUrl":1544,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3245,"navigation":152,"path":3246,"readTime":154,"seo":3247,"stem":3248,"tags":3249,"__hash__":3251},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-we-can-learn-from-how-the-pros-train.md","What we can learn from how the pros train",{"type":9,"value":3175,"toc":3236},[3176,3179,3183,3186,3189,3193,3196,3199,3210,3213,3217,3220,3223,3227,3230,3233],[17,3177,3178],{},"It is tempting to think the strongest climbers train harder than the rest of us. Mostly they do not. What they do is train smarter, rest more honestly, and pay closer attention to what is actually limiting them. None of that requires a sponsorship or a campervan. Here are the habits worth borrowing.",[12,3180,3182],{"id":3181},"they-rest-like-it-is-part-of-the-plan","They rest like it is part of the plan",[17,3184,3185],{},"Watch a strong climber on a hard project and you will notice how long they sit between burns. Three, five, sometimes ten minutes. They are not killing time, they are letting the forearms clear so the next attempt is a true effort rather than a tired one. Amateurs tend to rush back on, climb fatigued, and learn nothing except how to fail with bad technique.",[17,3187,3188],{},"The same applies across the week. Elite climbers treat rest days as training, because that is when the body actually adapts. Two or three hard sessions a week with real recovery between them will take you further than five mediocre ones. If every session feels flat, you are probably not resting enough rather than not climbing enough.",[12,3190,3192],{"id":3191},"they-read-before-they-pull","They read before they pull",[17,3194,3195],{},"The biggest difference between a beginner and a seasoned climber is often what happens before the hands touch a hold. Strong climbers stand back and read the route. They work out where the rests are, which hand goes on which hold, where a heel hook or a drop knee will save energy, and where the crux really sits. By the time they leave the ground they have a plan.",[17,3197,3198],{},"You can practise this on every climb, indoors or out. Before you pull on:",[70,3200,3201,3204,3207],{},[73,3202,3203],{},"Trace the line with your eyes and pick your hand sequence.",[73,3205,3206],{},"Spot the feet, not just the hands. Most cruxes are solved with the feet.",[73,3208,3209],{},"Decide where you will breathe and shake out.",[17,3211,3212],{},"Reading well turns a desperate scrap into a series of deliberate moves. It also means that when you fall, you learn something specific rather than just \"it was hard\".",[12,3214,3216],{"id":3215},"they-practise-deliberately","They practise deliberately",[17,3218,3219],{},"Repeating what you are already good at feels nice and changes very little. Pros spend a lot of time doing the opposite — drilling the thing they are bad at. If slopers spit them off, they go and find slopers. If they are weak on steep ground, they project on the steep wall even when the slab next door would flatter their ego.",[17,3221,3222],{},"Deliberate practice means picking one weakness, working it with full attention, and accepting that you will look worse before you look better. It is slower and less fun than ticking soft grades, which is exactly why most people avoid it and why it works.",[12,3224,3226],{"id":3225},"they-keep-an-honest-record","They keep an honest record",[17,3228,3229],{},"Almost every climber who improves steadily tracks something — what they sent, what they fell off, how they felt, what the angle was. It does not need to be elaborate. The point is that memory lies. You forget that the move you keep failing is always the same high left foot, or that your best sessions follow two full rest days.",[17,3231,3232],{},"A simple log turns scattered sessions into a pattern you can act on, and a record of grades and angles over time tells you whether your training is actually working. This is the quiet, unglamorous habit underneath all the others, and it is the one anyone can start today. If you want to keep that record without faff, Sendit is built to make logging a climb a few taps rather than a chore.",[17,3234,3235],{},"The honest takeaway is that the pros are not doing anything mysterious. They rest properly, read carefully, train their weaknesses, and pay attention. Borrow those four things and the grades tend to follow.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3237},[3238,3239,3240,3241],{"id":3181,"depth":132,"text":3182},{"id":3191,"depth":132,"text":3192},{"id":3215,"depth":132,"text":3216},{"id":3225,"depth":132,"text":3226},"2026-04-10","The habits elite climbers share — rest, reading, deliberate practice — that any climber can borrow.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F5383740\u002Fpexels-photo-5383740.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-we-can-learn-from-how-the-pros-train",{"title":3173,"description":3243},"blog\u002Fwhat-we-can-learn-from-how-the-pros-train",[162,2796,3250],"pros","ItWBBkH9dT2eNEeZNkdxZVHBnU5TB1lWeIPEFfjzkdI",{"id":3253,"title":3254,"author":7,"body":3255,"category":2366,"date":3318,"description":3319,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3320,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":554,"imageCreditUrl":555,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3321,"navigation":152,"path":3322,"readTime":2472,"seo":3323,"stem":3324,"tags":3325,"__hash__":3326},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-the-crux.md","What is the crux?",{"type":9,"value":3256,"toc":3313},[3257,3260,3264,3267,3270,3274,3277,3280,3294,3297,3301,3304,3307,3310],[17,3258,3259],{},"Every climb has a moment where it asks the most of you. That moment is the crux: the hardest move, or short sequence of moves, on a route or boulder problem. Everything else on the climb is, in a sense, getting to and from it.",[12,3261,3263],{"id":3262},"the-hardest-bit-by-definition","The hardest bit, by definition",[17,3265,3266],{},"The word comes from the Latin for cross, and it carries the sense of a crossing point, the bit you have to get through. On a sport route the crux might be a single desperate reach between two crimps thirty metres up. On a boulder it could be the very first move off the ground, or a balance-y top-out where a fall is the last thing you want.",[17,3268,3269],{},"A climb can have more than one crux. Long routes often have a lower crux and an upper crux, and the upper one tends to feel harder simply because you arrive at it tired and pumped. Some climbs have a \"redpoint crux\", which is not the physically hardest move but the move you keep falling on because by the time you reach it your forearms are screaming. The grade of a climb is usually pinned to its crux, which is why a route can feel easy for most of its length and still earn a stiff number.",[12,3271,3273],{"id":3272},"learning-to-spot-it-before-you-climb","Learning to spot it before you climb",[17,3275,3276],{},"Reading the crux from the ground is a skill worth building. Look for the places where the holds get smaller, further apart, or worse-angled. Steep sections, blank-looking panels, and gaps between good holds are all candidates. On a board climb you can often see the crux in the spacing of the lit holds and the angle of the wall.",[17,3278,3279],{},"A few tells that you have found the crux:",[70,3281,3282,3285,3288,3291],{},[73,3283,3284],{},"The holds visibly shrink, from jugs to crimps, or from positive edges to slopers.",[73,3286,3287],{},"There is a long reach with nothing obvious in between.",[73,3289,3290],{},"The feet run out and you have to commit to a high step, a heel hook, or a smear.",[73,3292,3293],{},"Everyone you watch falls in roughly the same place.",[17,3295,3296],{},"Spotting it early lets you plan. You can work out where your last good rest is, which hand needs to be on which hold, and whether you want to climb into it fast or slow.",[12,3298,3300],{"id":3299},"why-naming-it-changes-how-you-climb","Why naming it changes how you climb",[17,3302,3303],{},"Here is the quiet benefit of the word. Once you can point at the crux and say \"that is the hard bit\", the rest of the climb stops feeling uniformly terrifying. You can relax through the easy ground, conserve energy, and save your focus for the moment that actually demands it.",[17,3305,3306],{},"Climbers who do not name the crux tend to climb everything at full intensity, which burns them out before they reach the part that matters. Climbers who do name it learn to breathe on the jugs, shake out before the hard move, and arrive at the crux with something left in the tank.",[17,3308,3309],{},"It also reframes failure. Falling off the crux is not failing the whole climb, it is failing one move, and one move is a much smaller thing to fix. You go back, work out the sequence, try a different foot, and suddenly the climb that felt impossible has a clear edge to chip away at.",[17,3311,3312],{},"So the takeaway is small but real. Find the crux, name it, and let it tell you where to spend your energy. The rest of the wall gets a lot friendlier once you know where the fight is.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3314},[3315,3316,3317],{"id":3262,"depth":132,"text":3263},{"id":3272,"depth":132,"text":3273},{"id":3299,"depth":132,"text":3300},"2026-04-03","The hardest move on a climb — how to spot it, and why naming it changes how you climb.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1516641380162-35b44adf4697?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-the-crux",{"title":3254,"description":3319},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-the-crux",[2376,2377,562],"SyXtQLtncNiywqa3pLnGNhm6DDK4hvfMzceIla_34Kc",{"id":3328,"title":3329,"author":7,"body":3330,"category":141,"date":3400,"description":3401,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3402,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":3403,"imageCreditUrl":3404,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3405,"navigation":152,"path":3406,"readTime":1547,"seo":3407,"stem":3408,"tags":3409,"__hash__":3410},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-fall-safely-when-bouldering.md","How to fall safely when bouldering",{"type":9,"value":3331,"toc":3393},[3332,3336,3339,3343,3346,3349,3363,3366,3370,3373,3376,3380,3383,3386,3390],[12,3333,3335],{"id":3334},"falling-is-part-of-the-sport","Falling is part of the sport",[17,3337,3338],{},"Bouldering means falling. You will come off, often, and from height, and that is normal rather than a failure. The catch is that a lot of bouldering injuries happen not on the wall but on the way down: a twisted ankle from a bad landing, a wrist hurt from throwing out an arm, a knee turned on an uneven mat edge. The good news is that falling well is a skill like any other, and once you learn it most falls become boring, which is exactly what you want them to be.",[12,3340,3342],{"id":3341},"land-soft-and-roll","Land soft and roll",[17,3344,3345],{},"The single most useful habit is to absorb the landing rather than fight it. Aim to land on both feet with your knees soft and ready to bend, then let the momentum carry you into a backward roll or a sit-down onto your backside. Stiff legs send the shock straight up through your ankles and knees. Bent legs that give way and a roll spread the force out over your whole body.",[17,3347,3348],{},"A few principles that keep landings safe:",[70,3350,3351,3354,3357,3360],{},[73,3352,3353],{},"Try to land on your feet first, with knees bent, then carry on down into a roll or a sit.",[73,3355,3356],{},"Keep your arms in. Throwing a hand out behind you to break a fall is how wrists and elbows get hurt. Tuck your chin and let your back take the roll.",[73,3358,3359],{},"Look where you are going to land if you can, so you do not put a foot on the edge of a mat or onto someone else's gear.",[73,3361,3362],{},"Do not try to fight gravity halfway down. Once you are off, commit to the fall rather than grabbing wildly.",[17,3364,3365],{},"You can practise this. Jump off from low down on purpose and rehearse the soft landing and roll until it is automatic, so it is there when a real fall surprises you.",[12,3367,3369],{"id":3368},"falling-from-height","Falling from height",[17,3371,3372],{},"The higher you are, the more it matters to push away gently from the wall as you come off, so you do not scrape down the holds or land awkwardly close to the base. Push out just enough to clear the wall, then turn your attention to the landing. Do not over-push, or you sail out beyond the mats.",[17,3374,3375],{},"On a real topout boulder outdoors, the higher you get the more the consequences grow, which is why spotting and pads matter more the further up you are. Know your descent before you commit to the top. Downclimbing is often safer than jumping from height, so use it when it is there.",[12,3377,3379],{"id":3378},"spotting-and-pads","Spotting and pads",[17,3381,3382],{},"If you climb with others, learn to spot. A spotter does not catch a falling climber, that is a good way for both people to get hurt. The job is to protect the head and steer the falling body onto the mat, with hands up and ready, watching the climber's hips, and guiding rather than grabbing. Communicate before the climb about where the hard moves are and where a fall is likely.",[17,3384,3385],{},"Indoors the matting does a lot of the work, but still check there are no gaps, no bags, and no one sitting underneath the problem. Outdoors, place pads to cover the likely landing zone, watch for the seams between pads, and have a spotter steer falls away from rocks and uneven ground.",[12,3387,3389],{"id":3388},"keep-falls-boring","Keep falls boring",[17,3391,3392],{},"The aim of all of this is to make falling unremarkable. Soft knees, arms in, a roll, eyes on the landing, and a bit of practice from low height turn a fall from something to fear into a non-event. That matters for more than safety. Climbers who fear the fall climb tense, grip too hard, and back off moves they could do. Learn to fall well and you free yourself to actually try hard, which is where the climbing gets good.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3394},[3395,3396,3397,3398,3399],{"id":3334,"depth":132,"text":3335},{"id":3341,"depth":132,"text":3342},{"id":3368,"depth":132,"text":3369},{"id":3378,"depth":132,"text":3379},{"id":3388,"depth":132,"text":3389},"2026-03-27","Spotting, landing and the habits that keep falls boring — because most bouldering injuries happen on the way down.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1689775884353-b01c7a8ad1b2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Tofan Teodor","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@tofanteo",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-fall-safely-when-bouldering",{"title":3329,"description":3401},"blog\u002Fhow-to-fall-safely-when-bouldering",[1917,293,562],"vEu5aXigMR7gHcswe_AMAIoUCxk3OX_IDulmvSjBNZk",{"id":3412,"title":3413,"author":7,"body":3414,"category":2366,"date":3483,"description":3484,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3485,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":3486,"imageCreditUrl":3487,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3488,"navigation":152,"path":3489,"readTime":2472,"seo":3490,"stem":3491,"tags":3492,"__hash__":3494},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-campus-move.md","What is a campus move?",{"type":9,"value":3415,"toc":3478},[3416,3419,3423,3426,3429,3433,3436,3439,3459,3462,3466,3469,3472,3475],[17,3417,3418],{},"A campus move is climbing with your feet doing nothing. You move between handholds using only your arms, fingers and upper body, with your legs hanging dead beneath you. It is one of the most powerful, demanding things you can do on a wall, and it is also one of the easiest ways to hurt yourself if you rush into it.",[12,3420,3422],{"id":3421},"climbing-with-no-feet","Climbing with no feet",[17,3424,3425],{},"In a normal sequence your feet carry a large share of your weight and generate a lot of the movement. Take them away and your fingers, forearms, shoulders and back have to do all of it. A campus move means releasing a hand, pulling and pushing through your upper body to launch towards the next hold, and catching it without any help from your legs.",[17,3427,3428],{},"You will see campus moves in two places. Sometimes a route or boulder problem genuinely demands one, the feet run out, or the only foothold is so bad it is faster to ignore it and throw between holds. More often, though, \"campusing\" refers to deliberate training on a dedicated piece of kit.",[12,3430,3432],{"id":3431},"the-board-it-is-named-after","The board it is named after",[17,3434,3435],{},"The move is named after the campus board, a training tool of overhanging wood or plywood fitted with horizontal rungs at set spacings. The story behind it is part of climbing lore: a strong climber called Wolfgang Güllich is credited with building the first one at a university sports facility, a campus, in order to train the finger and pulling power he needed for an extremely hard route. The name stuck to both the board and the moves done on it.",[17,3437,3438],{},"On a campus board you climb the rungs with your hands only, feet hanging free. Typical drills include:",[70,3440,3441,3447,3453],{},[73,3442,3443,3446],{},[76,3444,3445],{},"Ladders."," Moving up the rungs hand over hand, building basic contact strength and coordination.",[73,3448,3449,3452],{},[76,3450,3451],{},"Bumps."," Moving one hand up several rungs in quick succession before bringing the other up to match.",[73,3454,3455,3458],{},[76,3456,3457],{},"Max moves and double dynos."," Launching both hands or one hand to a distant rung to build explosive power.",[17,3460,3461],{},"It is brutally effective at developing the kind of snappy, dynamic finger and arm power that lets you stick hard moves. It is also notoriously hard on the body.",[12,3463,3465],{"id":3464},"why-it-is-best-left-until-you-are-strong","Why it is best left until you are strong",[17,3467,3468],{},"Here is the warning that comes with every campus board, and it is worth taking seriously. Campusing loads your fingers, elbows and shoulders with your full body weight and added momentum, with none of the cushioning that footwork normally provides. The forces through your finger tendons and pulleys, and through the soft tissue around your elbows, are very high.",[17,3470,3471],{},"Newer climbers simply do not have the years of accumulated tendon and connective-tissue conditioning that this kind of training demands. Muscles strengthen relatively quickly, but tendons and ligaments adapt slowly, over months and years. That mismatch is exactly where injuries like finger pulley strains and elbow tendinopathy come from. Jumping onto a campus board before your body is ready is one of the more reliable ways to end up injured and off the wall for a long time.",[17,3473,3474],{},"The usual guidance is to leave campus training well alone until you have a solid base of climbing behind you, you are climbing at a respectable intermediate level, and your fingers are used to load. Even then, you warm up thoroughly, keep the volume low, and stop at the first hint of joint or tendon pain. Power training is a finishing touch, not a foundation.",[17,3476,3477],{},"So if you are early in your climbing, admire the campus board and walk past it. Build your strength through climbing, hangboarding sensibly, and time on the wall. When you are genuinely strong and well-conditioned, the campus board is a sharp tool for the last bit of power. Used too soon, it is mostly a fast track to the physio.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3479},[3480,3481,3482],{"id":3421,"depth":132,"text":3422},{"id":3431,"depth":132,"text":3432},{"id":3464,"depth":132,"text":3465},"2026-03-20","Climbing with no feet, the board it is named after, and why it is best left until you are strong.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1605548109944-9040d0972bf5?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Sylvain Mauroux","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@alpifree",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-campus-move",{"title":3413,"description":3484},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-campus-move",[2376,2377,3493],"power","ypx4uyXU2A_-cqYs7iZ9nKlWkM16XlQoMz_lDFe_joI",{"id":3496,"title":3497,"author":7,"body":3498,"category":2464,"date":3563,"description":3564,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3565,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":3566,"imageCreditUrl":3567,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3568,"navigation":152,"path":3569,"readTime":1547,"seo":3570,"stem":3571,"tags":3572,"__hash__":3574},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-with-kids.md","Climbing with kids",{"type":9,"value":3499,"toc":3557},[3500,3503,3507,3510,3513,3517,3520,3534,3537,3541,3544,3547,3551,3554],[17,3501,3502],{},"Kids are natural climbers. They scramble up everything given half a chance, they are light, flexible and fearless, and the wall is one of the few places where all that energy has somewhere useful to go. Introducing a child to climbing is mostly about keeping it safe and keeping it fun, and getting those two right is easier than you might think.",[12,3504,3506],{"id":3505},"start-with-the-gyms-setup","Start with the gym's setup",[17,3508,3509],{},"Before you bring a child along, check what the gym offers. Many have dedicated kids' sessions, lower bouldering areas, auto-belays, and coached classes for different ages. These are designed around how children climb and are usually the easiest, safest way in. Find out the minimum age, whether an adult has to be on the mats with them, and what the supervision rules are, because these vary from gym to gym.",[17,3511,3512],{},"If your child is going to climb on a rope, they will need a harness that actually fits a small body. A full-body harness is often the right choice for younger or lighter children, since a standard sit harness can let them tip backwards. The gym will advise and fit them properly. Never improvise rope setups for a child — get them onto an auto-belay or have a competent adult belaying under proper instruction.",[12,3514,3516],{"id":3515},"keep-it-playful-not-performance-driven","Keep it playful, not performance-driven",[17,3518,3519],{},"The fastest way to put a child off climbing is to turn it into a test. Kids are not interested in grades or projects. They want to explore, mess about, and feel like they are playing. Lean into that.",[70,3521,3522,3525,3528,3531],{},[73,3523,3524],{},"Make up games: touch every blue hold, climb to a marked point and back, race the clock on an easy traverse.",[73,3526,3527],{},"Let them choose what to climb and where to go, within the safe areas.",[73,3529,3530],{},"Celebrate effort and silliness as much as height. Topping out is not the point.",[73,3532,3533],{},"Keep sessions short. A tired, hungry child stops having fun quickly, and an hour of joy beats two hours of meltdown.",[17,3535,3536],{},"If they want to climb the same easy problem twenty times, let them. Repetition is how they build confidence, and confidence is what keeps them coming back.",[12,3538,3540],{"id":3539},"manage-fear-and-falling-gently","Manage fear and falling gently",[17,3542,3543],{},"Some children launch straight up and have no fear at all, which brings its own need for supervision near the top. Others are cautious and need coaxing. Both are completely normal. Never push a nervous child higher than they want to go — let them climb a metre, come down, and feel proud of it. Trust builds with repetition, exactly as it does for adults.",[17,3545,3546],{},"Teach safe falling on the bouldering mats early: land on your feet, bend your knees, roll backwards if you need to, and do not put a hand out to break the fall. Show them not to walk or sit under other climbers, and keep a close eye on busy mats where a small person is easy to lose track of.",[12,3548,3550],{"id":3549},"make-it-a-shared-thing","Make it a shared thing",[17,3552,3553],{},"The best part of climbing with kids is that it is genuinely something you can do together. Unlike a lot of children's activities where the adult stands at the side, here you are both on the wall, both trying things, both occasionally failing and laughing about it. Climb a few easy problems yourself between their goes. Let them watch you try something and not get it.",[17,3555,3556],{},"Keep the pressure off, follow their lead on pace and difficulty, and treat every session as a day out rather than a lesson. Do that, and you will have a small climbing partner for years — and quite possibly one who is sending harder than you before long.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3558},[3559,3560,3561,3562],{"id":3505,"depth":132,"text":3506},{"id":3515,"depth":132,"text":3516},{"id":3539,"depth":132,"text":3540},{"id":3549,"depth":132,"text":3550},"2026-03-13","How to introduce children to the wall safely and keep it fun for everyone.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1619995621826-94cafa15fc9f?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","tom Parandyk","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@tomtherapidcodeguy",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-with-kids",{"title":3497,"description":3564},"blog\u002Fclimbing-with-kids",[562,3573,3056],"family","4DxlBdSWByF8u4dWQmQh_Y1qR9Bq3Z-33dEsGYOTM_I",{"id":3576,"title":3577,"author":7,"body":3578,"category":2678,"date":3642,"description":3643,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3644,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":3645,"imageCreditUrl":3646,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3647,"navigation":152,"path":3648,"readTime":154,"seo":3649,"stem":3650,"tags":3651,"__hash__":3654},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-competitions-explained-boulder-lead-and-speed.md","Climbing competitions explained: boulder, lead and speed",{"type":9,"value":3579,"toc":3636},[3580,3583,3586,3589,3592,3596,3599,3602,3606,3609,3612,3616,3619,3630,3633],[17,3581,3582],{},"Competition climbing went mainstream when sport climbing arrived at the Olympics, and a lot of new viewers tuned in with no idea what they were looking at. Why is one climber sprinting up a wall while another hangs around studying a single move for ten minutes. The short answer is that they are doing three completely different jobs. Bouldering, lead and speed each reward a different kind of climber, and once you know what each one is testing, the whole thing becomes a far better watch.",[12,3584,3585],{"id":293},"Bouldering",[17,3587,3588],{},"Bouldering is the close-up, problem-solving discipline. Climbers tackle short, hard problems on walls usually under five metres, with thick mats below and no rope. Each problem is a puzzle of a handful of moves, often demanding either raw power, precise body tension or a piece of unexpected sequencing that everyone in the building has to figure out on the spot.",[17,3590,3591],{},"In competition, climbers get a fixed time per problem and points for reaching marked holds. The big targets are the zone, a hold partway up that scores you something for getting that far, and the top, which is the full reward. Fewer attempts score better than many, so a clean first-go send beats a scrappy fifth-attempt one. Watch for the readers who solve the puzzle in their head before they touch the wall, and the moments where a single dynamic throw separates the field. Modern setting leans heavily on coordination moves, big jumps and volumes that look more like parkour than traditional climbing.",[12,3593,3595],{"id":3594},"lead","Lead",[17,3597,3598],{},"Lead is the endurance and nerve discipline. Climbers tie into a rope and climb a long route, clipping the rope into quickdraws as they go, on a wall that often overhangs more and more the higher you get. They climb on sight, meaning they have never tried the route and get one go at it. A fall ends the attempt.",[17,3600,3601],{},"Scoring is simple: you are ranked by the highest hold you reach. Make a controlled move to a hold and you score it; touch it and fall, you might get a plus. Because everyone gets one shot at an unknown route, lead is as much a mental test as a physical one. The drama builds slowly as climbers push into the steep, pumpy top section where forearms fail and a single missed clip or rushed move sends them off. The best lead climbers pace themselves, find rests by shaking out one arm at a time, and read the sequence on the fly.",[12,3603,3605],{"id":3604},"speed","Speed",[17,3607,3608],{},"Speed is the odd one out, and the easiest to follow. Two climbers race side by side up a standardised 15-metre wall set at the same angle with the same holds, the same everywhere in the world. Because the route never changes, athletes drill the exact sequence thousands of times until it is pure muscle memory. The fastest climbers reach the top in around five seconds.",[17,3610,3611],{},"It is a pure race. First to slap the buzzer at the top wins the heat, false starts disqualify, and a slip at speed is brutal to watch. Speed specialists tend to train almost like sprinters, and they rarely overlap with the boulder and lead crowd.",[12,3613,3615],{"id":3614},"watching-as-a-fan","Watching as a fan",[17,3617,3618],{},"A few things make the spectacle easier to enjoy:",[70,3620,3621,3624,3627],{},[73,3622,3623],{},"In boulder, count the attempts. A flash, meaning a first-try send, is the gold standard.",[73,3625,3626],{},"In lead, watch the climber's breathing and how they shake out. Calm hands high on the wall usually mean a high score.",[73,3628,3629],{},"In speed, the clock is the whole story, and reaction time off the start matters as much as the climb.",[17,3631,3632],{},"At the Olympics the formats have been combined in different ways across editions, which is partly why scoring can look confusing from the outside. Strip it back to the three core disciplines and you can follow any event.",[17,3634,3635],{},"If watching gets you itching to try the same moves yourself, log your own sessions and track how your bouldering grades or lead endurance shift over a season. Seeing your progress written down makes the pros on screen feel a little less superhuman.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3637},[3638,3639,3640,3641],{"id":293,"depth":132,"text":3585},{"id":3594,"depth":132,"text":3595},{"id":3604,"depth":132,"text":3605},{"id":3614,"depth":132,"text":3615},"2026-03-06","The three competition disciplines, how scoring works, and what to watch for as a fan.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1560539518-cc682b80c82d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Patrick Hodskins","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@phodskins",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-competitions-explained-boulder-lead-and-speed",{"title":3577,"description":3643},"blog\u002Fclimbing-competitions-explained-boulder-lead-and-speed",[2690,3652,3653],"competitions","olympics","LokYSZTiE-cDlXnnjYbEpsdhkuxTcaDglrw0-IQAX80",{"id":3656,"title":3657,"author":7,"body":3658,"category":2785,"date":3726,"description":3727,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3728,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":3729,"imageCreditUrl":3730,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3731,"navigation":152,"path":3732,"readTime":154,"seo":3733,"stem":3734,"tags":3735,"__hash__":3738},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-a-home-training-space.md","Building a home training space",{"type":9,"value":3659,"toc":3720},[3660,3663,3667,3670,3673,3676,3680,3683,3686,3697,3700,3704,3707,3710,3714,3717],[17,3661,3662],{},"A home training space is the single best way to add volume to your climbing without adding hours to your week. No commute, no waiting for a wall to clear, no excuse on a wet Tuesday. The good news is you do not need a garage and a four-figure budget to start. You need somewhere to hang, a plan, and the discipline to keep it small.",[12,3664,3666],{"id":3665},"start-with-a-hangboard","Start with a hangboard",[17,3668,3669],{},"The cheapest, most effective bit of home kit is a hangboard. A solid one costs less than a few gym visits and trains the thing that holds most climbers back: finger strength. Mounting matters more than the board itself. A doorway pull-up bar with a board hung beneath it works for many people, but the safest setup is fixed to a stud or a sturdy frame so it cannot pull off the wall mid-hang.",[17,3671,3672],{},"A word of caution. Fingers adapt far more slowly than muscles, so the most common home-board injury is doing too much too soon. If you are newer than a year or two of climbing, you probably do not need a hangboard yet — your fingers will get stronger just from climbing. When you do start, keep sessions short, warm up properly, and stop while you still feel fresh.",[17,3674,3675],{},"A simple beginning is repeaters on a comfortable edge: hang for seven seconds, rest three, repeat six times, then rest a few minutes between sets. Twice a week is plenty.",[12,3677,3679],{"id":3678},"add-a-board-if-you-have-the-space","Add a board if you have the space",[17,3681,3682],{},"If you have a garage, a shed, or a spare wall and a bit of budget, an adjustable training board is the next step. A panel set somewhere between 25 and 50 degrees overhanging gives you steep, finger-intensive climbing in a tiny footprint. You set problems, repeat them, and build power and body tension without leaving home.",[17,3684,3685],{},"What makes a board work is not the angle alone but the system around it:",[70,3687,3688,3691,3694],{},[73,3689,3690],{},"Pick a small spread of holds and learn them well rather than buying every shape going.",[73,3692,3693],{},"Set a handful of problems at your limit and a handful below it, so you can warm up and project on the same wall.",[73,3695,3696],{},"Keep a crash pad or proper matting underneath — falls onto a steep board come quickly.",[17,3698,3699],{},"A board you actually use beats a perfect board you build forever and never finish. Start with a usable angle and a sensible hold set, and refine later.",[12,3701,3703],{"id":3702},"build-a-little-train-a-lot","Build a little, train a lot",[17,3705,3706],{},"The temptation with any home wall is to spend all your energy on construction and none on climbing. Resist it. A doorway bar and a length of resistance band already let you train fingers, pulling strength, and the small stabilising muscles around the shoulders that keep you healthy. Antagonist work — press-ups, band pull-aparts, wrist curls — costs nothing and quietly prevents the elbow and shoulder niggles that come from only ever pulling.",[17,3708,3709],{},"Set yourself a routine you can keep. Two short finger sessions and a couple of antagonist circuits a week will do more over a season than an ambitious plan you abandon in February.",[12,3711,3713],{"id":3712},"keep-it-honest-with-a-log","Keep it honest with a log",[17,3715,3716],{},"Home training rewards consistency, and consistency is hard to judge by feel. Were you stronger on the 18 mm edge this month than last? Have you actually been doing the antagonist work or just meaning to? Jotting down your hangs, your board sessions, and how the fingers feel turns a vague sense of progress into something you can see. Sendit makes that record quick to keep, so the training you do at home counts towards the bigger picture rather than disappearing.",[17,3718,3719],{},"Start small, train often, and add space only when you have outgrown what you have. The cheapest home wall you use every week beats the dream setup you are still saving for.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3721},[3722,3723,3724,3725],{"id":3665,"depth":132,"text":3666},{"id":3678,"depth":132,"text":3679},{"id":3702,"depth":132,"text":3703},{"id":3712,"depth":132,"text":3713},"2026-02-27","From a doorway hangboard to a garage board — how to train at home on any budget.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F1574216\u002Fpexels-photo-1574216.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","Brett Sayles","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@brett-sayles",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-a-home-training-space",{"title":3657,"description":3727},"blog\u002Fbuilding-a-home-training-space",[162,3736,3737],"home wall","setup","aQgl6dQ4o8dEqRsEdVWAgsY9JarDCdi1nQYSRTFgSdQ",{"id":3740,"title":3741,"author":7,"body":3742,"category":2366,"date":3817,"description":3818,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":3819,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":554,"imageCreditUrl":555,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":3820,"navigation":152,"path":3821,"readTime":2472,"seo":3822,"stem":3823,"tags":3824,"__hash__":3825},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-beta.md","What is beta?",{"type":9,"value":3743,"toc":3812},[3744,3747,3751,3754,3757,3760,3764,3767,3770,3773,3799,3803,3806,3809],[17,3745,3746],{},"Hang around any climbing wall for ten minutes and you will hear it: \"What's the beta?\" It is probably the single most-used word in the sport, and yet nobody ever stops to explain it. So here it is.",[12,3748,3750],{"id":3749},"what-the-word-actually-means","What the word actually means",[17,3752,3753],{},"Beta is the information about how to climb something. The sequence of moves, where to put your hands and feet, which way to turn your hips, where the rest is, how to clip without pumping out. If a route is a problem to solve, the beta is the solution someone has worked out.",[17,3755,3756],{},"It can be as broad as \"it's all about the heel hook at the top\" or as precise as a move-by-move map: right hand to the crimp, bump left to the pinch, high step on the chip, drop knee, reach the jug. Two climbers can have completely different beta for the same climb because reach, finger strength and flexibility all change what works. Tall climbers reach past holds that shorter climbers have to use. That is normal, and it is why beta is a suggestion, not gospel.",[17,3758,3759],{},"The origin of the word is climbing folklore rather than fact. The most repeated story is that an old climber called Jack Mileski, working with Betamax video tapes, would offer to share his recorded \"beta\" of a route. Whether that is exactly true matters less than the fact that the word stuck.",[12,3761,3763],{"id":3762},"sharing-it-asking-for-it-and-refusing-it","Sharing it, asking for it, and refusing it",[17,3765,3766],{},"There is a quiet etiquette around beta that newer climbers pick up over time. The core rule is simple: do not spray beta at someone who has not asked for it.",[17,3768,3769],{},"When you are working a problem, half the fun is figuring it out yourself. Having someone shout \"just throw to the sloper\" while you are mid-move can ruin the puzzle entirely. So before you offer advice, ask. A simple \"do you want beta or are you working it out?\" covers it.",[17,3771,3772],{},"A few norms worth knowing:",[70,3774,3775,3781,3787,3793],{},[73,3776,3777,3780],{},[76,3778,3779],{},"Onsight is sacred."," If someone is trying to climb a route with zero prior information, do not tell them anything, do not even let them watch you. Once they have seen beta, that attempt is no longer an onsight.",[73,3782,3783,3786],{},[76,3784,3785],{},"Ask, do not assume."," \"Want a tip on the crux?\" gives the other person the choice.",[73,3788,3789,3792],{},[76,3790,3791],{},"Offer it, do not insist."," If they wave you off, leave it. Some people learn by failing repeatedly, and that is their call.",[73,3794,3795,3798],{},[76,3796,3797],{},"Credit good beta."," If someone hands you the unlock, a \"cheers, that was the move\" goes a long way.",[12,3800,3802],{"id":3801},"beta-is-a-starting-point-not-the-truth","Beta is a starting point, not the truth",[17,3804,3805],{},"The trap with beta is treating it as the only way up. You watch a strong climber float a section with a slick heel hook, copy it exactly, and fall off because their hips are more flexible than yours. The beta was real, it just was not yours.",[17,3807,3808],{},"Good climbers take beta and then adapt it. They keep the parts that fit their body and quietly rewrite the parts that do not. Sometimes the beta everyone uses is not even the best one, and finding your own sequence is its own small victory.",[17,3810,3811],{},"So the next time someone asks \"what's the beta?\", you know exactly what they want: the shape of the solution. Hand it over if they want it, keep quiet if they do not, and remember that the best beta is the version you make your own.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":3813},[3814,3815,3816],{"id":3749,"depth":132,"text":3750},{"id":3762,"depth":132,"text":3763},{"id":3801,"depth":132,"text":3802},"2026-02-20","The single most-used climbing word, what it means, and the etiquette of sharing and asking for it.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1612555909797-73c63936fbf6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-beta",{"title":3741,"description":3818},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-beta",[2376,2377,562],"q1emkjQkGSxh7G5iKk-MY_KGwehS3SEFQTyig1eKNjM",{"id":3827,"title":3828,"author":7,"body":3829,"category":1703,"date":4023,"description":4024,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4025,"imageAlt":4026,"imageCredit":4027,"imageCreditUrl":4028,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4029,"navigation":152,"path":4030,"readTime":154,"seo":4031,"stem":4032,"tags":4033,"__hash__":4037},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-kilter-board-problem.md","How to read a board problem before you pull on",{"type":9,"value":3830,"toc":4014},[3831,3834,3837,3841,3844,3870,3877,3883,3887,3890,3893,3914,3917,3921,3924,3978,3985,3990,4004,4008,4011],[17,3832,3833],{},"A systems board punishes guessing. The holds are small, the angle is steep, and the\nmoves come quickly — so the climbers who send first are almost always the ones who\nread the problem properly before they leave the floor. Reading a board problem is a\nskill in its own right, and it is one you can practise every single session.",[17,3835,3836],{},"Here is the way we think about it.",[12,3838,3840],{"id":3839},"start-with-the-lit-holds-not-the-wall","Start with the lit holds, not the wall",[17,3842,3843],{},"On a lit board every hold has a role, and the colours tell you the story before you\ntouch anything:",[70,3845,3846,3852,3858,3864],{},[73,3847,3848,3851],{},[76,3849,3850],{},"Start"," holds are where your hands begin.",[73,3853,3854,3857],{},[76,3855,3856],{},"Hand"," holds are the path your hands follow.",[73,3859,3860,3863],{},[76,3861,3862],{},"Finish"," holds are where the problem ends — match and control.",[73,3865,3866,3869],{},[76,3867,3868],{},"Foot"," holds are the only feet you are allowed.",[17,3871,3872,3873,3876],{},"Read the line top to bottom once, then bottom to top. You are looking for the\n",[2610,3874,3875],{},"shape"," of the climb: is it a straight ladder, a traverse into a headwall, a big\nmove off a crimp? Name it to yourself. A problem you can describe in one sentence is\na problem you can remember on the wall.",[3878,3879,3880],"blockquote",{},[17,3881,3882],{},"If you can't say out loud what the crux is, you haven't read the problem yet.",[12,3884,3886],{"id":3885},"find-the-crux-first","Find the crux first",[17,3888,3889],{},"Most boulders have one move that is meaningfully harder than the rest. Find it before\nyou start, because everything else is in service of arriving at that move in good\nshape.",[17,3891,3892],{},"Ask three questions:",[3894,3895,3896,3902,3908],"ol",{},[73,3897,3898,3901],{},[76,3899,3900],{},"Which hand makes the hard move?"," That decides your hand sequence all the way back to the start.",[73,3903,3904,3907],{},[76,3905,3906],{},"Where are the feet for that move?"," The hold you pull on matters less than the foot that lets you pull.",[73,3909,3910,3913],{},[76,3911,3912],{},"What body position does it want?"," Square on, or a drop-knee, or a flag?",[17,3915,3916],{},"Once you know the crux, you can work backwards and forwards from it. The rest of the\nproblem is just getting your hands and feet into the right order.",[12,3918,3920],{"id":3919},"count-the-sequence-in-hands-and-feet","Count the sequence in hands and feet",[17,3922,3923],{},"Good reading is specific. \"Up and left\" is not a sequence. This is:",[3925,3926,3927,3941],"table",{},[3928,3929,3930],"thead",{},[3931,3932,3933,3937,3939],"tr",{},[3934,3935,3936],"th",{},"Move",[3934,3938,3856],{},[3934,3940,3868],{},[3942,3943,3944,3956,3967],"tbody",{},[3931,3945,3946,3950,3953],{},[3947,3948,3949],"td",{},"1",[3947,3951,3952],{},"Right to the crimp",[3947,3954,3955],{},"Left toe on the start foot",[3931,3957,3958,3961,3964],{},[3947,3959,3960],{},"2",[3947,3962,3963],{},"Left to the pinch",[3947,3965,3966],{},"Right foot up to the chip",[3931,3968,3969,3972,3975],{},[3947,3970,3971],{},"3",[3947,3973,3974],{},"Match the pinch",[3947,3976,3977],{},"Drop knee, left",[17,3979,3980,3981,3984],{},"You will not always get it right — that is what the first attempt is for — but\ncommitting to a sequence means your first try ",[2610,3982,3983],{},"teaches"," you something instead of just\ntiring you out.",[3986,3987,3989],"h3",{"id":3988},"a-quick-checklist-before-you-pull-on","A quick checklist before you pull on",[70,3991,3992,3995,3998,4001],{},[73,3993,3994],{},"Have I named the crux move?",[73,3996,3997],{},"Do I know which hand finishes?",[73,3999,4000],{},"Have I picked feet for the hard move, not just the easy ones?",[73,4002,4003],{},"Can I see my first three moves with my eyes closed?",[12,4005,4007],{"id":4006},"log-the-read-not-just-the-send","Log the read, not just the send",[17,4009,4010],{},"The fastest way to get better at reading is to write down what you saw and compare it\nto what actually happened. In Sendit you can log the angle, the grade and a quick note\non every attempt — \"misread the heel, should've toed in\" is worth more next week than\na tick ever will be. Over a few sessions you start to spot your own patterns: the move\ntypes you always under-read, the feet you always skip.",[17,4012,4013],{},"Reading is free, and it is the one part of bouldering you can train while you rest.\nLook longer. Pull on once you know the story.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4015},[4016,4017,4018,4022],{"id":3839,"depth":132,"text":3840},{"id":3885,"depth":132,"text":3886},{"id":3919,"depth":132,"text":3920,"children":4019},[4020],{"id":3988,"depth":4021,"text":3989},3,{"id":4006,"depth":132,"text":4007},"2026-02-13","The strongest climbers spend more time looking than pulling. Here is how to read a systems-board problem — the holds, the line and the sequence — before your hands leave the ground.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F5916156\u002Fpexels-photo-5916156.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","A climber reading a steep indoor wall before pulling on","Tima Miroshnichenko","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@tima-miroshnichenko",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-kilter-board-problem",{"title":3828,"description":4024},"blog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-kilter-board-problem",[4034,4035,4036,290],"kilter board","boards","beta","sxng-QO5FMnLyK3EBHfhnodFmjStc4f5Ycy0c25b_f4",{"id":4039,"title":4040,"author":7,"body":4041,"category":2555,"date":4123,"description":4124,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4125,"imageAlt":4126,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":4127,"mapLabel":4140,"mapLat":4141,"mapLng":4142,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":4143,"meta":4144,"navigation":152,"path":4145,"readTime":4146,"seo":4147,"stem":4148,"tags":4149,"__hash__":4151},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-fontainebleau.md","Bouldering in Fontainebleau",{"type":9,"value":4042,"toc":4117},[4043,4047,4050,4053,4057,4060,4063,4067,4070,4090,4093,4097,4100,4103,4114],[12,4044,4046],{"id":4045},"the-forest-that-invented-the-game","The forest that invented the game",[17,4048,4049],{},"An hour south of Paris, the forest of Fontainebleau spreads out across thousands of hectares of pine and silver birch, and scattered through it are tens of thousands of sandstone boulders. This is where bouldering as a discipline was effectively born. Parisian climbers came here to train for the Alps over a century ago, and over the decades the practice of climbing the blocs for their own sake grew into the sport we recognise today. The local grading system, the Font scale, is still used worldwide.",[17,4051,4052],{},"If you have only ever climbed indoors or on grit, your first session in the forest will be a humbling, brilliant shock. The sandstone is unlike anything else.",[12,4054,4056],{"id":4055},"what-makes-the-sandstone-special","What makes the sandstone special",[17,4058,4059],{},"Font sandstone is fine-grained and, when it is in condition, offers extraordinary friction. But it rewards technique far more than power. The holds are rounded — endless slopers, rolling arêtes, shallow scoops and the famous smeary slabs that look blank until you trust your feet. People talk about \"Font footwork\" because the climbing forces you to weight tiny smears precisely and to move with patience rather than thuggery.",[17,4061,4062],{},"This is also delicate rock. When it is wet, sandstone becomes fragile and holds can break, so the unwritten rule is simple: never climb on damp sandstone, and brush off your chalk and tick marks when you leave. Pof, the dried resin some locals traditionally use for grip, is frowned upon by most modern climbers because it glazes the rock over time.",[12,4064,4066],{"id":4065},"circuits-not-crags","Circuits, not crags",[17,4068,4069],{},"The thing that surprises most first-timers is how Font is organised. Rather than ticking off individual problems, you follow coloured circuits. Each circuit is a numbered series of problems painted onto the rock in a single colour, graded roughly by difficulty:",[70,4071,4072,4078,4084],{},[73,4073,4074,4077],{},[76,4075,4076],{},"Yellow and orange"," circuits are the gentle, family-friendly introductions.",[73,4079,4080,4083],{},[76,4081,4082],{},"Blue"," circuits are the bread and butter — long, varied, often physical days out.",[73,4085,4086,4089],{},[76,4087,4088],{},"Red and black"," circuits ramp up into serious difficulty.",[17,4091,4092],{},"Following a circuit is a wonderful way to spend a day. You move from bloc to bloc, climbing dozens of problems, building stamina and learning the rock without obsessing over a single hard line. Areas like Bas Cuvier, Franchard and Trois Pignons each have their own character and their own classics.",[12,4094,4096],{"id":4095},"when-to-go-and-what-to-bring","When to go and what to bring",[17,4098,4099],{},"The forest climbs best in the cooler half of the year. Autumn and spring are ideal — cool, dry air gives the sandstone its best friction. Deep winter can be superb on a crisp, sunny day, while summer is usually too warm and humid for the hard stuff, though shaded blocs and the easier circuits are still pleasant.",[17,4101,4102],{},"A few practical notes for a first trip:",[70,4104,4105,4108,4111],{},[73,4106,4107],{},"Bring at least one good bouldering pad, ideally two between a pair. The landings vary from sandy and forgiving to flat slabs of rock.",[73,4109,4110],{},"Pack a soft brush for cleaning holds and a doormat or piece of carpet to wipe sand off your shoes before each attempt. Climbing with sandy soles ruins both your friction and the rock.",[73,4112,4113],{},"Gentle shoes with good edging and smearing performance beat aggressive downturned ones for most Font climbing.",[17,4115,4116],{},"The nearby towns make easy bases, and the forest itself is free to access. Few places reward repeat visits like Font does. You can come for a decade and still find new circuits, new slopers to slither off, and new reasons to come back. Keeping a tick list of the circuits and classics you have done helps you remember what to return for, because the names blur together fast once you have climbed a few hundred problems.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4118},[4119,4120,4121,4122],{"id":4045,"depth":132,"text":4046},{"id":4055,"depth":132,"text":4056},{"id":4065,"depth":132,"text":4066},{"id":4095,"depth":132,"text":4096},"2026-02-06","The forest that shaped modern bouldering — what to expect, when to go, and why the sandstone is special.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fbouldering-in-fontainebleau.jpg","Satellite view of Fontainebleau, France",[4128,4131,4134,4137],[4129,4130],48.4472,2.6293,[4132,4133],48.4471,2.6333,[4135,4136],48.4444,2.6336,[4138,4139],48.4442,2.6296,"Fontainebleau, France",48.4458,2.6311,15,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-fontainebleau",7,{"title":4040,"description":4124},"blog\u002Fbouldering-in-fontainebleau",[2589,293,4150],"fontainebleau","P2lmNjaQ93GhMcxrNcNCZl8WdAYm_uswTei0tMQ9jQc",{"id":4153,"title":4154,"author":7,"body":4155,"category":1904,"date":4221,"description":4222,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4223,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":4224,"imageCreditUrl":4225,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4226,"navigation":152,"path":4227,"readTime":1547,"seo":4228,"stem":4229,"tags":4230,"__hash__":4232},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-crash-pad-for-bouldering.md","Choosing a crash pad for bouldering",{"type":9,"value":4156,"toc":4216},[4157,4161,4164,4167,4171,4174,4194,4197,4200,4204,4207,4210,4213],[12,4158,4160],{"id":4159},"what-a-pad-is-actually-for","What a pad is actually for",[17,4162,4163],{},"A crash pad does not make a landing safe. It turns a hard, uneven, ankle-snapping landing into a softer, flatter one, and it gives you and your spotter something to aim a falling body towards. That mental shift matters when you are choosing. You are not buying a trampoline, you are buying a margin.",[17,4165,4166],{},"Most pads use a two-layer foam build: a thin, firm layer on top that spreads the impact, and a thicker, softer layer underneath that absorbs it. The firm layer is the bit that stops you punching straight through to the rock on a heavy fall. A pad that is all soft foam feels lovely to stand on and does very little when you land flat from three metres.",[12,4168,4170],{"id":4169},"fold-size-and-weight","Fold, size and weight",[17,4172,4173],{},"The first decision is how it folds.",[70,4175,4176,4182,4188],{},[73,4177,4178,4181],{},[76,4179,4180],{},"Taco pads"," fold without a hinge, in one continuous bend. No gap to land in, but they are bulkier to carry and slowly take a set in the fold.",[73,4183,4184,4187],{},[76,4185,4186],{},"Hinged (book) pads"," fold flat along a seam. They pack neatly and lie dead flat, but the hinge is a weak line. Never land on the seam, and overlap two pads so one covers the other's hinge.",[73,4189,4190,4193],{},[76,4191,4192],{},"Hybrid or angled-hinge pads"," try to close that gap with an offset cut, and most modern pads land somewhere here.",[17,4195,4196],{},"Then size. A bigger pad covers more bad ground and absorbs more, but it is heavier on the walk in and harder to wrangle alone. For most people one medium pad plus a second smaller pad covers far more useful ground than a single huge one, because you can split them across two landings or stack them under the crux. If you mostly climb at a gym-style indoor wall you may not need one at all.",[17,4198,4199],{},"Weight and carry comfort decide whether the pad actually comes with you. A pad with a proper hip belt, padded straps and a flap to stash your shoes and chalk is worth the extra money if your walk-ins are long. The best pad is the one you do not resent carrying.",[12,4201,4203],{"id":4202},"placing-it-well","Placing it well",[17,4205,4206],{},"A good pad placed badly is not much use, so learn to read a landing.",[17,4208,4209],{},"Clear the ground first. Pull out the obvious rocks and branches that sit under where you will fall, because a pad does not flatten a sharp edge, it drapes over it. Put the pad where your hips and back will land, not where your feet leave the ground, since on most problems you swing out and back as you come off.",[17,4211,4212],{},"Mind the gaps. If you are stacking two pads, overlap the edges and keep the seams away from the likely landing zone. A foot that finds a gap between two pads, or drops into a hinge, is how a lot of bouldering ankle injuries happen. A spotter's job is to steer your upper body and shift the pad under you as you move across, not to catch you.",[17,4214,4215],{},"Buy firm enough foam for the height you fall from, fold to suit your walk-ins, and place it like it matters every time. Keeping a quick note of which problems near you have nasty landings is a small habit that saves a lot of guesswork when you turn up with a finite stack of foam.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4217},[4218,4219,4220],{"id":4159,"depth":132,"text":4160},{"id":4169,"depth":132,"text":4170},{"id":4202,"depth":132,"text":4203},"2026-01-30","Single or double fold, big or small — how to pick a pad and how to place it well.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F13869247\u002Fpexels-photo-13869247.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","gokiberk","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@gokiberk",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-crash-pad-for-bouldering",{"title":4154,"description":4222},"blog\u002Fchoosing-a-crash-pad-for-bouldering",[1822,293,4231],"crash pad","H_SQSJKOuV8MkgSGxKrixT_bmTB4_Jhk4YKYUnRFC9o",{"id":4234,"title":4235,"author":7,"body":4236,"category":1703,"date":4298,"description":4299,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4300,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":4301,"imageCreditUrl":4302,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4303,"navigation":152,"path":4304,"readTime":1547,"seo":4305,"stem":4306,"tags":4307,"__hash__":4308},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-an-angle-on-the-board.md","Choosing an angle on the board",{"type":9,"value":4237,"toc":4292},[4238,4241,4245,4248,4251,4255,4258,4269,4272,4276,4279,4282,4286,4289],[17,4239,4240],{},"An adjustable board is really many different walls in one frame. The same holds at 25 degrees and at 50 degrees give you two completely different training experiences, and learning to pick the right angle for the day is half of using a board well.",[12,4242,4244],{"id":4243},"what-the-angle-actually-changes","What the angle actually changes",[17,4246,4247],{},"The steeper you set the board, the more your body weight hangs off your hands and the harder your fingers and upper body have to work to keep you on. At a shallow angle, more of your weight sits over your feet, so footwork and balance matter more and your fingers get an easier time. The angle is essentially a dial for how much of the load goes through your fingers versus your feet.",[17,4249,4250],{},"That single change ripples through everything. Steeper means more body tension, more core, more pulling, and feet that cut loose the moment you go slack. Shallower means precise feet, careful weight shifts, and holds you can actually stand on. Neither is better. They train different things, and a complete climber wants both.",[12,4252,4254],{"id":4253},"picking-an-angle-for-the-session","Picking an angle for the session",[17,4256,4257],{},"The cleanest way to choose is to start from what you want to get out of the day:",[70,4259,4260,4263,4266],{},[73,4261,4262],{},"For raw finger strength and pulling power, set it steep, somewhere around 40 to 50 degrees, and keep the problems short and hard.",[73,4264,4265],{},"For technique, footwork and movement, drop it back towards 20 to 30 degrees, where you can stand on feet and actually balance.",[73,4267,4268],{},"For volume and endurance, a moderate angle lets you do more climbing without frying your skin and tendons in a few goes.",[17,4270,4271],{},"A lot of climbers default to the steepest setting because it feels like proper training, but a shallow board is brutally good for teaching you to trust feet and move efficiently. If your feet cut on every problem, a session or two at a lower angle will tell you a lot about your movement.",[12,4273,4275],{"id":4274},"consistency-is-what-makes-it-useful","Consistency is what makes it useful",[17,4277,4278],{},"The real strength of an adjustable board is that you can keep the angle the same and let the grades do the talking. If you train at 40 degrees most of the time, your sense of what a board V6 feels like becomes meaningful, and you can track progress honestly over weeks.",[17,4280,4281],{},"The flip side is that grades shift with angle. The published grade on most LED boards is tied to a specific angle, often 40 degrees, and the same problem at a steeper setting will feel noticeably harder. If you climb a problem at 45 when it was graded at 40, do not be surprised that it fights back. Make a habit of noting the angle alongside the grade, or your log will quietly mislead you.",[12,4283,4285],{"id":4284},"mix-it-across-a-training-block","Mix it across a training block",[17,4287,4288],{},"Over a week or a training block, there is a good case for spending time at more than one angle. A steep day for strength, a shallower day for movement and volume, and you cover more ground than grinding the same setting every session. Climbing is steep roofs and delicate slabs and everything between, and a board that only ever sits at one angle only ever prepares you for one of them.",[17,4290,4291],{},"Pick the angle for the job, write it down with your sends, and the board stops being a vague strength workout and becomes a proper training tool you can steer.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4293},[4294,4295,4296,4297],{"id":4243,"depth":132,"text":4244},{"id":4253,"depth":132,"text":4254},{"id":4274,"depth":132,"text":4275},{"id":4284,"depth":132,"text":4285},"2026-01-23","How steeper and shallower angles change what you train, and how to pick one for the session you want.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1524755968487-e44edcb96e1d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jonathan Bell","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@jonathanbell",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-an-angle-on-the-board",{"title":4235,"description":4299},"blog\u002Fchoosing-an-angle-on-the-board",[1715,1716,162],"fn4N87wPuv2JxFWN7zMz4--wxbHmy9dnBcfW-nq4XkM",{"id":4310,"title":4311,"author":7,"body":4312,"category":2678,"date":4377,"description":4378,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4379,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":3645,"imageCreditUrl":3646,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4380,"navigation":152,"path":4381,"readTime":1547,"seo":4382,"stem":4383,"tags":4384,"__hash__":4386},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-the-ifsc-world-cup.md","What is the IFSC World Cup?",{"type":9,"value":4313,"toc":4371},[4314,4317,4321,4324,4327,4331,4334,4337,4340,4344,4347,4350,4354,4357,4368],[17,4315,4316],{},"If you only watch climbing during the Olympics, you are catching the sport once every four years and missing the season that actually defines it. The IFSC World Cup is where the world's best climbers compete all year round, and it is the circuit that turns names into household ones long before they reach an Olympic final.",[12,4318,4320],{"id":4319},"the-body-behind-it","The body behind it",[17,4322,4323],{},"IFSC stands for the International Federation of Sport Climbing, the governing body that runs international competition climbing. It oversees the rules, the rankings and the calendar that the elite scene revolves around. When you see athletes ranked as the best in the world, that ranking comes out of the IFSC system rather than any one event.",[17,4325,4326],{},"The federation organises competition across the same three disciplines you see at the Olympics: bouldering, lead and speed. Each has its own events, its own specialists and its own season standings.",[12,4328,4330],{"id":4329},"how-the-world-cup-works","How the World Cup works",[17,4332,4333],{},"The World Cup is not a single competition but a series of events held in different countries through the year. Climbers travel the circuit, scoring points at each stop based on where they finish. Those points add up across the season, and at the end the climber with the most points in a discipline takes the overall World Cup title for that year.",[17,4335,4336],{},"That structure rewards consistency as much as brilliance. A climber who podiums steadily across a whole season can win the overall title without ever topping the single most dramatic event. It also means a bad day in one city is not the end of your season, which keeps the racing tight right to the final round.",[17,4338,4339],{},"Alongside the World Cup series sits the World Championships, a separate, less frequent event where a single world title is on the line. The two are easy to confuse. Think of the World Cup as the long league season and the Championships as the one-off cup final.",[12,4341,4343],{"id":4342},"why-it-feeds-the-olympics","Why it feeds the Olympics",[17,4345,4346],{},"Sport climbing's place at the Olympics raised the profile of the whole sport, but the pathway runs through the IFSC. The circuit is where qualification happens, where formats get tested, and where the athletes you eventually see on the Olympic stage spend most of their competitive lives. Following the World Cup is the best way to understand who is in form heading into a Games and why certain results matter.",[17,4348,4349],{},"It is also simply better viewing if you want to actually learn the sport. Watching the same climbers across a season, you start to recognise styles, rivalries and the way setting trends shift from event to event.",[12,4351,4353],{"id":4352},"worth-following","Worth following",[17,4355,4356],{},"A few reasons to keep an eye on the circuit:",[70,4358,4359,4362,4365],{},[73,4360,4361],{},"You see far more climbing than the Olympics offers, across a full calendar.",[73,4363,4364],{},"The athletes become familiar, so finals carry the weight of a real season behind them.",[73,4366,4367],{},"Streams and recaps are widely available, so you can dip in without a huge commitment.",[17,4369,4370],{},"For climbers, there is a practical upside too. Watching elite setting up close is a quiet education in movement. You pick up how the best climbers read a problem, how they rest on a lead route, and how they commit to a coordination move that looks impossible until someone sticks it. Take that back to your own sessions, log what you try, and the gap between watching and doing starts to close.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4372},[4373,4374,4375,4376],{"id":4319,"depth":132,"text":4320},{"id":4329,"depth":132,"text":4330},{"id":4342,"depth":132,"text":4343},{"id":4352,"depth":132,"text":4353},"2026-01-16","The global competition circuit that feeds the Olympics, and why it is worth following.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1560539517-86e5c7fefb65?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-the-ifsc-world-cup",{"title":4311,"description":4378},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-the-ifsc-world-cup",[2690,3652,4385],"ifsc","NNlHgUUZLiTQvKB1q6TISPLAGf6wOFy9tqAAOgzaXVM",{"id":4388,"title":4389,"author":7,"body":4390,"category":141,"date":4461,"description":4462,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4463,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":4464,"imageCreditUrl":4465,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4466,"navigation":152,"path":4467,"readTime":154,"seo":4468,"stem":4469,"tags":4470,"__hash__":4471},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fstatic-or-dynamic-choosing-how-to-move.md","Static or dynamic? Choosing how to move",{"type":9,"value":4391,"toc":4455},[4392,4396,4399,4402,4406,4409,4412,4415,4418,4422,4425,4428,4442,4445,4449,4452],[12,4393,4395],{"id":4394},"two-ways-to-reach-the-next-hold","Two ways to reach the next hold",[17,4397,4398],{},"Every move you make on the wall sits somewhere on a line between fully static and fully dynamic. A static move is slow and controlled: you pull yourself to the next hold under tension, and at any point you could stop, reverse, and come back down. A dynamic move uses momentum: you generate movement with your legs and core, then catch the hold while you are travelling. The dyno, where both hands and sometimes both feet leave the wall, is the extreme end of dynamic, but most dynamic moves are far less dramatic than that.",[17,4400,4401],{},"A lot of climbers pick a default and stick with it. People who started indoors on slabby walls often climb everything static, locking off and reaching slowly even when it costs them. People who came up on steep boards often throw for everything, even holds they could have reached calmly. Both habits leave climbs on the table. The skill worth building is choosing.",[12,4403,4405],{"id":4404},"when-static-earns-its-keep","When static earns its keep",[17,4407,4408],{},"Static climbing shines when the target hold is bad, when balance is delicate, or when the consequences of missing are high.",[17,4410,4411],{},"If the next hold is a small crimp or a poor sloper, you want to arrive slowly and settle your fingers onto it before you commit weight. Catch a sloper dynamically and your hand skids off the moment it lands. Move into it static and you can feel for the best part of the hold and let your grip set.",[17,4413,4414],{},"Static is also the move of choice on slabs and balance-heavy terrain, where momentum just throws you off your feet. And it is the safer option when you are climbing above a bad landing, near a ledge, or working out a sequence you do not know yet. Moving slowly lets you bail.",[17,4416,4417],{},"The cost is energy. Locking off and reaching slowly is enormously demanding on your fingers and pulling muscles, especially on steep ground. Climb a 40-degree overhang entirely static and you will pump out long before a climber who lets momentum do some of the work.",[12,4419,4421],{"id":4420},"when-dynamic-is-the-answer","When dynamic is the answer",[17,4423,4424],{},"Dynamic moves are about borrowing momentum so your fingers do not have to do all the holding. On steep walls this is not flashy, it is efficient. If you generate movement from your feet and hips, the next hold arrives at the top of that motion with very little weight on your hands for an instant, and you grab it there.",[17,4426,4427],{},"Reach for dynamic when:",[70,4429,4430,4433,4436,4439],{},[73,4431,4432],{},"The move is long and a static lock-off would be desperate or impossible.",[73,4434,4435],{},"The holds you are pulling from are decent enough to push off, but you would burn out holding a slow reach.",[73,4437,4438],{},"The target hold is positive — a jug or a deep pocket — so a slightly imprecise catch is forgiving.",[73,4440,4441],{},"The intermediate position is a no-hands-worth-staying spot anyway, so there is nothing to gain by going slowly.",[17,4443,4444],{},"The honest catch is that dynamic moves are less precise and harder to reverse. Commit to a dyno and miss, and you are coming off. So you trade control for reach and energy.",[12,4446,4448],{"id":4447},"reading-the-move","Reading the move",[17,4450,4451],{},"The real answer is almost always a blend. Most good climbing is mostly static with dynamic moments dropped in where they pay off, or mostly dynamic with a static catch onto a tricky hold. Before you pull on, ask two questions. How good is the hold I am going to, and how good are the holds I am leaving. Good destination, commit and move fast. Bad destination, slow down and arrive under control. Bad holds to pull from, you may have no choice but to generate momentum because you cannot afford to hang there.",[17,4453,4454],{},"The best way to feel the difference is to repeat a problem you already have wired and deliberately climb it the wrong way. Force everything static, then force everything dynamic. You will quickly feel where each one fits, and that sense is what eventually lets you pick the right tool without thinking. If you log your attempts as you work a problem, you can note which version of a move actually stuck — small detail, but it saves relearning the beta next session.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4456},[4457,4458,4459,4460],{"id":4394,"depth":132,"text":4395},{"id":4404,"depth":132,"text":4405},{"id":4420,"depth":132,"text":4421},{"id":4447,"depth":132,"text":4448},"2026-01-09","When to move slow and controlled and when to commit to a dynamic move — and why both belong in your toolkit.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1651607842258-5709a7e294a2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Ashlyn Ciara","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@ashlynciara",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fstatic-or-dynamic-choosing-how-to-move",{"title":4389,"description":4462},"blog\u002Fstatic-or-dynamic-choosing-how-to-move",[290,1241,3493],"Sl-OZhAVa_ixqwTjrYW9yXTsxcwLFEYbITAjAnMu_W4",{"id":4473,"title":4474,"author":7,"body":4475,"category":2555,"date":4557,"description":4558,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4559,"imageAlt":4560,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":4561,"mapLat":4562,"mapLng":4563,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":4143,"meta":4564,"navigation":152,"path":4565,"readTime":154,"seo":4566,"stem":4567,"tags":4568,"__hash__":4570},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-the-lake-district.md","Bouldering in the Lake District",{"type":9,"value":4476,"toc":4551},[4477,4481,4484,4487,4491,4494,4497,4517,4520,4524,4527,4530,4541,4545,4548],[12,4478,4480],{"id":4479},"bouldering-with-a-view","Bouldering with a view",[17,4482,4483],{},"The Lake District is better known for mountains, lakes and long mountaineering days than for bouldering, and that is part of what makes it special. The blocs here come with the full Lakeland package: rough rock, big skies, and views down valleys that no indoor wall can match. This is mountain bouldering, where the walk in matters as much as the problems, and where the weather has a deciding vote on whether you climb at all.",[17,4485,4486],{},"If you want a relaxing, predictable cragging holiday, the Lakes will test your patience. If you want adventure, atmosphere and the feeling of being somewhere genuinely wild while still pulling on hard moves, there are few better places in England.",[12,4488,4490],{"id":4489},"the-rock-and-the-blocs","The rock and the blocs",[17,4492,4493],{},"Lakeland bouldering happens on a mix of rock types, mainly volcanic rhyolite and tuff, with some slate and the odd patch of sandstone. The volcanic rock tends to be rough, sharp and full of character — crimps, edges, slopers and the occasional pocket — and it can be hard on the skin. The friction is excellent when conditions are good, but the texture means you will want tape and a sense of when to stop before your fingertips give out.",[17,4495,4496],{},"Some of the better-known venues give a flavour of the variety:",[70,4498,4499,4505,4511],{},[73,4500,4501,4504],{},[76,4502,4503],{},"Langdale"," holds a spread of blocs in a stunning valley setting, with everything from easy warm-ups to test pieces.",[73,4506,4507,4510],{},[76,4508,4509],{},"St Bees"," on the coast offers gentler sandstone bouldering and is a good wet-weather alternative.",[73,4512,4513,4516],{},[76,4514,4515],{},"The Bowderstone"," in Borrowdale is a single huge boulder that has been a training ground for generations, with steep, polished classics.",[17,4518,4519],{},"Many problems sit beneath the bigger crags, so you can combine a bouldering session with scoping out routes for another day.",[12,4521,4523],{"id":4522},"weather-is-the-real-grade","Weather is the real grade",[17,4525,4526],{},"There is no getting around it: the Lake District is one of the wettest corners of the country. The rock dries slowly in the shaded, mossy valleys, and a perfect forecast can still mean greasy holds if the air is humid. The flip side is that on a crisp, dry day with a breeze, the friction is sublime and the place is empty.",[17,4528,4529],{},"A few things help you make the most of a trip:",[70,4531,4532,4535,4538],{},[73,4533,4534],{},"Stay flexible. Have several venues in mind at different altitudes and aspects so you can chase the dry rock.",[73,4536,4537],{},"Cooler months from autumn to spring usually give the best conditions, as long as you can find a dry window.",[73,4539,4540],{},"The blocs are exposed to the wind, which is a blessing for drying rock and a curse for staying warm. Layer up.",[12,4542,4544],{"id":4543},"going-prepared","Going prepared",[17,4546,4547],{},"Because much of the bouldering is up in the fells, treat a session like a small hill day. Carry proper walking footwear for the approach, take more layers than you think you need, and pack food, water and a way to navigate. Mobile signal is patchy in the valleys, so do not rely on it for directions or in an emergency. A pad is essential, and a brush for clearing moss and lichen off less-travelled problems earns its place in the bag.",[17,4549,4550],{},"The reward for all this faff is bouldering that feels like an expedition in miniature. You earn your problems here, and topping out a bloc with a fell falling away beneath you is a different experience entirely from a session under the gym lights. Keep a note of the venues and conditions that worked, because in the Lakes, remembering which valley dries fastest after rain is half the battle.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4552},[4553,4554,4555,4556],{"id":4479,"depth":132,"text":4480},{"id":4489,"depth":132,"text":4490},{"id":4522,"depth":132,"text":4523},{"id":4543,"depth":132,"text":4544},"2026-01-02","Mountain bouldering among the fells — the blocs, the weather, and the long views that come with them.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fbouldering-in-the-lake-district.jpg","Satellite view of Langdale, Lake District","Langdale, Lake District",54.5126,-3.1586,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-the-lake-district",{"title":4474,"description":4558},"blog\u002Fbouldering-in-the-lake-district",[2589,293,4569],"lake district","Z_iebDaMwuhuJPEg_VILNKTkLuh-wXGS2ffoLuxV-YM",{"id":4572,"title":4573,"author":7,"body":4574,"category":2785,"date":4653,"description":4654,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4655,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":283,"imageCreditUrl":284,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4656,"navigation":152,"path":4657,"readTime":154,"seo":4658,"stem":4659,"tags":4660,"__hash__":4662},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-with-a-fear-of-falling.md","Climbing with a fear of falling",{"type":9,"value":4575,"toc":4647},[4576,4580,4583,4586,4590,4593,4604,4607,4611,4614,4617,4631,4634,4637,4641,4644],[12,4577,4579],{"id":4578},"the-fear-is-doing-its-job","The fear is doing its job",[17,4581,4582],{},"Almost every climber who leads has, at some point, frozen above a bolt, unable to commit to a move they can physically do. It feels like a personal failing. It is not. Your brain is registering height and exposure and doing exactly what it evolved to do, which is keep you off the edge. Fear of falling is the default setting, and the goal is not to delete it but to retrain it so it stops firing when you are actually safe.",[17,4584,4585],{},"It helps to separate two things. There is rational caution, which keeps you off loose rock and reminds you to check your knot, and you want to keep that. Then there is the disproportionate dread of a clean, safe fall onto good gear, which steals the climbing from you. That second one is the one you can work on, and it responds well to gradual, deliberate practice.",[12,4587,4589],{"id":4588},"sort-out-the-real-risks-first","Sort out the real risks first",[17,4591,4592],{},"You cannot talk yourself calm if part of your brain is correctly worried that the fall is not actually safe. So before any fear practice, remove the genuine hazards.",[70,4594,4595,4598,4601],{},[73,4596,4597],{},"Climb with a belayer you trust, who you have watched catch well.",[73,4599,4600],{},"Learn what a soft catch is and ask for one, so falls are gentle rather than a hard slam into the wall.",[73,4602,4603],{},"Understand the situations where a fall really is dangerous: low down near the ground, below your first few bolts, near ledges, or where you might swing into something. Avoiding falls there is sound judgement, not fear.",[17,4605,4606],{},"Once you know the difference between a safe fall and a dangerous one, your nervous system has something honest to work with. Trying to override well-founded fear is exhausting and counterproductive.",[12,4608,4610],{"id":4609},"practise-falling-on-purpose","Practise falling on purpose",[17,4612,4613],{},"The core of the work is fall practice, done in small steps and on safe terrain such as a steep gym wall or an overhanging sport route where you cannot hit anything. The idea is to give your body repeated proof that the fall is fine, until the proof outweighs the dread.",[17,4615,4616],{},"A gradual ladder works better than a single brave leap:",[3894,4618,4619,4622,4625,4628],{},[73,4620,4621],{},"Start by hanging on the rope above a bolt, weighting it gently, getting used to trusting the system.",[73,4623,4624],{},"Take tiny falls with the bolt at your waist, barely letting go.",[73,4626,4627],{},"Slowly let the falls get longer, clipping then climbing a move above the bolt before letting go.",[73,4629,4630],{},"Build up over many sessions to falling from above the bolt, the kind of fall you actually take when you blow a move.",[17,4632,4633],{},"The key word is gradual. Push the size of the fall only when the current size has become genuinely boring. If a fall still spikes real panic, you have jumped too far ahead, so step back down a rung. Calm repetition, not bravado, is what rewires the response.",[17,4635,4636],{},"It also helps to fall well: stay loose, keep your hands off the rope, let your feet come up to meet the wall, and breathe out as you go. A rigid, clutching body makes every fall feel worse.",[12,4638,4640],{"id":4639},"be-patient-and-consistent","Be patient and consistent",[17,4642,4643],{},"This is slow work and it does not stay fixed forever. Take a few months off lead and the fear creeps back, which is normal. Most climbers fold a bit of fall practice into their sessions for good, the way you would keep up any skill.",[17,4645,4646],{},"What you are buying with all this is freedom. When falling stops being a catastrophe, you start trying moves you would have backed off, and your climbing opens up well beyond what your fingers can do. Keeping a simple note of the falls you took and how they felt, session to session, is a quietly motivating way to see the dread shrinking even when it does not feel like it in the moment.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4648},[4649,4650,4651,4652],{"id":4578,"depth":132,"text":4579},{"id":4588,"depth":132,"text":4589},{"id":4609,"depth":132,"text":4610},{"id":4639,"depth":132,"text":4640},"2025-12-26","Where falling fear comes from and a gradual, practical way to make peace with the air below you.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F8729011\u002Fpexels-photo-8729011.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-with-a-fear-of-falling",{"title":4573,"description":4654},"blog\u002Fclimbing-with-a-fear-of-falling",[2796,4661,3594],"fear","gvo_MavFnw574_26PXtbmt9vEx6WR43FGWOe3QM6DjQ",{"id":4664,"title":4665,"author":7,"body":4666,"category":2785,"date":4728,"description":4729,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4730,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":4731,"imageCreditUrl":4732,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4733,"navigation":152,"path":4734,"readTime":2472,"seo":4735,"stem":4736,"tags":4737,"__hash__":4739},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-warm-down-after-climbing.md","How to warm down after climbing",{"type":9,"value":4667,"toc":4722},[4668,4671,4675,4678,4681,4685,4688,4702,4705,4709,4712,4716,4719],[17,4669,4670],{},"Most climbers warm up, even if only a bit. Almost nobody warms down. The session ends with the last hard burn, the shoes come off, and everyone heads for the door with pumped forearms and a sore back. A few quiet minutes at the end will not transform your climbing, but they help you feel better the next day and get back on the wall sooner. For something so cheap, that is a good deal.",[12,4672,4674],{"id":4673},"why-bother","Why bother",[17,4676,4677],{},"A warm-down is not magic and it will not cancel out a hard session. What it does is ease the transition from high effort back to rest. Some gentle movement keeps blood flowing through tired forearms, which helps clear the heavy, pumped feeling and may take the edge off next-day stiffness. Just as usefully, it gives you a moment to notice how your body actually feels before you cool down and stiffen up, which is when little tweaks tend to hide.",[17,4679,4680],{},"Think of it as bookending the session. You would not sprint flat out and then stop dead, and the same idea applies to a couple of hours of hard pulling.",[12,4682,4684],{"id":4683},"a-simple-routine","A simple routine",[17,4686,4687],{},"You do not need anything elaborate. Five to ten minutes covers it:",[70,4689,4690,4693,4696,4699],{},[73,4691,4692],{},"Climb a few very easy problems or routes, well below your limit, focusing on smooth movement and big holds. This is the most useful part — easy climbing flushes the forearms better than standing around.",[73,4694,4695],{},"Gently open and stretch the fingers and forearms. Press the fingers back, roll the wrists, and let the hands relax.",[73,4697,4698],{},"Take the shoulders and back through some easy range of motion. Climbing pulls you forward, so a few minutes opening the chest and rolling the shoulders is welcome.",[73,4700,4701],{},"Finish with a couple of slow forearm and wrist stretches, holding each comfortably without forcing it.",[17,4703,4704],{},"Keep everything gentle. A warm-down is not the time for deep, aggressive stretching or another hard effort. The aim is to wind down, not to start a new workout.",[12,4706,4708],{"id":4707},"look-after-the-fingers","Look after the fingers",[17,4710,4711],{},"After a crimpy session the fingers deserve special attention. Some light, pain-free finger flexion and extension, maybe with a light band, helps them settle. If any finger feels sharp or distinctly sore rather than just tired, that is information worth noting now, while it is fresh, rather than discovering it cold the next morning. A warm-down is a natural moment to take stock of how the hands came through the session.",[12,4713,4715],{"id":4714},"then-rest-properly","Then rest properly",[17,4717,4718],{},"The warm-down hands you over to the part that actually does the recovering: rest, food and sleep. A bit of easy movement at the wall helps, but the real adaptation happens over the following day or two when you eat well and let the body repair. Treat the warm-down as the gentle full stop on a session, not as a substitute for genuine rest.",[17,4720,4721],{},"The honest version of this is that a warm-down takes five minutes and asks almost nothing of you. It will not earn you a grade. But it sends you home feeling a little better, helps you read the early signs of a niggle, and makes the next session that bit more likely to happen. Tag it onto the end of every session and it quickly becomes automatic.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4723},[4724,4725,4726,4727],{"id":4673,"depth":132,"text":4674},{"id":4683,"depth":132,"text":4684},{"id":4707,"depth":132,"text":4708},{"id":4714,"depth":132,"text":4715},"2025-12-19","A few minutes at the end of a session that help you recover faster and climb sooner.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F3058762\u002Fpexels-photo-3058762.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","Davyd Bortnik","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@davyd-bortnik",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-warm-down-after-climbing",{"title":4665,"description":4729},"blog\u002Fhow-to-warm-down-after-climbing",[561,4738,162],"health","wQK9R8_TTwKE9mS6eM_gaLvIZbjNo1cKgq_hocMDV08",{"id":4741,"title":4742,"author":7,"body":4743,"category":2366,"date":4815,"description":4816,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4817,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":4818,"imageCreditUrl":4819,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4820,"navigation":152,"path":4821,"readTime":2472,"seo":4822,"stem":4823,"tags":4824,"__hash__":4825},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-sloper.md","What is a sloper?",{"type":9,"value":4744,"toc":4810},[4745,4748,4752,4755,4758,4761,4765,4768,4771,4797,4800,4804,4807],[17,4746,4747],{},"Some holds you grab. A sloper you do not grab so much as lean on and pray. They are the smooth, rounded blobs with no edge, no lip, nothing for your fingers to curl around, and to a newer climber they feel completely hopeless. The good news is that slopers reward technique far more than strength, and once it clicks they stop being a wall.",[12,4749,4751],{"id":4750},"a-hold-with-nothing-to-hold","A hold with nothing to hold",[17,4753,4754],{},"A sloper is a rounded hold with no positive edge. Where a crimp gives you a sharp lip to pull on and a jug gives you a deep pocket to wrap your hand into, a sloper gives you only a curved surface. There is no in-cut, nothing your fingers can hook behind. All you have is the friction between your skin and the hold.",[17,4756,4757],{},"That is the whole secret of the sloper: it works on friction, not grip. Your contact with the hold depends on how much surface area your hand makes against it, and crucially, on the direction you pull. Slopers are unforgiving about angle. Pull in the wrong direction and your hand slides straight off. Pull in the right one and the same hold suddenly feels solid.",[17,4759,4760],{},"This is why they feel hopeless at first. Beginners instinctively try to crush a sloper like a crimp, fingers bent, pulling outwards, and of course it greases off. The hold is not designed to be squeezed. It is designed to be smeared with the whole hand.",[12,4762,4764],{"id":4763},"how-body-position-makes-them-stick","How body position makes them stick",[17,4766,4767],{},"The trick to slopers lives in your body, not your fingers. The aim is to get your weight hanging directly below the hold so that you are pulling straight down through it, not out from it.",[17,4769,4770],{},"A few things that turn a hopeless sloper into a usable one:",[70,4772,4773,4779,4785,4791],{},[73,4774,4775,4778],{},[76,4776,4777],{},"Drop your hips and stay low."," Getting your centre of gravity under the hold changes the angle of pull from outwards to downwards, which is exactly what a sloper wants.",[73,4780,4781,4784],{},[76,4782,4783],{},"Maximise skin contact."," Spread your fingers, lay your whole palm and the meat of your thumb onto the hold, and use as much surface as you can. More contact means more friction.",[73,4786,4787,4790],{},[76,4788,4789],{},"Keep your arm straight and shoulder engaged."," A bent arm pulls outwards and peels you off. A long arm with an active shoulder keeps the force pointing down.",[73,4792,4793,4796],{},[76,4794,4795],{},"Stay still once you are on it."," Slopers punish fidgeting. Find the position, commit, move precisely to the next thing.",[17,4798,4799],{},"Footwork matters enormously here. Because the hold gives you so little, your feet have to do real work. High, precise feet let you press your weight down through the sloper rather than swinging out from it. Often the move into a sloper is about generating just enough momentum to land your hand softly on top, then settling your weight before the friction can break.",[12,4801,4803],{"id":4802},"friction-conditions-and-patience","Friction, conditions and patience",[17,4805,4806],{},"Slopers are also the holds most affected by conditions. Warm, sweaty hands and humid air kill friction, which is why a sloper that felt fine in the morning can feel like glass by mid-afternoon. Chalk helps, cool dry skin helps more, and so does a quick brush of the hold to clear off the grease from earlier climbers. Serious sloper sessions live and die by good conditions.",[17,4808,4809],{},"If you struggle with them, that is normal and it is worth chasing rather than avoiding. Slopers force you to learn body tension, hip position and patient, precise movement, the exact skills that make every other style of climbing better too. Seek out the rounded, grabless holds you usually walk past, drop your hips, lay your whole hand on, and trust the friction. They go from hopeless to satisfying faster than almost any other hold type.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4811},[4812,4813,4814],{"id":4750,"depth":132,"text":4751},{"id":4763,"depth":132,"text":4764},{"id":4802,"depth":132,"text":4803},"2025-12-12","The rounded holds with nothing to grab, why they feel hopeless, and how body position makes them stick.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1718872140639-e2420e37cea2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Liana S","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@cherstve_pechivo",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-sloper",{"title":4742,"description":4816},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-sloper",[2376,2377,292],"NU7P_plBmgtfo5L05sDyPZoGypHoeAXEUChfMcrGVgc",{"id":4827,"title":4828,"author":7,"body":4829,"category":2464,"date":4909,"description":4910,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4911,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4914,"navigation":152,"path":4915,"readTime":1547,"seo":4916,"stem":4917,"tags":4918,"__hash__":4920},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findoor-or-outdoor-where-to-start.md","Indoor or outdoor: where to start",{"type":9,"value":4830,"toc":4903},[4831,4835,4838,4841,4845,4848,4851,4877,4880,4884,4887,4890,4893,4897,4900],[12,4832,4834],{"id":4833},"the-short-answer","The short answer",[17,4836,4837],{},"If you are wondering whether to take your first steps on indoor plastic or on real rock, the honest answer is that most people start inside, and for good reason. That is not a knock on outdoor climbing, which is for many of us the whole point. It is just that the gym removes most of the friction from learning, and friction is what stops beginners coming back.",[17,4839,4840],{},"That said, both have real trade-offs, and it is worth understanding them rather than treating the gym as a watered-down version of the outdoors. They are different experiences that happen to share a name.",[12,4842,4844],{"id":4843},"why-most-people-start-indoors","Why most people start indoors",[17,4846,4847],{},"A climbing gym is built to make beginners welcome. The holds are coloured and obvious, the problems are graded for you, and the landings are padded and predictable. You can turn up after work for an hour, climb a dozen problems, and leave, with no approach walk, no weather to read, and no gear to place.",[17,4849,4850],{},"The advantages stack up:",[70,4852,4853,4859,4865,4871],{},[73,4854,4855,4858],{},[76,4856,4857],{},"Low barrier to entry."," Hire some shoes, watch a short briefing, and you are climbing within minutes. Bouldering needs no rope skills at all.",[73,4860,4861,4864],{},[76,4862,4863],{},"It is sociable."," Gyms are full of people at every level, and the climbing crowd is generally happy to share beta and encouragement.",[73,4866,4867,4870],{},[76,4868,4869],{},"You climb a lot."," Easy access means more sessions, and volume is what builds skill and strength early on.",[73,4872,4873,4876],{},[76,4874,4875],{},"The weather never cancels."," You can climb in the dark, in the rain, all winter, which keeps progress steady.",[17,4878,4879],{},"For learning movement, building finger strength gradually, and finding out whether you actually love this, the gym is hard to beat.",[12,4881,4883],{"id":4882},"what-the-outdoors-asks-of-you","What the outdoors asks of you",[17,4885,4886],{},"Real rock is the reason a lot of us climb, but it asks more of a beginner. The holds are whatever the rock decided to be, there are no coloured tags telling you where to put your hands, and reading a line is a skill in itself. The landings outdoors are uneven and need pads and a spotter even for bouldering, and roped climbing outside brings in a whole layer of safety knowledge you cannot skip.",[17,4888,4889],{},"There is also the matter of getting there. Outdoor climbing usually means travel, an approach walk, checking the forecast, and accepting that conditions might be wrong when you arrive. Friction can be poor on a humid day in a way the gym never suffers from. None of this is a reason to avoid the outdoors, but it is a lot to take on while you are still learning to trust your feet.",[17,4891,4892],{},"When you do go, go with experienced people or a qualified instructor, at least at first. Outdoor safety, from spotting and pad placement to belaying and reading loose rock, is learned best from someone who already knows it.",[12,4894,4896],{"id":4895},"a-sensible-path","A sensible path",[17,4898,4899],{},"For most newcomers, the gym first, rock later approach works well. Spend your early sessions indoors building movement, strength and confidence, then head outside when you have a friend who knows the ropes or a course to take you. Many climbers happily do both for life, using the gym to train and the rock for the real thing.",[17,4901,4902],{},"There is no wrong answer here, and your local options matter as much as any principle. If you live a stone's throw from a crag and know experienced climbers, starting outside under their wing is perfectly reasonable. But if you are weighing it up cold, walk into a gym this week. It is the lowest-risk way to find out whether climbing is for you, and almost everything you learn there will serve you when you finally get on rock.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4904},[4905,4906,4907,4908],{"id":4833,"depth":132,"text":4834},{"id":4843,"depth":132,"text":4844},{"id":4882,"depth":132,"text":4883},{"id":4895,"depth":132,"text":4896},"2025-12-05","The honest trade-offs between plastic and rock for a new climber, and why most people start inside.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775655111279-748c2dccd065?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Beta Boulders","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@betaboulders",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findoor-or-outdoor-where-to-start",{"title":4828,"description":4910},"blog\u002Findoor-or-outdoor-where-to-start",[562,4919,3168],"indoor","-xMcai_rkl9LB6Pq_1LJbQW57N2BdC57iaiczpb4_3Q",{"id":4922,"title":4923,"author":7,"body":4924,"category":4989,"date":4990,"description":4991,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":4992,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":1909,"imageCreditUrl":1910,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":4993,"navigation":152,"path":4994,"readTime":1547,"seo":4995,"stem":4996,"tags":4997,"__hash__":5001},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbehind-the-scenes-how-sendit-logs-a-session.md","Behind the scenes: how Sendit logs a session",{"type":9,"value":4925,"toc":4983},[4926,4929,4933,4936,4950,4953,4957,4960,4963,4967,4970,4973,4977,4980],[17,4927,4928],{},"Most climbers know they should keep a logbook. Far fewer actually do, and the reason is almost always the same: logging is a faff. By the time you have finished a hard session, the last thing you want is to fill in a form. So when we built session logging in Sendit, the brief was simple — make it quick enough that you actually do it, and useful enough that it pays you back. Here is how it works behind the scenes.",[12,4930,4932],{"id":4931},"a-session-is-just-a-few-taps","A session is just a few taps",[17,4934,4935],{},"The core idea is that logging should keep pace with how a session actually unfolds, not interrupt it. You start a session and tick climbs off as you go, or log the lot at the end if you would rather stay in the flow. Each entry captures the things that matter for learning later:",[70,4937,4938,4941,4944,4947],{},[73,4939,4940],{},"The grade, on whatever scale you climbed — V-scale or Font for boulders, French or YDS for routes.",[73,4942,4943],{},"Whether it was a send, a flash, or a project you fell off.",[73,4945,4946],{},"For board climbing, the angle, because a V5 at 40 degrees is a very different beast from a V5 at 20.",[73,4948,4949],{},"A note if you want one — the beta that finally worked, the move you keep failing, how the fingers felt.",[17,4951,4952],{},"The whole point is that the common case is fast. Logging a flash should be one tap. The detail is there when you want it and out of the way when you do not.",[12,4954,4956],{"id":4955},"turning-taps-into-a-history","Turning taps into a history",[17,4958,4959],{},"A single logged climb is not very interesting. A few hundred of them are. The work that matters happens after you log, when those entries become a history you can read. Sendit organises your climbs by date, grade and angle so that patterns surface on their own.",[17,4961,4962],{},"That history answers the questions memory cannot. What grades have you actually been sending lately, rather than what you tell people at the pub? Which angles do you avoid? How long did that project really take, and what changed on the session you finally sent it? Your logbook holds the honest version, and seeing it laid out is often where the useful realisations come from.",[12,4964,4966],{"id":4965},"why-the-small-details-earn-their-place","Why the small details earn their place",[17,4968,4969],{},"Every field we ask for has to justify itself, because anything that slows logging down means fewer people log at all. Angle made the cut because it is the single biggest thing that changes what a board grade means, and without it your board history is hard to compare over time. The send-or-project distinction made it because the climbs you fall off teach you as much as the ones you finish. Notes made it because the one line you write about the beta that worked is gold when you come back to a project weeks later.",[17,4971,4972],{},"Everything else we leave optional or out entirely. A logbook you fill in fully once and then abandon is worth less than a quick one you keep for years.",[12,4974,4976],{"id":4975},"what-it-adds-up-to","What it adds up to",[17,4978,4979],{},"The aim of all this is not to turn climbing into spreadsheet admin. It is to give you, with almost no effort, the one thing that quietly drives improvement: a true record of what you have done. Over a season that record shows you whether your training is working, where your weaknesses sit, and how far you have actually come.",[17,4981,4982],{},"A few taps at the wall, and the rest sorts itself out in the background. That is the whole idea — make the logging cheap, make the history rich, and let your sessions add up into something you can learn from.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":4984},[4985,4986,4987,4988],{"id":4931,"depth":132,"text":4932},{"id":4955,"depth":132,"text":4956},{"id":4965,"depth":132,"text":4966},{"id":4975,"depth":132,"text":4976},"Product & updates","2025-11-28","A look at how Sendit turns a few taps into a history you can actually learn from.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F6675610\u002Fpexels-photo-6675610.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbehind-the-scenes-how-sendit-logs-a-session",{"title":4923,"description":4991},"blog\u002Fbehind-the-scenes-how-sendit-logs-a-session",[4998,4999,5000],"sendit","product","logbook","YE8HNvVERQSZwDaDn4odcb_8EmrUQFLESS8rbYJkZH4",{"id":5003,"title":5004,"author":7,"body":5005,"category":2785,"date":5073,"description":5074,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5075,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1543,"imageCreditUrl":1544,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5076,"navigation":152,"path":5077,"readTime":1547,"seo":5078,"stem":5079,"tags":5080,"__hash__":5083},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fstaying-motivated-through-winter.md","Staying motivated through winter",{"type":9,"value":5006,"toc":5067},[5007,5010,5014,5017,5020,5024,5027,5030,5041,5044,5048,5051,5054,5058,5061,5064],[17,5008,5009],{},"Winter is where good intentions go to die. The days are short, the rock is wet or freezing, and the sofa makes a very persuasive argument. But winter is also when the climbers who keep showing up build the base that carries them through the next season. The trick is not heroic willpower. It is making the easy thing the good thing.",[12,5011,5013],{"id":5012},"reframe-the-off-season","Reframe the off-season",[17,5015,5016],{},"The first shift is mental. Stop treating winter as a write-off and start treating it as a job. The outdoor season has a ceiling on how hard you can usefully train, because you are spending energy on projects and travel. Winter removes that. It is the one stretch of the year where you can put your head down indoors and actually get stronger, rather than just maintaining.",[17,5018,5019],{},"Climbers who come out flying in spring almost always did the boring work in January. Knowing that the cold months are when the gains happen makes the gym feel less like a consolation prize and more like the point.",[12,5021,5023],{"id":5022},"set-a-project-you-can-chase-indoors","Set a project you can chase indoors",[17,5025,5026],{},"Motivation is much easier to find when you are chasing something specific. \"Keep climbing through winter\" is vague and forgettable. \"Send a V5 on the steep wall by March\" or \"do my first clean set of repeaters on the small edge\" is something you can show up for.",[17,5028,5029],{},"Pick one or two targets that live indoors so the weather cannot cancel them:",[70,5031,5032,5035,5038],{},[73,5033,5034],{},"A board problem at your limit you work over several weeks.",[73,5036,5037],{},"A finger-strength goal you can measure, like a hang you cannot do today.",[73,5039,5040],{},"A volume target, such as a set number of sessions a month.",[17,5042,5043],{},"Having a concrete thing to aim at turns a grey, pointless-feeling Tuesday into one more rep towards a goal you care about.",[12,5045,5047],{"id":5046},"lower-the-bar-for-showing-up","Lower the bar for showing up",[17,5049,5050],{},"The hardest part of a winter session is the bit before it — getting changed, getting out the door. So make that part as small as possible. Pack your bag the night before. Agree to meet a friend so cancelling lets someone down. Tell yourself you only have to do a warm-up and a few easy problems; most of the time, once you are warm, you stay.",[17,5052,5053],{},"A climbing partner is the single most reliable motivator there is. Two people will drag each other out on a night neither would manage alone. If you can find a regular winter session with someone, half the battle is already won.",[12,5055,5057],{"id":5056},"watch-your-progress-add-up","Watch your progress add up",[17,5059,5060],{},"Nothing fuels winter motivation like seeing that the slog is working. The problem is that day to day, you feel exactly the same. Progress over a season is only visible if you can look back at it. A log of your sessions, the grades you have been climbing, and the training you have ticked off turns a foggy stretch of months into a visible line going up. On a low day, scrolling back to see how much you have done since November is often enough to get the shoes back on.",[17,5062,5063],{},"This is one of those places where keeping a simple record pays off most. Sendit makes it easy to see the season stacking up behind you, which on a dark, drizzly evening can be exactly the nudge you need.",[17,5065,5066],{},"The honest takeaway is that nobody feels motivated all winter. The climbers who improve are not the ones brimming with enthusiasm in February — they are the ones who built habits in November that carry them when the enthusiasm runs out. Make showing up easy, chase something real, and let spring do the rest.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5068},[5069,5070,5071,5072],{"id":5012,"depth":132,"text":5013},{"id":5022,"depth":132,"text":5023},{"id":5046,"depth":132,"text":5047},{"id":5056,"depth":132,"text":5057},"2025-11-21","Short days and cold rock test anyone. How to keep climbing through the off-season and come out stronger.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F5384169\u002Fpexels-photo-5384169.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fstaying-motivated-through-winter",{"title":5004,"description":5074},"blog\u002Fstaying-motivated-through-winter",[2796,5081,5082],"motivation","seasons","qCflyo7yYf14fraGwBAAks-OuXToBTH8WtNwasLExIA",{"id":5085,"title":5086,"author":7,"body":5087,"category":141,"date":5152,"description":5153,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":887,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":889,"imageCreditUrl":890,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5154,"navigation":152,"path":5155,"readTime":2472,"seo":5156,"stem":5157,"tags":5158,"__hash__":5161},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-silent-feet-drill.md","The silent feet drill",{"type":9,"value":5088,"toc":5146},[5089,5093,5096,5099,5103,5106,5109,5112,5116,5119,5133,5136,5140,5143],[12,5090,5092],{"id":5091},"one-rule-a-whole-session","One rule, a whole session",[17,5094,5095],{},"The silent feet drill is the rare piece of training that costs nothing, needs no kit, and works on everyone. The rule is a single sentence: climb without letting your feet make a sound. That is the entire drill. No slapping, no scraping, no readjusting a shoe once it lands. Every foot goes onto its hold quietly and stays there.",[17,5097,5098],{},"It sounds trivial. Try it on a route you find easy and you will be startled by how much noise you normally make, and how much your footwork has been getting away with on holds that are forgiving.",[12,5100,5102],{"id":5101},"why-it-works","Why it works",[17,5104,5105],{},"Noisy feet are a symptom. The slap happens because you placed the foot by feel after it arrived, rather than by eye before it landed. The scrape happens because you put it in roughly the right area and then dragged it into place. The readjustment happens because you were not precise the first time. Silence forces you to fix all three at once, without you having to think about each one.",[17,5107,5108],{},"To be silent you have to look at the foothold, keep watching it as your foot travels, and set the shoe down softly and exactly on the spot you chose. That is precise footwork, full stop. The noise is just an honest signal that tells you the moment you get sloppy. You do not have to analyse your technique, the wall does it for you.",[17,5110,5111],{},"It also slows you down in the best way. Rushed feet are sloppy feet, and the silence rule makes rushing impossible. You learn to move at a pace where your feet can be deliberate, which carries over to harder climbing where precision matters most.",[12,5113,5115],{"id":5114},"how-to-run-it","How to run it",[17,5117,5118],{},"Keep it simple and keep it honest.",[70,5120,5121,5124,5127,5130],{},[73,5122,5123],{},"Pick terrain well within your limit, a couple of grades below where you fall, so pump and fear are not in the way.",[73,5125,5126],{},"Climb at whatever pace it takes to place every foot in silence. Slow is fine.",[73,5128,5129],{},"If a foot makes a sound, that is the feedback. Notice it, reset your attention, and carry on. No need to punish yourself, just stay aware.",[73,5131,5132],{},"Run it as a warm-up game for the first part of a session, then carry the awareness into your harder climbing.",[17,5134,5135],{},"A nice variation once silence comes easily is the no-readjust rule: wherever the foot first lands is where it stays for the whole move. That tightens your precision even further, because you cannot fudge a sloppy placement after the fact.",[12,5137,5139],{"id":5138},"why-it-beats-hangboarding-for-this","Why it beats hangboarding for this",[17,5141,5142],{},"Finger strength is worth training, but it will not fix footwork, and most climbers below the higher grades are held back far more by sloppy feet than by weak fingers. Stronger fingers let you get away with bad feet for longer, which is not the same as climbing well. The silent feet drill attacks the actual limiter, builds the habit of watching your feet, and does it on easy ground where there is no cost to slowing down.",[17,5144,5145],{},"Make it a standing part of your warm-up. A few weeks of quiet feet and you will notice your shoes landing where you look without you trying, on hard routes as well as easy ones. That is the habit doing its job. If you log your sessions, jotting a quick note on the warm-ups where you ran the drill makes it easy to look back and see when your footwork turned a corner.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5147},[5148,5149,5150,5151],{"id":5091,"depth":132,"text":5092},{"id":5101,"depth":132,"text":5102},{"id":5114,"depth":132,"text":5115},{"id":5138,"depth":132,"text":5139},"2025-11-14","A simple session-long game that fixes sloppy footwork faster than any amount of finger training.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-silent-feet-drill",{"title":5086,"description":5153},"blog\u002Fthe-silent-feet-drill",[5159,436,5160],"drill","practice","ZUUe7cjNpKklXVfcRWFz_W57WlVrMhb8QpvCGKCgjtA",{"id":5163,"title":5164,"author":7,"body":5165,"category":2366,"date":5228,"description":5229,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5230,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":5231,"imageCreditUrl":5232,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5233,"navigation":152,"path":5234,"readTime":2472,"seo":5235,"stem":5236,"tags":5237,"__hash__":5238},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-sit-start.md","What is a sit start?",{"type":9,"value":5166,"toc":5223},[5167,5171,5174,5177,5181,5184,5187,5190,5210,5214,5217,5220],[12,5168,5170],{"id":5169},"starting-from-the-ground-up","Starting from the ground up",[17,5172,5173],{},"A sit start does exactly what it says. Instead of beginning a boulder problem standing, with both hands on the first holds and your feet already on the rock, you start sitting on the ground. You put your hands on the designated starting holds, plant your backside on the floor, lift your feet onto whatever footholds are there, and only then are you allowed to pull on and climb.",[17,5175,5176],{},"In a guidebook you will see this written as \"SDS\" — sit-down start — or sometimes just \"sit start\". Often a problem has two versions: the stand start, which begins from a comfortable standing position, and the sit start, which adds a move or two of harder climbing at the bottom and usually carries a higher grade. The Font classic Mécanique Élémentaire, for example, has both, and the sit is the line everyone actually queues for.",[12,5178,5180],{"id":5179},"why-bother-sitting-in-the-dirt","Why bother sitting in the dirt?",[17,5182,5183],{},"It comes down to fairness and length. On many blocs the obvious standing holds are at chest or head height, which means a tall climber can practically walk onto the problem while a shorter one is fully extended just to start. Dropping the start to the ground removes a lot of that height advantage and gives everyone the same low first move.",[17,5185,5186],{},"It also adds climbing. A sit start typically means a powerful pull off the ground from a compressed, scrunched position — knees up by your chest, hips low, often a hard first move to get your weight moving upward. That bottom section is frequently the crux. Plenty of boulderers can do every move of the stand version and still spend weeks failing to link the sit.",[17,5188,5189],{},"A few things change once you commit to the floor:",[70,5191,5192,5198,5204],{},[73,5193,5194,5197],{},[76,5195,5196],{},"Core matters more."," Pulling off the ground with your feet high and your body folded loads your midsection hard before you have any momentum.",[73,5199,5200,5203],{},[76,5201,5202],{},"The start holds are stricter."," You have to establish on the official starting holds with feet off the ground, so there is less room to cheat your way into a better position.",[73,5205,5206,5209],{},[76,5207,5208],{},"Linking is the real challenge."," Doing the sit moves and the stand moves is one thing. Doing them in one continuous go, arriving at the stand holds already tired, is another.",[12,5211,5213],{"id":5212},"reading-and-logging-it-correctly","Reading and logging it correctly",[17,5215,5216],{},"When you tick a problem, be honest about which version you did. Climbing the stand start of a V5 sit-start problem is not the same achievement, and most people grade the two separately for good reason. If a topo lists a sit start, the implication is that the established way of doing the line is from the ground.",[17,5218,5219],{},"There is no shame in starting standing while you work the moves. Many of us learn the upper section first, then go back and battle the sit until it links. Just record what you actually sent. When you keep a log of your problems, noting \"stand\" or \"SDS\" against each one keeps your tick list meaningful and saves the awkward moment months later when you cannot remember whether you ever really did the full thing.",[17,5221,5222],{},"The next time you walk up to a bloc and someone is brushing chalk off a low pair of crimps and lowering themselves into the dirt, you will know exactly what they are about to attempt.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5224},[5225,5226,5227],{"id":5169,"depth":132,"text":5170},{"id":5179,"depth":132,"text":5180},{"id":5212,"depth":132,"text":5213},"2025-11-07","Why boulderers start sitting down, what \"SDS\" means in a guidebook, and how it changes a problem.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1469026140142-cb239ea68152?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Mathias Jensen","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mathiasjensen",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-sit-start",{"title":5164,"description":5229},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-sit-start",[2376,2377,293],"wtppuTNx_6Gl2Uimaxy42g2Ay8DA-O0YdgwHWG3AimQ",{"id":5240,"title":5241,"author":7,"body":5242,"category":141,"date":5301,"description":5302,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":780,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":782,"imageCreditUrl":783,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5303,"navigation":152,"path":5304,"readTime":154,"seo":5305,"stem":5306,"tags":5307,"__hash__":5308},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fuse-your-feet-the-habit-that-unlocks-harder-climbs.md","Use your feet: the habit that unlocks harder climbs",{"type":9,"value":5243,"toc":5295},[5244,5248,5251,5254,5258,5261,5264,5275,5279,5282,5285,5289,5292],[12,5245,5247],{"id":5246},"the-problem-is-almost-never-your-fingers","The problem is almost never your fingers",[17,5249,5250],{},"Watch any new climber stall on a route and the story is usually the same. The hands grip harder, the forearms flood, and the feet drift around vaguely below, doing nothing useful. We feel the pump in our arms, so we assume the answer is stronger arms. It rarely is. Your legs are the biggest muscles you have, and on most ground below very steep angles they should be carrying the bulk of your weight. The fingers are there to keep you on the wall, not to haul you up it.",[17,5252,5253],{},"The habit worth building is simple to describe and slow to ingrain: trust your feet, and let them take the load. Once it clicks, problems that felt desperate start to feel reasonable, and you climb for longer before the forearms give out.",[12,5255,5257],{"id":5256},"weight-the-toe-not-the-whole-foot","Weight the toe, not the whole foot",[17,5259,5260],{},"A climbing shoe is built around the toe box for a reason. The point of the shoe is the precise, sensitive bit, and that is what you want on the hold. Standing on the arch or the side of the foot robs you of edging power and pivot range. Aim to place the inside edge, near the big toe, or the very tip on small holds and pockets.",[17,5262,5263],{},"When you step on, actually push down through that point. A surprising number of people place a foot and then forget about it, climbing as though the hold were not there. Drive through the leg, stand up tall, and you take real weight off your arms. A few things that help:",[70,5265,5266,5269,5272],{},[73,5267,5268],{},"Keep your heel level with or slightly above your toes when edging, so the small foot muscles do the work rather than your calf cramping.",[73,5270,5271],{},"Press the toe in before you move a hand, then move with the leg already loaded.",[73,5273,5274],{},"On steep ground, think about pulling in with the toe as much as standing on it.",[12,5276,5278],{"id":5277},"place-quietly","Place quietly",[17,5280,5281],{},"Noisy feet are sloppy feet. If your shoe slaps or scrapes onto a hold, it means you placed it by feel after it landed rather than by eye before. The fix is to look at the foothold, keep watching it as your foot travels, and set the shoe down softly and exactly. The wall will go quiet, and quiet feet are precise feet.",[17,5283,5284],{},"It feels painfully slow at first. That is fine. Precision is a skill you can drill on easy terrain, where there is no pump or fear getting in the way. Pick routes a couple of grades below your limit and climb them with the single rule that no foot is allowed to make a sound. You will catch yourself rushing constantly, which is exactly the habit you are trying to expose.",[12,5286,5288],{"id":5287},"let-the-legs-do-the-work","Let the legs do the work",[17,5290,5291],{},"Good footwork is really good leg use. Once a foot is solid, the move comes from straightening that leg and rotating a hip towards the wall, not from cranking the arm. Think of your arms as ropes that keep you connected while the legs press you upward. On vertical and slabby ground this can mean almost no arm effort at all on the easy sections, which is energy banked for the crux.",[17,5293,5294],{},"You do not need stronger fingers to climb harder this season. You need to look at your feet, place them like they matter, and stand up through your legs. Pick one session this week, climb well within yourself, and make every foot placement deliberate and silent. Logging that session and how your forearms felt afterwards in Sendit makes it easy to notice the change over a few weeks, and the change tends to come quickly once you start paying attention.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5296},[5297,5298,5299,5300],{"id":5246,"depth":132,"text":5247},{"id":5256,"depth":132,"text":5257},{"id":5277,"depth":132,"text":5278},{"id":5287,"depth":132,"text":5288},"2025-10-31","Most climbers overgrip and forget their feet. How to weight your toes, place quietly, and let your legs do the work.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fuse-your-feet-the-habit-that-unlocks-harder-climbs",{"title":5241,"description":5302},"blog\u002Fuse-your-feet-the-habit-that-unlocks-harder-climbs",[436,290,562],"9PvljyMqn2wZcVPCd1GJET_f0yBXoEgKE9rD4IvpaBU",{"id":5310,"title":5311,"author":7,"body":5312,"category":2464,"date":5388,"description":5389,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5390,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5391,"navigation":152,"path":5392,"readTime":1547,"seo":5393,"stem":5394,"tags":5395,"__hash__":5398},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fgym-etiquette-every-new-climber-should-know.md","Gym etiquette every new climber should know",{"type":9,"value":5313,"toc":5382},[5314,5317,5321,5324,5327,5331,5334,5345,5348,5352,5355,5358,5362,5365,5379],[17,5315,5316],{},"Nobody hands you a rulebook when you walk into a climbing gym for the first time. Most of the etiquette is unwritten, picked up by watching regulars and occasionally getting a polite word from someone who has been around a while. The good news is that it is mostly common sense, and once you know the basics you will move through the space like you belong there.",[12,5318,5320],{"id":5319},"mind-the-fall-zone","Mind the fall zone",[17,5322,5323],{},"The single most important thing in a bouldering gym is the area under the wall. When someone is climbing, the mat below them is a landing zone, and people fall in unpredictable directions. Do not sit, stand, or stretch directly beneath a climber, and never walk under someone mid-problem to get to the other side of the room. Take the long way round.",[17,5325,5326],{},"Before you start a problem, glance up and around. If someone is already on a line that crosses yours, or topping out above where you want to be, wait. Two climbers on overlapping problems is how ankles get hurt. A quick \"are you going for that one?\" sorts it out every time.",[12,5328,5330],{"id":5329},"sharing-problems-and-waiting-your-turn","Sharing problems and waiting your turn",[17,5332,5333],{},"Walls get busy, especially after work and at weekends. A few habits keep things flowing:",[70,5335,5336,5339,5342],{},[73,5337,5338],{},"Do not camp on a problem. Have your go, then step back and let others try while you rest.",[73,5340,5341],{},"If you are working a single move over and over, give people the line between attempts rather than standing on the start holds chalking up for two minutes.",[73,5343,5344],{},"Brushing holds is welcome, but brush, then move on so others can climb.",[17,5346,5347],{},"On the rope side, the same spirit applies. Do not leave a rope hanging on a route while you sit down for fifteen minutes. If you are taking a long break, pull your rope and free the line.",[12,5349,5351],{"id":5350},"keep-beta-to-yourself-unless-asked","Keep beta to yourself unless asked",[17,5353,5354],{},"Spraying beta — shouting unsolicited instructions at someone mid-attempt — is one of the quickest ways to annoy people. Plenty of climbers want to puzzle out the sequence themselves, and that figuring-out is half the fun. If someone looks stuck and you have a useful idea, ask first: \"want a tip?\" If they say no, let them get on with it.",[17,5356,5357],{},"The same goes for the social side. People come to the gym in very different moods. Some want to chat, some are deep in a session and barely talking. Read the room before you launch into a long conversation with a stranger who is clearly trying to send something hard.",[12,5359,5361],{"id":5360},"the-small-things-that-mark-you-out","The small things that mark you out",[17,5363,5364],{},"A few quiet courtesies make a real difference:",[70,5366,5367,5370,5373,5376],{},[73,5368,5369],{},"Keep your bag, shoes and chalk out of walkways and off the mats.",[73,5371,5372],{},"Re-chalk holds politely, and use a brush rather than caking them in chalk.",[73,5374,5375],{},"If you knock someone's brush off the wall or kick their water over, sort it out.",[73,5377,5378],{},"Bring clean shoes for the mats and leave the street trainers at the door.",[17,5380,5381],{},"None of this is gatekeeping. Climbing gyms tend to be friendly, generous places, and most people are happy to help a newcomer find their feet. Watch how the regulars move, ask when you are unsure, and you will fit in faster than you think. The wall is shared space, and the climbers who look after it are the ones everyone is glad to see walk in.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5383},[5384,5385,5386,5387],{"id":5319,"depth":132,"text":5320},{"id":5329,"depth":132,"text":5330},{"id":5350,"depth":132,"text":5351},{"id":5360,"depth":132,"text":5361},"2025-10-24","The unwritten rules — where not to sit, when not to climb, and how to share the wall.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775654792279-71c826b52995?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgym-etiquette-every-new-climber-should-know",{"title":5311,"description":5389},"blog\u002Fgym-etiquette-every-new-climber-should-know",[562,5396,5397],"etiquette","gym","eIOLcHmAYZ5zPkf9VhOhF7qNTxrAFJlR48S8GivcpL4",{"id":5400,"title":5401,"author":7,"body":5402,"category":141,"date":5474,"description":5475,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5476,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":5477,"imageCreditUrl":5478,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5479,"navigation":152,"path":5480,"readTime":1547,"seo":5481,"stem":5482,"tags":5483,"__hash__":5485},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-dead-point-the-most-useful-dynamic-move.md","The dead point: the most useful dynamic move",{"type":9,"value":5403,"toc":5468},[5404,5408,5411,5414,5416,5419,5422,5426,5429,5455,5458,5462,5465],[12,5405,5407],{"id":5406},"the-pause-at-the-top-of-a-throw","The pause at the top of a throw",[17,5409,5410],{},"Throw a ball straight up and there is a moment at the top where it is neither rising nor falling. It just hangs, weightless, before gravity takes over. Your body does the same thing at the top of an upward move. That brief weightless instant is the dead point, and learning to catch a hold right there is probably the most useful piece of dynamic technique you will ever pick up.",[17,5412,5413],{},"A full dyno launches everything off the wall and trusts the catch. A static lock-off keeps you slow and in control but hammers your fingers. The dead point sits between them. You generate enough momentum to reach a hold you could not lock off to, but you catch it at the exact moment your body is momentarily weightless, so your fingers meet the hold with almost nothing to hold onto. Then, as gravity reloads you, your grip is already set.",[12,5415,5102],{"id":5101},[17,5417,5418],{},"The reason the dead point feels so much easier than a static reach is that you are not fighting gravity at the moment of the catch. On a slow lock-off, your fingers have to hold your full bodyweight throughout the reach, and the target hold has to take that load the instant you touch it. At the dead point, you are briefly weightless, so a crimp or a sloper that would spit you off on a static catch becomes usable. You set your fingers while there is no weight on them, and only then does the load come on.",[17,5420,5421],{},"That is also why it is gentler on your skin and your fingers than a hard dyno. There is no slamming into the hold and ripping off. Done well it is almost quiet.",[12,5423,5425],{"id":5424},"how-to-learn-it","How to learn it",[17,5427,5428],{},"Pick an easy problem with a clear reach between two decent holds, and practise turning a static move into a dead point.",[70,5430,5431,5437,5443,5449],{},[73,5432,5433,5436],{},[76,5434,5435],{},"Drive from your legs and hips, not your arms."," The power comes from a push through your feet and a snap of the hips towards the wall. Your pulling arm guides the reach, it does not haul you up.",[73,5438,5439,5442],{},[76,5440,5441],{},"Aim to arrive, not to throw."," The target is reaching the hold exactly as you slow to a stop, not blasting past it. If you are still moving fast when you touch the hold, you went too hard.",[73,5444,5445,5448],{},[76,5446,5447],{},"Keep your hips close to the wall."," Drifting away from the wall sends your momentum outwards and pulls you off. Tension through your core keeps the motion vertical.",[73,5450,5451,5454],{},[76,5452,5453],{},"Catch and freeze."," The instant your hand lands, lock the grip and let your weight settle back onto it.",[17,5456,5457],{},"A good drill is to climb the same move three ways on something well within your grade: full static lock-off, full committing throw, and then the dead point in between. Feeling the difference back to back teaches your body where that weightless window is far faster than reading about it does.",[12,5459,5461],{"id":5460},"knowing-when-to-use-it","Knowing when to use it",[17,5463,5464],{},"The dead point is the right call when a static reach would be desperate but a full dyno is overkill or too risky. It works beautifully into crimps and slopers that a hard catch would skate off, and on steeper walls where holding a slow lock-off would just pump you out. It is less useful when the move is genuinely huge and you simply have to fly, or when the climbing is so balancey that any momentum throws you off your feet.",[17,5466,5467],{},"Most climbers already do this move by accident on their better days, when everything flows and a reach they expected to be hard just clicks. Naming it, and practising it on purpose, is how you make those days happen more often.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5469},[5470,5471,5472,5473],{"id":5406,"depth":132,"text":5407},{"id":5101,"depth":132,"text":5102},{"id":5424,"depth":132,"text":5425},{"id":5460,"depth":132,"text":5461},"2025-10-17","How to catch a hold at the weightless top of a controlled lunge, the move between static and a full dyno.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1728000442481-20bf8df1d584?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Stacie Ong","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@sohl_",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-dead-point-the-most-useful-dynamic-move",{"title":5401,"description":5475},"blog\u002Fthe-dead-point-the-most-useful-dynamic-move",[290,5484,3493],"dynamic","lDv5Fl8-1tyYB6lxC9oe_okleG-a6Wobn5iaNKPgMDY",{"id":5487,"title":5488,"author":7,"body":5489,"category":1904,"date":5567,"description":5568,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5569,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":4224,"imageCreditUrl":4225,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5570,"navigation":152,"path":5571,"readTime":154,"seo":5572,"stem":5573,"tags":5574,"__hash__":5577},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-goes-in-a-trad-rack.md","What goes in a trad rack",{"type":9,"value":5490,"toc":5562},[5491,5495,5498,5501,5505,5511,5517,5523,5529,5532,5536,5539,5553,5556,5559],[12,5492,5494],{"id":5493},"the-idea-behind-a-rack","The idea behind a rack",[17,5496,5497],{},"Trad climbing means you place your own protection as you go and remove it on the way down or have your second clean it. Nothing is bolted into the rock for you. The collection of gear you carry to do this is your rack, and the whole point of it is that for any crack, pocket or constriction you meet on a route, you have something that fits and holds.",[17,5499,5500],{},"That sounds intimidating, and the catalogues do not help. But a starter rack is a fairly short list, and you build the rest slowly as you learn what your local rock eats. Here is what the pieces actually do.",[12,5502,5504],{"id":5503},"the-pieces-plainly","The pieces, plainly",[17,5506,5507,5510],{},[76,5508,5509],{},"Nuts (wires)."," Small alloy wedges on a wire loop. You slot them into a narrowing crack so they jam when pulled downward. They are cheap, light and the bread and butter of a rack. A set of ten or so covers a huge range of slots. Add a nut tool, a thin metal pick for poking out placements that have set hard.",[17,5512,5513,5516],{},[76,5514,5515],{},"Cams (camming devices)."," Spring-loaded lobes on a trigger. Pull the trigger, the lobes retract, you push the cam into a parallel crack and let go. The lobes expand against the walls and the harder you pull, the harder they bite. They are the expensive part of a rack, but they protect parallel-sided cracks that nuts cannot, and they go in fast. Most people build up a range from finger-width to fist-width over time.",[17,5518,5519,5522],{},[76,5520,5521],{},"Slings and quickdraws."," Once a piece is placed you clip the rope to it. Quickdraws work for straightforward placements. Longer slings, called extenders or alpine draws, let you extend a piece so the rope runs straight and does not lever your gear out as you move past. Carabiners, both snapgate and screwgate, hold the whole lot together.",[17,5524,5525,5528],{},[76,5526,5527],{},"Hexes."," Six-sided alloy chunks on cord or wire. An older, cheaper way to protect medium cracks, and they still work well in flares and in the wet. Many climbers skip them now in favour of cams, but they are a forgiving place to start.",[17,5530,5531],{},"You will also carry a couple of screwgate carabiners and slings for building belays, and a prusik loop or two for emergencies.",[12,5533,5535],{"id":5534},"building-it-without-going-broke","Building it without going broke",[17,5537,5538],{},"You do not buy a full rack on day one. A sensible first set looks something like this:",[70,5540,5541,5544,5547,5550],{},[73,5542,5543],{},"A set of nuts and a nut tool",[73,5545,5546],{},"A few cams in the mid sizes, where most cracks sit",[73,5548,5549],{},"A handful of quickdraws and a few longer slings",[73,5551,5552],{},"Spare screwgates and a couple of slings for anchors",[17,5554,5555],{},"Beyond that, let the rock tell you what to add. Grit and granite reward cams. Limestone and slate often take more wires. Climb with people who know the area and watch what comes off their harness. Borrow before you buy a whole size range, because a cam that is perfect at your home crag might never leave the rack somewhere else.",[17,5557,5558],{},"Two habits matter more than the kit itself. Learn to place gear on the ground, at the bottom of a boulder, where a bad placement costs nothing. And get a competent partner or instructor to check your early placements, because a piece that looks bomber and is not is worse than no piece at all.",[17,5560,5561],{},"A rack grows with you. Start small, learn what each piece is for, and add the rest as your climbing earns it. Keeping a simple note of which placements held and which sizes you kept reaching for is a quietly useful way to learn your own rock faster.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5563},[5564,5565,5566],{"id":5493,"depth":132,"text":5494},{"id":5503,"depth":132,"text":5504},{"id":5534,"depth":132,"text":5535},"2025-10-10","A gentle introduction to the protection trad climbers carry, without the jargon overload.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F13869250\u002Fpexels-photo-13869250.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-goes-in-a-trad-rack",{"title":5488,"description":5568},"blog\u002Fwhat-goes-in-a-trad-rack",[1822,5575,5576],"trad","overview","pqasgKaUZjsnEAzTUcV3AKys4CyANlxFhGXkA3fiDh4",{"id":5579,"title":5580,"author":7,"body":5581,"category":2555,"date":5651,"description":5652,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5653,"imageAlt":5654,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":5655,"mapLat":5656,"mapLng":5657,"mapPath":5658,"mapZoom":2583,"meta":5669,"navigation":152,"path":5670,"readTime":154,"seo":5671,"stem":5672,"tags":5673,"__hash__":5675},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-snowdonia.md","Climbing in Snowdonia",{"type":9,"value":5582,"toc":5644},[5583,5587,5590,5593,5597,5600,5603,5607,5610,5613,5617,5620,5631,5634,5638,5641],[12,5584,5586],{"id":5585},"mountains-with-a-long-memory","Mountains with a long memory",[17,5588,5589],{},"Snowdonia, or Eryri, is one of the great climbing landscapes of Britain. The mountains of North Wales hold mountain crags, valley cliffs and the strange, beautiful world of the slate quarries, and the whole area is soaked in climbing history. Generations of climbers have served their apprenticeship here, and the village of Llanberis at the foot of the highest peak has been a hub for as long as anyone can remember. Come here and you are climbing where a great deal of British mountaineering was worked out.",[17,5591,5592],{},"The variety is the draw. In a single trip you can do a long mountain route, clip bolts in a quarry, and walk in to a remote crag with the wind for company.",[12,5594,5596],{"id":5595},"the-mountain-crags","The mountain crags",[17,5598,5599],{},"The big draw for many is the mountain rock. Cliffs high on the flanks of the peaks give long, atmospheric trad routes in serious settings, where the walk-in is part of the day and the weather is always a factor. These are places that reward fitness, good judgement and a head for exposure. The rock is generally rough volcanic stone with solid holds and good gear, but the position is what you remember — climbing with a lake far below and a mountain ridge above.",[17,5601,5602],{},"Lower down, valley crags offer shorter, more accessible routes across a wide range of grades, making them a good choice when the tops are in cloud or the wind is howling.",[12,5604,5606],{"id":5605},"the-slate","The slate",[17,5608,5609],{},"Then there is the slate. The disused quarries above Llanberis are unlike anywhere else, a vast amphitheatre of grey terraces, flooded levels and impossibly clean walls left behind by the slate industry. The climbing here is its own discipline: thin, technical, often bold, on smooth slabs and steep walls where the holds are tiny edges and the feet are everything. There is sport climbing among the trad, and the atmosphere — industrial ruins reclaimed by climbers — is genuinely special.",[17,5611,5612],{},"Slate divides opinion. Some find it intimidating and devious; others fall completely for its precision and elegance. Either way, it is worth experiencing.",[12,5614,5616],{"id":5615},"conditions-and-going-prepared","Conditions and going prepared",[17,5618,5619],{},"North Wales weather is famously fickle. The mountains attract cloud and rain, and a fine forecast can turn quickly at altitude. This is mountain country, so treat it accordingly:",[70,5621,5622,5625,5628],{},[73,5623,5624],{},"Check the weather and be willing to drop down to a lower, more sheltered crag if the tops are wet or in cloud.",[73,5626,5627],{},"Carry proper layers, food, water and a means of navigation for the mountain crags, and do not rely on phone signal high up.",[73,5629,5630],{},"The slate quarries can dry quickly and offer good options when the mountains are out of condition.",[17,5632,5633],{},"Spring through autumn gives the most reliable climbing, though crisp winter days can be superb on the lower crags and the slate.",[12,5635,5637],{"id":5636},"making-the-most-of-it","Making the most of it",[17,5639,5640],{},"The sheer spread of climbing means a little planning goes a long way. Knowing which crags suit which conditions, and which way the wind is coming from, is the difference between a brilliant day and a soggy retreat. Keeping a record of where you have been and how the rock felt in different weather pays off fast in a place this changeable.",[17,5642,5643],{},"Snowdonia is not the place for guaranteed sunshine and roadside convenience. It is the place for mountain days, history under your fingertips, and the quiet satisfaction of climbing somewhere that genuinely feels wild. For a lot of British climbers, it becomes the area they keep coming back to for the rest of their lives.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5645},[5646,5647,5648,5649,5650],{"id":5585,"depth":132,"text":5586},{"id":5595,"depth":132,"text":5596},{"id":5605,"depth":132,"text":5606},{"id":5615,"depth":132,"text":5616},{"id":5636,"depth":132,"text":5637},"2025-10-03","Mountain crags, slate quarries and history in the hills of North Wales.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fclimbing-in-snowdonia.jpg","Satellite view of Llanberis Pass, Eryri","Llanberis Pass, Eryri",53.0921,-4.0476,[5659,5662,5665,5666],[5660,5661],53.0786,-4.0203,[5663,5664],53.0852,-4.033,[5656,5657],[5667,5668],53.0986,-4.056,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-snowdonia",{"title":5580,"description":5652},"blog\u002Fclimbing-in-snowdonia",[2589,3168,5674],"wales","5QtYjGCIk-BNf3opvQbq9GxV8r3g0QU4z_khH7iWh94",{"id":5677,"title":5678,"author":7,"body":5679,"category":1703,"date":5756,"description":5757,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5758,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5759,"navigation":152,"path":5760,"readTime":1547,"seo":5761,"stem":5762,"tags":5763,"__hash__":5764},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-logging-your-board-sessions-pays-off.md","Why logging your board sessions pays off",{"type":9,"value":5680,"toc":5750},[5681,5685,5688,5691,5695,5698,5724,5727,5731,5734,5737,5740,5744,5747],[12,5682,5684],{"id":5683},"memory-is-a-bad-coach","Memory is a bad coach",[17,5686,5687],{},"Ask most climbers how their training is going and they will tell you how the last session felt. Felt strong. Felt flat. Felt like nothing was working. The trouble is that a feeling on the day is shaped by sleep, stress, how warm it was, and whether the last problem went or not. It is a terrible measure of whether you are actually getting better.",[17,5689,5690],{},"The board is unusually good for cutting through that, because almost everything about it is measurable. The angle is a number. The grade is a number. A repeat is a thing that either happened or did not. Unlike outdoor rock or a constantly reset commercial wall, the board holds still. The same problem at the same angle is the same problem next week, next month, next year. That consistency is exactly what makes tracking worthwhile.",[12,5692,5694],{"id":5693},"what-is-worth-writing-down","What is worth writing down",[17,5696,5697],{},"You do not need to record everything. A handful of things, noted simply, tell you most of what matters.",[70,5699,5700,5706,5712,5718],{},[73,5701,5702,5705],{},[76,5703,5704],{},"Angle."," A V5 at 25 degrees and a V5 at 45 are not the same achievement. If your board adjusts, the angle is the single most important number to capture.",[73,5707,5708,5711],{},[76,5709,5710],{},"Grade and outcome."," What you tried and whether you flashed it, sent it after work, or fell off. A flash and a hard-fought send are different data.",[73,5713,5714,5717],{},[76,5715,5716],{},"Repeats."," How many goes a problem took, and whether something that shut you down last time goes now.",[73,5719,5720,5723],{},[76,5721,5722],{},"How you felt and why."," A quick note about a tweaky finger or a poor night's sleep stops you misreading a bad session as lost fitness.",[17,5725,5726],{},"That is it. Thirty seconds at the end of a session, not a spreadsheet that becomes a chore.",[12,5728,5730],{"id":5729},"what-the-record-gives-back","What the record gives back",[17,5732,5733],{},"The payoff shows up over weeks. Strength and skill both improve slowly and quietly, so any single session feels much like the last. The log is where the trend lives.",[17,5735,5736],{},"You start to see things you would otherwise miss. That you have quietly moved from struggling on 30 degrees to cruising it. That your flash grade at a given angle has crept up. That the problems you fall on share a feature, all slopers or all big moves off small feet, which points straight at what to train next. A pattern in the data is a coaching cue that no feeling will ever hand you.",[17,5738,5739],{},"It also keeps you honest about volume and rest. Glancing back over a fortnight tells you whether you have actually been on the board as often as you think, or whether life got in the way. And it protects you from the trap of always chasing the same favourite problems while avoiding your weaknesses, because the record makes the gaps obvious.",[12,5741,5743],{"id":5742},"keep-it-light","Keep it light",[17,5745,5746],{},"The best logging habit is the one you will actually keep, so make it quick and forgiving. Miss a session, note it badly, skip a detail, none of it matters. What matters is having enough of a trail that, three months in, you can look back and see the line of progress instead of guessing at it.",[17,5748,5749],{},"Sendit is built to make this painless on a board, with the angle, grade and repeats captured in a few taps. But the tool is secondary. The habit is the thing. Write down the angle, the grade and what happened, and let the numbers show you the progress your memory keeps getting wrong.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5751},[5752,5753,5754,5755],{"id":5683,"depth":132,"text":5684},{"id":5693,"depth":132,"text":5694},{"id":5729,"depth":132,"text":5730},{"id":5742,"depth":132,"text":5743},"2025-09-26","The angles, grades and repeats add up. Tracking board work shows progress a feeling never will.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1696105538708-6be6c90707a1?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-logging-your-board-sessions-pays-off",{"title":5678,"description":5757},"blog\u002Fwhy-logging-your-board-sessions-pays-off",[1715,5000,2797],"6YBr-aGRiibBveOR2JDlTLwWGEe8cUx4eYH76Dg9RgQ",{"id":5766,"title":5767,"author":7,"body":5768,"category":2464,"date":5845,"description":5846,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5847,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5848,"navigation":152,"path":5849,"readTime":154,"seo":5850,"stem":5851,"tags":5852,"__hash__":5854},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-rope-grades-work-french-and-yds.md","How rope grades work: French and YDS",{"type":9,"value":5769,"toc":5839},[5770,5774,5777,5780,5784,5787,5790,5793,5797,5800,5803,5806,5810,5813,5816,5836],[12,5771,5773],{"id":5772},"why-ropes-get-their-own-scales","Why ropes get their own scales",[17,5775,5776],{},"Once you tie into a rope and start climbing longer routes, the grade has a bigger job to do. A boulder is a handful of moves, so its grade mostly describes how hard the single toughest move is. A rope route might be twenty or thirty moves long, and the grade has to roll the whole thing into one number: the hard moves, how many there are, how pumped you get, and whether there is anywhere to rest.",[17,5778,5779],{},"That is why a route grade and a boulder grade are not the same currency. A route can earn a stiff grade not because any single move is desperate, but because it is sustained and there is nowhere to shake out. Two main systems are used for roped climbing, and like the boulder scales, they map onto each other only roughly.",[12,5781,5783],{"id":5782},"the-french-scale","The French scale",[17,5785,5786],{},"The French scale, sometimes called the sport grade, is the common system across Europe and much of the world for sport climbing. It uses numbers with letters, written in lower case to distinguish it from Font boulder grades, though the look is similar.",[17,5788,5789],{},"It runs through grades like 4, 5, 5+, 6a, 6a+, 6b, 6b+, 6c, 6c+, 7a and upwards. As with Font, from 6 onwards each number divides into a, b and c, and many divide again with a + sign. Higher is harder, and the scale keeps extending as harder routes are climbed.",[17,5791,5792],{},"A rough sense of the range: 4 and 5 are gentle, beginner-friendly routes. The 6s cover a wide span of intermediate climbing, where most people spend a lot of happy years. Reaching 7a is a genuine landmark for many climbers.",[12,5794,5796],{"id":5795},"the-yosemite-decimal-system","The Yosemite Decimal System",[17,5798,5799],{},"In the United States, roped climbing is graded with the Yosemite Decimal System, or YDS. For climbers, the part that matters is the fifth class, written as 5 followed by a full stop and another number, like 5.6 or 5.11.",[17,5801,5802],{},"It works like this. Easy roped climbing starts around 5.5 to 5.7. The numbers climb through 5.8, 5.9, 5.10 and beyond. From 5.10 up, each number splits into a, b, c and d to give finer steps, so the sequence runs 5.10a, 5.10b, 5.10c, 5.10d, then 5.11a, and so on. The decimal point can trip people up at first, but read it as a single grade label rather than a fraction and it falls into place.",[17,5804,5805],{},"Approximately, French 6a sits around 5.10a to 5.10b, and the two scales drift apart and back together as you go up. Any conversion chart is a guide, not a guarantee.",[12,5807,5809],{"id":5808},"how-rope-grades-differ-from-boulder-grades","How rope grades differ from boulder grades",[17,5811,5812],{},"The most useful thing to understand is that you cannot simply translate your bouldering ability into a rope grade. They test different things. Someone who flashes V5 boulders might still find a sustained 6c+ route hard, because the route demands endurance and the head to keep moving while pumped, not just power for a few moves.",[17,5814,5815],{},"A few practical points:",[70,5817,5818,5824,5830],{},[73,5819,5820,5823],{},[76,5821,5822],{},"Routes reward stamina, boulders reward power."," A strong boulderer often has to build a bigger engine before their rope grades catch up.",[73,5825,5826,5829],{},[76,5827,5828],{},"The head game grows with height."," Being thirty metres up, clipping bolts and trusting the rope, is a skill in itself, and it can hold your grade back long before your fingers do.",[73,5831,5832,5835],{},[76,5833,5834],{},"Resting becomes a tactic."," On a route, finding and using rests changes what you can climb. There is no equivalent on a short boulder.",[17,5837,5838],{},"As ever, grades are a rough map rather than a verdict on you. Use them to pick routes that stretch you and to track progress over time. Keep a record of what you climb in both systems, because reading 6a and 5.11 fluently, and knowing roughly where they sit, makes planning a trip or chatting at the crag a great deal easier.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5840},[5841,5842,5843,5844],{"id":5772,"depth":132,"text":5773},{"id":5782,"depth":132,"text":5783},{"id":5795,"depth":132,"text":5796},{"id":5808,"depth":132,"text":5809},"2025-09-19","Reading 6a, 5.11 and the rest, and how rope grades differ from boulder grades.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775654792362-2eed733e9470?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-rope-grades-work-french-and-yds",{"title":5767,"description":5846},"blog\u002Fhow-rope-grades-work-french-and-yds",[2378,5853,562],"sport climbing","0PTp6RPds6SsBF43u2V9s_2-CNgDrJJrFoTcO27-wZc",{"id":5856,"title":5857,"author":7,"body":5858,"category":141,"date":5946,"description":5947,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":5948,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":5949,"imageCreditUrl":5950,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":5951,"navigation":152,"path":5952,"readTime":1547,"seo":5953,"stem":5954,"tags":5955,"__hash__":5956},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpinch-strength-and-how-to-build-it.md","Pinch strength, and how to build it",{"type":9,"value":5859,"toc":5940},[5860,5864,5867,5870,5873,5877,5880,5883,5903,5906,5910,5913,5924,5927,5930,5934,5937],[12,5861,5863],{"id":5862},"why-pinches-feel-impossible","Why pinches feel impossible",[17,5865,5866],{},"Most climbers spend their first year or two pulling down on edges and jugs, where the fingers wrap over a lip and the thumb does very little. Then they meet a proper pinch, a hold you have to squeeze between thumb and fingers, and suddenly all that hard-won crimp strength is useless. The hand just opens up and the hold slides out.",[17,5868,5869],{},"The reason is simple. Pinching uses your thumb and the muscles that pull thumb and fingers towards each other, and those are barely trained by ordinary pulling. A pinch only works if you actively squeeze, generating friction against the sides of the hold rather than pulling down on a lip. If you never train that squeeze, it stays weak no matter how strong your fingers get on edges.",[17,5871,5872],{},"The good news is that pinch strength responds quickly once you start working it, because most climbers are starting from such a low base.",[12,5874,5876],{"id":5875},"climb-pinches-on-purpose","Climb pinches on purpose",[17,5878,5879],{},"Before any dedicated training, the most useful thing you can do is simply seek out pinches when you climb. Most of us steer around them, picking problems that play to our strengths. Do the opposite for a while. On your warm-up boulders and easy routes, hunt out the pinch holds and use them deliberately, even when an edge nearby would be easier.",[17,5881,5882],{},"A few pointers that make pinches work:",[70,5884,5885,5891,5897],{},[73,5886,5887,5890],{},[76,5888,5889],{},"Squeeze, do not hang."," Drive your thumb hard against the opposite side of the hold. The grip comes from compression, not from your fingers curling.",[73,5892,5893,5896],{},[76,5894,5895],{},"Position your body to compress."," Pinches usually come good when your weight is set up so you can squeeze inwards, often on steeper ground with your feet pushing you into the hold.",[73,5898,5899,5902],{},[76,5900,5901],{},"Engage your thumb early."," Set the thumb as you take the hold, not as an afterthought once you are already slipping.",[17,5904,5905],{},"Climbing pinches teaches your body to recruit the squeeze under real load, which is something no gym exercise quite replicates.",[12,5907,5909],{"id":5908},"simple-ways-to-train-it","Simple ways to train it",[17,5911,5912],{},"If you want to build pinch strength directly, you do not need much.",[17,5914,5915,5916,5919,5920,5923],{},"The most accessible tool is a ",[76,5917,5918],{},"block pinch"," or a ",[76,5921,5922],{},"pinch block",", a flat-sided block you grip and lift with a weight hanging from it. Pinch the block with your thumb on one side and fingers on the other, and either deadlift it off the floor or hang weight from it for short holds of around ten seconds. Start light, add weight slowly over weeks, and stop the set the moment your grip starts to open. This is the cleanest way to load the squeeze in a controlled way.",[17,5925,5926],{},"If you climb on a board or a hangboard with pinch features, you can train pinch hangs the same way you train any other grip, with short hangs and full rest between. Wide pinches stress the thumb more, narrow pinches less, so start narrower and work wider as you get stronger.",[17,5928,5929],{},"Even a thick book or two weight plates held together work in a pinch, literally. Hold them out at your side and walk, or just stand and resist them slipping. It is humble training but it builds exactly the squeeze you are missing.",[12,5931,5933],{"id":5932},"go-slow-and-watch-the-thumb","Go slow and watch the thumb",[17,5935,5936],{},"Pinch training loads the thumb and its tendons in a way climbing rarely does, so the usual finger-training rules apply doubly. Warm up properly, start far lighter than you think you need to, and add load gradually across weeks rather than chasing big numbers in a single session. The base of the thumb in particular can get sore if you rush it.",[17,5938,5939],{},"Build it patiently and pinches stop being the holds you dread. Within a season of regular work, the squeeze that felt impossible becomes just another tool, and a whole category of climbs that you used to avoid opens up.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":5941},[5942,5943,5944,5945],{"id":5862,"depth":132,"text":5863},{"id":5875,"depth":132,"text":5876},{"id":5908,"depth":132,"text":5909},{"id":5932,"depth":132,"text":5933},"2025-09-12","Why pinches feel impossible at first and the simple ways to train thumb and hand strength safely.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1522163182402-834f871fd851?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Hu Chen","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@huchenme",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fpinch-strength-and-how-to-build-it",{"title":5857,"description":5947},"blog\u002Fpinch-strength-and-how-to-build-it",[162,292,1242],"hnDrbO3FteaOLR0Njd7sVAEzh65uKHOgBsUcz7gaL5c",{"id":5958,"title":5959,"author":7,"body":5960,"category":2464,"date":6023,"description":6024,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6025,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":6026,"imageCreditUrl":6027,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6028,"navigation":152,"path":6029,"readTime":2472,"seo":6030,"stem":6031,"tags":6032,"__hash__":6034},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-downclimb-and-why-you-should.md","How to downclimb (and why you should)",{"type":9,"value":5961,"toc":6018},[5962,5965,5969,5972,5975,5995,5999,6002,6005,6008,6012,6015],[17,5963,5964],{},"Most boulderers top out or reach the finishing hold and then jump straight off, dropping the full height onto the mat. It feels natural, but it is one of the easiest habits to improve. Downclimbing — reversing your way back down instead of leaping — is a small skill that saves your joints, builds technique, and gives you far more climbing for the same effort.",[12,5966,5968],{"id":5967},"why-bother-climbing-down","Why bother climbing down",[17,5970,5971],{},"The most obvious reason is your body. Repeated drops from the top of a wall, sometimes several metres, load your ankles, knees and spine far more than people realise. One bad landing on a crowded mat, an awkward angle, or another climber's foot, and you are out for weeks. Downclimbing takes almost all of that impact away.",[17,5973,5974],{},"There are quieter benefits too:",[70,5976,5977,5983,5989],{},[73,5978,5979,5982],{},[76,5980,5981],{},"More climbing."," Reversing a problem doubles your time on the wall in a single go, which is great for endurance and great for learning how holds work in both directions.",[73,5984,5985,5988],{},[76,5986,5987],{},"Better technique."," Climbing down forces you to look at your feet, control your movement, and stay precise. It teaches body awareness in a way that powering upward never does.",[73,5990,5991,5994],{},[76,5992,5993],{},"It is useful outdoors."," Highball boulders and the tops of routes are often safer to reverse than to jump from, and the habit transfers directly.",[12,5996,5998],{"id":5997},"how-to-actually-do-it","How to actually do it",[17,6000,6001],{},"Downclimbing is just climbing in reverse, and the same principles apply: weight your feet, keep your arms relatively straight, and move smoothly. A few specifics make it easier.",[17,6003,6004],{},"Lead with your eyes. Look down and pick the foothold you are going to step onto before you move, rather than groping blindly with a toe. Lower yourself onto your legs by bending at the knees and hips, keeping your hands on holds for balance rather than hauling on them. Because you are moving down, gravity is helping, so the trick is control, not power.",[17,6006,6007],{},"Move one limb at a time and keep three points of contact where you can. As you get lower and the holds get bigger, you can speed up, and the last metre or so is an easy drop or step-off. The aim is not to reverse every single move perfectly, but to get yourself down to a sensible height before you commit to the floor.",[12,6009,6011],{"id":6010},"build-the-habit-early","Build the habit early",[17,6013,6014],{},"The best time to start downclimbing is now, before jumping off becomes automatic. After you finish a problem, instead of letting go, turn around and pick your way back down even one or two moves. On easier problems, try reversing the whole thing. It will feel slow and slightly awkward at first, and that is fine — you are building a skill, not chasing a grade.",[17,6016,6017],{},"Your ankles will thank you in ten years, and in the meantime you will be quietly getting fitter and more controlled than the people dropping off the top all session. It is the rare technique that costs you nothing and pays you back every time you use it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6019},[6020,6021,6022],{"id":5967,"depth":132,"text":5968},{"id":5997,"depth":132,"text":5998},{"id":6010,"depth":132,"text":6011},"2025-09-05","Downclimbing saves your skin and your ankles, and quietly doubles your time on the wall.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1539077573694-fcd2d44e356e?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Aleks Dahlberg","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@aleksdahlberg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-downclimb-and-why-you-should",{"title":5959,"description":6024},"blog\u002Fhow-to-downclimb-and-why-you-should",[562,290,6033],"downclimbing","__KxMJc0OdPsSWzi_LBRN-As7SFAolUK-waY_UdD_Gs",{"id":6036,"title":6037,"author":7,"body":6038,"category":1811,"date":6153,"description":6154,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6155,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":6156,"imageCreditUrl":6157,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6158,"navigation":152,"path":6159,"readTime":154,"seo":6160,"stem":6161,"tags":6162,"__hash__":6164},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-climbing-rope-how-to-choose.md","Your first climbing rope: how to choose",{"type":9,"value":6039,"toc":6148},[6040,6043,6047,6058,6061,6065,6071,6086,6089,6095,6109,6112,6116,6122,6125,6145],[17,6041,6042],{},"Your first rope is a big purchase and a long-term one, but the choice is simpler than the wall of options in the shop suggests. Get four things right — type, diameter, length and treatment — and you will have a versatile rope that handles top-roping, sport leading and your first few seasons without you having to think about it again. The single most important decision comes first, and it is not negotiable.",[12,6044,6046],{"id":6045},"get-the-type-right-dynamic-not-static","Get the type right: dynamic, not static",[17,6048,6049,6050,6053,6054,6057],{},"For top-roping and leading you need a ",[76,6051,6052],{},"dynamic single rope",". Dynamic means the rope stretches under load, absorbing the energy of a fall so the force on you, the gear and the anchor stays survivable. A ",[76,6055,6056],{},"static rope barely stretches"," and is built for hauling, rigging and rappelling — using one to catch a climbing fall can cause serious injury because there is nothing to soften the shock. If you take one fact from this guide, take that one: never climb on a static rope.",[17,6059,6060],{},"\"Single\" means it is rated to be used on its own, as opposed to half or twin ropes that are used in pairs for specialised trad and alpine work. A single rope is what you want for the gym, the sport crag and learning.",[12,6062,6064],{"id":6063},"diameter-and-length","Diameter and length",[17,6066,6067,6070],{},[76,6068,6069],{},"Diameter"," is the trade-off between durability and weight.",[70,6072,6073,6080],{},[73,6074,6075,6076,6079],{},"A rope around ",[76,6077,6078],{},"9.5 to 10mm"," is a durable, beginner-friendly workhorse. It takes abuse, runs smoothly through belay devices, and is forgiving to handle while you are still building belaying skills.",[73,6081,6082,6085],{},[76,6083,6084],{},"Thinner ropes, roughly 8.9 to 9.2mm,"," are lighter and favoured for redpointing hard sport routes, but they wear out faster and demand more attentive belaying because they run quicker through a device. They are an upgrade, not a first rope.",[17,6087,6088],{},"For a first rope, the thicker workhorse is almost always the right call.",[17,6090,6091,6094],{},[76,6092,6093],{},"Length"," is about the routes you will climb, and getting it wrong is genuinely dangerous.",[70,6096,6097,6103],{},[73,6098,6099,6102],{},[76,6100,6101],{},"60m"," is a common, sensible all-round length that covers most crags and gyms.",[73,6104,6105,6108],{},[76,6106,6107],{},"70m"," suits longer modern sport routes, where 60m can leave you short.",[17,6110,6111],{},"Check the guidebook or the route information before you buy. A rope that is too short to lower or abseil the full pitch is a real and recurring cause of accidents — climbers have been dropped because the rope simply ran out. Buy for the longest routes you realistically expect to climb, and always confirm before you commit to a lower.",[12,6113,6115],{"id":6114},"treatment-safe-habits-and-retirement","Treatment, safe habits and retirement",[17,6117,6118,6121],{},[76,6119,6120],{},"Dry treatment"," is a coating that makes the rope shed water. It costs more, and for indoor and dry-day sport climbing you do not strictly need it. If you head into the wet, the mountains or anywhere a rope could get soaked — a wet rope is heavier, handles worse and loses some strength — a dry treatment earns its keep.",[17,6123,6124],{},"Whatever rope you choose, build safe habits around it from day one.",[70,6126,6127,6133,6139],{},[73,6128,6129,6132],{},[76,6130,6131],{},"Close the system."," Tie a stopper knot in the free end of the rope, or tie the belayer in, so a too-short rope cannot pass through the belay device and drop the climber. This single habit guards against the length mistake above.",[73,6134,6135,6138],{},[76,6136,6137],{},"Inspect it often."," Run the whole rope through your hands looking and feeling for flat spots, exposed core, stiffness or a damaged sheath.",[73,6140,6141,6144],{},[76,6142,6143],{},"Retire it when needed."," Take a rope out of service after a severe fall, if the sheath is damaged, or simply with age and heavy use. Ropes do not last forever, and a tired rope is not worth your life.",[17,6146,6147],{},"The takeaway: a 60 or 70m dynamic single rope, around 9.5 to 10mm, untreated for indoor use or dry-treated if you go outside in the wet, is the versatile, hard-wearing first rope that suits almost everyone. Match the length to your routes, knot the end every single time, and inspect and retire it without sentiment. Log your sessions in Sendit and you will know exactly how much your rope has worked for you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6149},[6150,6151,6152],{"id":6045,"depth":132,"text":6046},{"id":6063,"depth":132,"text":6064},{"id":6114,"depth":132,"text":6115},"2025-08-29","Diameter, length, dynamic vs static and dry treatment — picking a versatile first rope.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1615471800841-df63e05dc8cd?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Mihajlo Šebalj","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@photo_diary",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-climbing-rope-how-to-choose",{"title":6037,"description":6154},"blog\u002Fyour-first-climbing-rope-how-to-choose",[1822,6163,562],"rope","wHH2LUHtVorBgeiZ4qbVGlV19Olhp2CZ8I0olwXGjHA",{"id":6166,"title":6167,"author":7,"body":6168,"category":1811,"date":6297,"description":6298,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6299,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6300,"navigation":152,"path":6301,"readTime":154,"seo":6302,"stem":6303,"tags":6304,"__hash__":6305},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbelay-devices-compared-tube-vs-assisted-braking.md","Belay devices compared: tube vs assisted-braking",{"type":9,"value":6169,"toc":6292},[6170,6173,6175,6178,6207,6210,6212,6215,6229,6242,6246,6253,6256,6282,6289],[17,6171,6172],{},"Your belay device is the link between you and your partner's safety, so the choice deserves more thought than its small size suggests. Broadly there are two families: the simple tube, and the assisted-braking device. Neither is automatically better — they suit different climbers, ropes and situations. Before anything else, one rule sits above the whole discussion: learn to belay with proper, hands-on instruction, and keep a brake hand on the rope at all times no matter what device you hold.",[12,6174,1843],{"id":1842},[17,6176,6177],{},"A tube, or ATC-style device, is the classic. The rope runs through a slot and over a metal lip, and the friction you create by holding the brake strand below the device is what catches a fall.",[70,6179,6180,6187,6201],{},[73,6181,6182,6183,6186],{},"They are ",[76,6184,6185],{},"simple, light and cheap",", with nothing to go wrong mechanically.",[73,6188,6182,6189,6192,6193,6196,6197,6200],{},[76,6190,6191],{},"versatile",": you can abseil on them, and models with \"guide mode\" — such as the ",[76,6194,6195],{},"Black Diamond ATC-Guide"," — let you belay a second directly off the anchor on multipitch routes. The plain ",[76,6198,6199],{},"Black Diamond ATC"," covers single-pitch and general use.",[73,6202,6182,6203,6206],{},[76,6204,6205],{},"fully manual",", which is the important caveat. There is no mechanism helping you. If you take your brake hand off, nothing holds the rope. All the catching power comes from your technique.",[17,6208,6209],{},"That manual nature is both the strength and the responsibility. A tube teaches good habits because it forgives nothing, and many instructors start beginners on one for exactly that reason.",[12,6211,1856],{"id":1855},[17,6213,6214],{},"These add a mechanism that helps lock the rope in a fall. They split into two types.",[17,6216,6217,6220,6221,6224,6225,6228],{},[76,6218,6219],{},"Active"," devices have a moving cam. The ",[76,6222,6223],{},"Petzl GriGri"," is the most popular by a wide margin: when the rope runs suddenly, the cam pivots and pinches it, helping hold the load, and a lever gives smooth, controlled lowering. The ",[76,6226,6227],{},"GriGri+"," builds on this with an anti-panic handle, which limits over-fast lowering, and a top-rope mode. Active devices are a common choice for sport climbing and working routes where you may be holding a hanging climber for a while.",[17,6230,6231,6234,6235,2451,6238,6241],{},[76,6232,6233],{},"Passive"," devices add assistance with no moving cam — they use geometry to pinch the rope against the carabiner instead. The ",[76,6236,6237],{},"Edelrid Mega Jul",[76,6239,6240],{},"Black Diamond ATC Pilot"," are well-known examples. They are lighter than a GriGri, have nothing to mechanically fail, and many double as abseil-capable tubes.",[12,6243,6245],{"id":6244},"how-to-choose-your-first-and-the-safety-that-matters-most","How to choose your first, and the safety that matters most",[17,6247,6248,6249,6252],{},"Here is the part no review should bury: ",[76,6250,6251],{},"assisted-braking does not mean hands-free."," Every reputable manufacturer states it, and it is the cause of avoidable accidents when ignored. The mechanism is a backup to your brake hand, not a replacement for it. Belay as though the device does nothing, and treat the assistance as the bonus it is.",[17,6254,6255],{},"With that locked in, a few practical pointers:",[70,6257,6258,6264,6270,6276],{},[73,6259,6260,6263],{},[76,6261,6262],{},"Match the device to your rope diameter."," Every device has a stated range. A rope too thin for the device feeds and brakes poorly; too thick and it jams. Check both the device and the rope's specs against each other.",[73,6265,6266,6269],{},[76,6267,6268],{},"For learning the fundamentals,"," a tube builds the habits that keep you safe on any device later. Many climbers own both: a tube for abseiling, guide-mode belaying and multipitch, and an assisted-braking device for sport and projecting.",[73,6271,6272,6275],{},[76,6273,6274],{},"For sport climbing and belaying falls all day,"," an active device like the GriGri eases the workload and gives confident lowering, which is why it is so widely used at the crag and in gyms.",[73,6277,6278,6281],{},[76,6279,6280],{},"For going light or wanting backup without bulk,"," a passive device such as the Mega Jul or ATC Pilot is a tidy compromise.",[17,6283,6284,6285,6288],{},"Above all, ",[76,6286,6287],{},"get taught."," Take a belay class, get assessed at your gym, and practise lowering, catching and feeding under supervision until it is second nature. A device is only as safe as the person holding the brake.",[17,6290,6291],{},"The takeaway: pick the device that matches your rope and your main discipline, consider owning a tube alongside an assisted-braking unit, and never let any mechanism tempt your brake hand off the rope. Good technique, learned properly and kept honest, outranks any model on the shelf.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6293},[6294,6295,6296],{"id":1842,"depth":132,"text":1843},{"id":1855,"depth":132,"text":1856},{"id":6244,"depth":132,"text":6245},"2025-08-22","Tubes and assisted-braking devices, how they differ, and how to choose your first.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1691616791093-7f286446c00d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbelay-devices-compared-tube-vs-assisted-braking",{"title":6167,"description":6298},"blog\u002Fbelay-devices-compared-tube-vs-assisted-braking",[1822,1916,1917],"mkWulzxpqy0M8UqX_YSzch22BPJ3SOvV5krl_B45FfA",{"id":6307,"title":6308,"author":7,"body":6309,"category":2555,"date":6394,"description":6395,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6396,"imageAlt":6397,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":6398,"mapLat":6399,"mapLng":6400,"mapPath":6401,"mapZoom":6415,"meta":6416,"navigation":152,"path":6417,"readTime":154,"seo":6418,"stem":6419,"tags":6420,"__hash__":6422},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-on-portland.md","Climbing on Portland",{"type":9,"value":6310,"toc":6388},[6311,6315,6318,6321,6325,6328,6331,6351,6354,6358,6361,6364,6368,6371,6374,6385],[12,6312,6314],{"id":6313},"a-sport-climbers-gateway","A sport climber's gateway",[17,6316,6317],{},"Portland is a small limestone tied island off the Dorset coast, joined to the mainland by Chesil Beach, and it has become one of the best places in Britain to learn sport climbing. The reasons are simple: the rock is solid, the bolting is plentiful, the crags are sunny and sheltered, and the walk-ins are short. If you have done your time on indoor walls and want to make the move to clipping bolts on real rock, it is hard to think of a friendlier introduction.",[17,6319,6320],{},"The climbing sits on sea cliffs and old quarry faces, so the backdrop is the English Channel rather than a mountain valley. On a clear spring day with the sea sparkling below, it is genuinely lovely.",[12,6322,6324],{"id":6323},"why-it-suits-beginners-to-bolts","Why it suits beginners to bolts",[17,6326,6327],{},"The thing that makes Portland so good for learning is the sheer concentration of well-bolted, lower-grade routes. Many crags hold dozens of climbs in the easier sport grades, often close together, so you can rack up plenty of mileage in a day without committing to anything frightening. The bolts are generally close enough to keep things reassuring, and most routes finish at a lower-off so you can be lowered straight back to the ground.",[17,6329,6330],{},"A few features stand out for newcomers:",[70,6332,6333,6339,6345],{},[73,6334,6335,6338],{},[76,6336,6337],{},"Short approaches."," Most venues are a few minutes from parking, which means more climbing and less faff.",[73,6340,6341,6344],{},[76,6342,6343],{},"Sun and shelter."," South and west-facing crags catch the sun and stay sheltered from the worst of the wind, so the season is long.",[73,6346,6347,6350],{},[76,6348,6349],{},"A clear grade ladder."," With so many routes packed into each crag, you can step up a notch at a time as your confidence grows.",[17,6352,6353],{},"The downside of popularity is polish. Some of the most-climbed easier routes have been buffed smooth by thousands of ascents, so footwork on slick limestone is a skill you will pick up quickly here.",[12,6355,6357],{"id":6356},"the-climbing-itself","The climbing itself",[17,6359,6360],{},"Portland limestone gives technical, often vertical to slightly overhanging climbing on crimps, pockets and edges. It is rarely about brute strength at the lower grades and far more about reading sequences, trusting small feet and keeping a steady head. As you progress, the harder routes get steeper and more sustained, with some genuinely powerful test pieces tucked among the cliffs.",[17,6362,6363],{},"It is worth getting the etiquette right from the start. Learn to clean a route properly, thread a lower-off safely, and never lower or top-rope through fixed bolt hangers, which wears them out. If you are new to this, climb with someone experienced or get proper instruction before you trust your life to the system.",[12,6365,6367],{"id":6366},"practical-notes","Practical notes",[17,6369,6370],{},"Portland climbs well for much of the year thanks to its mild coastal position and sunny aspect, though summer afternoons can get hot on the south-facing rock and winter still has its share of wet and windy days. Spring and autumn are reliable.",[17,6372,6373],{},"A few things to bring and bear in mind:",[70,6375,6376,6379,6382],{},[73,6377,6378],{},"A single rope of at least 60 metres, a set of quickdraws, and the gear to lower off safely.",[73,6380,6381],{},"Seabird nesting restrictions apply to some sections at certain times of year, so check before you go and respect any closures.",[73,6383,6384],{},"The rock near the sea can stay damp, so favour the higher, sunnier walls after wet weather.",[17,6386,6387],{},"Portland rewards a logbook. With so many routes at similar grades, it is easy to lose track of what you have done and what you still want to tick. Keeping a record turns a vague pile of memories into a clear picture of your progress as you move from your first nervous lead to running laps on the steep stuff.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6389},[6390,6391,6392,6393],{"id":6313,"depth":132,"text":6314},{"id":6323,"depth":132,"text":6324},{"id":6356,"depth":132,"text":6357},{"id":6366,"depth":132,"text":6367},"2025-08-15","Sunny limestone sport climbing on the Dorset coast — an ideal place to learn to clip bolts.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fclimbing-on-portland.jpg","Satellite view of Isle of Portland, Dorset","Isle of Portland, Dorset",50.5466,-2.4558,[6402,6405,6408,6409,6412],[6403,6404],50.5525,-2.4575,[6406,6407],50.5496,-2.4566,[6399,6400],[6410,6411],50.5435,-2.4552,[6413,6414],50.5405,-2.4548,14,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-on-portland",{"title":6308,"description":6395},"blog\u002Fclimbing-on-portland",[2589,5853,6421],"portland","utZieHxl_vLqdSZFMDUIxLzXdIZOOzkkktCwjp8Ppzs",{"id":6424,"title":6425,"author":7,"body":6426,"category":2366,"date":6486,"description":6487,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6488,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":6489,"imageCreditUrl":6490,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6491,"navigation":152,"path":6492,"readTime":2472,"seo":6493,"stem":6494,"tags":6495,"__hash__":6496},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-send-and-what-is-a-project.md","What is a send? And what is a project?",{"type":9,"value":6427,"toc":6481},[6428,6431,6435,6438,6441,6444,6448,6451,6454,6457,6468,6472,6475,6478],[17,6429,6430],{},"Two words you will hear over and over at the wall: send and project. They are opposites, in a way. One is the finish line and the other is the long road to it. Together they describe most of what a climber spends their time doing.",[12,6432,6434],{"id":6433},"what-it-means-to-send","What it means to send",[17,6436,6437],{},"To send a climb is to complete it cleanly, from the start to the finish, without falling and without resting on the rope or hanging on a hold to recover. You start, you climb, you finish, in one continuous go. That is a send.",[17,6439,6440],{},"The word almost certainly comes from \"ascend\", shortened over the years into something you can shout. When someone tops out a boulder problem and their mates yell \"send it\", they mean finish it, in control, no falls. A clean lap on a route where you sat on the rope to rest is not a send, it is a \"dog up\" or a \"lap with hangs\", and most climbers will be honest about the difference.",[17,6442,6443],{},"Sending matters because it draws a clean line under the work. There is a real distinction between having done all the moves separately and having linked them into one unbroken climb. Anyone who has done every move on a problem but never put them together knows that linking is its own challenge. The send is the moment the whole thing becomes yours.",[12,6445,6447],{"id":6446},"what-a-project-is","What a project is",[17,6449,6450],{},"A project, often shortened to \"proj\", is a climb you cannot do yet but are working towards. It is too hard to send right now, so you return to it, session after session, chipping away. You figure out the beta, refine the sequence, get the moves dialled, build the strength, and slowly the impossible starts to feel merely hard.",[17,6452,6453],{},"Projecting is how climbers push their personal limit. The grade you can flash is usually well below the grade you can project, because a project gives you the luxury of practising every move until it is automatic. People talk about a climb being \"a project for the season\" or even \"a multi-year proj\", and there is no shame in that. Some of the most satisfying sends are the ones that took months.",[17,6455,6456],{},"A few things worth knowing about projecting:",[70,6458,6459,6462,6465],{},[73,6460,6461],{},"It is normal to fail on a project far more than you succeed. That is the deal.",[73,6463,6464],{},"Working the moves out of order is fine. You do not have to climb top to bottom while projecting.",[73,6466,6467],{},"A project teaches you things a quick tick never will, about your weaknesses and your patience.",[12,6469,6471],{"id":6470},"the-quiet-satisfaction-in-each","The quiet satisfaction in each",[17,6473,6474],{},"These two words carry different flavours of joy. A send is a clean, sharp hit of completion, the matter settled in one go. A project is a slower burn, the long relationship with a piece of rock that gives in only when you have earned it.",[17,6476,6477],{},"The best feeling in climbing is often the send that ends a long project. You have fallen off the crux a dozen times, sworn at it, gone home defeated, come back. Then one day everything lines up, your fingers hold, your feet stay, and you clip the chains or slap the top. That moment lands differently because of all the failed goes behind it.",[17,6479,6480],{},"So when you hear someone say they sent their project, you now know the full weight of it. They finished a thing they could not finish before, and they did it cleanly. Keeping track of what you are projecting, and the day each one finally goes, turns those scattered sessions into a story you can look back on.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6482},[6483,6484,6485],{"id":6433,"depth":132,"text":6434},{"id":6446,"depth":132,"text":6447},{"id":6470,"depth":132,"text":6471},"2025-08-08","Two words you will hear constantly, plus the quiet satisfaction each one carries.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1675191863955-8b0dee9663b3?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Mahir Velani","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mahir009",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-send-and-what-is-a-project",{"title":6425,"description":6487},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-send-and-what-is-a-project",[2376,2377,562],"PNgx5sy6NKMya_AA02TJfUs0-e0RxOYJrxih0bRZAoo",{"id":6498,"title":6499,"author":7,"body":6500,"category":141,"date":6580,"description":6581,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6582,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":3403,"imageCreditUrl":3404,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6583,"navigation":152,"path":6584,"readTime":154,"seo":6585,"stem":6586,"tags":6587,"__hash__":6588},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchasing-conditions-how-weather-affects-your-climbing.md","Chasing conditions: how weather affects your climbing",{"type":9,"value":6501,"toc":6574},[6502,6505,6509,6512,6515,6519,6522,6548,6551,6555,6558,6561,6564,6568,6571],[17,6503,6504],{},"Spend a season climbing outdoors and you will start doing something that looks faintly unhinged to non-climbers: checking the temperature and humidity for a crag you might visit in a fortnight, and feeling genuine emotions about the result. There is method in it. The same problem can feel a full grade harder on a warm, damp afternoon than it does on a crisp, dry morning, and learning to read that is a real skill.",[12,6506,6508],{"id":6507},"why-cold-and-dry-wins","Why cold and dry wins",[17,6510,6511],{},"It comes down to friction and skin. When rock is cool and the air is dry, your skin grips better and small holds feel more positive. Warm rock gets greasy under the fingers, and a sweaty hand on a sloper might as well be buttered. This is why climbers talk reverently about \"sending temps\", usually meaning cold but not freezing, with low humidity and ideally a bit of breeze to keep the holds dry.",[17,6513,6514],{},"The effect is most dramatic on hard, friction-dependent climbing. Crimps, slopers and smeary footholds reward good conditions enormously. On big juggy routes where you are mostly hanging on by the bones of your fingers, conditions matter far less. So the harder and more marginal the climbing, the more the weather decides the day.",[12,6516,6518],{"id":6517},"reading-a-forecast-like-a-climber","Reading a forecast like a climber",[17,6520,6521],{},"A standard weather app tells you whether to take a coat. You want more than that.",[70,6523,6524,6530,6536,6542],{},[73,6525,6526,6529],{},[76,6527,6528],{},"Temperature",": cooler is generally better for friction, though painfully cold fingers go numb and clumsy, so there is a sweet spot rather than a colder-is-always-better rule.",[73,6531,6532,6535],{},[76,6533,6534],{},"Humidity",": arguably the bigger factor. High humidity leaves a film on the rock and on your skin. A cold but muggy day can climb worse than a slightly warmer dry one.",[73,6537,6538,6541],{},[76,6539,6540],{},"Wind",": a light breeze dries holds and chalk and keeps your skin from sweating. Too much and belaying becomes miserable.",[73,6543,6544,6547],{},[76,6545,6546],{},"Recent rain",": porous rock like sandstone holds water for days and is fragile when wet, so it needs proper drying time. Limestone often sheds water faster. Knowing your rock type tells you how long to wait.",[17,6549,6550],{},"Aspect matters too. A south-facing crag bakes in afternoon sun and might be unclimbable in summer but perfect on a cold winter morning. A shaded north face is your friend in a heatwave. Good guidebooks and local knowledge will tell you when each venue comes into condition.",[12,6552,6554],{"id":6553},"using-a-good-day-well","Using a good day well",[17,6556,6557],{},"When the forecast lines up, the temptation is to thrash yourself on everything. Better to have a plan. If you have a project that has been shutting you down, a rare day of perfect conditions is when you go all in on it, warmed up properly and rested, with your best attempts saved for when your skin and energy are freshest.",[17,6559,6560],{},"Conditions decay through the day in two ways. The weather warms up, and your skin wears down. Both push your best window towards the start of the session. Plenty of climbers do their hardest attempts early and save the volume mileage for later, once the holds have greased up and their fingertips are past their best.",[17,6562,6563],{},"Manage your skin like the limited resource it is. File down sharp flappers before they tear, keep your hands clean and dry between goes, and accept that some days the rock simply will not be in nick no matter how badly you want it.",[12,6565,6567],{"id":6566},"when-the-weather-is-rubbish","When the weather is rubbish",[17,6569,6570],{},"Not every trip gets the dream window, and chasing perfect conditions endlessly is a good way to never climb. Warm, humid days are fine for mileage, for working the moves on a project rather than expecting the send, or for steep terrain on big holds where friction barely registers. Save the marginal, skin-and-friction routes for when the air turns cold and dry.",[17,6572,6573],{},"Over a few seasons you stop checking the forecast out of habit and start reading it as a tactic. You learn which crags suit which weather, which way the wind needs to come from, and roughly how your own skin behaves at different temperatures. Keeping notes on what the conditions were like when a climb went well, or badly, turns all that scattered experience into something you can actually plan around.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6575},[6576,6577,6578,6579],{"id":6507,"depth":132,"text":6508},{"id":6517,"depth":132,"text":6518},{"id":6553,"depth":132,"text":6554},{"id":6566,"depth":132,"text":6567},"2025-08-01","Why climbers obsess over temperature, humidity and 'sending temps', and how to use a good day.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1689775884478-9ed19b79d659?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchasing-conditions-how-weather-affects-your-climbing",{"title":6499,"description":6581},"blog\u002Fchasing-conditions-how-weather-affects-your-climbing",[158,3168,290],"w_xJTzSTbAs7XpcrZwE-77T1ItkQOjNwOyFvdSe9X8M",{"id":6590,"title":6591,"author":7,"body":6592,"category":1811,"date":6713,"description":6714,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6715,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6716,"navigation":152,"path":6717,"readTime":154,"seo":6718,"stem":6719,"tags":6720,"__hash__":6721},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-climbing-harness-a-buyers-guide.md","Choosing a climbing harness: a buyer's guide",{"type":9,"value":6593,"toc":6708},[6594,6597,6601,6604,6622,6625,6629,6632,6672,6679,6683,6686,6705],[17,6595,6596],{},"A harness is the piece of kit you trust with your weight every time you leave the ground, so it pays to get it right rather than grabbing the cheapest one on the rack. The good news is that any harness sold by a reputable brand is certified and strong enough to hold a fall. The real decisions are about fit, comfort and matching the harness to the kind of climbing you actually do.",[12,6598,6600],{"id":6599},"fit-comes-first-always","Fit comes first, always",[17,6602,6603],{},"No spec sheet matters if the harness does not fit you. There are two things to get right.",[70,6605,6606,6616],{},[73,6607,6608,6611,6612,6615],{},[76,6609,6610],{},"The waistbelt"," should sit snugly ",[2610,6613,6614],{},"above"," your hips, not slung around them. You want it tight enough that it cannot slide down over your hips when weighted, but not so tight it digs in. Most harnesses adjust at the waist, so try it done up with a couple of inches of tail spare.",[73,6617,6618,6621],{},[76,6619,6620],{},"The leg loops"," should be comfortable when you sit back into them, with enough room to layer up in winter but no excess slack. Some harnesses have fixed leg loops, which are lighter and simpler; others have adjustable leg loops, which suit big swings in clothing thickness or anyone between sizes.",[17,6623,6624],{},"The honest test is to hang in it. Many shops have a spot where you can sit back on a rope and load the harness for a minute. If it pinches, rides up, or puts pressure on a sharp point, keep looking. Comfort is not a luxury here — it is what lets you stay relaxed at a belay or while working a route.",[12,6626,6628],{"id":6627},"match-it-to-your-climbing","Match it to your climbing",[17,6630,6631],{},"Once it fits, the deciding factor is use. The difference between harnesses is mostly padding, weight and how much gear they can carry.",[70,6633,6634,6648,6662],{},[73,6635,6636,6639,6640,6643,6644,6647],{},[76,6637,6638],{},"Gym and sport climbing:"," you carry little more than a few quickdraws, so fewer gear loops and lighter padding are fine. Something like the ",[76,6641,6642],{},"Black Diamond Momentum"," is a popular value all-rounder that handles gym and sport without fuss, while the ",[76,6645,6646],{},"Black Diamond Solution"," is a well-liked, more comfortable all-around and sport option.",[73,6649,6650,6653,6654,6657,6658,6661],{},[76,6651,6652],{},"Trad and multipitch:"," you hang in the harness for longer and carry a full rack, so you want more padding and more, stiffer gear loops to organise cams, nuts and slings. The ",[76,6655,6656],{},"Petzl Adjama"," (men's) and ",[76,6659,6660],{},"Petzl Luna"," (women's) are well-regarded adjustable all-rounders that cover everything from sport up to multipitch comfortably.",[73,6663,6664,6667,6668,6671],{},[76,6665,6666],{},"On a budget or just starting:"," the ",[76,6669,6670],{},"CAMP Energy"," is a recognised budget and beginner choice. If you are unsure you will stick with the sport, there is no shame in starting simple and upgrading once you know what you climb.",[17,6673,6674,6675,6678],{},"Count the ",[76,6676,6677],{},"gear loops",": four is plenty for sport, while trad climbers usually want more and stiffer ones that hold their shape so gear is easy to grab. Think about padding too — more padding is plush for hanging belays but adds bulk and warmth you may not want indoors.",[12,6680,6682],{"id":6681},"safety-care-and-when-to-retire-it","Safety, care and when to retire it",[17,6684,6685],{},"Buying the harness is the easy part. Using it safely is the job that never ends.",[70,6687,6688,6694,6700],{},[73,6689,6690,6693],{},[76,6691,6692],{},"Always do a buddy check."," Before every climb, you and your partner confirm the waistbelt is doubled back (if the brand requires it), the belay loop is threaded correctly and you are tied in or clipped through the right points. This habit catches the mistakes that hurt people.",[73,6695,6696,6699],{},[76,6697,6698],{},"Inspect it regularly."," Look at the webbing, the tie-in points and the belay loop. Any fraying, cuts, faded or fuzzy webbing, or stiffness is a reason to scrutinise it closely.",[73,6701,6702,6704],{},[76,6703,6143],{}," Take a harness out of service if the webbing is frayed or damaged, if it has caught a major fall, or simply with age and heavy use. Nylon degrades over time even in storage, so an old harness that has lived in a hot car boot deserves suspicion regardless of how it looks.",[17,6706,6707],{},"The takeaway: try several on, hang in them, and buy for the climbing you do most rather than the climbing you aspire to. A harness that fits and matches your discipline will be safer and far more pleasant than a pricier one that does not. Then build the buddy check into your routine so it becomes automatic — that, more than any model choice, is what keeps you safe.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6709},[6710,6711,6712],{"id":6599,"depth":132,"text":6600},{"id":6627,"depth":132,"text":6628},{"id":6681,"depth":132,"text":6682},"2025-07-25","What makes a harness comfortable and safe, and the all-rounders worth looking at first.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1698732994769-ccfb25daf8fa?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchoosing-a-climbing-harness-a-buyers-guide",{"title":6591,"description":6714},"blog\u002Fchoosing-a-climbing-harness-a-buyers-guide",[1822,2450,1917],"iV0qngrVuFoBkdFNmUQt5sBaZRJxBZJ9FrmMxYGMyPE",{"id":6723,"title":6724,"author":7,"body":6725,"category":2464,"date":6787,"description":6788,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6789,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":6790,"imageCreditUrl":6791,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6792,"navigation":152,"path":6793,"readTime":1547,"seo":6794,"stem":6795,"tags":6796,"__hash__":6797},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-with-a-fear-of-heights.md","Working with a fear of heights",{"type":9,"value":6726,"toc":6781},[6727,6730,6734,6737,6740,6744,6747,6758,6761,6765,6768,6771,6775,6778],[17,6728,6729],{},"A fear of heights is not a flaw, and it is not something you have to \"get over\" before you are allowed to climb. Heights feel scary because being high up genuinely is dangerous, and your nervous system is doing its job. The aim is not to delete that fear but to teach it that, on a rope in a gym, you are actually safe. That teaching happens slowly, through experience, not willpower.",[12,6731,6733],{"id":6732},"trust-the-system-first","Trust the system first",[17,6735,6736],{},"Before you can feel safe high up, you need to know the system that catches you actually works. Spend time understanding it. Watch how the rope, harness and belay device come together. Ask your belayer or instructor to walk you through what happens when you fall and how they hold the rope. The more you understand the mechanics, the less mysterious the danger feels.",[17,6738,6739],{},"Then test it low down. From a metre or two off the ground, sit back into the harness and let the rope take your weight. Hang there. Feel the harness hold you. Do it again. This is not wasted time, it is the foundation everything else is built on. Your fear quietens once your body has direct evidence that the rope catches you, and you only get that evidence by letting go on purpose where it feels safe.",[12,6741,6743],{"id":6742},"climb-in-small-repeatable-steps","Climb in small, repeatable steps",[17,6745,6746],{},"Once you trust the gear, build height in increments rather than charging for the top.",[70,6748,6749,6752,6755],{},[73,6750,6751],{},"Climb a couple of metres, then sit back and let your belayer lower you. Notice you are fine.",[73,6753,6754],{},"Next go, climb a little higher before you ask to come down.",[73,6756,6757],{},"Keep nudging the high point up over many goes, days, or weeks.",[17,6759,6760],{},"There is no rush. Each successful descent tells your nervous system that being up there ended well. Stack enough of those experiences and the panic that used to hit at three metres simply stops showing up. This is how exposure works — gentle, repeated, on your terms.",[12,6762,6764],{"id":6763},"manage-the-moment-your-body-says-no","Manage the moment your body says no",[17,6766,6767],{},"When fear spikes mid-climb, the instinct is to grip harder and freeze. That makes everything worse. Instead, pause at a good hold, and breathe out slowly and fully. A long exhale physically calms the stress response. Drop your heels, soften your grip, and look at the wall in front of you rather than down at the floor.",[17,6769,6770],{},"Talking helps too. Tell your belayer where you are at. A calm voice saying \"I've got you, take your time\" is worth more than any pep talk you give yourself. And there is no shame in coming down. Choosing to lower off when you have had enough is not failure, it is good judgement, and it keeps the experience positive so you come back next time.",[12,6772,6774],{"id":6773},"be-patient-with-yourself","Be patient with yourself",[17,6776,6777],{},"Some days the fear will be quiet and you will surprise yourself. Other days it will be loud for no obvious reason, and that is normal too. Progress with heights is rarely a straight line. What matters is that you keep showing up, keep the steps small enough to stay in control, and treat each session as practice rather than a test.",[17,6779,6780],{},"Plenty of confident, high-climbing people you see at the gym started out gripped at head height. The difference between them and the person who quit is not bravery, it is patience and repetition. Give your fear the time and the evidence it needs, and trust will follow.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6782},[6783,6784,6785,6786],{"id":6732,"depth":132,"text":6733},{"id":6742,"depth":132,"text":6743},{"id":6763,"depth":132,"text":6764},{"id":6773,"depth":132,"text":6774},"2025-07-18","Heights feel scary because they should. Gentle ways to build trust in the rope and yourself.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1776081696967-57bc9eaac5ce?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Quan Jing","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@greedwolf97",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fworking-with-a-fear-of-heights",{"title":6724,"description":6788},"blog\u002Fworking-with-a-fear-of-heights",[562,2796,4661],"1ue8ll2042-SdOZKI0a-C65DwqAxUwzbi9DKBGaXS9g",{"id":6799,"title":6800,"author":7,"body":6801,"category":141,"date":6866,"description":6867,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6868,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":2683,"imageCreditUrl":2684,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6869,"navigation":152,"path":6870,"readTime":154,"seo":6871,"stem":6872,"tags":6873,"__hash__":6875},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-project-a-climb-above-your-level.md","How to project a climb above your level",{"type":9,"value":6802,"toc":6860},[6803,6806,6810,6813,6816,6820,6823,6826,6837,6840,6844,6847,6850,6854,6857],[17,6804,6805],{},"A project is a climb you can not do yet. That is the whole point. If you could flash it, it would be a warm-up, not a project. The skill of projecting is learning to make steady progress on something that feels impossible on day one, without grinding yourself into the ground before you ever reach the top.",[12,6807,6809],{"id":6808},"read-it-before-you-touch-it","Read it before you touch it",[17,6811,6812],{},"Before you pull on, spend a few minutes just looking. Stand back and trace the line. Where are the obvious holds, where does it go quiet, where does it steepen. Most hard climbs have one or two cruxes and a lot of connecting tissue. If you can guess where the hard bit lives, you can plan your energy around it.",[17,6814,6815],{},"When you do start touching holds, treat the first session as reconnaissance rather than a redpoint attempt. You are gathering information: which crimp takes a thumb, whether that sloper wants an open hand, where the feet actually are once you are weighted on the wall rather than guessing from the ground. Brushing the holds you will use is not optional on a project. Chalked-up, greasy holds will quietly cost you the send.",[12,6817,6819],{"id":6818},"work-the-moves-then-the-links","Work the moves, then the links",[17,6821,6822],{},"A project is built backwards from individual moves. Get each one to feel repeatable on its own before you worry about doing them in sequence. A move you can only hit one time in five is not solved, it is a coin flip, and coin flips do not stack.",[17,6824,6825],{},"Once the moves go reliably, start linking them. A useful order:",[70,6827,6828,6831,6834],{},[73,6829,6830],{},"Solve every move in isolation, including the foot sequence and body position, not just the hands.",[73,6832,6833],{},"Link the crux into the move before it and the move after it, so you arrive in the right shape and leave in control.",[73,6835,6836],{},"Build longer chains from the top down, so each redpoint burn ends on ground you already trust.",[17,6838,6839],{},"Working the top section first sounds odd, but it means your most tired attempts always finish on familiar territory. You rarely fail a redpoint because you forgot the moves. You fail because you arrive at a hold a few degrees off, on a pump you did not plan for.",[12,6841,6843],{"id":6842},"manage-the-body-not-just-the-beta","Manage the body, not just the beta",[17,6845,6846],{},"The fastest way to ruin a project is to throw yourself at the crux twenty times in a session with ninety seconds of rest. You will get worse as the session goes on, reinforce the wrong movement, and load your fingers when they are already cooked. Hard tries need real rest between them, often five minutes or more, so each go is a fair test rather than a tired one.",[17,6848,6849],{},"Keep sessions short and frequent rather than long and desperate. Two focused board or wall sessions a week, with the project in the first half while you are fresh, beats one marathon where the last hour is all flailing. Projecting steep ground is finger-intensive, so if your skin or your tendons are talking to you, listen. A tweaked pulley costs weeks; a missed session costs nothing.",[12,6851,6853],{"id":6852},"keep-notes-and-stay-patient","Keep notes and stay patient",[17,6855,6856],{},"The annoying truth about a real project is that progress is not linear. You will have a session where it all clicks, then three where it feels harder than ever. That is normal, not a sign you have lost it. Conditions, skin, sleep and nerves all move the needle.",[17,6858,6859],{},"Write down what you change between sessions: the new foot, the heel hook that turned a deadpoint into a static reach, the breathing on the rest. When you come back a week later you will have forgotten half of it, and the notes save you from re-solving moves you already cracked. Logging your attempts and the beta that worked is exactly the kind of memory a tool like Sendit can hold for you, so the climb is the only thing you have to carry.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6861},[6862,6863,6864,6865],{"id":6808,"depth":132,"text":6809},{"id":6818,"depth":132,"text":6819},{"id":6842,"depth":132,"text":6843},{"id":6852,"depth":132,"text":6853},"2025-07-11","Breaking a hard route into moves, working sections, and stringing it together without burning out.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1577434150790-3bfe143fe4f2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-project-a-climb-above-your-level",{"title":6800,"description":6867},"blog\u002Fhow-to-project-a-climb-above-your-level",[6874,2796,290],"projecting","weU3N9rpMURPot-yEfWiJy03dTzhG2sTUfSrjCgv6u0",{"id":6877,"title":6878,"author":7,"body":6879,"category":141,"date":6950,"description":6951,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":6952,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":6953,"imageCreditUrl":6954,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":6955,"navigation":152,"path":6956,"readTime":1547,"seo":6957,"stem":6958,"tags":6959,"__hash__":6961},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-warm-up-that-actually-prepares-you-to-climb.md","A warm-up that actually prepares you to climb",{"type":9,"value":6880,"toc":6944},[6881,6885,6888,6891,6895,6898,6918,6921,6925,6928,6931,6934,6938,6941],[12,6882,6884],{"id":6883},"the-warm-up-most-people-skip","The warm-up most people skip",[17,6886,6887],{},"Walk into any gym and you will see the same thing. Climbers arrive, change shoes, and within five minutes are pulling hard on a project. Maybe they shake their arms out a bit first. That is not a warm-up, it is a gamble, and the fingers are usually the part that pays for it. Cold tendons under sudden high load is exactly the recipe that produces the tweaks and pulley strains that keep climbers off the wall for weeks.",[17,6889,6890],{},"A proper warm-up does not need to be long or complicated. The goal is simple: raise your body temperature, get blood moving through the muscles you are about to load, and gradually wake up the fingers and shoulders before you ask anything hard of them. Ten to fifteen minutes does it. The point is to do it every time, not just on the days you remember.",[12,6892,6894],{"id":6893},"build-it-up-in-layers","Build it up in layers",[17,6896,6897],{},"Think of the warm-up as moving from general to specific. Start broad, get the whole body going, then narrow down to climbing-specific movement.",[70,6899,6900,6906,6912],{},[73,6901,6902,6905],{},[76,6903,6904],{},"Raise the heart rate first."," A few minutes of anything that gets you breathing and warm: a brisk walk, light skipping, easy cardio, even just jogging on the spot. You want to actually feel slightly warm before you touch the wall.",[73,6907,6908,6911],{},[76,6909,6910],{},"Move the joints."," Arm circles, shoulder rolls, gentle leg swings, hip circles, and some easy wrist rotations. The aim is to take the major joints through their range, not to stretch hard.",[73,6913,6914,6917],{},[76,6915,6916],{},"Wake up the shoulders."," A couple of light band pull-aparts or some scapular pull-ups on a bar prime the muscles that stabilise your shoulders, which take a beating the moment you start climbing steep ground.",[17,6919,6920],{},"By the end of this you should feel loose and warm but not tired. None of it should be strenuous.",[12,6922,6924],{"id":6923},"easing-the-fingers-in","Easing the fingers in",[17,6926,6927],{},"The fingers deserve their own attention because they are the most injury-prone part of you and the slowest to warm. Do not jump straight onto small crimps.",[17,6929,6930],{},"On the wall, start with easy traversing or big juggy problems several grades below your limit. Spend real time here. Climb on big open-handed holds first, then gradually start using smaller edges as your forearms warm and start to feel pumped and then recover. The pump-and-recover cycle on easy climbing is itself part of the warm-up, telling your forearms that work is coming.",[17,6932,6933],{},"If you have a hangboard or a board to hand, a few light, brief hangs on generous holds round things off nicely, but only after the easy climbing, never as the first thing you do. The principle throughout is the same: load the fingers progressively, never suddenly.",[12,6935,6937],{"id":6936},"dont-overcook-it","Don't overcook it",[17,6939,6940],{},"It is possible to warm up too much. If you spend forty minutes traversing and doing endless easy laps, you will arrive at your project already tired. Warm up enough to feel ready and switched on, then stop and let your hardest attempts be genuinely fresh. A good signal that you are ready is that the moves on a problem two or three grades below your max feel easy and your forearms have been pumped and recovered at least once.",[17,6942,6943],{},"The whole routine becomes second nature once you do it a handful of times, and a consistent warm-up is one of the cheapest pieces of injury prevention available. Keep it short, keep it ordered, and do it on the days you cannot be bothered most of all. Those are the days the injuries happen.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":6945},[6946,6947,6948,6949],{"id":6883,"depth":132,"text":6884},{"id":6893,"depth":132,"text":6894},{"id":6923,"depth":132,"text":6924},{"id":6936,"depth":132,"text":6937},"2025-07-04","A short, repeatable routine that gets blood, fingers and shoulders ready before the first hard pull.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1564769662533-4f00a87b4056?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Yns Plt","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@ynsplt",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-warm-up-that-actually-prepares-you-to-climb",{"title":6878,"description":6951},"blog\u002Fa-warm-up-that-actually-prepares-you-to-climb",[6960,2026,162],"warm-up","HK83TxHj5YM9Zenx_CWASTj3tmepGDoOMf1ONZF0kT4",{"id":6963,"title":6964,"author":7,"body":6965,"category":2366,"date":7025,"description":7026,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7027,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":7028,"imageCreditUrl":7029,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7030,"navigation":152,"path":7031,"readTime":2472,"seo":7032,"stem":7033,"tags":7034,"__hash__":7035},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-dyno.md","What is a dyno?",{"type":9,"value":6966,"toc":7020},[6967,6970,6974,6977,6980,6983,6987,6990,6993,7004,7008,7011,7014,7017],[17,6968,6969],{},"A dyno is the most photogenic move in climbing: the moment a climber launches off the wall entirely, hands and feet leaving at once, flying through the air to catch a hold out of static reach. It looks like the hardest thing in the world. Often it is not.",[12,6971,6973],{"id":6972},"a-jump-with-a-target","A jump, with a target",[17,6975,6976],{},"The word is short for \"dynamic\", and it sits at the far end of the dynamic-to-static spectrum. A static move is one you could do slowly, in control, pausing halfway if you wanted. A dynamic move uses momentum, you generate speed and ride it to the next hold. A dyno is the extreme version: a full jump where, for a moment, you are not touching the wall at all.",[17,6978,6979],{},"The mechanics are roughly the same as any jump. You drop your hips, load your legs, and explode upwards, while your hands pull and then push off to add height. At the top of the movement, the \"deadpoint\", you are weightless for a split second. That is the moment to catch the target hold, when there is no upward or downward force fighting you. Slap too early and you get yanked off, slap too late and you are already falling.",[17,6981,6982],{},"Dynos come in a few flavours. A straight-up dyno goes vertically to a hold above you. A lateral dyno sends you sideways across a gap. A double dyno catches the target with both hands at once, while a single is a one-handed catch that then needs a quick match. Some are to big juggy holds, which are forgiving, and some are to crimps or slopers, which are brutal because you have to stick a bad hold while still moving.",[12,6984,6986],{"id":6985},"when-the-jump-is-the-answer","When the jump is the answer",[17,6988,6989],{},"Setters and routes use dynos for a reason. Sometimes the next hold is genuinely too far to reach statically, so a jump is the only way. Other times a static version exists but the dyno is faster and saves energy. And occasionally a dyno is set purely for the spectacle, because it is fun to throw for something and stick it.",[17,6991,6992],{},"You will know a dyno is the intended move when:",[70,6994,6995,6998,7001],{},[73,6996,6997],{},"The holds are spaced beyond a controlled reach, even at full stretch.",[73,6999,7000],{},"There is a big, obvious target hold positioned to be caught on the fly.",[73,7002,7003],{},"The lower holds are good enough to generate power from but the gap above is blank.",[12,7005,7007],{"id":7006},"why-it-looks-harder-than-it-is","Why it looks harder than it is",[17,7009,7010],{},"Here is the thing that surprises people. Dynos look terrifying and feel intimidating, but a well-set dyno to a good hold is frequently easier than the precise, balance-y static sequence it replaces. The fear is mostly in the commitment, the moment of letting go of the wall entirely.",[17,7012,7013],{},"The skill is less about raw power than about timing and aim. Beginners tend to throw with their arms and stare at their feet. The fix is to load through the legs, drive the hips up, and lock your eyes on the target hold the whole way. Where you look is where you go. Commit fully too, a half-hearted dyno almost never sticks because you bleed the power to hesitate.",[17,7015,7016],{},"The catch matters as much as the launch. As your hands hit the hold, you want to absorb the swing, let your body cut loose under the bar if it needs to, and hang on through the barn-door that often follows. That swing is normal. Bracing for it rather than fighting it is what keeps you on.",[17,7018,7019],{},"So the next time you see one and your stomach drops, remember: a dyno is a jump with a target, and your legs already know how to jump. The hard part is trusting them enough to leave the wall.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7021},[7022,7023,7024],{"id":6972,"depth":132,"text":6973},{"id":6985,"depth":132,"text":6986},{"id":7006,"depth":132,"text":7007},"2025-06-27","The all-points-off jump, when it is the answer, and why it looks harder than it often is.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1620567881271-095f2be9ecde?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","AJ Hemink","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@ajhemink",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-dyno",{"title":6964,"description":7026},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-dyno",[2376,2377,5484],"G35F_aWigIzOVaR4-COKBNg41XfvwUR4d8sHAg9TC8M",{"id":7037,"title":7038,"author":7,"body":7039,"category":1904,"date":7110,"description":7111,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7112,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":7113,"imageCreditUrl":7114,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7115,"navigation":152,"path":7116,"readTime":1547,"seo":7117,"stem":7118,"tags":7119,"__hash__":7121},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-after-your-climbing-gear.md","Looking after your climbing gear",{"type":9,"value":7040,"toc":7104},[7041,7045,7048,7051,7055,7058,7061,7064,7068,7071,7074,7088,7091,7095,7098,7101],[12,7042,7044],{"id":7043},"why-care-is-a-safety-thing-not-housekeeping","Why care is a safety thing, not housekeeping",[17,7046,7047],{},"Most climbing gear fails slowly and quietly long before it fails dramatically. A rope does not snap one day out of nowhere. It gets ground full of grit, the sheath frays at a worn spot, and the core stiffens, and you ignored all of it because the rope still looked roughly fine. Looking after your kit is mostly about noticing that slow decline early enough to retire a piece on your terms rather than mid-fall.",[17,7049,7050],{},"The good news is that the routine is short, cheap and mostly common sense.",[12,7052,7054],{"id":7053},"ropes","Ropes",[17,7056,7057],{},"Grit is the enemy. Tiny rock particles work into the rope and saw at the fibres from the inside every time it runs through a device. Keep your rope on a tarp or rope bag at the crag so it never sits in the dirt, and it will outlast a rope left to drag through the mud by years.",[17,7059,7060],{},"When it gets visibly dirty or starts feeling stiff, wash it. Use cool or lukewarm water, either by hand in a bath or on a gentle cycle, with a proper rope wash or a tiny amount of mild soap and no fabric softener or harsh detergent. Rinse it well, then dry it loosely coiled out of direct sunlight, because UV degrades the fibres over time.",[17,7062,7063],{},"Run the whole rope through your hands now and then. You are feeling for flat spots, soft mushy sections, lumps where the core may be damaged, and worn or fuzzy patches in the sheath. A small amount of surface fuzz is normal wear. A spot where you can feel the core through the sheath, or a flat squashed section, means retire it.",[12,7065,7067],{"id":7066},"slings-harness-and-soft-goods","Slings, harness and soft goods",[17,7069,7070],{},"Anything textile is vulnerable to the same enemies: abrasion, UV and chemicals. Slings and quickdraw dogbones in particular fade and stiffen in sunlight, so store them in a bag in the dark rather than hanging in a sunny window or the back of a hot car all summer.",[17,7072,7073],{},"Inspect soft goods for:",[70,7075,7076,7079,7082,7085],{},[73,7077,7078],{},"Cuts, fraying or fuzzy worn areas, especially where a sling runs over an edge",[73,7080,7081],{},"Faded colour, which can hint at sun damage",[73,7083,7084],{},"Stitching that is pulled, abraded or coming undone",[73,7086,7087],{},"Anything stiff, melted-looking or chemically contaminated",[17,7089,7090],{},"Keep all of it well away from acids, solvents, petrol and battery fluid, because these can wreck nylon invisibly with no outward sign.",[12,7092,7094],{"id":7093},"metal-gear-and-storage","Metal gear and storage",[17,7096,7097],{},"Carabiners, cams and belay devices are tougher, but they still need attention. Rinse salt and grit off, and if a carabiner gate or a cam trigger sticks, clean it and add a touch of dry lubricant, then wipe off the excess so it does not collect grime. Check gates snap shut crisply and that cam lobes spring back fully. Retire anything with sharp burrs, deep grooves worn by the rope, or a cracked frame.",[17,7099,7100],{},"Store everything dry. Damp kit in a sealed bag is how rust and mould start.",[17,7102,7103],{},"A handful of simple rules carry most of it. Keep gear off the ground and out of the sun, wash ropes gently when they need it, inspect before and after trips, and retire anything you are not sure about, because the cost of a new sling is nothing next to what it protects. Keeping a record of when each rope, harness and sling first came into use, and roughly how hard it has been worked, takes the guesswork out of knowing when its time is up.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7105},[7106,7107,7108,7109],{"id":7043,"depth":132,"text":7044},{"id":7053,"depth":132,"text":7054},{"id":7066,"depth":132,"text":7067},{"id":7093,"depth":132,"text":7094},"2025-06-20","Washing ropes, storing slings, checking for wear — simple care that keeps kit safe for longer.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F21308358\u002Fpexels-photo-21308358.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","Cansu Hangül","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@cansu-hangul",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-after-your-climbing-gear",{"title":7038,"description":7111},"blog\u002Flooking-after-your-climbing-gear",[1822,7120,1917],"maintenance","jQZYIReOpVoBgvgeqpNG1j6lgfj_AiOMijcca-rAJ9Y",{"id":7123,"title":7124,"author":7,"body":7125,"category":1811,"date":7216,"description":7217,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7218,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":7219,"imageCreditUrl":7220,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7221,"navigation":152,"path":7222,"readTime":4146,"seo":7223,"stem":7224,"tags":7225,"__hash__":7226},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbest-beginner-climbing-shoes-a-buyers-guide.md","Best beginner climbing shoes: a buyer's guide",{"type":9,"value":7126,"toc":7210},[7127,7130,7134,7137,7140,7143,7147,7150,7170,7174,7177,7180,7183,7187,7207],[17,7128,7129],{},"Your first pair of climbing shoes matters less than the internet would have you believe, and more than the rental counter suggests. You do not need an aggressive, downturned weapon to climb your first V2. You need something that fits, that you can actually keep on between attempts, and that lets you stand on small things without your foot rolling around inside. Get those three things right and almost any reputable shoe will do the job.",[12,7131,7133],{"id":7132},"what-a-beginner-shoe-should-actually-be","What a beginner shoe should actually be",[17,7135,7136],{},"The shape you want as a new climber is flat or neutral. That means your toes lie roughly flat rather than being scrunched into a curl, which keeps the shoe comfortable enough to wear for a full session and forgiving on the slabby, vertical terrain most people start on. Leave the steeply downturned shoes for later; their power comes at a cost in comfort, and you do not yet have the footwork to use it.",[17,7138,7139],{},"A slightly stiffer shoe is your friend early on. Soft, sensitive shoes reward feet that already know how to weight a tiny edge. While your foot muscles are still adapting, a bit of stiffness does the standing-on-edges work for you and saves your toes a lot of ache.",[17,7141,7142],{},"Velcro closures are worth seeking out for gym climbing. You will take your shoes off between burns and at the start of every rest, and fiddling with laces dozens of times a session gets old fast.",[12,7144,7146],{"id":7145},"three-the-community-keeps-recommending","Three the community keeps recommending",[17,7148,7149],{},"These are the names that come up again and again for good reason. Treat them as examples of the type rather than a ranking.",[70,7151,7152,7158,7164],{},[73,7153,7154,7157],{},[76,7155,7156],{},"La Sportiva Tarantulace (or the Velcro Tarantula)."," A long-running best-seller and the default recommendation for new climbers. Comfortable, versatile, and usually around or under £80 to £100, it is the shoe a huge number of people learn in without complaint.",[73,7159,7160,7163],{},[76,7161,7162],{},"Scarpa Veloce."," Soft rubber and a comfortable fit make this a strong indoor choice, and it does particularly well smearing on volumes and the big shaped holds you find in modern gyms.",[73,7165,7166,7169],{},[76,7167,7168],{},"Black Diamond Momentum."," A neutral, soft shoe with a knit upper that breathes well, sitting at the budget end. An easy, low-commitment way into the sport.",[12,7171,7173],{"id":7172},"getting-the-fit-right","Getting the fit right",[17,7175,7176],{},"This is where most beginner foot pain comes from, and it is entirely avoidable. The aim is snug, not crushing. Your toes should be lightly curled and pressed to the front, with no dead space at the toe box or under the arch where your foot can slide. If your toes are screaming, the shoe is too small; if you can wiggle them freely and feel air at the end, it is too big.",[17,7178,7179],{},"Expect to size down from your street shoe, but not into agony. Climbing shoes are meant to fit closer than trainers, and most will stretch and mould a little with use, leather more than synthetic. The classic mistake is buying painfully tight because someone online insisted on it. A shoe you dread putting on is a shoe you climb worse in.",[17,7181,7182],{},"Try them late in the day when your feet are at their largest, and wear them around for a few minutes. Mild pressure that eases is fine; sharp pinching or numbness is not.",[12,7184,7186],{"id":7185},"a-few-practical-notes","A few practical notes",[70,7188,7189,7195,7201],{},[73,7190,7191,7194],{},[76,7192,7193],{},"Care."," Climbing rubber lives or dies by grip, so keep your shoes out of the sun, let them dry between sessions, and try not to walk to the wall in them — grit on the sole kills friction.",[73,7196,7197,7200],{},[76,7198,7199],{},"Resoling."," A good shoe can be resoled when the toe wears thin, which is cheaper than replacing it and worth knowing before you bin a pair.",[73,7202,7203,7206],{},[76,7204,7205],{},"You can always go more aggressive later."," Your first shoe is not a lifelong commitment. As your footwork sharpens and you start climbing steeper ground, a more downturned, sensitive shoe will make sense. It does not now.",[17,7208,7209],{},"Buy comfortable, buy reputable, and get the fit honest rather than heroic. Once you have a pair that works, log which shoe you wore on your hardest sends in Sendit — over a few months it is genuinely useful to see what your feet prefer when it counts.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7211},[7212,7213,7214,7215],{"id":7132,"depth":132,"text":7133},{"id":7145,"depth":132,"text":7146},{"id":7172,"depth":132,"text":7173},{"id":7185,"depth":132,"text":7186},"2025-06-13","The shoes worth a new climber's money, and how to get the fit right without the foot pain.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1599583287831-385c6a578044?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Omid Armin","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@itsomidarmin",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbest-beginner-climbing-shoes-a-buyers-guide",{"title":7124,"description":7217},"blog\u002Fbest-beginner-climbing-shoes-a-buyers-guide",[1822,2440,562],"9rq0ml9OAsW9Ucs5FqgPHoNU6DhyBUxIMYrnq3hTKPM",{"id":7228,"title":7229,"author":7,"body":7230,"category":2366,"date":7290,"description":7291,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7292,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":7293,"imageCreditUrl":7294,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7295,"navigation":152,"path":7296,"readTime":2472,"seo":7297,"stem":7298,"tags":7299,"__hash__":7300},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-sandbagging.md","What is sandbagging?",{"type":9,"value":7231,"toc":7285},[7232,7235,7239,7242,7245,7248,7252,7255,7258,7261,7272,7276,7279,7282],[17,7233,7234],{},"You walk up to a climb graded well within your ability, expect a comfortable tick, and instead get utterly shut down on a move that has no business being that hard. Congratulations, you have been sandbagged. A sandbag is a climb that is much harder than its grade suggests, and dealing with them is part of every climber's education.",[12,7236,7238],{"id":7237},"the-grade-that-lies-to-you","The grade that lies to you",[17,7240,7241],{},"Grades are meant to tell you roughly how hard a climb is, so you can pick something at the right level. A sandbag breaks that promise. It carries a number that looks friendly but climbs like something a couple of grades stiffer. The classic example is the old-school V2 in a guidebook that feels like a solid V5 to anyone who tries it, or the \"moderate\" trad route that turns out to be a fight from the first move.",[17,7243,7244],{},"Sandbags happen for a few reasons. Sometimes a grade was given long ago by climbers who were simply very good and very tough, and standards or expectations have shifted since. Sometimes a climb suits a particular height or style, so it felt easy to whoever graded it and brutal to everyone built differently. And sometimes, frankly, the grade was undercooked on purpose, as a kind of trap for the unwary.",[17,7246,7247],{},"The word itself comes from outside climbing, the idea of a heavy sandbag you do not see coming. To sandbag someone can also mean deliberately downplaying a climb's difficulty, telling a mate that the route is \"totally your level\" while knowing full well it will spit them off. That brings us to the tradition.",[12,7249,7251],{"id":7250},"a-tradition-half-mischief-and-half-pride","A tradition, half mischief and half pride",[17,7253,7254],{},"Sandbagging has a long and slightly mischievous history in climbing culture. Certain crags and areas wear their stiff grading like a badge of honour. Locals take quiet pride in the fact that their grades are \"honest\" or \"old school\", which is often code for harder than they look. Turn up as a visitor expecting soft numbers and you will get a humbling.",[17,7256,7257],{},"There is gentle gatekeeping baked into it too. The seasoned climber who sends a newcomer up a \"nice easy warm-up\" that turns out to be a sandbag is taking part in a tradition as old as the sport. It is usually affectionate ribbing rather than malice, a way of saying the grade is not the whole story and you should pay attention to the climbing, not the number.",[17,7259,7260],{},"You will run into sandbags most often in:",[70,7262,7263,7266,7269],{},[73,7264,7265],{},"Older guidebooks and historic crags where grading conventions predate modern norms.",[73,7267,7268],{},"Areas famous for a particular gritty, technical or runout style that the grade does not capture.",[73,7270,7271],{},"The deliberate suggestion of a friend who is enjoying themselves at your expense.",[12,7273,7275],{"id":7274},"how-to-take-it-in-good-humour","How to take it in good humour",[17,7277,7278],{},"The healthiest response to a sandbag is a shrug and a grin. Grades are useful but they are not gospel, and treating them as a precise measure of your worth is a quick route to frustration. A sandbag is a reminder that the number on the page is one person's opinion, filtered through their body, their era and their sense of humour.",[17,7280,7281],{},"There is real value in it, too. Getting shut down on an \"easy\" climb exposes the gaps in your climbing more honestly than ticking soft grades ever will. The technical, awkward, height-dependent moves that sandbags throw at you are exactly the ones that make you a more complete climber. Many people who travel to famously stiff areas come back better for the beating.",[17,7283,7284],{},"So when you find yourself flailing on something that should have been straightforward, do not take it personally and do not let it dent your confidence. Laugh about it, learn the move, and file the climb away as one that bites. Then, when a friend asks for a recommendation, you will know exactly which \"easy classic\" to point them towards.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7286},[7287,7288,7289],{"id":7237,"depth":132,"text":7238},{"id":7250,"depth":132,"text":7251},{"id":7274,"depth":132,"text":7275},"2025-06-06","The grade that is harder than it claims, the tradition behind it, and how to take it in good humour.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1520208422220-d12a3c588e6c?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jackman Chiu","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@jackmanchiu",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-sandbagging",{"title":7229,"description":7291},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-sandbagging",[2376,2377,2378],"6dWpoUuYxtgB2w9ABf0LPOEbTVuCblXO6mezxJsbyr8",{"id":7302,"title":7303,"author":7,"body":7304,"category":2785,"date":7375,"description":7376,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7377,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":2683,"imageCreditUrl":2684,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7378,"navigation":152,"path":7379,"readTime":154,"seo":7380,"stem":7381,"tags":7382,"__hash__":7384},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-and-mental-health.md","Climbing and mental health",{"type":9,"value":7305,"toc":7369},[7306,7309,7313,7316,7319,7323,7326,7329,7332,7343,7347,7350,7353,7356,7360,7363,7366],[17,7307,7308],{},"Ask climbers why they keep coming back and the answers rarely start with biceps. They talk about the way a hard week dissolves the moment they tie in, or how a session with friends leaves them lighter than when they arrived. Climbing is physical, obviously, but a lot of what keeps people hooked happens above the neck.",[12,7310,7312],{"id":7311},"the-wall-asks-for-your-full-attention","The wall asks for your full attention",[17,7314,7315],{},"There is a reason it is hard to brood on a tricky email while you are committed to a heel hook above your last bolt. Climbing demands that you be where your hands are. The problem in front of you is concrete and immediate: which hold, which foot, how much weight to trust. That kind of narrow focus is closely related to what people call flow, the state where the noise quietens and time stops mattering.",[17,7317,7318],{},"You do not need to chase a peak experience to feel it. Even a steady evening on easy problems pulls your attention out of your head and into your body. For anyone whose mind tends to run laps after dark, that hour of enforced presence can be worth more than the climbing itself.",[12,7320,7322],{"id":7321},"small-honest-wins","Small, honest wins",[17,7324,7325],{},"Climbing is generous with feedback. A move you could not do last week suddenly works. A grade that felt impossible becomes a warm-up. These are not vague affirmations, they are things that either happen or do not, and when they happen you earned them.",[17,7327,7328],{},"Mental health is often eroded by a sense that effort goes nowhere. Climbing offers a tidy antidote: visible, repeatable evidence that practice changes what you are capable of. The progress is rarely linear, and plateaus test everyone, but over months the trend is hard to argue with.",[17,7330,7331],{},"A few habits help keep that feedback healthy:",[70,7333,7334,7337,7340],{},[73,7335,7336],{},"Measure yourself against your own past sessions, not the strongest person in the gym.",[73,7338,7339],{},"Treat a failed attempt as information, not a verdict. Most beta is discovered by falling off.",[73,7341,7342],{},"Notice the non-grade wins too: better footwork, calmer breathing, a movement that finally clicked.",[12,7344,7346],{"id":7345},"community-without-the-pressure","Community without the pressure",[17,7348,7349],{},"Few sports throw strangers together quite like climbing does. You spotting someone you have never met, swapping beta on a problem, sharing the small triumph when they finally stick it. That low-stakes contact, repeated over time, is how a lot of people build the loose web of acquaintances that real friendships grow from.",[17,7351,7352],{},"It matters because loneliness is one of the quieter threats to wellbeing, and gyms are unusually good at chipping away at it. There is no clock to beat, no opposing team, no real reason to be anything other than encouraging. People cheer for sends that are nowhere near their own grade because the effort is the point.",[17,7354,7355],{},"If you are climbing through a rough patch mentally, the social side can be a gentle on-ramp. You do not have to talk about how you are doing. You just have to show up, pull on, and be among people for a while.",[12,7357,7359],{"id":7358},"keeping-it-honest","Keeping it honest",[17,7361,7362],{},"None of this is a substitute for proper support when you need it. Climbing can lift a low mood, settle anxious thoughts and give shape to a week, but it is not therapy and it cannot fix everything. If things feel heavy in a way that does not lift, talk to your GP or a professional. The wall will still be there.",[17,7364,7365],{},"It is also worth watching that the sport stays a release rather than another stick to beat yourself with. The same drive that fuels progress can curdle into a grim obligation to send, to train, to be better. When you notice that creeping in, it is usually a sign to climb for fun for a while, with no projects and no expectations.",[17,7367,7368],{},"For most of us, most of the time, the maths is simple. You arrive carrying the day. You leave a bit clearer, a bit tireder, having spent an hour fully absorbed in something hard and human. That is a good deal, and it is available again tomorrow. Logging how you actually felt after a session, not just the grades, can quietly remind you why you keep going back.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7370},[7371,7372,7373,7374],{"id":7311,"depth":132,"text":7312},{"id":7321,"depth":132,"text":7322},{"id":7345,"depth":132,"text":7346},{"id":7358,"depth":132,"text":7359},"2025-05-30","Focus, community and small wins — how time on the wall can be good for the head as well as the body.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1610768798760-e01a4b43814e?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-and-mental-health",{"title":7303,"description":7376},"blog\u002Fclimbing-and-mental-health",[7383,2796,3056],"mental health","pSZ7K-_orbI9QXWWGCc4AYcbh7SsUvCgDWqA24LTk3w",{"id":7386,"title":7387,"author":7,"body":7388,"category":1811,"date":7497,"description":7498,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7499,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":7219,"imageCreditUrl":7220,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7500,"navigation":152,"path":7501,"readTime":154,"seo":7502,"stem":7503,"tags":7504,"__hash__":7506},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-best-hangboards-for-training-at-home.md","The best hangboards for training at home",{"type":9,"value":7389,"toc":7492},[7390,7393,7396,7400,7403,7429,7433,7436,7456,7460,7463,7489],[17,7391,7392],{},"Before anything else, the warning, because it matters more than which board you buy. Hangboarding loads your finger tendons and pulleys hard, and it does not care how motivated you are. It is not for brand-new climbers. If you have been climbing for a few weeks or months, put the board down and just climb more — that builds the same finger strength with far less injury risk. A hangboard is a tool for climbers with a real base of training behind them, and used too soon it is one of the fastest ways to put yourself out for months.",[17,7394,7395],{},"With that said, if you are ready, a fingerboard in a doorway is one of the most efficient bits of home training there is. Here is what to look for and which boards the community trusts.",[12,7397,7399],{"id":7398},"what-makes-a-good-hangboard","What makes a good hangboard",[17,7401,7402],{},"The features that matter are simple:",[70,7404,7405,7411,7417,7423],{},[73,7406,7407,7410],{},[76,7408,7409],{},"A comfortable warm-up jug or large edge."," You should be able to start gently and build up, not jump straight onto something punishing.",[73,7412,7413,7416],{},[76,7414,7415],{},"A 20mm edge."," This is the standard reference hold for most training protocols, including the common max-hang approach. If a board has a clean 20mm edge, you can follow almost any structured plan.",[73,7418,7419,7422],{},[76,7420,7421],{},"A sensible spread of holds."," Pockets and slopers let you train different grip positions, but you want them to match your level rather than being uniformly brutal.",[73,7424,7425,7428],{},[76,7426,7427],{},"Mounting that suits your space."," Most boards fit above a doorway. Make sure you can fix it securely, because a board that pulls off the wall mid-hang is its own kind of injury.",[12,7430,7432],{"id":7431},"boards-worth-mounting","Boards worth mounting",[17,7434,7435],{},"These are the names that come up again and again, each aimed at a different climber.",[70,7437,7438,7444,7450],{},[73,7439,7440,7443],{},[76,7441,7442],{},"Beastmaker 1000."," The classic best-overall for beginner-to-intermediate climbers who are ready to train. It has comfortable warm-up jugs, a 20mm edge, plus pockets and slopers, and suits the standard max-hang protocol straight out of the box. If you want one board to grow into, this is the usual answer.",[73,7445,7446,7449],{},[76,7447,7448],{},"Beastmaker 2000."," The same family pitched at advanced climbers, with smaller and harder edges, 45-degree slopers and monos. It is genuinely demanding, and the holds that feel impossible at first are the point — but only once your fingers can handle them.",[73,7451,7452,7455],{},[76,7453,7454],{},"Lattice Training fingerboards."," Their rung-style boards are durable and well designed, and lend themselves to structured strength and endurance work. A good pick if you like following a measured plan and want holds built for repeatable, progressive training.",[12,7457,7459],{"id":7458},"how-to-train-without-hurting-yourself","How to train without hurting yourself",[17,7461,7462],{},"Owning the right board is half the job; using it sensibly is the rest.",[70,7464,7465,7471,7477,7483],{},[73,7466,7467,7470],{},[76,7468,7469],{},"Warm up thoroughly."," Never hang cold. Spend real time getting blood into your fingers with easy hangs and movement before you load anything small.",[73,7472,7473,7476],{},[76,7474,7475],{},"Progress slowly."," Finger strength comes from consistent, conservative sessions over months, not from chasing the smallest edge this week. Tendons adapt more slowly than muscle, and ignoring that is how people get hurt.",[73,7478,7479,7482],{},[76,7480,7481],{},"Stop at any sharp pain."," A dull ache after a session is one thing; a sharp pain in a finger, especially a pop or a sting at a joint, means stop immediately. Pushing through finger pain does not build strength, it builds an injury.",[73,7484,7485,7488],{},[76,7486,7487],{},"Keep the volume low."," A short, focused hangboard session two or three times a week does more than long daily grinds, which mostly just accumulate damage.",[17,7490,7491],{},"A fingerboard is a precise tool, and the boards above will all serve you for years if you respect them. The honest takeaway is that the board is the easy decision — the discipline to warm up, progress gradually and back off at the first warning sign is what actually keeps you climbing. Track your hangs alongside your sessions in Sendit, and let the long view of your training, not your ego on any given day, set the pace.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7493},[7494,7495,7496],{"id":7398,"depth":132,"text":7399},{"id":7431,"depth":132,"text":7432},{"id":7458,"depth":132,"text":7459},"2025-05-23","The fingerboards worth mounting in a doorway — and an honest warning about using them too soon.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1599583109210-6bba6134b283?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-best-hangboards-for-training-at-home",{"title":7387,"description":7498},"blog\u002Fthe-best-hangboards-for-training-at-home",[1822,162,7505],"fingers","xGzmGfyDpLGncgspyyq7-T62jfFcnLEyeE5UqxuJw_k",{"id":7508,"title":7509,"author":7,"body":7510,"category":2555,"date":7589,"description":7590,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7591,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7592,"navigation":152,"path":7593,"readTime":154,"seo":7594,"stem":7595,"tags":7596,"__hash__":7599},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fleave-no-trace-looking-after-the-crag.md","Leave no trace: looking after the crag",{"type":9,"value":7511,"toc":7582},[7512,7515,7519,7522,7525,7539,7542,7546,7549,7552,7556,7559,7562,7566,7569,7572,7576,7579],[17,7513,7514],{},"Most crags exist on a kind of goodwill. The land belongs to someone, the access often depends on a quiet arrangement between climbers and a farmer, a council or a conservation body, and that arrangement can vanish overnight if climbers turn out to be a nuisance. Leave no trace is not a slogan for the outdoorsy. It is the practical set of habits that keeps the gate unlocked and the welcome warm. Here is what it actually means at the crag.",[12,7516,7518],{"id":7517},"park-like-a-guest","Park like a guest",[17,7520,7521],{},"Access disputes start in the car park more often than anywhere else. A line of cars blocking a farm gate, a verge churned to mud, or a lane no tractor can get down is the fastest way to lose a venue.",[17,7523,7524],{},"Follow the guidance:",[70,7526,7527,7530,7533,7536],{},[73,7528,7529],{},"Use the recommended parking in the guidebook or app, even if it means a longer walk.",[73,7531,7532],{},"Never block gates, passing places or field entrances.",[73,7534,7535],{},"Car share where you can, especially at small or busy crags.",[73,7537,7538],{},"If a sign asks you not to park somewhere, take it seriously.",[17,7540,7541],{},"The walk in is part of the day. A few extra minutes on foot is a small price for keeping a venue open.",[12,7543,7545],{"id":7544},"stick-to-the-paths","Stick to the paths",[17,7547,7548],{},"It is tempting to cut straight up the hillside to the rock, but those shortcuts scar quickly. Repeated boots widen a faint trail into an eroded gash, and on fragile ground the damage can take years to heal. Use the established approach path and walk in single file on narrow sections rather than spreading out and trampling a wider strip.",[17,7550,7551],{},"The same goes for the base of the crag. Trampling vegetation flat to make room for pads kills the plants and exposes soil that then washes away. Tread lightly, keep your kit tidy in one spot, and resist the urge to landscape the area for your own comfort.",[12,7553,7555],{"id":7554},"respect-the-wildlife","Respect the wildlife",[17,7557,7558],{},"Crags are habitat as well as playgrounds. Nesting birds in particular share the rock with us, and many venues have seasonal restrictions to protect them, often peregrines and other raptors that nest on cliff faces in spring. These bans are temporary and they exist for good reason. Climbing through a restriction can disturb a nest, and it hands ammunition to anyone arguing climbers cannot be trusted.",[17,7560,7561],{},"Check for restrictions before you go, usually flagged in the guidebook, on access databases or by local clubs. Keep dogs under control, give grazing animals space, and shut every gate behind you. None of this costs you anything, and it is the difference between being seen as a welcome visitor or a problem.",[12,7563,7565],{"id":7564},"take-it-all-home","Take it all home",[17,7567,7568],{},"The waste rule is blunt: pack out everything you bring in, and then some. That means finger tape, energy gel wrappers, broken brushes, the lot. Nothing biodegrades as fast as people assume, and orange peel and apple cores still look like litter to the next person.",[17,7570,7571],{},"Human waste is the awkward part nobody likes to discuss. If you have to go, get well away from the rock, paths and any water, dig a proper hole, and carry out your paper. At busy or sensitive venues, plan ahead so you simply do not have to. A small trowel and a few bags weigh almost nothing and save the crag from becoming unpleasant.",[12,7573,7575],{"id":7574},"the-bigger-picture","The bigger picture",[17,7577,7578],{},"All of this rolls up into a simple test. Could someone tell you had been there. If the answer is no, you have done it right. Crags stay open because generations of climbers have quietly looked after them, picked up other people's litter, parked sensibly and respected the seasons.",[17,7580,7581],{},"Knowing the specifics of each venue, its parking, its approach and its restrictions, is half the battle, so keep that information to hand and note anything that has changed when you visit. The places we climb are not infinite, and the effort to protect them is tiny next to the cost of losing them.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7583},[7584,7585,7586,7587,7588],{"id":7517,"depth":132,"text":7518},{"id":7544,"depth":132,"text":7545},{"id":7554,"depth":132,"text":7555},{"id":7564,"depth":132,"text":7565},{"id":7574,"depth":132,"text":7575},"2025-05-16","Parking, paths, wildlife and waste — the habits that keep crags open and welcoming.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1698732994560-c0309c37667c?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fleave-no-trace-looking-after-the-crag",{"title":7509,"description":7590},"blog\u002Fleave-no-trace-looking-after-the-crag",[3168,7597,7598],"access","ethics","psMwMEY8_hvrPgUZyfGGz0KoqpPmbdR4y_LvJWheFoc",{"id":7601,"title":7602,"author":7,"body":7603,"category":2464,"date":7668,"description":7669,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":552,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":554,"imageCreditUrl":555,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7670,"navigation":152,"path":7671,"readTime":154,"seo":7672,"stem":7673,"tags":7674,"__hash__":7675},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-lead-climb.md","Your first lead climb",{"type":9,"value":7604,"toc":7662},[7605,7608,7612,7615,7618,7629,7632,7636,7639,7642,7645,7649,7652,7656,7659],[17,7606,7607],{},"Your first lead climb is a milestone, and it usually comes with a flutter of nerves. After months of the rope hanging reassuringly above you on top-rope, you are now trailing it from your harness and clipping as you go. The climbing is the same. What changes is the relationship with falling, and getting your head around that is most of the job.",[12,7609,7611],{"id":7610},"get-the-clipping-wired-before-you-leave-the-ground","Get the clipping wired before you leave the ground",[17,7613,7614],{},"Clipping a quickdraw cleanly is a physical skill, and you do not want to be learning it for the first time while pumped halfway up a route. Practise it standing on the floor with a draw at chest height until it feels automatic.",[17,7616,7617],{},"There are two ways to clip depending on which way the gate faces and which hand you use. Learn both, and learn to do them with either hand. The aims are simple:",[70,7619,7620,7623,7626],{},[73,7621,7622],{},"Pull up just enough rope to reach the draw, no more.",[73,7624,7625],{},"Push the rope through the gate in one smooth motion.",[73,7627,7628],{},"Make sure the rope runs from the back of the carabiner out toward you — not back-clipped, which can unclip in a fall.",[17,7630,7631],{},"Clip from a stable position where you have a good hold and decent feet. Reaching wildly for a high clip while barely hanging on is how people get into trouble, so it is often better to climb a move higher to a comfortable stance than to clip from a desperate one.",[12,7633,7635],{"id":7634},"understand-the-lead-fall","Understand the lead fall",[17,7637,7638],{},"This is the part that frightens people, and rightly — a lead fall is a real fall. If you are above your last clip and come off, you fall past it and a little beyond before the rope catches, so the higher you are above the draw, the further you go.",[17,7640,7641],{},"The key habit is keeping the rope where it should be. Never get the rope behind your leg, because if you fall with it there it can flip you upside down. As you move past a draw, be aware of where the rope runs across your body. And do not over-grab slack to clip from too far below a draw, because that puts loose rope in the system and makes any fall longer.",[17,7643,7644],{},"The best thing you can do is take a few practice falls on purpose, with an experienced belayer who knows you are about to. Start small: clip a draw, climb to just above it, and let go. Feel the catch. Then go a little higher next time. Taking controlled falls in a safe spot does more to calm your lead head than any amount of thinking about it.",[12,7646,7648],{"id":7647},"belaying-the-leader","Belaying the leader",[17,7650,7651],{},"If your partner is learning to lead, your belaying has to step up too. Lead belaying is active. You feed slack as the climber pulls up to clip, then take it back in once they have clipped, keeping just enough softness in the system without leaving a dangerous loop on the floor. A good catch is a soft one — a small jump or a step in toward the wall takes the harshness out of the fall. This is a skill worth being taught properly rather than improvising.",[12,7653,7655],{"id":7654},"keep-the-first-one-easy","Keep the first one easy",[17,7657,7658],{},"Pick a route well below your top-rope limit for your first lead. The climbing should feel easy so that all your attention can go on clipping, rope management and staying calm. There is no glory in leading at your limit on day one, and a relaxed first lead on a route you could climb in your sleep builds far more confidence than a gripped epic.",[17,7660,7661],{},"Take a proper lead course or get taught by someone who knows what they are doing, practise the falls, and treat the whole thing as a new discipline rather than a small upgrade. Do it that way and the sharp end stops being scary and starts being some of the best climbing there is.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7663},[7664,7665,7666,7667],{"id":7610,"depth":132,"text":7611},{"id":7634,"depth":132,"text":7635},{"id":7647,"depth":132,"text":7648},{"id":7654,"depth":132,"text":7655},"2025-05-09","Clipping, the lead fall, and how to take the step from top-rope to the sharp end calmly.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-lead-climb",{"title":7602,"description":7669},"blog\u002Fyour-first-lead-climb",[562,3594,6163],"L03Y3vDfeElMNquR7LVqphSu87BiURsyZOCkR54oBhk",{"id":7677,"title":7678,"author":7,"body":7679,"category":2785,"date":7751,"description":7752,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7753,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1543,"imageCreditUrl":1544,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7754,"navigation":152,"path":7755,"readTime":1547,"seo":7756,"stem":7757,"tags":7758,"__hash__":7760},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-find-climbing-partners.md","How to find climbing partners",{"type":9,"value":7680,"toc":7746},[7681,7685,7688,7691,7695,7701,7707,7713,7719,7723,7726,7743],[12,7682,7684],{"id":7683},"the-quiet-thing-holding-people-back","The quiet thing holding people back",[17,7686,7687],{},"Plenty of keen climbers do less than they want to, not because of fitness or weather, but because they have nobody to climb with. Roped climbing needs a partner, trips need someone to share the drive, and even bouldering is more fun with company. The size of your climbing life is often set less by how strong you are and more by how many people you can call on a free evening.",[17,7689,7690],{},"The good news is that climbers are, as a rule, a friendly and welcoming bunch, and partner-finding is a skill you can get better at. It mostly comes down to showing up regularly, being easy to climb with, and using the channels that already exist.",[12,7692,7694],{"id":7693},"where-partners-come-from","Where partners come from",[17,7696,7697,7700],{},[76,7698,7699],{},"Your local wall."," This is the obvious one and the best one. Go at the same times each week and you will start recognising faces. The people on the next problem are usually happy to chat, swap beta, and after a few sessions, climb together. If you need a belayer, asking politely is normal and rarely refused. Many walls run regular socials, beginners' nights, or a noticeboard, and some have a dedicated meet-up evening built precisely for people without partners.",[17,7702,7703,7706],{},[76,7704,7705],{},"Clubs."," University and town climbing clubs exist almost entirely to pair people up and organise trips. They are the fastest route into outdoor climbing in particular, because the experienced members take new people out, teach them the ropes, and share transport and gear. If you want to move from indoors to outdoors safely, a club is hard to beat.",[17,7708,7709,7712],{},[76,7710,7711],{},"Courses and coaching."," Sign up for a learn-to-lead course, an outdoor skills day or a coaching session and you meet people at a similar level and stage, who are exactly the people you want to climb with afterwards.",[17,7714,7715,7718],{},[76,7716,7717],{},"Online and apps."," Local climbing groups, forums and partner-finding features in climbing apps let you arrange to meet up, especially useful if you have moved to a new area or travel. Treat first meetings sensibly: meet at the wall, start on safe ground, and watch how someone belays and handles gear before you trust them with a real fall.",[12,7720,7722],{"id":7721},"be-the-partner-people-want","Be the partner people want",[17,7724,7725],{},"Finding partners is half the job. Keeping them is the other half, and it is mostly about being reliable and pleasant.",[70,7727,7728,7731,7734,7737,7740],{},[73,7729,7730],{},"Turn up when you say you will, on time, with your gear sorted.",[73,7732,7733],{},"Pay attention when you belay. Nothing burns a partnership faster than someone glued to their phone while you are runout above a bolt.",[73,7735,7736],{},"Be honest about your level and what you are comfortable leading or belaying.",[73,7738,7739],{},"Share the load: driving, guidebooks, brushing holds, buying the coffee.",[73,7741,7742],{},"Be encouraging. People want to climb with someone who makes a session feel good, not someone who sulks on a project or only talks about themselves.",[17,7744,7745],{},"A handful of solid partners changes everything. You climb more, you climb safer, and the trips you have been putting off suddenly have someone to share them with. Start by being a regular at one wall, say yes to the club trip, and be the person others are glad to see walk in. If you use an app to log your climbing, the same tools can often help you find and stay in touch with people climbing near you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7747},[7748,7749,7750],{"id":7683,"depth":132,"text":7684},{"id":7693,"depth":132,"text":7694},{"id":7721,"depth":132,"text":7722},"2025-05-02","From gym regulars to clubs and apps — building the network that gets you out climbing more.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F5384033\u002Fpexels-photo-5384033.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-find-climbing-partners",{"title":7678,"description":7752},"blog\u002Fhow-to-find-climbing-partners",[3056,7759,562],"partners","OCUJKlnNZKbUDxz4lxSjvWSRKM_ciWCO7SY49F49u5A",{"id":7762,"title":7763,"author":7,"body":7764,"category":141,"date":7832,"description":7833,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7834,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":7835,"imageCreditUrl":7836,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":7837,"navigation":152,"path":7838,"readTime":154,"seo":7839,"stem":7840,"tags":7841,"__hash__":7842},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fheel-hooks-when-to-use-them-and-how.md","Heel hooks: when to use them and how",{"type":9,"value":7765,"toc":7826},[7766,7770,7773,7776,7780,7783,7786,7800,7804,7807,7810,7813,7817,7820,7823],[12,7767,7769],{"id":7768},"a-third-hand-on-steep-ground","A third hand on steep ground",[17,7771,7772],{},"A heel hook turns your leg into something close to an extra arm. Instead of standing on a foot, you hook the heel over or onto a hold and pull with it, using your hamstring and the back of your leg to keep tension and stop your body swinging away from the wall. On overhangs and lips it is one of the most useful tools you have, because it lets you take weight off your hands at exactly the angles where your hands are struggling most.",[17,7774,7775],{},"The classic place you meet it is the topout of a boulder, where you throw a heel over the lip and rock up onto it to stand. But heel hooks earn their keep all over steep terrain: keeping your hips in on a roof, stopping a swing after a big move, or simply giving you a point to pull against so a reach goes static.",[12,7777,7779],{"id":7778},"when-a-heel-hook-is-the-answer","When a heel hook is the answer",[17,7781,7782],{},"Reach for a heel hook when staying on the wall is the hard part, not when standing up is. That means steep ground, lips, and anywhere your body wants to peel away from the rock. The signs are familiar: your feet keep cutting loose, your hips sag, or you have a hold up at waist height or higher that you could hook rather than step on.",[17,7784,7785],{},"A few specific cases:",[70,7787,7788,7791,7794,7797],{},[73,7789,7790],{},"Topouts and lips, where a heel over the edge lets you rock up instead of mantling blind.",[73,7792,7793],{},"After a big move, where a pre-placed heel stops you barn-dooring off.",[73,7795,7796],{},"On a roof, where a heel keeps your hips pressed up and your core engaged.",[73,7798,7799],{},"Reaches off undercuts, where pulling with the heel frees a hand.",[12,7801,7803],{"id":7802},"how-to-place-and-weight-it","How to place and weight it",[17,7805,7806],{},"Placement matters more than strength. Put the back or the inside of your heel onto the hold, not the bony point, and aim for as much rubber in contact as you can get. Then think about the direction of pull. A heel hook only works if you pull against it, so set it so that you can drag your hips towards it and load the hamstring.",[17,7808,7809],{},"Once it is on, engage it actively. Pull your heel in towards your body and squeeze, drawing your hips up and in. A passive heel that just rests on the hold does nothing. You want to feel the hamstring switch on and your weight transfer off your hands and onto that leg. Keep your toes pointed and your ankle firm so the heel does not roll off the hold.",[17,7811,7812],{},"The single most common error is placing the heel and then forgetting to pull with it. The second is placing it too far away, so you cannot actually load it without overextending. Get it close enough that you can drive your hips towards it.",[12,7814,7816],{"id":7815},"trust-it-and-look-after-the-hamstring","Trust it, and look after the hamstring",[17,7818,7819],{},"Heel hooks fail when you do not commit. Half-trusting the heel and keeping your weight on your arms gives you the worst of both, so once it is set, properly transfer your weight onto it and let your hands relax. The first time you do this on a roof and feel the pump drain out of your forearms, it sells itself.",[17,7821,7822],{},"One word of caution. A hard heel hook loads the hamstring at a stretched position, and yanking into a maximal heel cold is a good way to tweak it. Warm up, ease into the big ones, and back off if you feel a sharp pull behind the knee or in the hamstring.",[17,7824,7825],{},"Like most technique, this gets automatic with reps on easy terrain. Spend a few sessions hunting for heels on steep problems below your limit, and you will start seeing them in the read before you pull on. Logging which problems finally went once you found the heel is a satisfying way to watch the skill come good over a season.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7827},[7828,7829,7830,7831],{"id":7768,"depth":132,"text":7769},{"id":7778,"depth":132,"text":7779},{"id":7802,"depth":132,"text":7803},{"id":7815,"depth":132,"text":7816},"2025-04-25","A practical guide to placing, weighting and trusting a heel hook on overhangs and topouts.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1517599652-86163851f0de?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","David Pisnoy","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@davidpisnoy",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fheel-hooks-when-to-use-them-and-how",{"title":7763,"description":7833},"blog\u002Fheel-hooks-when-to-use-them-and-how",[290,437,1632],"3-GitPr-obZXUur8Fc3M8iynEEHeZY-qowQg_EQAFMQ",{"id":7844,"title":7845,"author":7,"body":7846,"category":2555,"date":7902,"description":7903,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":7904,"imageAlt":7905,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":7906,"mapLabel":7915,"mapLat":7916,"mapLng":7917,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":6415,"meta":7918,"navigation":152,"path":7919,"readTime":4146,"seo":7920,"stem":7921,"tags":7922,"__hash__":7924},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-bishop.md","Bouldering in Bishop",{"type":9,"value":7847,"toc":7897},[7848,7851,7855,7858,7861,7863,7874,7878,7881,7884,7888,7891,7894],[17,7849,7850],{},"Bishop sits in the Owens Valley, tucked between the Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains in eastern California. It is one of the great bouldering towns, and the reason climbers drive here through the winter is simple: cold, dry desert air over some of the best granite and volcanic rock you will ever put your hands on. The town itself is small, friendly and built around the climbing season, which runs roughly from October through to April.",[12,7852,7854],{"id":7853},"the-buttermilks","The Buttermilks",[17,7856,7857],{},"The Buttermilks are the postcard. A scattering of huge granite blocs sit on a high plain with Mount Tom and the Sierra crest rising behind them, and the rock is coarse, grippy and unforgiving on the skin. This is high-ball country, where problems run well above the height most people are comfortable falling from, so a deep stack of pads and a few attentive spotters are not optional extras.",[17,7859,7860],{},"The grades here are stiff and the style is specific. Expect rounded slopers, shallow crimps and the kind of committing top-outs that ask as much of your nerve as your fingers. Classics like the Buttermilks have a reputation for feeling a grade or two harder than the number suggests, partly because the granite punishes poor footwork and partly because the exposure gets into your head. If you are new to the area, spend your first day on the smaller blocs to learn how the rock behaves before you commit to anything tall.",[17,7862,3134],{},[70,7864,7865,7868,7871],{},[73,7866,7867],{},"The approach is short but the ground is sandy and the blocs are spread out, so a wheeled crash pad or a good carry system saves your back.",[73,7869,7870],{},"Skin management matters more here than almost anywhere. The granite is abrasive, and three days on it without a rest will leave your tips raw.",[73,7872,7873],{},"Mornings can be properly cold, so warm up carefully. Cold fingers on slopers is a fast route to a tweaked tendon.",[12,7875,7877],{"id":7876},"the-tablelands","The Tablelands",[17,7879,7880],{},"A short drive away, the Tablelands offer a completely different texture. This is volcanic tuff, riddled with pockets, huecos and scoops, and it rewards a more technical, three-dimensional style of climbing. The Happy Boulders and Sad Boulders sit in shallow gorges, which means they hold shade and shelter from wind, making them a good call when the Buttermilks are too cold or too breezy.",[17,7882,7883],{},"The pockets here can be sharp, so tape is sensible, and the grades tend to feel more honest than out on the granite. Many climbers split their trip between the two zones: the Tablelands for higher-volume days where you tick a lot of problems, the Buttermilks for the showpiece lines you remember for years.",[12,7885,7887],{"id":7886},"making-the-most-of-a-trip","Making the most of a trip",[17,7889,7890],{},"The window is everything. Bishop is at altitude in a high desert, so you want crisp, dry conditions with friction-friendly temperatures. Cold clear days after a spell of dry weather are gold. Check forecasts for both temperature and humidity, and be ready to chase shade or sun depending on the day.",[17,7892,7893],{},"Plan rest days into the trip rather than hoping to climb straight through. The combination of abrasive rock, dry air and altitude wears skin and bodies down faster than a normal gym week. Hot springs dot the valley, the town has good coffee and food, and a deliberate rest day will get you more sends than gritting through tired tips.",[17,7895,7896],{},"Keep notes on what you try and what conditions felt good. Knowing that a particular bloc comes into the shade by early afternoon, or that your skin needs a full day to recover on the granite, is the kind of local knowledge that turns a decent trip into a brilliant one. Logging your sessions in Sendit makes that pattern easy to spot next time you are planning a return.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":7898},[7899,7900,7901],{"id":7853,"depth":132,"text":7854},{"id":7876,"depth":132,"text":7877},{"id":7886,"depth":132,"text":7887},"2025-04-18","High desert blocs in California — the Buttermilks and the Tablelands, and the cold clear days they reward.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fbouldering-in-bishop.jpg","Satellite view of The Buttermilks, Bishop, California",[7907,7910,7912,7914],[7908,7909],37.3292,-118.5808,[7908,7911],-118.5738,[7913,7911],37.3224,[7913,7909],"The Buttermilks, Bishop, California",37.3258,-118.5772,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-bishop",{"title":7845,"description":7903},"blog\u002Fbouldering-in-bishop",[2589,293,7923],"usa","czIv4XCpqb-82AYRjDGW8mQb2MtiWOmeUfHUjwg-ymU",{"id":7926,"title":7927,"author":7,"body":7928,"category":1811,"date":8022,"description":8023,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8024,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":8025,"imageCreditUrl":8026,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8027,"navigation":152,"path":8028,"readTime":154,"seo":8029,"stem":8030,"tags":8031,"__hash__":8032},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Faggressive-moderate-or-neutral-choosing-a-climbing-shoe-shape.md","Aggressive, moderate or neutral: choosing a climbing shoe shape",{"type":9,"value":7929,"toc":8015},[7930,7933,7937,7943,7949,7952,7956,7959,7962,7966,7969,7972,7976,7979,7982,7986,7989,8009,8012],[17,7931,7932],{},"Walk into a gear shop and the wall of climbing shoes sorts itself into three rough families: flat ones, slightly curved ones, and ones that look like a banana doing yoga. Those shapes are not just styling. Downturn and asymmetry are the two levers shoe designers pull, and understanding what they do is the difference between buying a shoe that helps you and one that fights you.",[12,7934,7936],{"id":7935},"the-two-things-that-change","The two things that change",[17,7938,7939,7942],{},[76,7940,7941],{},"Downturn"," is how much the shoe curves down towards the toe. A flat shoe lets your foot sit naturally. A downturned shoe pre-loads your toes into a hooked, talon-like position, which lets you pull on small holds and stand on steep ground where a flat foot would slide off.",[17,7944,7945,7948],{},[76,7946,7947],{},"Asymmetry"," is how much the shoe's power is pulled across towards the big toe. The more asymmetric the shoe, the more it concentrates force onto a single point of your foot — precise on tiny edges and pockets, but increasingly uncomfortable to wear.",[17,7950,7951],{},"The general rule: more downturn and more asymmetry means more power and precision, but less comfort. Every shoe is a trade-off along that line, and the right spot depends entirely on what you climb.",[12,7953,7955],{"id":7954},"neutral-and-flat","Neutral and flat",[17,7957,7958],{},"Neutral shoes lie your toes flat and are the most comfortable to wear. That comfort is the point. They shine on slab, in cracks where you need to jam your foot, and on all-day multipitch routes where wearing an aggressive shoe for hours would be torture. They are also the sensible choice for beginners, because forgiving comfort beats borrowed power while your footwork develops.",[17,7960,7961],{},"The La Sportiva TC Pro is the classic flatter shoe here — a stiff, supportive design with a reputation built on long routes and crack climbing.",[12,7963,7965],{"id":7964},"moderate","Moderate",[17,7967,7968],{},"Moderate shoes carry a slight downturn and are the genuine all-rounders. They give you enough shape to be precise on technical face climbing and steeper sport routes without punishing your feet over a long day. If you do a bit of everything and only want one pair, this is usually the family to shop in.",[17,7970,7971],{},"The La Sportiva Katana and the Scarpa Vapor are well-regarded examples — shoes people reach for across sport routes, vertical face and multipitch alike.",[12,7973,7975],{"id":7974},"aggressive","Aggressive",[17,7977,7978],{},"Aggressive shoes are strongly downturned and asymmetric, putting your power right over the big toe. That makes them excellent on steep and overhanging bouldering and sport climbing, where you need to claw onto small footholds and keep tension through your toes on terrain that is trying to spit you off. The cost is comfort: they are not shoes you want to leave on between attempts, let alone for a whole pitch.",[17,7980,7981],{},"The La Sportiva Solution, the Scarpa Instinct VS and the La Sportiva Skwama are names that come up constantly for steep climbing — the kind of shoe you slip on for a hard boulder and pull off the moment you top out.",[12,7983,7985],{"id":7984},"how-to-choose","How to choose",[17,7987,7988],{},"Start with the climbing you actually do most, not the climbing you aspire to.",[70,7990,7991,7997,8003],{},[73,7992,7993,7996],{},[76,7994,7995],{},"Mostly slab, cracks or long routes, or just starting out:"," a neutral, flat shoe.",[73,7998,7999,8002],{},[76,8000,8001],{},"A bit of everything, or you want one versatile pair:"," a moderate shoe.",[73,8004,8005,8008],{},[76,8006,8007],{},"Steep gym sessions, overhangs and hard boulders:"," an aggressive shoe — ideally as a second pair once you have the footwork to use it.",[17,8010,8011],{},"Fit still trumps shape. The most aggressive shoe in the shop is useless if it does not fit your foot, and plenty of strong climbers happily pull hard in moderate shoes. Many climbers end up with two pairs over time — a comfy all-day shoe and an aggressive specialist — and switch depending on the day.",[17,8013,8014],{},"If you are unsure where you sit, log a few sessions and look at where you actually spend your time. If most of your climbing is vertical and technical, a banana-shaped shoe will mostly just hurt; if you live on the steep wall, the comfort of a flat shoe is power you are leaving on the table.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8016},[8017,8018,8019,8020,8021],{"id":7935,"depth":132,"text":7936},{"id":7954,"depth":132,"text":7955},{"id":7964,"depth":132,"text":7965},{"id":7974,"depth":132,"text":7975},{"id":7984,"depth":132,"text":7985},"2025-04-11","What downturn and asymmetry actually do, and which shoe shape suits the climbing you do.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1480970653448-02835da67676?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Lionello DelPiccolo","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@liodp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Faggressive-moderate-or-neutral-choosing-a-climbing-shoe-shape",{"title":7927,"description":8023},"blog\u002Faggressive-moderate-or-neutral-choosing-a-climbing-shoe-shape",[1822,2440,290],"9OJHfS924_0wvC4x9MRw7bz0j5DazTh-57wM3N1ElMw",{"id":8034,"title":8035,"author":7,"body":8036,"category":2366,"date":8232,"description":8233,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8234,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":8235,"imageCreditUrl":8236,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8237,"navigation":152,"path":8238,"readTime":4146,"seo":8239,"stem":8240,"tags":8241,"__hash__":8243},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-climbing-slang-glossary.md","A climbing slang glossary",{"type":9,"value":8037,"toc":8225},[8038,8042,8045,8049,8052,8084,8088,8091,8123,8127,8130,8183,8187,8190,8222],[12,8039,8041],{"id":8040},"the-language-of-the-wall","The language of the wall",[17,8043,8044],{},"Walk into any climbing gym and within five minutes you will hear a sentence that sounds like English but isn't. People get beached, send their project, throw for a jug, and complain about being gripped. None of it is in the dictionary, and most of it gets passed down by overhearing rather than asking. Here is a friendly tour of the words that come up most, so you can stop nodding politely and start joining in.",[12,8046,8048],{"id":8047},"the-essentials","The essentials",[17,8050,8051],{},"A few terms do most of the heavy lifting in everyday climbing chat.",[70,8053,8054,8060,8066,8072,8078],{},[73,8055,8056,8059],{},[76,8057,8058],{},"Send"," — to climb a route or problem cleanly from start to finish without falling or resting on the rope. \"I sent it\" is the phrase everyone is chasing.",[73,8061,8062,8065],{},[76,8063,8064],{},"Project"," — a climb that is currently too hard for you, that you keep coming back to. Used as a verb too: you can project a route over many sessions.",[73,8067,8068,8071],{},[76,8069,8070],{},"Beta"," — information about how to do the moves. \"What's the beta for the crux?\" The opposite is a flash, where you do a climb first try having only been given beta, versus an onsight, where you had no information at all.",[73,8073,8074,8077],{},[76,8075,8076],{},"Pumped"," — when your forearms fill with blood and acid and your grip starts to fail. Severe cases end in a \"screaming barfies\" of pain when blood returns to cold, pumped hands.",[73,8079,8080,8083],{},[76,8081,8082],{},"Crux"," — the hardest single move or section of a climb.",[12,8085,8087],{"id":8086},"states-of-mind-and-body","States of mind and body",[17,8089,8090],{},"Climbing has a rich vocabulary for the way it makes you feel, most of it unflattering.",[70,8092,8093,8099,8105,8111,8117],{},[73,8094,8095,8098],{},[76,8096,8097],{},"Gripped"," — frozen with fear, usually high above your last bit of protection. A close cousin of being \"spooked\".",[73,8100,8101,8104],{},[76,8102,8103],{},"Beached"," — stuck on top of a boulder or move, flailing like a fish, unable to commit to standing up. The mantle that goes wrong.",[73,8106,8107,8110],{},[76,8108,8109],{},"Chuffed"," — genuinely pleased, often after a hard send. British understatement at its finest.",[73,8112,8113,8116],{},[76,8114,8115],{},"Sandbagged"," — given a grade that is far too soft for how hard the climb actually is. Older crags, particularly on gritstone, are famously sandbagged.",[73,8118,8119,8122],{},[76,8120,8121],{},"Spray"," — unsolicited beta or boasting. Someone who \"sprays beta\" tells you how to do a climb you didn't ask about.",[12,8124,8126],{"id":8125},"moves-and-holds","Moves and holds",[17,8128,8129],{},"The physical vocabulary is where it gets technical, and getting it right makes beta far easier to share.",[70,8131,8132,8150,8159,8165,8171,8177],{},[73,8133,8134,8137,8138,8141,8142,8145,8146,8149],{},[76,8135,8136],{},"Crimp"," — a small edge held with bent fingers. A ",[76,8139,8140],{},"sloper"," is a rounded, holdless-feeling blob you grip with open friction. A ",[76,8143,8144],{},"jug"," is a big, positive hold you can wrap your whole hand around. A ",[76,8147,8148],{},"pinch"," is squeezed between thumb and fingers.",[73,8151,8152,8155,8156,8158],{},[76,8153,8154],{},"Heel hook"," — using the heel as an extra hand, hooked over an edge or hold to pull yourself in. A ",[76,8157,438],{}," does the same with the top of the foot.",[73,8160,8161,8164],{},[76,8162,8163],{},"Drop knee"," — turning a knee inward and down to twist your hip into the wall, taking weight off your arms.",[73,8166,8167,8170],{},[76,8168,8169],{},"Flag"," — sticking a leg out to one side, not on a hold, purely to balance against a swing or barn-door.",[73,8172,8173,8176],{},[76,8174,8175],{},"Dyno"," — a dynamic move where both hands and usually both feet leave the wall as you jump for a hold.",[73,8178,8179,8182],{},[76,8180,8181],{},"Smear"," — pressing the sole of your shoe flat against blank rock and trusting the friction.",[12,8184,8186],{"id":8185},"outdoors-and-gear","Outdoors and gear",[17,8188,8189],{},"A handful more come up once you leave the gym.",[70,8191,8192,8206,8216],{},[73,8193,8194,8197,8198,8201,8202,8205],{},[76,8195,8196],{},"Crag"," — an outdoor climbing area. A ",[76,8199,8200],{},"bloc"," is a single boulder. ",[76,8203,8204],{},"Topping out"," means climbing over the top rather than lowering off.",[73,8207,8208,8211,8212,8215],{},[76,8209,8210],{},"Whipper"," — a long lead fall. ",[76,8213,8214],{},"Take"," is what you shout when you want the belayer to hold you on the rope.",[73,8217,8218,8221],{},[76,8219,8220],{},"Beta video"," — footage of someone doing the climb, increasingly how people learn outdoor problems before they visit.",[17,8223,8224],{},"You will pick up the rest by osmosis. Climbers love to talk, and there is no faster way to learn the slang than by getting pumped, getting beached, and being chuffed when it finally goes. Keeping a log of your sends, with a note of the beta that worked, turns all this vocabulary into something genuinely useful the next time you tie in.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8226},[8227,8228,8229,8230,8231],{"id":8040,"depth":132,"text":8041},{"id":8047,"depth":132,"text":8048},{"id":8086,"depth":132,"text":8087},{"id":8125,"depth":132,"text":8126},{"id":8185,"depth":132,"text":8186},"2025-04-04","Pumped, beached, chuffed, gripped — a friendly A-to-Z of the words you will hear at the wall.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1522527414937-8b7363e8701d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Charlie Hammond","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@charlieh",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-climbing-slang-glossary",{"title":8035,"description":8233},"blog\u002Fa-climbing-slang-glossary",[2376,2377,8242],"reference","FsAo1gcPuHjSFWswW6dfJCxX70MWUzxz8SkQHkA21II",{"id":8245,"title":8246,"author":7,"body":8247,"category":2464,"date":8347,"description":8348,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8349,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":8350,"imageCreditUrl":8351,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8352,"navigation":152,"path":8353,"readTime":154,"seo":8354,"stem":8355,"tags":8356,"__hash__":8358},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-day-climbing-what-to-expect.md","Your first day climbing: what to expect",{"type":9,"value":8248,"toc":8341},[8249,8253,8256,8259,8262,8266,8269,8289,8292,8296,8299,8302,8328,8331,8335,8338],[12,8250,8252],{"id":8251},"walking-in-the-door","Walking in the door",[17,8254,8255],{},"The first time you walk into a climbing gym it can feel like everyone else knows a secret you don't. They don't, mostly. Everyone there was a beginner once, and the climbing crowd is generally friendly and happy to point you in the right direction.",[17,8257,8258],{},"When you arrive you will usually need to register, which often means watching a short safety briefing or filling in a waiver. If the gym has roped climbing, you may be asked whether you can belay, and if you cannot, you will be steered towards the bouldering area or booked onto an induction. None of this is a test. It is just the gym making sure nobody gets hurt.",[17,8260,8261],{},"Most newcomers start with bouldering: climbing on shorter walls, usually no higher than four or five metres, with thick padded mats underneath and no rope. It is the simplest way in. You climb, you come down or fall off, you land on the mat, you go again.",[12,8263,8265],{"id":8264},"what-you-actually-need","What you actually need",[17,8267,8268],{},"You need far less than the shop displays suggest. For a first session, the honest list is short.",[70,8270,8271,8277,8283],{},[73,8272,8273,8276],{},[76,8274,8275],{},"Comfortable clothes you can move in."," Leggings, gym shorts, an old t-shirt. Anything that lets you high-step and reach overhead.",[73,8278,8279,8282],{},[76,8280,8281],{},"Climbing shoes."," You can hire these at the desk for a few pounds, and on day one you absolutely should rather than buying. Rentals are fine for learning whether you even enjoy this.",[73,8284,8285,8288],{},[76,8286,8287],{},"A bit of chalk, maybe."," It keeps your hands dry. Most gyms sell or hire it, and you genuinely do not need it for an easy first session.",[17,8290,8291],{},"That is the lot. No harness, no rope, no expensive kit. If you end up loving it, the gear can come later, and we have written separately about what is actually worth buying.",[12,8293,8295],{"id":8294},"how-to-spend-the-session","How to spend the session",[17,8297,8298],{},"The single biggest mistake beginners make is going too hard too fast. The forearms tire quickly when everything is new, and the grippy enthusiasm of a first session can leave you with shredded fingertips and nothing left after twenty minutes.",[17,8300,8301],{},"A better shape for the day:",[70,8303,8304,8310,8316,8322],{},[73,8305,8306,8309],{},[76,8307,8308],{},"Warm up on easy stuff."," Start on the gentlest problems, the ones that feel almost too simple. They wake up your hands and teach your body how the holds work.",[73,8311,8312,8315],{},[76,8313,8314],{},"Climb with your feet, not just your arms."," The instinct is to haul with the arms. Try instead to push up with your legs and keep your arms straighter. It is the foundation of good technique and it saves your grip.",[73,8317,8318,8321],{},[76,8319,8320],{},"Rest properly between climbs."," Sit down, shake your arms out, watch other people. Climbing is not a cardio grind. The rests are part of it.",[73,8323,8324,8327],{},[76,8325,8326],{},"Stop before you are wrecked."," An hour to ninety minutes is plenty for a first go. Leaving with something in the tank means you will want to come back.",[17,8329,8330],{},"Falling is part of it and the mats are there for exactly that reason. On boulders, learn to land with bent knees and roll backwards rather than sticking out a stiff arm. The staff will happily show you how.",[12,8332,8334],{"id":8333},"coming-back","Coming back",[17,8336,8337],{},"The aim of a first session is not to climb hard. It is to enjoy yourself enough to return, because climbing rewards the people who keep turning up far more than the people who try to be good on day one. You will be a bit sore the next morning, particularly in the forearms and the strange small muscles of the hands. That fades fast as your body adapts.",[17,8339,8340],{},"Bring a friend if you can. Climbing is social, and having someone to puzzle over a problem with makes the whole thing better. Beyond that, just be curious, take your time, and treat the first day as the start of something rather than a performance to nail. Most people who give it a fair go end up hooked.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8342},[8343,8344,8345,8346],{"id":8251,"depth":132,"text":8252},{"id":8264,"depth":132,"text":8265},{"id":8294,"depth":132,"text":8295},{"id":8333,"depth":132,"text":8334},"2025-03-28","What happens at the gym, what gear you need, and how to spend a first session so you come back.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1703949174168-dc487811ab05?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Lukas K","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@lucniner",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-day-climbing-what-to-expect",{"title":8246,"description":8348},"blog\u002Fyour-first-day-climbing-what-to-expect",[562,8357,4919],"first session","mhtPz1kKnVp0_6oC0-KwudbysDmvjxLCQ0KK4qnkz6M",{"id":8360,"title":8361,"author":7,"body":8362,"category":2464,"date":8424,"description":8425,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8426,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":8350,"imageCreditUrl":8351,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8427,"navigation":152,"path":8428,"readTime":1547,"seo":8429,"stem":8430,"tags":8431,"__hash__":8432},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftop-rope-vs-lead-what-is-the-difference.md","Top-rope vs lead: what is the difference?",{"type":9,"value":8363,"toc":8418},[8364,8367,8371,8374,8377,8381,8384,8387,8391,8394,8397,8408,8412,8415],[17,8365,8366],{},"If you have started climbing on a rope, you have probably heard the words top-rope and lead thrown around and wondered what separates them. Both get you up the same walls, but the rope works in a completely different way, and that difference changes how the climbing feels, how falls happen, and how much there is to learn.",[12,8368,8370],{"id":8369},"how-top-rope-works","How top-rope works",[17,8372,8373],{},"On top-rope, the rope is already running up to an anchor at the top of the route and back down to your belayer. You tie into one end, the belayer holds the other, and as you climb they take in the slack so the rope is always taut above you.",[17,8375,8376],{},"The big consequence is that you can never fall far. If you slip, you weight a rope that is already over your head, so you drop a few centimetres at most before the system catches you. That makes top-rope the calmest, most forgiving way to climb a full route. You can focus entirely on movement, footwork and route reading without much fear of falling, which is exactly why almost everyone learns this way first.",[12,8378,8380],{"id":8379},"how-lead-works","How lead works",[17,8382,8383],{},"Leading is a different game. There is no rope waiting at the top. You set off from the ground with the rope tied to your harness and trailing down to your belayer, and you clip it into a series of quickdraws as you climb past them. The rope only protects you up to the last draw you clipped.",[17,8385,8386],{},"That means a lead fall is a real fall. If you are above your last clip and you come off, you drop past it and a bit beyond before the rope comes tight — the higher above the draw you are, the further you go. Outdoors you place your own protection or clip pre-placed bolts; indoors the draws are fixed to the wall. Either way, leading adds layers: clipping cleanly, managing rope drag, and staying composed when you are looking at a fall rather than a gentle lower.",[12,8388,8390],{"id":8389},"which-to-learn-first","Which to learn first",[17,8392,8393],{},"Top-rope, almost always. It lets you build the fundamentals — endurance, technique, comfort on steep terrain — in a low-consequence setting, and it teaches you to belay before you have to belay a leader, which is a harder skill again. Most gyms require a top-rope competency check before they will let you anywhere near lead.",[17,8395,8396],{},"When you do move to lead, expect a proper learning curve:",[70,8398,8399,8402,8405],{},[73,8400,8401],{},"Clipping takes practice. Doing it quickly, with either hand, from a stable position is a skill in itself.",[73,8403,8404],{},"Lead belaying is more active — feeding slack, taking it back, and giving a soft catch.",[73,8406,8407],{},"The mental side is the real shift. You have to get comfortable falling on lead before you can climb at your limit.",[12,8409,8411],{"id":8410},"the-step-is-worth-taking","The step is worth taking",[17,8413,8414],{},"Top-rope will never run out of value. Plenty of strong climbers happily lap routes on top-rope for fitness and fun. But lead opens up outdoor sport climbing, longer routes and a kind of focus you do not get when the rope is always tight above you.",[17,8416,8417],{},"Treat the move to lead as its own discipline rather than a quick upgrade. Take a course or get taught by someone experienced, practise clipping on easy ground, and learn to take falls deliberately in a safe spot. Do it properly and leading becomes one of the most rewarding parts of climbing on a rope.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8419},[8420,8421,8422,8423],{"id":8369,"depth":132,"text":8370},{"id":8379,"depth":132,"text":8380},{"id":8389,"depth":132,"text":8390},{"id":8410,"depth":132,"text":8411},"2025-03-21","How the two rope systems work, which to learn first, and what changes when you start leading.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1703949056143-b6e342476ee3?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftop-rope-vs-lead-what-is-the-difference",{"title":8361,"description":8425},"blog\u002Ftop-rope-vs-lead-what-is-the-difference",[562,6163,3594],"3ulFOPg_FG9N2N2-dRcB_mtmGfsAGCM2TMzaR8Kh1_A",{"id":8434,"title":8435,"author":7,"body":8436,"category":2785,"date":8507,"description":8508,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8509,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":8510,"imageCreditUrl":8511,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8512,"navigation":152,"path":8513,"readTime":154,"seo":8514,"stem":8515,"tags":8516,"__hash__":8517},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-ethics-tick-marks-chipping-and-brushing.md","Climbing ethics: tick marks, chipping and brushing",{"type":9,"value":8437,"toc":8501},[8438,8441,8445,8448,8451,8454,8458,8461,8464,8475,8478,8482,8485,8488,8491,8495,8498],[17,8439,8440],{},"Climbing has no referee. Out at the crag there is no staff member checking your harness or telling you where to chalk. The sport runs almost entirely on shared etiquette, passed down climber to climber, and most of it comes down to one idea: leave the rock the way you found it, so the next person gets the same experience you did. Three habits sit at the heart of that, and getting them right marks you out as someone who actually respects the place.",[12,8442,8444],{"id":8443},"tick-marks","Tick marks",[17,8446,8447],{},"A tick mark is a small dash of chalk you put on the rock to show yourself where a hold or foot is, usually for a blind move you cannot see from below. Used sparingly they are a legitimate tool. The problem is when they pile up.",[17,8449,8450],{},"Walk under a popular boulder and you will sometimes find it plastered in white smears, every hold ringed, the whole line spoiled for the next climber who wanted to read it for themselves. Worse, chalk left in the weather builds up, attracts more chalk, and over time genuinely changes how a problem looks and feels.",[17,8452,8453],{},"The rule is simple. If you tick, you brush it off before you leave. Your beta is your business, not a permanent mark on someone else's project.",[12,8455,8457],{"id":8456},"brushing","Brushing",[17,8459,8460],{},"Brushing is the quiet courtesy that keeps holds usable. Repeated chalking and skin oil build up a glassy residue that kills friction, especially on slopers and small crimps. A soft brush clears that off and restores the texture.",[17,8462,8463],{},"Brush at the right moments:",[70,8465,8466,8469,8472],{},[73,8467,8468],{},"After working a problem, brush the holds you have caked in chalk.",[73,8470,8471],{},"Brush off any tick marks you made.",[73,8473,8474],{},"Use a soft brush, never a wire one, which scratches and polishes the rock.",[17,8476,8477],{},"Avoid brushing soft or damp rock such as wet sandstone, which can strip the surface entirely. Done well, brushing is one of those small acts that quietly improves the crag for everyone who follows.",[12,8479,8481],{"id":8480},"chipping","Chipping",[17,8483,8484],{},"This is the line you never cross. Chipping means altering the rock to create or improve holds, whether by drilling, gluing, breaking off features or filing edges to make a move possible. It is the cardinal sin of outdoor climbing, and for good reason.",[17,8486,8487],{},"A natural line is a finite thing. Once someone chips it, the original challenge is gone forever, and so is any chance for a future climber to do it as it was. It is vandalism dressed up as ambition, usually by someone unwilling to accept that a route might simply be too hard for them right now. The honest response to a move you cannot do is to get stronger, find different beta, or leave it for someone who can. Not to take a chisel to centuries-old stone.",[17,8489,8490],{},"Reinforcing a crumbling hold or cleaning loose rock for safety is a grey area handled by established locals and developers, not something to take on yourself on a popular established climb. As a visitor, the rule is absolute: never chip, never glue, never file. If a hold breaks naturally, that is part of the rock's life. If you deliberately change it, you have taken something that was not yours to take.",[12,8492,8494],{"id":8493},"why-it-matters","Why it matters",[17,8496,8497],{},"These habits are not gatekeeping for the sake of it. Crags get closed when landowners and communities decide climbers are not worth the bother, and damaged, defaced rock is exactly the kind of thing that tips that decision. Every brushed tick mark and every untouched hold is a small vote to keep access open.",[17,8499,8500],{},"The good news is that all of this is easy. Carry a brush. Tick lightly and clean up after yourself. Treat the rock as something you are borrowing rather than something you own. Logging your sessions and noting the conditions of the lines you climb is a nice way to stay aware of how the crag changes over time, and to do your bit to keep it in good shape for the people climbing it long after you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8502},[8503,8504,8505,8506],{"id":8443,"depth":132,"text":8444},{"id":8456,"depth":132,"text":8457},{"id":8480,"depth":132,"text":8481},{"id":8493,"depth":132,"text":8494},"2025-03-14","The unwritten rules that keep rock and reputations intact — brush your tick marks, never chip.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1509737443057-96f30a3480da?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jackson Hendry","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@actionjackson801",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-ethics-tick-marks-chipping-and-brushing",{"title":8435,"description":8508},"blog\u002Fclimbing-ethics-tick-marks-chipping-and-brushing",[7598,3168,3056],"GnjrttGKpCNtfY8TYaRkLmF5LzFudRhtNKtgAYYPpQI",{"id":8519,"title":8520,"author":7,"body":8521,"category":141,"date":8589,"description":8590,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8591,"imageAlt":2111,"imageCredit":8592,"imageCreditUrl":8593,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8594,"navigation":152,"path":8595,"readTime":1547,"seo":8596,"stem":8597,"tags":8598,"__hash__":8600},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-rest-on-the-wall.md","How to rest on the wall",{"type":9,"value":8522,"toc":8583},[8523,8526,8530,8533,8536,8540,8543,8546,8557,8560,8564,8567,8570,8573,8577,8580],[17,8524,8525],{},"Most climbers think the way to get up a long route is to be fitter. Often the real answer is to rest better. A good shake-out can give you back most of what a hard section took out of you, and the difference between fluffing the last few moves and clipping the chains is usually recovery, not raw power.",[12,8527,8529],{"id":8528},"find-the-rest-before-you-need-it","Find the rest before you need it",[17,8531,8532],{},"When you read a route from the ground, do not just look for the cruxes. Look for the rests. A jug at a corner, a stance where your hips can sit over your feet, a slab section between two steep walls. These are where the route is handing you free recovery, and the climbers who top out fresh are the ones who spot them early and commit to using them.",[17,8534,8535],{},"The best rests are the ones that take weight off your arms entirely. A no-hands stance on a slab is gold. So is a deep kneebar in a roof, where you cam a thigh against a hold and hang off your skeleton instead of your forearms. Even on steep ground, a good heel hook can pull you into the wall enough to let an arm go.",[12,8537,8539],{"id":8538},"get-the-position-right-first","Get the position right first",[17,8541,8542],{},"A shake-out only works if you are actually resting, not just hanging there pumping out more slowly. The aim is to get as much load as possible onto your bones and your feet, and as little as possible onto your gripping muscles.",[17,8544,8545],{},"Some things to sort out before you start shaking:",[70,8547,8548,8551,8554],{},[73,8549,8550],{},"Straight arms, hanging off the skeleton, not bent and holding tension.",[73,8552,8553],{},"Hips in close to the wall and over your feet, so your legs carry the weight.",[73,8555,8556],{},"A relaxed grip on the resting hand, open and loose rather than crimped tight.",[17,8558,8559],{},"If you find a heel or a toe hook that takes real load, use it. Dropping a heel onto a hold beside your hands can turn a marginal stance into a proper rest by pinning your body to the wall and freeing an arm to shake.",[12,8561,8563],{"id":8562},"shake-breathe-swap","Shake, breathe, swap",[17,8565,8566],{},"Once you are settled, shake one arm out low, down by your hip where the blood can drain back in. Some climbers like the slow dangle and gentle wrist circles, others a quicker flick. Both work; the point is to relax the forearm completely between holds. Then swap, and shake the other.",[17,8568,8569],{},"Breathe while you do it. Under stress most people hold their breath, which does you no favours when you are trying to recover. Slow, even breaths through the rest help your heart rate settle and your head calm down at the same time.",[17,8571,8572],{},"How long to stay is a judgement call. Early in a route you can take a generous rest because you have time to spend. Near the top, hanging around can cost more than it gives, especially on a stance that is only half a rest. The honest test is simple: if your forearm feels softer and your grip feels surer than when you arrived, the rest is working. If you are just slowly leaking, move on before it gets worse.",[12,8574,8576],{"id":8575},"practise-it-like-a-skill","Practise it like a skill",[17,8578,8579],{},"Resting is a skill, and like any skill it gets better with deliberate practice. Next time you are on an easy route or doing laps, stop at a jug and actually run a full shake-out even though you do not need it. Learn what a real recovery feels like in your arms so you recognise a good stance the moment you reach one.",[17,8581,8582],{},"Get this dialled and you will climb routes a full grade or more above what your fitness alone would allow. The strongest forearms in the gym still lose to someone who knows how to switch off mid-pitch and switch back on for the crux.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8584},[8585,8586,8587,8588],{"id":8528,"depth":132,"text":8529},{"id":8538,"depth":132,"text":8539},{"id":8562,"depth":132,"text":8563},{"id":8575,"depth":132,"text":8576},"2025-03-07","Finding the shake-out, dropping a heel, and recovering mid-route so you reach the top with something left.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1516372048654-2e06f99e1382?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jef Willemyns","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@jefwillemyns",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-rest-on-the-wall",{"title":8520,"description":8590},"blog\u002Fhow-to-rest-on-the-wall",[290,8599,1633],"endurance","lt1ovR3G27YEHq8z0NuxpKqT1VsXbM3a8fORoLwiC_4",{"id":8602,"title":8603,"author":7,"body":8604,"category":141,"date":8675,"description":8676,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8677,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":5477,"imageCreditUrl":5478,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8678,"navigation":152,"path":8679,"readTime":2472,"seo":8680,"stem":8681,"tags":8682,"__hash__":8683},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbreathing-on-the-wall.md","Breathing on the wall",{"type":9,"value":8605,"toc":8669},[8606,8610,8613,8616,8620,8623,8626,8646,8649,8653,8656,8659,8663,8666],[12,8607,8609],{"id":8608},"the-breath-you-forget-youre-holding","The breath you forget you're holding",[17,8611,8612],{},"Watch yourself on a hard sequence and you will probably notice the same thing most climbers do: somewhere around the crux, your breathing just stops. You set up for the move, you pull, and you hold everything in until you either stick the hold or come off. It feels like focus. What it actually does is tighten your chest, raise your shoulders, and burn through your reserves faster than the climbing alone would.",[17,8614,8615],{},"Holding your breath braces the whole torso for a fraction of a second, which can help on a single explosive pull. The problem is that on the wall we rarely do just one pull. We do a move, then a reach, then a foot adjustment, then another move, and the held breath drags on across all of it. By the top you are out of gas not because your fingers failed but because you forgot to breathe.",[12,8617,8619],{"id":8618},"what-to-do-at-the-crux","What to do at the crux",[17,8621,8622],{},"The fix is small and slightly counterintuitive: breathe out on the effort. When you commit to the hard move, let a controlled exhale go with it. Some climbers use a sharp audible breath, almost a hiss, on the pull. It keeps the core engaged without locking the whole system rigid, and it stops the panic of a fully held breath.",[17,8624,8625],{},"A few things that genuinely help:",[70,8627,8628,8634,8640],{},[73,8629,8630,8633],{},[76,8631,8632],{},"Exhale through the move, inhale during the reset."," Tie the rhythm to the climbing rather than fighting it.",[73,8635,8636,8639],{},[76,8637,8638],{},"Keep the breath low."," Let your belly move, not just your upper chest. Shallow chest breathing under stress makes everything feel more frantic than it is.",[73,8641,8642,8645],{},[76,8643,8644],{},"Make noise if you need to."," A grunt or a hiss is just a guaranteed exhale. Nobody at the wall cares.",[17,8647,8648],{},"If you catch yourself going silent and rigid mid-sequence, that is the held breath. One deliberate exhale usually loosens the whole thing back up.",[12,8650,8652],{"id":8651},"breathing-on-the-rest","Breathing on the rest",[17,8654,8655],{},"The rest is where breathing earns its keep, and it is the part most people rush. When you reach a decent stance, a knee bar, or a jug you can actually hang off, your instinct is often to shake out and move on quickly. Slow down. Take three or four full breaths before you even start shaking. A long exhale is what tells your nervous system the emergency is over, and that is when your forearms start to recover and your grip eases off the death-clamp it has been holding.",[17,8657,8658],{},"Try to make the exhale longer than the inhale. Something like a four-count in and a six-count out. You are not meditating, you are just nudging your body out of fight-or-flight so the rest does what a rest is supposed to do. On a route, a proper breathing rest between cruxes can be the difference between clipping the chains and pumping out two moves short.",[12,8660,8662],{"id":8661},"make-it-a-habit-not-a-thought","Make it a habit, not a thought",[17,8664,8665],{},"The whole point is that you should not have to think about this once it sticks. On a warm-up boulder or an easy route, deliberately practise breathing out on every move and breathing slow on every rest. It will feel forced for a session or two. Then it disappears into the background and shows up on its own when the climbing gets hard, which is exactly when you need it.",[17,8667,8668],{},"Next time a problem shuts you down, ask whether it was really the holds, or whether you climbed the whole thing on a single held breath. More often than not, the air was the thing that ran out first.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8670},[8671,8672,8673,8674],{"id":8608,"depth":132,"text":8609},{"id":8618,"depth":132,"text":8619},{"id":8651,"depth":132,"text":8652},{"id":8661,"depth":132,"text":8662},"2025-02-28","Holding your breath on hard moves quietly drains you. Simple breathing habits for the crux and the rest.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1728000073158-b9b887b894e2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbreathing-on-the-wall",{"title":8603,"description":8676},"blog\u002Fbreathing-on-the-wall",[290,2796,8599],"lQcnRJNODZb6qxdZzS53dIuBgD9NgH2yn_q7ZGe7bOg",{"id":8685,"title":8686,"author":7,"body":8687,"category":1904,"date":8760,"description":8761,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8762,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":3403,"imageCreditUrl":3404,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8763,"navigation":152,"path":8764,"readTime":154,"seo":8765,"stem":8766,"tags":8767,"__hash__":8768},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-choose-climbing-shoes.md","How to choose climbing shoes",{"type":9,"value":8688,"toc":8754},[8689,8692,8696,8699,8702,8705,8709,8712,8736,8739,8743,8746,8748,8751],[17,8690,8691],{},"Climbing shoes are the one bit of kit that genuinely changes how you move on the wall, and they are also the easiest thing to get wrong as a beginner. The mythology around painfully tight shoes puts a lot of new climbers off, when in truth your first pair should help you climb rather than leave you limping to the bench every few minutes. Here is how to pick a pair that works.",[12,8693,8695],{"id":8694},"fit-comes-first","Fit comes first",[17,8697,8698],{},"A climbing shoe should fit snugly with no dead space, especially around the heel and the toe box. Your toes will be slightly curled rather than lying flat, and there should be no gaps where your foot can slide around inside the shoe. That snugness is what lets you stand on small footholds with precision, because power transfers straight from your foot to the rock instead of being lost in a loose fit.",[17,8700,8701],{},"Snug is not the same as agony, though. The very tight, heavily downturned shoes you see strong climbers wearing on steep problems are specialist tools, broken in over time and worn for short, hard efforts. For your first pair you want something you can leave on for a full session without dreading every move. Aim for a fit that feels firm and a little tight when new, knowing that most shoes stretch and mould to your foot with use.",[17,8703,8704],{},"Try shoes on late in the day when your feet are slightly swollen, and try several brands. Foot shape varies enormously and a model that fits one person like a glove can be unwearable on someone else.",[12,8706,8708],{"id":8707},"shape-and-stiffness","Shape and stiffness",[17,8710,8711],{},"Beyond fit, two features shape how a shoe behaves: its profile and its stiffness.",[70,8713,8714,8720,8726],{},[73,8715,8716,8719],{},[76,8717,8718],{},"Flat or neutral shoes"," sit with a fairly straight sole and a relaxed shape. They are comfortable, support your foot on long routes and slabs, and suit beginners and all-day climbing.",[73,8721,8722,8725],{},[76,8723,8724],{},"Downturned shoes"," curve down towards the toe, concentrating power at the front for steep, overhanging climbing and small footholds. They are less comfortable and more specialised.",[73,8727,8728,8731,8732,8735],{},[76,8729,8730],{},"Stiff shoes"," hold their shape under load, which helps on small edges and supports feet that are still building strength. ",[76,8733,8734],{},"Soft shoes"," flex and let you feel the rock, which helps on smears and volumes but asks more of your foot muscles.",[17,8737,8738],{},"For a first pair, a flatter, moderately stiff shoe is almost always the right call. It will not hold you back at the grades you are climbing, it stays comfortable, and it gives your feet the support they need while the small stabilising muscles develop.",[12,8740,8742],{"id":8741},"velcro-laces-or-slip-on","Velcro, laces or slip-on",[17,8744,8745],{},"Closure is mostly about convenience. Velcro straps are quick on and off, which is handy for bouldering where you take your shoes off between problems. Laces give a more adjustable, dialled fit and suit longer days where you keep them on. Slip-on shoes are sensitive and great for training, but they offer the least adjustment. None of these will make or break your climbing, so choose what suits how you like to climb.",[12,8747,7186],{"id":7185},[17,8749,8750],{},"Resist the urge to buy aggressive, downturned shoes because they look the part. They will hurt, you will take them off constantly, and they will not help you at beginner grades. Buy for where you are now.",[17,8752,8753],{},"Wear them without socks, or with the thinnest socks you can tolerate, since that snug fit assumes bare feet. And accept that no climbing shoe is truly comfortable in the way a trainer is. The goal is a shoe you can wear for an hour or two while climbing, not one you would walk to the shops in. Get the fit right and your footwork will improve almost immediately, simply because you can finally trust your feet on the holds.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8755},[8756,8757,8758,8759],{"id":8694,"depth":132,"text":8695},{"id":8707,"depth":132,"text":8708},{"id":8741,"depth":132,"text":8742},{"id":7185,"depth":132,"text":7186},"2025-02-21","Fit, shape and stiffness — how to pick a first pair that helps you climb rather than hurts your feet.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1679783024442-ca7c1fbb4512?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-choose-climbing-shoes",{"title":8686,"description":8761},"blog\u002Fhow-to-choose-climbing-shoes",[1822,2440,562],"d_2Guo2egvBgkzqBwX28uC2I6D5dCWOQmhgsMR3JzY0",{"id":8770,"title":8771,"author":7,"body":8772,"category":2785,"date":8840,"description":8841,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8842,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":1909,"imageCreditUrl":1910,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8843,"navigation":152,"path":8844,"readTime":154,"seo":8845,"stem":8846,"tags":8847,"__hash__":8848},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-after-your-fingers.md","Looking after your fingers",{"type":9,"value":8773,"toc":8834},[8774,8777,8781,8784,8787,8791,8794,8808,8811,8815,8818,8821,8825,8828,8831],[17,8775,8776],{},"Ask a room of climbers about injuries and the conversation turns to fingers within a minute. They are the part that takes the most load, adapts the slowest, and gives the least warning before something gives. Looking after them is not glamorous, but it is the difference between climbing for decades and spending half your seasons taped up and frustrated.",[12,8778,8780],{"id":8779},"why-fingers-are-the-weak-link","Why fingers are the weak link",[17,8782,8783],{},"When you pull on a small crimp, the tendons that flex your fingers run through a series of pulleys — bands of tissue that hold them against the bone. The one that fails most often is the A2 pulley, at the base of the finger. A full-crimp grip, where the fingers are bent hard and the thumb wraps over, loads those pulleys far more than an open-hand grip. It is also the strongest position, which is exactly why people get hurt reaching for it before their tendons are ready.",[17,8785,8786],{},"The core problem is timing. Your muscles get strong in weeks. Your fingers take months to years. Most finger injuries are not bad luck — they are a strong body asking weak tendons to do something they have not yet adapted to.",[12,8788,8790],{"id":8789},"know-the-warning-signs","Know the warning signs",[17,8792,8793],{},"A pulley injury does not always announce itself with a famous \"pop\". Often it starts as a niggle that you talk yourself out of. Learn to take these seriously:",[70,8795,8796,8799,8802,8805],{},[73,8797,8798],{},"Soreness or stiffness at the base of a finger that lingers after sessions.",[73,8800,8801],{},"A specific finger that aches on crimps but feels fine open-handed.",[73,8803,8804],{},"Tenderness or slight swelling along the front of a finger.",[73,8806,8807],{},"Any sharp pain mid-move, especially on a small hold.",[17,8809,8810],{},"If you feel a sudden sharp pain or hear a pop, stop climbing for the day. Pushing through finger pain is how a fortnight off becomes six months off. When in doubt, rest it and see a physio who knows climbers — guessing with fingers is a poor bet.",[12,8812,8814],{"id":8813},"train-them-but-slowly","Train them, but slowly",[17,8816,8817],{},"The way to bullet-proof fingers is to load them gradually and consistently, not to avoid load altogether. A hangboard, used sensibly, is one of the best tools for this once you have a couple of years of climbing behind you. The rules are simple and worth respecting: warm up thoroughly, train on edges that feel hard but not desperate, keep sessions short, and progress over months rather than weeks.",[17,8819,8820],{},"If you are newer than that, you almost certainly do not need a hangboard. Your fingers will get plenty strong just from climbing, and the time you would spend hanging is better spent learning to move well. Patience here is not caution for its own sake — it is the fastest route to fingers that can take real load later.",[12,8822,8824],{"id":8823},"warm-up-and-recover-properly","Warm up and recover properly",[17,8826,8827],{},"Cold fingers are stiff fingers, and stiff fingers tear. Never start a session by yanking on small crimps. Spend ten minutes getting blood into the hands — easy traversing, big holds, some gentle finger rolls and band work — before you touch anything sharp. The first hard crimp of the day should come after you are warm, not before.",[17,8829,8830],{},"Recovery matters just as much. Fingers heal between sessions, so back-to-back hard crimping days are asking for trouble. Space your hard finger work out, eat and sleep well, and pay attention to the niggles that show up the morning after. Keeping a quick note of any tweaks, which finger, and what brought it on helps you spot a pattern before it becomes a real injury.",[17,8832,8833],{},"Look after your fingers and they will carry you a long way. Rush them and they will remind you, slowly and expensively, that they were always the weak link.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8835},[8836,8837,8838,8839],{"id":8779,"depth":132,"text":8780},{"id":8789,"depth":132,"text":8790},{"id":8813,"depth":132,"text":8814},{"id":8823,"depth":132,"text":8824},"2025-02-14","Pulleys, tweaks and the warning signs — how to keep the most injury-prone part of a climber healthy.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F6700631\u002Fpexels-photo-6700631.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Flooking-after-your-fingers",{"title":8771,"description":8841},"blog\u002Flooking-after-your-fingers",[2026,7505,4738],"UeCZkfpjuIcshRkhK8pt_FTdV8dpyBG3v8llCcsRsn0",{"id":8850,"title":8851,"author":7,"body":8852,"category":2464,"date":8917,"description":8918,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":8919,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":8920,"navigation":152,"path":8921,"readTime":1547,"seo":8922,"stem":8923,"tags":8924,"__hash__":8926},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-often-should-a-beginner-climb.md","How often should a beginner climb?",{"type":9,"value":8853,"toc":8911},[8854,8857,8861,8864,8867,8871,8874,8877,8888,8891,8895,8898,8901,8905,8908],[17,8855,8856],{},"When climbing first clicks, you want to do it every day. The pull is real, and there is no faster way to fall for the sport. But the thing holding most beginners back is not motivation, it is recovery. Your enthusiasm adapts in days. Your tendons, pulleys and skin take a lot longer.",[12,8858,8860],{"id":8859},"two-or-three-sessions-a-week-is-the-sweet-spot","Two or three sessions a week is the sweet spot",[17,8862,8863],{},"For someone in their first year, two or three sessions a week is plenty to improve quickly while staying healthy. That spacing gives your muscles time to repair and lets the slower-adapting tissues keep up. Climb on Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and you will see steady progress without the constant low-grade soreness that comes from never resting.",[17,8865,8866],{},"The reason daily climbing is risky early on is that your finger tendons and the small pulleys that hold them to the bone strengthen far more slowly than the muscles pulling on them. You will feel strong long before those structures are ready for the load. Push through that gap day after day and you set yourself up for tweaks, tendinitis and forced time off. A pulley strain can keep you off the wall for weeks, which is a far worse outcome than a rest day.",[12,8868,8870],{"id":8869},"skin-is-the-limiter-you-will-feel-first","Skin is the limiter you will feel first",[17,8872,8873],{},"Before anything else gives out, your fingertips will. New climbers go through skin fast, especially on rough volumes and sharp crimps. Climb too often and you end up with flappers, splits and raw tips that hurt to use and refuse to heal. Skin needs days to rebuild, and there is no shortcut.",[17,8875,8876],{},"A few habits help your skin last:",[70,8878,8879,8882,8885],{},[73,8880,8881],{},"File down rough edges and hot spots before they tear.",[73,8883,8884],{},"Keep your hands moisturised on rest days, not session days.",[73,8886,8887],{},"Stop a session when your tips start to feel hot and thin rather than pushing one more burn.",[17,8889,8890],{},"Listening to your skin is good practice for listening to the rest of your body.",[12,8892,8894],{"id":8893},"make-rest-days-count","Make rest days count",[17,8896,8897],{},"Rest does not have to mean lying on the sofa. Active recovery — a walk, easy mobility work, some gentle stretching — keeps you feeling good and helps you turn up fresh for the next session. What matters is keeping high-intensity finger loading off the menu so the tissue that needs time actually gets it.",[17,8899,8900],{},"Pay attention to how you feel between sessions. Mild muscle soreness is normal and fine. Sharp finger or elbow pain, joints that ache the morning after, or fatigue that lingers for days are signs you are doing too much, too soon. When in doubt, take an extra day. Nobody ever lost their progress to one well-timed rest.",[12,8902,8904],{"id":8903},"build-the-habit-before-you-build-the-volume","Build the habit before you build the volume",[17,8906,8907],{},"The climbers who improve most over years are rarely the ones who hammered themselves every day in month one. They are the ones who turned up consistently, stayed uninjured, and slowly earned the right to do more. As your body adapts over the first year or two, you can add a session or layer in some structured training. But there is no prize for rushing it.",[17,8909,8910],{},"Keeping a simple record of when you climbed and how your body felt afterwards makes the pattern obvious — you start to see which spacing leaves you fresh and which leaves you wrecked. Logging your sessions in Sendit is one easy way to spot that rhythm before your fingers force the lesson on you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":8912},[8913,8914,8915,8916],{"id":8859,"depth":132,"text":8860},{"id":8869,"depth":132,"text":8870},{"id":8893,"depth":132,"text":8894},{"id":8903,"depth":132,"text":8904},"2025-02-07","Why two or three sessions a week beats daily, and how to let skin and tendons catch up.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1696105538786-52c0636202a1?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-often-should-a-beginner-climb",{"title":8851,"description":8918},"blog\u002Fhow-often-should-a-beginner-climb",[562,8925,561],"frequency","kLvyRP5QmLC0elaWXEH4feA-dugp7I2gMd-hInyh8C4",{"id":8928,"title":8929,"author":7,"body":8930,"category":1703,"date":9016,"description":9017,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9018,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9019,"navigation":152,"path":9020,"readTime":154,"seo":9021,"stem":9022,"tags":9023,"__hash__":9024},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-power-on-the-board.md","Training power on the board",{"type":9,"value":8931,"toc":9010},[8932,8936,8939,8942,8946,8949,8952,8966,8969,8973,8976,8982,8988,8994,8997,9001,9004,9007],[12,8933,8935],{"id":8934},"what-power-actually-means","What power actually means",[17,8937,8938],{},"When climbers say they need more power, they usually mean one thing: the ability to move fast and hard between two distant holds. A big throw to a sloper, a campus-style move off two crimps, a deadpoint where you cut feet and catch the next edge. Power is force applied quickly, and a steep board is one of the best tools we have for training it.",[17,8940,8941],{},"The board concentrates everything. The wall is set somewhere between 25 and 50 degrees overhanging, the holds are small and consistent, and the moves are short and savage. There is nowhere to rest and very little technical fluff to hide behind. If you cannot pull hard, the board will tell you within two moves.",[12,8943,8945],{"id":8944},"build-the-session-around-quality-not-quantity","Build the session around quality, not quantity",[17,8947,8948],{},"Power work is fundamentally about freshness. A tired muscle cannot recruit quickly, so the moment you are pumped or shaking, you have stopped training power and started training something else. Keep the volume low and the rest long.",[17,8950,8951],{},"A simple structure that works:",[70,8953,8954,8957,8960,8963],{},[73,8955,8956],{},"Warm up properly. Twenty minutes of easy climbing, some pulls on bigger holds, a few moderate problems to wake the fingers up. Cold fingers on a board is how you tweak a pulley.",[73,8958,8959],{},"Pick three or four hard problems near your limit. These should take one to five hard moves, not twenty.",[73,8961,8962],{},"Give each go a genuine effort, then rest three to five minutes. Sit down. Let your breathing settle.",[73,8964,8965],{},"Stop while you are still climbing well. Forty-five minutes of sharp attempts beats two hours of sloppy ones.",[17,8967,8968],{},"The angle matters here. A steeper board forces more tension through the core and shoulders, which is exactly what hard moves demand. If your board adjusts, training power at 40 degrees and then dropping to 25 for endurance on another day is a sensible split.",[12,8970,8972],{"id":8971},"specific-drills-that-pay-off","Specific drills that pay off",[17,8974,8975],{},"A few approaches give power work more shape than just trying hard problems.",[17,8977,8978,8981],{},[76,8979,8980],{},"Limit bouldering."," Choose or set a problem you can barely do, or cannot quite do yet. The aim is maximal recruitment on every move. You might only complete it once all session, and that is fine.",[17,8983,8984,8987],{},[76,8985,8986],{},"First-move repeats."," Pick the single hardest move on a problem and do it again and again with full rest. Isolating one move lets you train the exact position you are weak in, whether that is a powerful pull off a crimp or a dynamic move to a pinch.",[17,8989,8990,8993],{},[76,8991,8992],{},"Cut-loose practice."," Find a move where your feet naturally swing off and learn to control the swing back in. Holding body tension through a dynamic move is a skill, and the board is the place to drill it.",[17,8995,8996],{},"Footwork still counts, even when you are pulling hard. A flag to stop yourself barn-dooring, a well-timed heel hook to take weight off the fingers, a drop knee to bring your hips closer to the wall. Power without precision just burns energy.",[12,8998,9000],{"id":8999},"how-to-know-it-is-working","How to know it is working",[17,9002,9003],{},"Strength gains are slow and quiet. You will not feel dramatically stronger week to week, which is why a feeling is a poor guide. The honest signal is whether the moves that shut you down last month go now, whether you are catching throws you used to drop, whether the angle you avoided feels possible.",[17,9005,9006],{},"Note the board angle, the grades, and which problems you sent or fell on. Over a few weeks the trend becomes obvious in a way memory never manages. Logging board sessions in Sendit makes that trend easy to see, but the principle holds whatever you write it in.",[17,9008,9009],{},"Keep the sessions short, keep them hard, and rest like you mean it. Power is built in the gaps between attempts as much as the attempts themselves.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9011},[9012,9013,9014,9015],{"id":8934,"depth":132,"text":8935},{"id":8944,"depth":132,"text":8945},{"id":8971,"depth":132,"text":8972},{"id":8999,"depth":132,"text":9000},"2025-01-31","How to use a steep board to build the explosive pulling that hard moves demand.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1696105538782-7815474f28e0?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-power-on-the-board",{"title":8929,"description":9017},"blog\u002Ftraining-power-on-the-board",[1715,3493,162],"dt_Wa5iF3yYjic7pMdDqXz1DbeOQH8xv17pGTBQ5XD4",{"id":9026,"title":9027,"author":7,"body":9028,"category":2366,"date":9100,"description":9101,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9102,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":9103,"imageCreditUrl":9104,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9105,"navigation":152,"path":9106,"readTime":2472,"seo":9107,"stem":9108,"tags":9109,"__hash__":9110},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-smearing.md","What is smearing?",{"type":9,"value":9029,"toc":9095},[9030,9033,9037,9040,9043,9046,9050,9053,9079,9082,9086,9089,9092],[17,9031,9032],{},"Smearing is the art of standing on nothing. No edge, no foothold, no nubbin to perch on, just the rubber of your shoe pressed flat against blank rock or wall, held there by friction alone. It feels like it should not work, and yet on slabs and featureless faces it is often the only way up.",[12,9034,9036],{"id":9035},"standing-on-friction","Standing on friction",[17,9038,9039],{},"When you smear, you place the sole of your shoe flat against the surface and trust the grip between rubber and rock to hold your weight. There is no hold doing the work, the friction is the hold. The more rubber you can get in contact with the surface, and the more weight you can press through it perpendicular to the rock, the more it grips.",[17,9041,9042],{},"This is the opposite of edging, where you stand on the precise edge of a small foothold using the stiff side of your shoe. Edging is about precision on a defined feature. Smearing is about surface area and pressure on no feature at all. On low-angle slab climbing you will smear constantly, because the wall is too smooth to offer edges and the friction is all you have got.",[17,9044,9045],{},"The physics is simple enough. Friction holds you when the force pressing your shoe into the rock is high and the force trying to slide it off is low. So everything about good smearing is about pushing your weight straight into the wall rather than letting it drag down the surface.",[12,9047,9049],{"id":9048},"making-blank-rock-hold-you","Making blank rock hold you",[17,9051,9052],{},"Getting a smear to stick is mostly about body position and faith. A few things that make the difference:",[70,9054,9055,9061,9067,9073],{},[73,9056,9057,9060],{},[76,9058,9059],{},"Drop your heel."," Lowering your heel below your toe flexes your ankle and presses more of the shoe's rubber flat against the wall. A high heel puts you on your toe tip with almost no contact.",[73,9062,9063,9066],{},[76,9064,9065],{},"Keep your weight over your feet."," Lean in towards the wall and you peel your shoe off it. Stay stacked over your feet, hips out, and you press straight down into the friction. On a slab this means trusting your feet enough to stand up over them.",[73,9068,9069,9072],{},[76,9070,9071],{},"Be still and smooth."," Once a smear is set, do not readjust it. Every little shuffle risks breaking the friction. Place it, weight it, move off it cleanly.",[73,9074,9075,9078],{},[76,9076,9077],{},"Use clean, warm rubber."," A dirty or cold sole grips far worse. A quick wipe of the shoe and a softer, grippier rubber compound both help.",[17,9080,9081],{},"The mental side is the hard part. Smearing asks you to commit your full weight to something that looks like it cannot possibly hold, and the instinct is to keep weight in your hands and hover tentatively over your feet. That hesitation is exactly what makes smears slip, because a half-weighted foot does not press hard enough to grip. Counterintuitively, the way to make a smear stick is to commit harder to it.",[12,9083,9085],{"id":9084},"learning-to-trust-your-feet","Learning to trust your feet",[17,9087,9088],{},"The fastest way to get good at smearing is to deliberately stand on bad footholds and smears with your hands barely on the wall. Find an easy slab, take your hands off the good holds, and make your feet do everything. It feels precarious and that is the point, you are teaching your body that the friction is real and your shoes can take it.",[17,9090,9091],{},"Conditions matter here too. Smearing on a cool, dry day is a different experience from smearing in damp heat, when both your shoes and the rock feel greasy. Slab climbers chase good friction the way sloper climbers do, because their feet depend on it entirely.",[17,9093,9094],{},"Smearing rewards patience, balance and a willingness to trust rubber over instinct. It is the footwork skill that quietly underpins all slab and friction climbing, and the moment you genuinely believe your feet will hold, blank rock stops being a barrier and becomes just another surface to stand on.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9096},[9097,9098,9099],{"id":9035,"depth":132,"text":9036},{"id":9048,"depth":132,"text":9049},{"id":9084,"depth":132,"text":9085},"2025-01-24","Standing on nothing but friction. How smearing works and how to trust your feet on blank rock.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1537367152948-007144bca9f6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Inja Pavlić","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@inja_jeki",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-smearing",{"title":9027,"description":9101},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-smearing",[2376,2377,436],"Ak_B-xRgsIAIFA4Czd7sa2GipdKW_C4e97fnWWJX1Tg",{"id":9112,"title":9113,"author":7,"body":9114,"category":1703,"date":9182,"description":9183,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9184,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":554,"imageCreditUrl":555,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9185,"navigation":152,"path":9186,"readTime":154,"seo":9187,"stem":9188,"tags":9189,"__hash__":9190},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-board-grades-compare-to-the-gym-and-outside.md","How board grades compare to the gym and outside",{"type":9,"value":9115,"toc":9176},[9116,9119,9123,9126,9129,9132,9135,9139,9142,9153,9156,9160,9163,9166,9170,9173],[17,9117,9118],{},"Sooner or later every board climber has the same moment of confusion. They cruise V5s on the board, walk over to the gym boulders and get shut down by a V5, then go outside and find a V5 on rock is a different beast again. Same number, three very different experiences. Here is why, and how to read across them without losing your mind.",[12,9120,9122],{"id":9121},"why-the-same-number-feels-different","Why the same number feels different",[17,9124,9125],{},"A grade is meant to describe difficulty, but difficulty depends entirely on context, and the three contexts could hardly be more different.",[17,9127,9128],{},"Board problems on a steep setting are concentrated and powerful. Short sequences, demanding holds, a fixed steep angle. They reward finger strength and pulling power, and they punish nothing else, because there is no slab, no reachy commercial volume, no real height. A board V5 is often a few very hard moves and little else.",[17,9130,9131],{},"Gym boulders are set by humans to be enjoyable and varied. A setter might dial a problem softer to suit the wall, throw in big friendly volumes, or build movement that flows rather than just pulls hard. Gym grades also drift between gyms and between setters, so two gyms can disagree by a full grade on what they call the same number.",[17,9133,9134],{},"Rock owes you nothing. Outdoor grades evolved over decades and tend to be conservative, built on bad feet, awkward bodies, conditions and the need to actually read the rock yourself. There is no setter making it flow and no colour telling you where to go.",[12,9136,9138],{"id":9137},"the-rough-pecking-order","The rough pecking order",[17,9140,9141],{},"There is no exact conversion, and anyone who gives you a tidy table is overselling it. But as a loose generalisation that most climbers recognise:",[70,9143,9144,9147,9150],{},[73,9145,9146],{},"Steep board grades tend to run stiff for their number, especially if you climb above the reference angle.",[73,9148,9149],{},"Gym grades sit in the middle and vary a lot between gyms and setters.",[73,9151,9152],{},"Outdoor grades are usually the most demanding for the number, because the rock and conditions add difficulty no plastic does.",[17,9154,9155],{},"So it is common to climb a grade or so harder on a board than you do outside, and to find gym grades somewhere in between. None of this means one is right and the others wrong. They are measuring different things.",[12,9157,9159],{"id":9158},"what-board-climbing-does-and-does-not-transfer","What board climbing does and does not transfer",[17,9161,9162],{},"The board builds the engine. Finger strength, contact strength, body tension and the ability to pull hard on steep ground all carry over directly, and a strong board climber usually has the raw power to climb hard everywhere. That is real and worth having.",[17,9164,9165],{},"What the board does not build is the rest of climbing. Slab technique, smearing, reading a wall you have never seen, placing your own feet on rock, managing fear above a pad or a bolt, and the patience to work out beta with no LEDs to follow. Those only come from time on the gym wall and outside. A climber who only ever boards often arrives at the crag strong and clueless, which is a frustrating place to be.",[12,9167,9169],{"id":9168},"how-to-read-across-the-scales","How to read across the scales",[17,9171,9172],{},"The practical answer is to keep separate expectations and not let one scale wound your ego on another. Track your board grades against board grades, your gym ticks against the gym, and your outdoor sends against rock. Comparing across them tells you almost nothing useful and mostly just makes you feel bad.",[17,9174,9175],{},"If you want the board to help your outdoor climbing, point it at your weaknesses rather than your max grade. Use it to get strong, then spend the time on rock and on the varied gym wall to turn that strength into actual climbing ability. The number is just shorthand. What matters is that you are getting better at the thing in front of you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9177},[9178,9179,9180,9181],{"id":9121,"depth":132,"text":9122},{"id":9137,"depth":132,"text":9138},{"id":9158,"depth":132,"text":9159},{"id":9168,"depth":132,"text":9169},"2025-01-17","Why a board V5 can feel nothing like a gym V5, and how to read across the scales.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1516592673884-4a382d1124c2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-board-grades-compare-to-the-gym-and-outside",{"title":9113,"description":9183},"blog\u002Fhow-board-grades-compare-to-the-gym-and-outside",[1715,2378,3168],"mRp_tOhKkm0bpU0GgP_lRIRAC9YPa3ePJsL86fwP73o",{"id":9192,"title":9193,"author":7,"body":9194,"category":2464,"date":9276,"description":9277,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9278,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9279,"navigation":152,"path":9280,"readTime":154,"seo":9281,"stem":9282,"tags":9283,"__hash__":9284},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-climbing-grades-work-v-and-font.md","How climbing grades work: V and Font",{"type":9,"value":9195,"toc":9269},[9196,9200,9203,9206,9210,9213,9216,9220,9223,9226,9230,9233,9236,9256,9259,9263,9266],[12,9197,9199],{"id":9198},"what-a-grade-is-trying-to-tell-you","What a grade is trying to tell you",[17,9201,9202],{},"A boulder grade is one number, or one short code, that tries to capture how hard a problem is. That is a lot to ask of a single label, and it is worth being clear about what a grade is and is not. It is a rough guide to difficulty, agreed on by the people who have climbed it. It is not a precise measurement, and it says nothing about whether a problem is good, safe, or your particular cup of tea.",[17,9204,9205],{},"For bouldering specifically, two scales dominate. The V-scale, used widely across the United States and in many gyms elsewhere, and the Font scale, named after Fontainebleau in France and common across Europe. You will meet both, sometimes side by side, so it helps to read them fluently.",[12,9207,9209],{"id":9208},"the-v-scale","The V-scale",[17,9211,9212],{},"The V-scale is the simpler of the two to read. It runs from V0 upwards, with no real ceiling, getting harder as the number climbs. V0 is the easiest graded boulder, the sort of thing a fit beginner can manage. V3 or V4 is solid intermediate territory. The numbers carry on into the high teens for the hardest problems ever climbed.",[17,9214,9215],{},"Below V0 you will sometimes see VB, for basic or beginner, used on the very easiest problems set to teach movement. The scale is open-ended, so as harder problems get climbed, higher numbers simply get added.",[12,9217,9219],{"id":9218},"the-font-scale","The Font scale",[17,9221,9222],{},"The Font scale looks more intimidating because it mixes numbers, letters and signs, but the logic is steady once you have it. It runs through grades like 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A and onwards. From 6A up, each number splits into A, B and C, and many of those split further with a + sign, so the full sequence runs 6A, 6A+, 6B, 6B+, 6C, 6C+, 7A and so on.",[17,9224,9225],{},"Roughly speaking, the bottom of the useful range starts around Font 4 to 5 for easier problems, with 6A to 6C covering a lot of intermediate climbing and 7A marking a meaningful milestone for many climbers. The two scales line up approximately, so a Font 6A+ sits somewhere around V3 to V4, but the conversion is never exact and you should treat any chart as a guide rather than gospel.",[12,9227,9229],{"id":9228},"why-two-gyms-never-quite-agree","Why two gyms never quite agree",[17,9231,9232],{},"Here is the thing nobody tells beginners clearly enough: grades are subjective, and they drift. The same number can feel wildly different between two gyms down the road from each other, and that is normal.",[17,9234,9235],{},"A few reasons for it:",[70,9237,9238,9244,9250],{},[73,9239,9240,9243],{},[76,9241,9242],{},"Setters are human."," A problem is graded by whoever set it and the people who repeat it. Personal strengths leak in. A setter with strong fingers may undergrade crimpy problems and overgrade slopey ones.",[73,9245,9246,9249],{},[76,9247,9248],{},"Style matters."," A V4 that suits your body, all reachy moves on good edges, can feel easier than a V2 full of slopers you hate. Grades average across styles, but you are one specific climber.",[73,9251,9252,9255],{},[76,9253,9254],{},"Gyms calibrate differently."," Some gyms grade softly to keep newcomers happy, others grade stiffly. Outdoor rock, where the grade has settled over many ascents, is often less forgiving than plastic.",[17,9257,9258],{},"So if you flash a V5 one day and fall off a V3 the next, you are not broken. You have just met the spread that lives inside every grade.",[12,9260,9262],{"id":9261},"how-to-actually-use-grades","How to actually use grades",[17,9264,9265],{},"Treat grades as a loose map, not a scoreboard. They are useful for choosing what to try, for spotting whether you are improving over time, and for talking to other climbers. They are far less useful as a measure of your worth.",[17,9267,9268],{},"The healthiest approach is to chase good movement and problems you enjoy, and let the grades creep up as a side effect. Keep a record of what you climb and where, because a grade only means something in the context of the gym or crag it came from. Over months, a logbook smooths out the day-to-day noise and shows the real trend, which is the only grade conversation worth having with yourself.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9270},[9271,9272,9273,9274,9275],{"id":9198,"depth":132,"text":9199},{"id":9208,"depth":132,"text":9209},{"id":9218,"depth":132,"text":9219},{"id":9228,"depth":132,"text":9229},{"id":9261,"depth":132,"text":9262},"2025-01-10","Boulder grades demystified — the V-scale, the Font scale, and why two gyms never quite agree.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775654792415-fa6c6760b886?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-climbing-grades-work-v-and-font",{"title":9193,"description":9277},"blog\u002Fhow-climbing-grades-work-v-and-font",[2378,293,562],"chgA4D2mpXYO7bfK7I4OGfKFTurzD-SgK1kxwy-jIo4",{"id":9286,"title":9287,"author":7,"body":9288,"category":2555,"date":9345,"description":9346,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9347,"imageAlt":9348,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":9349,"mapLabel":9362,"mapLat":9363,"mapLng":9364,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":2583,"meta":9365,"navigation":152,"path":9366,"readTime":154,"seo":9367,"stem":9368,"tags":9369,"__hash__":9371},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-dolomites.md","Climbing in the Dolomites",{"type":9,"value":9289,"toc":9340},[9290,9293,9297,9300,9303,9307,9310,9313,9324,9327,9331,9334,9337],[17,9291,9292],{},"The Dolomites sit in northern Italy, a range of pale limestone towers and spires that glow pink and orange at sunrise and sunset. For climbers, this is alpine terrain with a character all its own: huge vertical walls, classic multi-pitch routes with real history, and a network of via ferrata that lets you move through serious mountain ground without being a full-blown alpinist. Few ranges pack so much variety into one spectacular landscape.",[12,9294,9296],{"id":9295},"the-rock-and-the-routes","The rock and the routes",[17,9298,9299],{},"Dolomite limestone is unmistakable. It can be wonderfully solid, with positive holds and clean lines, but it can also be loose and friable in places, so route choice and a careful eye matter. The classic routes here run for many pitches up faces that look impossibly steep from the valley, and a lot of them were first climbed generations ago, which gives the area a deep sense of mountaineering heritage.",[17,9301,9302],{},"This is not a sport-climbing playground in the way some Mediterranean limestone is, though sport crags do exist. The headline experiences are the long traditional and mixed routes on the big towers, where you carry a rack, manage loose rock, and need the head and stamina for a full mountain day. The grades on the classics often feel committing for the number, partly because of the exposure and partly because the protection is not always generous.",[12,9304,9306],{"id":9305},"via-ferrata","Via ferrata",[17,9308,9309],{},"If the idea of leading multi-pitch limestone feels a step too far, via ferrata is one of the things that makes the Dolomites special. These are protected routes where steel cables, rungs and ladders are fixed to the rock, and you clip in with a special lanyard kit as you move along them.",[17,9311,9312],{},"Via ferrata lets you travel through dramatic, exposed terrain with a far smaller skill barrier than roped climbing, though it is not without risk. A few things to keep in mind:",[70,9314,9315,9318,9321],{},[73,9316,9317],{},"You need a proper via ferrata lanyard with an energy-absorbing system, a helmet and a harness. Improvising with normal climbing kit is not safe here.",[73,9319,9320],{},"Routes are graded for difficulty and seriousness, so pick something that matches your fitness and head for heights.",[73,9322,9323],{},"Mountain weather still applies. Cables become lightning hazards in storms, so start early and watch the forecast.",[17,9325,9326],{},"Many of these routes trace lines first put up during the First World War, when fighting moved into these mountains, and you still pass tunnels and emplacements carved into the rock.",[12,9328,9330],{"id":9329},"planning-a-trip","Planning a trip",[17,9332,9333],{},"The Dolomites are an alpine environment, so the season is short. Summer and early autumn are the windows most climbers aim for, when the snow has cleared from the routes and the huts are open. Those mountain huts, the rifugi, are part of the appeal: you can link climbs and walks over several days, sleeping high and eating well between objectives.",[17,9335,9336],{},"The weather can change fast. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer, so the standard rhythm is to start at dawn and be off the big routes before the clouds build. Carry layers, take the forecast seriously and have a plan for retreat.",[17,9338,9339],{},"For a first visit, mix your ambitions. Pair a couple of moderate multi-pitch routes with a via ferrata day and some valley sport climbing, and you get a feel for the range without overcommitting on the big walls. Keep notes on which approaches you used, how long routes actually took and what the conditions were like, because in a range this size that local knowledge is what makes a return trip flow.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9341},[9342,9343,9344],{"id":9295,"depth":132,"text":9296},{"id":9305,"depth":132,"text":9306},{"id":9329,"depth":132,"text":9330},"2025-01-03","Italian limestone spires, via ferrata and alpine adventure in one spectacular range.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fclimbing-in-the-dolomites.jpg","Satellite view of Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dolomites",[9350,9353,9356,9359],[9351,9352],46.6232,12.2992,[9354,9355],46.6238,12.3122,[9357,9358],46.614,12.3128,[9360,9361],46.6134,12.2998,"Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dolomites",46.6186,12.3055,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-dolomites",{"title":9287,"description":9346},"blog\u002Fclimbing-in-the-dolomites",[2589,3168,9370],"dolomites","Krp19iEtbKH29Gizc8qtdLl05OQgq7XFj-YThvV58Pc",{"id":9373,"title":9374,"author":7,"body":9375,"category":2785,"date":9440,"description":9441,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9442,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1543,"imageCreditUrl":1544,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9443,"navigation":152,"path":9444,"readTime":154,"seo":9445,"stem":9446,"tags":9447,"__hash__":9450},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Feating-for-climbing-performance.md","Eating for climbing performance",{"type":9,"value":9376,"toc":9434},[9377,9380,9384,9387,9390,9394,9397,9400,9411,9414,9418,9421,9424,9428,9431],[17,9378,9379],{},"Climbing has a strange relationship with food. Because strength-to-weight matters, plenty of climbers drift into restriction, skipped meals and quiet anxiety about the numbers. That is a bad trade. Under-fuelled climbers do not climb better — they climb tired, recover slowly, and edge towards injury. The sensible position is boring and effective: eat enough, eat real food, and time it roughly around your sessions.",[12,9381,9383],{"id":9382},"fuel-the-session","Fuel the session",[17,9385,9386],{},"Climbing hard is mostly powered by carbohydrate. Your muscles store it as glycogen, and when that runs low the symptoms are familiar: the pump comes earlier, the head goes foggy, and the last burns feel pointless. Turning up to a session under-fuelled is the most common and most avoidable way to climb below your level.",[17,9388,9389],{},"You do not need anything clever. A normal meal two to three hours before climbing, with some carbohydrate in it, covers most sessions. If you are coming straight from work, a small snack — fruit, a flapjack, some toast — half an hour to an hour before will keep the tank topped up. The aim is simply to arrive with energy, not to carb-load like a marathon runner.",[12,9391,9393],{"id":9392},"eat-during-long-sessions","Eat during long sessions",[17,9395,9396],{},"A short bouldering session does not need mid-way food. A long route day, a multi-pitch outing, or three hours of projecting is different. Once you have been going a couple of hours, energy starts to fade, and a fuzzy head leads to lazy feet and missed beta.",[17,9398,9399],{},"For longer days, keep something easy to hand:",[70,9401,9402,9405,9408],{},[73,9403,9404],{},"Quick carbohydrate for the wall: dried fruit, a banana, energy bars, a sandwich.",[73,9406,9407],{},"Enough water that you are not climbing thirsty, with a little more in heat.",[73,9409,9410],{},"Something with a bit of salt if you are sweating hard over a full day.",[17,9412,9413],{},"Eat before you feel desperate. By the time you notice the energy dip, you are already behind, and it takes a while to recover mid-session.",[12,9415,9417],{"id":9416},"recover-with-protein-and-carbs","Recover with protein and carbs",[17,9419,9420],{},"The session breaks tissue down. Food helps rebuild it. After climbing, the two things that matter most are replacing the carbohydrate you burned and giving your body protein to repair with. Again, this does not require powders or precise windows for most people — a proper meal within a few hours of finishing does the job. Something with a decent portion of protein and plenty of carbohydrate, plus vegetables, is exactly right.",[17,9422,9423],{},"If you train hard several times a week, paying attention to getting enough protein across the day, spread over meals, supports the slow business of getting stronger. But the basics of a normal, varied diet cover most of it.",[12,9425,9427],{"id":9426},"ignore-the-fad-noise","Ignore the fad noise",[17,9429,9430],{},"Climbing forums fill up with diet advice — cutting whole food groups, fasting before sessions, chasing an ever-lower bodyweight. Most of it is noise, and some of it is harmful. Being a little lighter can help on hard moves, but only up to a point, and chasing it through restriction usually costs you more in lost strength, poor recovery and brittle motivation than it ever gives back. Strong, well-fed and consistent beats light and depleted nearly every time.",[17,9432,9433],{},"The honest, unexciting summary is this: eat enough real food, get some carbohydrate in before you climb, eat properly afterwards, drink enough, and do not let the bathroom scales run your sessions. Do that and your fuelling will support your climbing rather than quietly holding it back. There is no secret beyond eating like someone who wants to train hard and recover well.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9435},[9436,9437,9438,9439],{"id":9382,"depth":132,"text":9383},{"id":9392,"depth":132,"text":9393},{"id":9416,"depth":132,"text":9417},{"id":9426,"depth":132,"text":9427},"2024-12-27","Fuelling a session and recovering from it, without the fad-diet noise — sensible food for climbers.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F5383798\u002Fpexels-photo-5383798.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Feating-for-climbing-performance",{"title":9374,"description":9441},"blog\u002Feating-for-climbing-performance",[9448,4738,9449],"nutrition","performance","LEULLGX7ed5jYzk3fiAghYBGPrjt4WKjBCOX4d2RTaE",{"id":9452,"title":9453,"author":7,"body":9454,"category":141,"date":9537,"description":9538,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":146,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9539,"navigation":152,"path":9540,"readTime":4146,"seo":9541,"stem":9542,"tags":9543,"__hash__":9545},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-finger-strength-without-getting-hurt.md","Building finger strength without getting hurt",{"type":9,"value":9455,"toc":9531},[9456,9460,9463,9466,9470,9473,9476,9480,9483,9515,9518,9522,9525,9528],[12,9457,9459],{"id":9458},"strong-fingers-slow-tendons","Strong fingers, slow tendons",[17,9461,9462],{},"Finger strength is the thing most climbers want more of, and for good reason. On hard, holdsy climbing it is often the limiting factor. The trouble is that fingers are also the part of you most likely to get injured, and the gap between training them and hurting them can be alarmingly small. The reason is biology. Your muscles get stronger fairly quickly, but the tendons and the small pulleys that hold them to the bone adapt far more slowly. Train as if your tendons keep pace with your muscles and you are writing a recipe for a strain.",[17,9464,9465],{},"So the whole game of finger training is patience. The climber who adds a little, consistently, for a year ends up stronger and uninjured than the one who hammers their fingers hard for a month and then spends two months recovering from a tweaked pulley.",[12,9467,9469],{"id":9468},"are-you-ready-to-hangboard","Are you ready to hangboard?",[17,9471,9472],{},"The first honest question is whether you should be hangboarding at all yet. If you have been climbing for less than roughly a year, you almost certainly do not need a hangboard, because simply climbing a lot still builds your fingers plenty and is far more enjoyable. Dedicated finger training earns its place once general climbing has stopped delivering finger gains and your fingers are clearly your limiting factor on the routes you want.",[17,9474,9475],{},"If you are newer than that, the better path is more climbing on varied holds, plenty of it, with proper warm-ups. Save the hangboard for when you have the base and the body awareness to use it sensibly.",[12,9477,9479],{"id":9478},"how-to-start-sensibly","How to start, sensibly",[17,9481,9482],{},"When you do begin, the principles matter more than any specific protocol.",[70,9484,9485,9491,9497,9503,9509],{},[73,9486,9487,9490],{},[76,9488,9489],{},"Warm up thoroughly first."," Never hang cold. Climb easy, get the fingers progressively loaded, and only then get on the board.",[73,9492,9493,9496],{},[76,9494,9495],{},"Use the half-crimp or open hand, not the full crimp."," The full crimp loads the pulleys hardest. Train on an open hand and a half crimp, which are safer and carry over well.",[73,9498,9499,9502],{},[76,9500,9501],{},"Start with big holds and short hangs."," Begin on an edge you can hold comfortably, with hangs of around seven to ten seconds and long rests between, two minutes or more. You want each hang to be hard but well within control, never a desperate fight to the last second.",[73,9504,9505,9508],{},[76,9506,9507],{},"Add load slowly."," Progress by tiny increments, week to week, not session to session. If you can choose, prefer adding a little weight on a comfortable edge over moving to a much smaller, sharper one.",[73,9510,9511,9514],{},[76,9512,9513],{},"Train fingers fresh, not fried."," Hangboard near the start of a session after warming up, not at the end when your fingers are already wrecked from climbing. Tired fingers under load is how people get hurt.",[17,9516,9517],{},"Two short sessions a week is plenty for most people. Fingers need recovery days between hard loading, so resist the urge to do it every time you train.",[12,9519,9521],{"id":9520},"the-warning-signs-to-never-ignore","The warning signs to never ignore",[17,9523,9524],{},"This is the part to take seriously. Finger tendons and pulleys do not give you much warning, and the signals they do give are easy to talk yourself out of.",[17,9526,9527],{},"Stop immediately if you feel a sharp pain in a finger, anything that pinches or stabs rather than the dull ache of effort. A pop or a snapping sensation in a finger is an emergency, get off the wall at once. Swelling, tenderness over a specific spot on the finger, or pain that lingers into the next day are all signs you have done too much. None of these are things to climb or train through.",[17,9529,9530],{},"The hardest discipline in finger training is doing less than you are capable of on the day, so that you can keep doing it week after week. Strong fingers are built over years, not weeks, and every session you finish feeling like you had more in the tank is a session that adds up rather than setting you back. Keeping a simple log of your hangs, the loads and how they felt, makes it much easier to progress gradually and to spot the warning signs before they become injuries.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9532},[9533,9534,9535,9536],{"id":9458,"depth":132,"text":9459},{"id":9468,"depth":132,"text":9469},{"id":9478,"depth":132,"text":9479},{"id":9520,"depth":132,"text":9521},"2024-12-20","How to start hangboarding sensibly, why patience wins, and the warning signs to never ignore.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-finger-strength-without-getting-hurt",{"title":9453,"description":9538},"blog\u002Fbuilding-finger-strength-without-getting-hurt",[162,7505,9544],"hangboard","qQF7GaqFq5nLH_s0drD-Q_I1SiAscHhBK_qK1UisH-U",{"id":9547,"title":9548,"author":7,"body":9549,"category":2785,"date":9623,"description":9624,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9625,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":1909,"imageCreditUrl":1910,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9626,"navigation":152,"path":9627,"readTime":1547,"seo":9628,"stem":9629,"tags":9630,"__hash__":9633},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsetting-goals-for-the-season.md","Setting goals for the season",{"type":9,"value":9550,"toc":9618},[9551,9555,9558,9561,9565,9568,9576,9579,9582,9602,9606,9609,9612,9615],[12,9552,9554],{"id":9553},"why-get-better-is-not-a-goal","Why \"get better\" is not a goal",[17,9556,9557],{},"Ask most climbers what they want from the season and the answer is some version of \"get better\". It is a fine intention and a useless plan. It gives you nothing to train towards, no way to tell whether you are on track, and no signal to celebrate when you have done it. The whole point of a goal is that it turns a vague wish into something you can actually point your sessions at.",[17,9559,9560],{},"A season is a good unit to plan around because it has a natural shape. Conditions change, you have a rough sense of when you will be climbing most, and a few months is long enough to make real progress but short enough to stay motivated. So pick a window, look at what is realistic in it, and write down something specific.",[12,9562,9564],{"id":9563},"make-the-goal-specific-and-yours","Make the goal specific and yours",[17,9566,9567],{},"A useful goal names the climb or the number, not the feeling. Compare:",[70,9569,9570,9573],{},[73,9571,9572],{},"Vague: \"climb harder this winter.\"",[73,9574,9575],{},"Specific: \"send that V5 traverse at the local wall by February, and lead my first 6a outside in spring.\"",[17,9577,9578],{},"The second one tells you what to train, when you have succeeded, and roughly how far away you are. It also lets you split a big aim into smaller steps, which is where the real work happens.",[17,9580,9581],{},"A few things worth getting right:",[70,9583,9584,9590,9596],{},[73,9585,9586,9589],{},[76,9587,9588],{},"Make it about you, not the leaderboard."," A grade that is a stretch but reachable for you is far better fuel than chasing what someone else climbs.",[73,9591,9592,9595],{},[76,9593,9594],{},"Mix outcomes and process."," \"Send a 7a\" is an outcome you do not fully control on the day. \"Hangboard twice a week and project on Saturdays\" is a process you do control, and it is what gets you the outcome.",[73,9597,9598,9601],{},[76,9599,9600],{},"Write it down."," A goal kept only in your head quietly shrinks to fit a lazy week. A written one holds you to account.",[12,9603,9605],{"id":9604},"plan-backwards-and-stay-flexible","Plan backwards and stay flexible",[17,9607,9608],{},"Once you have the headline goal, work backwards to the steps. If you want to lead 6a outside in spring and you have never led outdoors, the chain might run: get comfortable leading indoors, do a learn-to-lead-outside session, build mileage on easy outdoor routes, then point yourself at the project. Each link is a smaller goal with its own rough deadline.",[17,9610,9611],{},"Build in the boring but decisive bits too. Plan your rest, because progress happens during recovery and an exhausted climber stalls. Account for the weather and the seasons, since a winter goal might be all indoors and crimps while a summer one is long outdoor days. And leave slack, because you will get sick, busy or injured at some point, and a plan with no give just becomes a stick to beat yourself with.",[17,9613,9614],{},"Then review as you go. Halfway through, check honestly whether the goal still fits. Maybe it was too soft and you are already there, or too ambitious and a smaller version is the smart move, or your interest has drifted from sport to bouldering. Adjusting a goal is not failing at it. It is steering.",[17,9616,9617],{},"The climbers who improve most are rarely the most talented. They are the ones who knew what they were working towards and quietly chipped at it, week after week. Set one or two clear goals for the season, break them into steps, and keep a simple log of what you do and how the project is coming along. Watching the gap close is what keeps you turning up when motivation runs thin.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9619},[9620,9621,9622],{"id":9553,"depth":132,"text":9554},{"id":9563,"depth":132,"text":9564},{"id":9604,"depth":132,"text":9605},"2024-12-13","Turning \"get better\" into goals you can actually train towards, indoors and out.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F6700632\u002Fpexels-photo-6700632.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsetting-goals-for-the-season",{"title":9548,"description":9624},"blog\u002Fsetting-goals-for-the-season",[2796,9631,9632],"goals","planning","PK0Yk-XPfrrDwVAuAnKhTSWHSFH8Gl65foGscIIzpVE",{"id":9635,"title":9636,"author":7,"body":9637,"category":1703,"date":9725,"description":9726,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1441,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9727,"navigation":152,"path":9728,"readTime":1547,"seo":9729,"stem":9730,"tags":9731,"__hash__":9732},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-endurance-on-the-board.md","Training endurance on the board",{"type":9,"value":9638,"toc":9719},[9639,9643,9646,9649,9653,9656,9659,9679,9682,9686,9689,9692,9706,9709,9713,9716],[12,9640,9642],{"id":9641},"the-other-side-of-board-training","The other side of board training",[17,9644,9645],{},"Most people think of the board as a power tool, and it is. But the same wall that builds explosive pulling can also build a much bigger engine. Endurance on the board is about staying on the wall when your forearms are screaming and your grip is going, and learning to climb well in that state rather than falling apart.",[17,9647,9648],{},"This matters whether or not you ever tie into a rope. A bouldering session is a string of efforts, and the climber who recovers faster between problems gets more quality attempts. For anyone projecting longer routes, the ability to keep pulling through a pump is often the difference between clipping the chains and lowering off.",[12,9650,9652],{"id":9651},"circuits-and-repeats","Circuits and repeats",[17,9654,9655],{},"The basic unit of endurance work is volume on holds that are not at your limit. Pick problems several grades below your max, then keep moving.",[17,9657,9658],{},"A few formats worth rotating through:",[70,9660,9661,9667,9673],{},[73,9662,9663,9666],{},[76,9664,9665],{},"Up-down-up."," Climb a problem to the top, reverse it back to the start, then climb it again. Linking the moves in both directions doubles the time on the wall and forces you to find rests you would normally skip.",[73,9668,9669,9672],{},[76,9670,9671],{},"Circuits."," Stitch several easy problems into one long lap around the board, only stepping off when you genuinely cannot hold on. Aim for a sustained pump rather than a sharp one.",[73,9674,9675,9678],{},[76,9676,9677],{},"Timed repeats."," Climb for a set time, say four minutes on, then rest a similar amount, and repeat for several rounds. This trains your ability to recover between bouts, which is exactly what a session of hard bouldering asks of you.",[17,9680,9681],{},"Drop the angle if your board adjusts. A 25 or 30 degree wall lets you stay on far longer than a 45, and that time under tension is the whole point. Save the steep angles for power days.",[12,9683,9685],{"id":9684},"climbing-when-pumped","Climbing when pumped",[17,9687,9688],{},"The hidden skill in endurance is staying calm and accurate when your body wants to grab everything in a panic. A pumped climber over-grips, breathes badly, and rushes. Training endurance gives you reps at being uncomfortable so you stop flailing.",[17,9690,9691],{},"Pay attention to the boring things while you are tired:",[70,9693,9694,9697,9700,9703],{},[73,9695,9696],{},"Keep your arms straight when you can. Hanging off a bent arm burns grip you do not have to spare.",[73,9698,9699],{},"Breathe deliberately. Long exhales settle the heart rate and keep your head clear.",[73,9701,9702],{},"Use your feet. A solid heel hook or a flag that takes weight off your fingers buys you seconds, and seconds are everything when you are running out.",[73,9704,9705],{},"Find the rest. Even on a board there are shakeout positions if you look for them. Drop a hip in, get over a foot, let one arm recover.",[17,9707,9708],{},"The point is to make good movement automatic under fatigue, because that is the state real climbing happens in.",[12,9710,9712],{"id":9711},"patience-and-progress","Patience and progress",[17,9714,9715],{},"Endurance is the slowest, least glamorous thing to train, and it rewards consistency over heroics. You will not feel transformed after one session. Over a month of regular volume, though, you notice the pump arriving later and clearing faster, and you notice you are still climbing cleanly on the moves that used to fall apart.",[17,9717,9718],{},"Keep a rough record of how long your laps lasted and how the rests held up. The numbers nudge you to push the volume up gradually rather than coasting. A bigger engine is built one unremarkable circuit at a time, and the patience to keep climbing when pumped is itself the thing you are training.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9720},[9721,9722,9723,9724],{"id":9641,"depth":132,"text":9642},{"id":9651,"depth":132,"text":9652},{"id":9684,"depth":132,"text":9685},{"id":9711,"depth":132,"text":9712},"2024-12-06","Circuits, repeats and the patience to climb when pumped — building a bigger engine on the board.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-endurance-on-the-board",{"title":9636,"description":9726},"blog\u002Ftraining-endurance-on-the-board",[1715,8599,162],"wOZwca7G76TKVvCZI7hy6FkUis9SeG-LADuQ3c_kbKw",{"id":9734,"title":9735,"author":7,"body":9736,"category":1811,"date":9828,"description":9829,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9830,"imageAlt":1814,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9831,"navigation":152,"path":9832,"readTime":4146,"seo":9833,"stem":9834,"tags":9835,"__hash__":9836},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-best-bouldering-crash-pads-compared.md","The best bouldering crash pads, compared",{"type":9,"value":9737,"toc":9823},[9738,9741,9745,9748,9751,9777,9781,9784,9810,9814,9817,9820],[17,9739,9740],{},"A crash pad is the one piece of bouldering kit standing between you and the ground, so it is worth more thought than the colour. The good news is that the difference between pads comes down to a handful of clear factors. Once you understand foam, size, fold and carry, you can pick one that suits the rock you climb on rather than just the one on offer.",[12,9742,9744],{"id":9743},"what-actually-protects-you","What actually protects you",[17,9746,9747],{},"The heart of any pad is the foam, and the trick is layering. A good pad uses a firm top layer over a softer base. The firm layer spreads the impact and stops you punching straight through; the softer foam underneath absorbs the energy. Get this wrong and you \"bottom out\" — feel the ground through the pad — which is exactly what a pad is meant to prevent.",[17,9749,9750],{},"Thickness matters, but it works alongside foam quality rather than instead of it. A thick pad of poor foam can still bottom out, while a well-built thinner pad protects honestly within its limits. The other factors to weigh up:",[70,9752,9753,9759,9765,9771],{},[73,9754,9755,9758],{},[76,9756,9757],{},"Surface area."," A bigger landing zone gives you more room to miss your spot, which you will. Highball and committing problems reward large pads.",[73,9760,9761,9764],{},[76,9762,9763],{},"Fold type."," Hinge pads fold along a seam, which is easy to carry but leaves a soft line you want to avoid landing on. Taco pads fold without a hinge, giving a continuous surface but springing back to flat over time and being a touch bulkier to pack.",[73,9766,9767,9770],{},[76,9768,9769],{},"Carry comfort."," You will hump this thing for miles to the boulders. Decent shoulder straps, a waist belt and somewhere to stash gear make a real difference on the walk in.",[73,9772,9773,9776],{},[76,9774,9775],{},"Durability."," The fabric and stitching take a beating from rock, grit and being thrown around. A pad that lasts years is cheaper than two that do not.",[12,9778,9780],{"id":9779},"pads-boulderers-rate","Pads boulderers rate",[17,9782,9783],{},"These come up repeatedly in the bouldering community. Treat them as well-regarded examples of different priorities rather than a strict league table.",[70,9785,9786,9792,9798,9804],{},[73,9787,9788,9791],{},[76,9789,9790],{},"Organic."," Premium, made-to-order pads with a strong reputation for durability and a loyal following. The choice for people who want something built to last and do not mind paying for it.",[73,9793,9794,9797],{},[76,9795,9796],{},"Mad Rock (the Mad Pad and Duo)."," Good value with a large area and thick foam, which makes them an easy first pad. Worth knowing the foam can soften over time, so they reward looking after.",[73,9799,9800,9803],{},[76,9801,9802],{},"Black Diamond Mondo."," One of the largest landing zones going, built with highballs in mind. If you climb tall, scary problems, the sheer real estate is the point.",[73,9805,9806,9809],{},[76,9807,9808],{},"Black Diamond Impact."," Around four inches of foam, well suited to beginner-to-intermediate climbers and low-to-medium problems. A sensible, no-drama first pad.",[12,9811,9813],{"id":9812},"how-to-choose-and-a-reality-check","How to choose, and a reality check",[17,9815,9816],{},"Start from where you climb. If your local boulders are tall and the landings are flat, prioritise a large surface area and good layered foam. If you mostly do low, technical problems on uneven ground, a more manageable pad you can position precisely may serve you better. Travelling a lot? Carry comfort climbs up the priority list fast.",[17,9818,9819],{},"The most important thing to accept: one pad is rarely enough on real rock. Landings are uneven, problems move sideways, and a single pad leaves gaps where ankles get broken. Boulderers combine pads to build a continuous surface, drag them to follow the climb, and rely on a spotter to direct your fall onto the foam and keep your head off the rock. A second pad — even a cheap or borrowed one — does more for your safety than upgrading a single premium pad.",[17,9821,9822],{},"Buy the best foam you can afford, size it to your boulders, and never climb alone above hard ground. Then log the session in Sendit so you can look back and see which problems you actually committed to once the landing felt safe.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9824},[9825,9826,9827],{"id":9743,"depth":132,"text":9744},{"id":9779,"depth":132,"text":9780},{"id":9812,"depth":132,"text":9813},"2024-11-29","How to pick a pad that actually protects you, and the brands boulderers rate.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1691617169732-26d4068f6055?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-best-bouldering-crash-pads-compared",{"title":9735,"description":9829},"blog\u002Fthe-best-bouldering-crash-pads-compared",[1822,293,4231],"5CbC2knNzZkIOD0orOBK1cYNnXzZABvQEJJHB7kYBrY",{"id":9838,"title":9839,"author":7,"body":9840,"category":2678,"date":9928,"description":9929,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":9930,"imageAlt":9931,"imageCredit":9932,"imageCreditUrl":9933,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":9934,"navigation":152,"path":9935,"readTime":4146,"seo":9936,"stem":9937,"tags":9938,"__hash__":9940},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rise-of-climbing-from-niche-to-mainstream.md","The rise of climbing: how a niche sport went mainstream",{"type":9,"value":9841,"toc":9922},[9842,9846,9849,9860,9864,9867,9893,9896,9900,9909,9912,9916,9919],[12,9843,9845],{"id":9844},"from-the-fringe-to-the-feed","From the fringe to the feed",[17,9847,9848],{},"Not long ago, telling someone you went climbing meant explaining yourself. Were you on a mountain? With ropes? Is that not dangerous? Today most people have a friend who climbs, a gym down the road, or a memory of watching it at the Olympics. Climbing has quietly become one of the fastest-growing ways to move, and the shift has happened in barely a decade.",[17,9850,9851,9852,9859],{},"The headline moment was the Games. Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021), and the timing was extraordinary — a sport that thrives indoors arriving just as the world was rediscovering exercise close to home. By ",[9853,9854,9858],"a",{"href":9855,"rel":9856},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.olympics.com\u002Fen\u002Fsports\u002Fsport-climbing\u002F",[9857],"nofollow","Paris 2024"," it had grown from two medal events to four, with the athlete field expanding from 40 in Tokyo to 68. At Los Angeles 2028, the three disciplines — bouldering, lead and speed — will each become their own medal event. A sport that once lived in quarries and converted warehouses now has a permanent seat at the biggest table in sport.",[12,9861,9863],{"id":9862},"why-it-caught-on","Why it caught on",[17,9865,9866],{},"The Olympics threw fuel on a fire that was already lit. Climbing was growing before Tokyo, and there are good reasons it kept going:",[70,9868,9869,9875,9881,9887],{},[73,9870,9871,9874],{},[76,9872,9873],{},"It does not feel like exercise."," Every climb is a puzzle. You are so busy working out the moves that the workout sneaks up on you.",[73,9876,9877,9880],{},[76,9878,9879],{},"It is social by default."," You belay, you spot, you trade beta. A bouldering wall is one of the easiest places to fall into conversation with a stranger.",[73,9882,9883,9886],{},[76,9884,9885],{},"The barrier to entry is low."," Hire some shoes, chalk up, and you can have a brilliant first session with zero technique. Few sports give beginners that much fun on day one.",[73,9888,9889,9892],{},[76,9890,9891],{},"It scales with you."," The same wall holds a problem for your first week and a problem you will still be failing on next year.",[17,9894,9895],{},"That combination — playful, sociable, accessible, endlessly deep — is rare, and it travels well from city to city.",[12,9897,9899],{"id":9898},"the-gym-boom","The gym boom",[17,9901,9902,9903,9908],{},"The clearest evidence is bricks and mortar. According to the ",[9853,9904,9907],{"href":9905,"rel":9906},"https:\u002F\u002Fclimbingbusinessjournal.com\u002Fgyms-and-trends-2024\u002F",[9857],"Climbing Business Journal",", which tracks the industry, North America passed 870 commercial climbing gyms in 2024, having added new ones every year for well over a decade. Most of that growth has come from bouldering-focused gyms — no ropes, no belay courses, just pads, problems and a social floor. Market analysts now value the global climbing gym market in the billions and expect it to keep growing at close to ten per cent a year.",[17,9910,9911],{},"New gyms bring new climbers, who bring their friends, who eventually try real rock. The indoor boom has fed the outdoor scene rather than replacing it.",[12,9913,9915],{"id":9914},"what-it-means-for-you","What it means for you",[17,9917,9918],{},"A bigger sport is a better sport to be part of. There are more gyms within reach, more partners to climb with, more coaching, and far more beginner-friendly culture than the sport had twenty years ago. It also means busier walls, fuller car parks at popular crags, and a real responsibility to look after access and the places we climb.",[17,9920,9921],{},"For most of us, though, the boom is simply good news. Climbing is easier to start, easier to keep up, and easier to share than it has ever been. The mainstream finally caught up with what climbers always knew — that there are few better ways to spend an afternoon than figuring out how to get to the top.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":9923},[9924,9925,9926,9927],{"id":9844,"depth":132,"text":9845},{"id":9862,"depth":132,"text":9863},{"id":9898,"depth":132,"text":9899},{"id":9914,"depth":132,"text":9915},"2024-11-22","Climbing has gone from a fringe pursuit to an Olympic sport with gyms opening across the world. Here is what drove the boom — and what it means for everyday climbers.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1644000452134-ea638f6f5ab9?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a bright indoor competition wall","Adam Bezer","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@bezer",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rise-of-climbing-from-niche-to-mainstream",{"title":9839,"description":9929},"blog\u002Fthe-rise-of-climbing-from-niche-to-mainstream",[2690,3653,9939],"growth","bWKIttJO0VyAOvM00m5oEVW6XWTx-EznJe9pVzjbseE",{"id":9942,"title":9943,"author":7,"body":9944,"category":1703,"date":10015,"description":10016,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10017,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":10018,"imageCreditUrl":10019,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10020,"navigation":152,"path":10021,"readTime":154,"seo":10022,"stem":10023,"tags":10024,"__hash__":10025},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-route-setters-design-problems.md","How route setters design problems",{"type":9,"value":9945,"toc":10009},[9946,9949,9953,9956,9959,9962,9966,9969,9972,9976,9979,9982,9996,9999,10003,10006],[17,9947,9948],{},"Most climbers spend years pulling on plastic without much thought for how it got there. Then one day you watch a setter work a problem, twisting a foothold a few degrees and turning a clumsy scrabble into a clean rock-over, and you realise there is a whole craft hiding in plain sight. Route setting is part choreography, part engineering and part reading the room.",[12,9950,9952],{"id":9951},"setters-design-movement-not-just-difficulty","Setters design movement, not just difficulty",[17,9954,9955],{},"The beginner's assumption is that setting is about making climbs hard. Strip the holds down to nothing and you have a hard problem, job done. Good setters think almost the opposite way. They start with a movement they want you to make, then arrange the holds to coax you into it.",[17,9957,9958],{},"The hold is only half the story. Where it goes, which way it faces and how far it sits from the next one decides everything. The same chunky hold can be a casual jug or a desperate sloper depending on the angle it is bolted at. A setter who wants you to drop a knee, throw a heel or commit to a dynamic slap will place and rotate holds so that any other solution feels worse than the intended one. When a problem flows, it is because someone choreographed it that way.",[17,9960,9961],{},"This is why two problems of the same grade can feel completely different. One might be a pure power sequence off two holds, another a delicate, balancey traverse that never feels strenuous but punishes a sloppy foot. Both might be the same grade. The grade tells you roughly how hard, not what kind of hard.",[12,9963,9965],{"id":9964},"grading-is-a-negotiation-not-a-measurement","Grading is a negotiation, not a measurement",[17,9967,9968],{},"There is no machine that reads a grade off a wall. Setters grade by feel, by comparison to other climbs they have set, and by how a range of testers get on with it. A problem that the setter floats might shut down a shorter climber entirely, or vice versa, and part of the craft is spotting those height and reach dependencies before the climb goes up.",[17,9970,9971],{},"Most gyms have setters cross-check each other's grades, because a single person calibrates to their own strengths. A wiry crimp specialist will under-grade a fingery problem and over-grade a powerful one. Pooling opinions across a few bodies of different shapes and styles is how a setting team keeps grades roughly honest, though \"roughly\" is doing real work in that sentence. Grades drift between gyms and even between walls, and that is normal.",[12,9973,9975],{"id":9974},"setting-for-the-whole-gym","Setting for the whole gym",[17,9977,9978],{},"A single problem is a small thing. A wall of problems, refreshed every week or two, is the real product, and good setters think about the set as a whole.",[17,9980,9981],{},"That means spreading climbs across the grades so the gym serves the nervous first-timer and the strong regular alike. It means varying the style, so a circuit is not all the same powerful pulling on the same hold type. A well-set wall might offer:",[70,9983,9984,9987,9990,9993],{},[73,9985,9986],{},"Approachable, juggy lines for people finding their feet.",[73,9988,9989],{},"Technical, balance-led problems that reward footwork over strength.",[73,9991,9992],{},"Steep, powerful test-pieces for the strong end of the room.",[73,9994,9995],{},"A few quirky, puzzle-like sets that make people stop and think about beta.",[17,9997,9998],{},"Setters also work around the physical wall. Steep overhangs naturally suit powerful, gymnastic movement. Slabs demand trust and precise feet. Vertical walls reward technique and stamina. A good setter plays to each angle rather than fighting it.",[12,10000,10002],{"id":10001},"watch-how-you-are-being-moved","Watch how you are being moved",[17,10004,10005],{},"Once you know setting is intentional, your climbing changes. Instead of grabbing the nearest hold, you start asking what the setter wanted. Why is that foothold so far out to the side? Why does the good hold face the wrong way until you turn your hips? Reading the intended sequence is often the difference between thrashing up a problem and floating it.",[17,10007,10008],{},"Next time a problem feels brilliant, take a second to appreciate that someone built that feeling on purpose. And next time one feels awful, well, even good setters have off days, and tastes differ. Keeping track of the styles and angles you gravitate towards, and the ones you avoid, is a quietly useful way to spot the gaps a clever setter would happily exploit.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10010},[10011,10012,10013,10014],{"id":9951,"depth":132,"text":9952},{"id":9964,"depth":132,"text":9965},{"id":9974,"depth":132,"text":9975},{"id":10001,"depth":132,"text":10002},"2024-11-15","The craft behind the holds — how setters shape movement, grade and the flow of a session.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1641159955598-134649e62d86?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Alexander Williams","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@alwilliams012",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-route-setters-design-problems",{"title":9943,"description":10016},"blog\u002Fhow-route-setters-design-problems",[2882,5397,3056],"IJ515sYQ55aWD8lzQUdWm07WH4HWhU6aflAengmHsWE",{"id":10027,"title":10028,"author":7,"body":10029,"category":2555,"date":10091,"description":10092,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10093,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":2683,"imageCreditUrl":2684,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10094,"navigation":152,"path":10095,"readTime":1547,"seo":10096,"stem":10097,"tags":10098,"__hash__":10100},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-find-a-crag-near-you.md","How to find a crag near you",{"type":9,"value":10030,"toc":10085},[10031,10034,10038,10041,10044,10048,10051,10054,10065,10068,10072,10075,10078,10082],[17,10032,10033],{},"The jump from indoor climbing to outdoor climbing often stalls at one simple question: where do you actually go. The rock is out there somewhere, but turning \"somewhere out there\" into a real plan with a parking spot, an approach and a list of routes can feel surprisingly opaque. The good news is that the tools to do it are all within reach, and once you have found your first local crag the rest tends to follow.",[12,10035,10037],{"id":10036},"start-with-guidebooks","Start with guidebooks",[17,10039,10040],{},"A printed guidebook is still one of the best ways to discover what is near you. Local guidebooks gather the crags of a region into one place, with maps, route descriptions, grades and the kind of context an app rarely gives you: which crag catches the morning sun, which one is a quagmire after rain, which one is friendly for a first outdoor lead.",[17,10042,10043],{},"The descriptive writing in a good guidebook is half the value. It tells you the character of a place before you commit a day to it, and it often flags the beginner-friendly crags clearly so you do not accidentally pick something serious for your first trip. Buying the local guide also supports the people who put in the work to document an area.",[12,10045,10047],{"id":10046},"use-apps-and-the-map","Use apps and the map",[17,10049,10050],{},"Digital tools come into their own for the practical side of a day out. They are quick to search, easy to filter by grade and style, and they put a pin on the map so you know exactly where you are heading.",[17,10052,10053],{},"A sensible way to use them:",[70,10055,10056,10059,10062],{},[73,10057,10058],{},"Filter for the grade range and the type of climbing you want, whether that is single-pitch sport, bouldering or trad.",[73,10060,10061],{},"Read recent logs and comments to gauge current conditions, access notes and whether anything has changed since the guidebook was printed.",[73,10063,10064],{},"Check the approach time and the parking, because a thirty-second filter can save you an hour of wandering across a hillside.",[17,10066,10067],{},"The map view is particularly useful when you simply want to know what is climbable within an hour of home. Zoom in on your area and you will often spot crags you had no idea existed.",[12,10069,10071],{"id":10070},"check-access-before-you-go","Check access before you go",[17,10073,10074],{},"Finding a crag is only half the job. Before you set off, make sure it is actually open and that you are allowed to climb there. Some crags have seasonal restrictions to protect nesting birds, some sit on land with access agreements that ask climbers to park or approach in a particular way, and a few are simply off limits.",[17,10076,10077],{},"Local climbing organisations and the comments on crag listings are the place to check. A restriction you ignore can sour relations with a landowner and cost everyone access, so it is worth five minutes of reading before you load the car.",[12,10079,10081],{"id":10080},"turn-it-into-a-habit","Turn it into a habit",[17,10083,10084],{},"The first crag is the hard one. Once you have done a couple of trips to local rock, you build a mental map of what is around, what suits different weather and what you fancy when you have a spare half-day. Keep a list of crags you have visited and the ones you want to try, jot down what the conditions were like and which routes you ticked, and your own logbook quickly becomes the most useful guide of all. Sendit's map and logging make it easy to keep that record growing trip by trip.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10086},[10087,10088,10089,10090],{"id":10036,"depth":132,"text":10037},{"id":10046,"depth":132,"text":10047},{"id":10070,"depth":132,"text":10071},{"id":10080,"depth":132,"text":10081},"2024-11-08","Using guidebooks, apps and the map to turn \"somewhere out there\" into your next outdoor day.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1610768764270-790fbec18178?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-find-a-crag-near-you",{"title":10028,"description":10092},"blog\u002Fhow-to-find-a-crag-near-you",[2589,3168,10099],"getting started","kx_XNDkAVgnqDQ4vLTrovVQOWg_qOTjCNc6BYXEW6fE",{"id":10102,"title":10103,"author":7,"body":10104,"category":1904,"date":10178,"description":10179,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1541,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":1543,"imageCreditUrl":1544,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10180,"navigation":152,"path":10181,"readTime":1547,"seo":10182,"stem":10183,"tags":10184,"__hash__":10185},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbrushes-and-skin-care-for-climbers.md","Brushes and skin care for climbers",{"type":9,"value":10105,"toc":10173},[10106,10110,10113,10116,10120,10123,10126,10140,10143,10147,10150,10153,10156,10170],[12,10107,10109],{"id":10108},"the-two-things-that-end-sessions-early","The two things that end sessions early",[17,10111,10112],{},"Most sessions do not end because you run out of strength. They end because the holds turn greasy and you cannot feel them, or because the skin on your fingertips gives up. Both are manageable with a few cheap habits, and both reward you with grip you would otherwise have to earn the hard way.",[17,10114,10115],{},"A brush sorts out the holds. Skin care sorts out you. Carry a little of each and you climb later into the session and feel better the next morning.",[12,10117,10119],{"id":10118},"brushing-holds-the-right-way","Brushing holds the right way",[17,10121,10122],{},"Chalk, sweat and rubber build up on popular holds and on the texture of any hold you keep falling off. That film fills the tiny crystals you are gripping and turns a positive crimp into a slick one. A quick brush clears it and restores the friction.",[17,10124,10125],{},"A few sensible habits:",[70,10127,10128,10131,10134,10137],{},[73,10129,10130],{},"Use a brush with natural boar's hair or firm nylon. Wire brushes tear up the rock and are best left alone, especially on softer stone like sandstone and grit.",[73,10132,10133],{},"Brush in the direction you would pull, working chalk out of the texture rather than packing it in.",[73,10135,10136],{},"On boulders, a brush taped to a longer stick or pole lets you clean high holds from the ground before you set off.",[73,10138,10139],{},"Brush your tick marks off when you leave. They help you find a hold in the moment, but a crag left covered in chalk arrows is a poor look and annoys everyone after you.",[17,10141,10142],{},"Indoors the etiquette is the same minus the conservation worry. Brush the polished bits, knock the loose chalk off, and move on.",[12,10144,10146],{"id":10145},"looking-after-your-skin","Looking after your skin",[17,10148,10149],{},"Your fingertips are the contact patch for the whole sport, and they are slower to recover than your muscles. Push them too hard and you split, flapper or wear the skin paper-thin, and then you are off for days.",[17,10151,10152],{},"During a session, watch for the warning signs. Skin that has gone shiny and hot is thinning and about to tear. A small flap of loose skin will catch and rip on the next hold, so trim it flush with nail scissors rather than pulling at it. If a tip is genuinely sore, climbing on it harder rarely improves things.",[17,10154,10155],{},"Between sessions, the aim is supple skin that is neither too soft nor cracked dry.",[70,10157,10158,10161,10164,10167],{},[73,10159,10160],{},"Keep your nails short. Long nails catch on small holds and lever skin off.",[73,10162,10163],{},"Use a file or fine sandpaper to take down thick callus before it becomes a high spot that peels away in one chunk.",[73,10165,10166],{},"A simple climbing salve or plain moisturiser overnight stops winter skin cracking, which is its own painful, slow-healing problem.",[73,10168,10169],{},"If you are prone to sweaty hands, a light antihydral or chalk-up routine helps, but go easy, because overdrying leads to splits.",[17,10171,10172],{},"None of this is glamorous. It is nail scissors, a brush and a tub of cream living in your kit bag. But the climbers who get the most out of a session are usually not the strongest in the room, they are the ones whose skin and chosen holds are both still in good shape at the end of it. Keeping a rough note of how your skin felt after hard sessions, the same way you log climbs, makes it easier to spot when you are pushing it too often.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10174},[10175,10176,10177],{"id":10108,"depth":132,"text":10109},{"id":10118,"depth":132,"text":10119},{"id":10145,"depth":132,"text":10146},"2024-11-01","Keeping holds clean and fingertips intact — the small habits that save sessions.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbrushes-and-skin-care-for-climbers",{"title":10103,"description":10179},"blog\u002Fbrushes-and-skin-care-for-climbers",[1822,161,7120],"I6YW9wgVL1nbXbyhRsN1agGKVltCE77C2Qg5X9jlr_s",{"id":10187,"title":10188,"author":7,"body":10189,"category":2785,"date":10303,"description":10304,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10305,"imageAlt":10306,"imageCredit":10307,"imageCreditUrl":10308,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10309,"navigation":152,"path":10310,"readTime":4146,"seo":10311,"stem":10312,"tags":10313,"__hash__":10315},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-creators-worth-following.md","Climbing creators worth following",{"type":9,"value":10190,"toc":10296},[10191,10195,10198,10202,10224,10227,10231,10246,10249,10253,10260,10264,10267,10293],[12,10192,10194],{"id":10193},"learning-from-the-people-who-climb-online","Learning from the people who climb online",[17,10196,10197],{},"A lot of modern climbing knowledge arrives through a screen. That is no bad thing — watching strong, thoughtful climbers is one of the fastest ways to improve, as long as you watch actively rather than passively. Below is a tour of the kinds of creators worth your time, with a few well-known names in each. Followings and projects change constantly, so treat this as a starting point and go and find your own favourites.",[12,10199,10201],{"id":10200},"the-athletes-who-set-the-standard","The athletes who set the standard",[17,10203,10204,10205,10208,10209,10212,10213,10216,10217,10220,10221,10223],{},"At the top of the sport are climbers whose ascents redraw what is possible. ",[76,10206,10207],{},"Janja Garnbret"," of Slovenia is widely regarded as the greatest competition climber of her generation, with multiple Olympic gold medals and a long list of World Championship titles. ",[76,10210,10211],{},"Adam Ondra"," of the Czech Republic made the first ascent of ",[2610,10214,10215],{},"Silence"," in 2017, proposed at 9c and still among the hardest routes ever climbed. ",[76,10218,10219],{},"Alex Honnold"," reached a wider audience through ",[2610,10222,2612],{},", the film documenting his ropeless ascent of El Capitan's Freerider.",[17,10225,10226],{},"You will not climb like these athletes, and that is not the point. Watch them for movement: how quiet their feet are, how they rest, how little they waste. The lesson is rarely the grade — it is the economy.",[12,10228,10230],{"id":10229},"the-youtubers-who-teach-as-they-go","The YouTubers who teach as they go",[17,10232,10233,10234,10237,10238,10241,10242,10245],{},"A second group has made climbing approachable for millions. ",[76,10235,10236],{},"Magnus Midtbø",", a former World Cup climber from Norway, runs one of the largest climbing channels on YouTube, mixing training, challenges and collaborations that pull in people who have never touched a wall. ",[76,10239,10240],{},"Hannah Morris"," has built a loyal following with bouldering vlogs and coaching that meet ordinary climbers where they are. ",[76,10243,10244],{},"Emil Abrahamsson"," is known both for light-hearted adventure videos and for a simple daily hangboard routine that went viral for being gentle enough for almost anyone.",[17,10247,10248],{},"These creators are at their best when they show the process — the failed attempts, the small adjustments — not just the send.",[12,10250,10252],{"id":10251},"the-coaches-and-the-science","The coaches and the science",[17,10254,10255,10256,10259],{},"If you want to train rather than just watch, channels like ",[76,10257,10258],{},"Lattice Training"," dig into the why: how to structure a session, when to rest, how to look after fingers and avoid injury. Evidence-led coaching content has matured hugely, and a single well-made video can save you months of guessing.",[12,10261,10263],{"id":10262},"how-to-watch-well","How to watch well",[17,10265,10266],{},"Online climbing is inspiring, but it can also nudge you towards moves and training your body is not ready for. A few habits keep it useful:",[70,10268,10269,10275,10281,10287],{},[73,10270,10271,10274],{},[76,10272,10273],{},"Copy technique, not feats."," A drop-knee drill helps you. A campus-board session you saw a pro do can hurt you.",[73,10276,10277,10280],{},[76,10278,10279],{},"Mind the survivorship bias."," You see the send, not the months of work or the injuries behind it.",[73,10282,10283,10286],{},[76,10284,10285],{},"Translate, do not imitate."," Ask \"what is the principle here?\" and apply it at your level.",[73,10288,10289,10292],{},[76,10290,10291],{},"Be sceptical of miracle fixes."," Real progress is boring and consistent.",[17,10294,10295],{},"The best thing about climbing's creators is not the strength on display — it is that the whole sport now teaches in the open. Watch widely, borrow the good habits, and bring them back to your own sessions. Then log what works, so the lessons stick.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10297},[10298,10299,10300,10301,10302],{"id":10193,"depth":132,"text":10194},{"id":10200,"depth":132,"text":10201},{"id":10229,"depth":132,"text":10230},{"id":10251,"depth":132,"text":10252},{"id":10262,"depth":132,"text":10263},"2024-10-25","From Olympic champions to YouTubers who teach as they climb — a guide to the people shaping climbing online, and how to learn from them without copying blindly.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1573811364758-53cd4b9107e6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber filming and reviewing a session at the wall","Sabrina Wendl","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@alightproduction_by_sabrinawendl",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-creators-worth-following",{"title":10188,"description":10304},"blog\u002Fclimbing-creators-worth-following",[3056,10314,3057],"creators","hxEvddjNp87EqL2WeYrFOKsoY4yXqEvwQPBpNbjQIVs",{"id":10317,"title":10318,"author":7,"body":10319,"category":141,"date":10381,"description":10382,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10383,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":10384,"imageCreditUrl":10385,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10386,"navigation":152,"path":10387,"readTime":1547,"seo":10388,"stem":10389,"tags":10390,"__hash__":10392},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fstraight-arms-bent-legs-climbing-with-less-pump.md","Straight arms, bent legs: climbing with less pump",{"type":9,"value":10320,"toc":10375},[10321,10325,10328,10331,10335,10338,10341,10344,10348,10351,10354,10358,10361,10372],[12,10322,10324],{"id":10323},"bent-arms-burn-straight-arms-rest","Bent arms burn, straight arms rest",[17,10326,10327],{},"There is a single habit that separates climbers who get pumped on the warm-up from those who cruise the same wall: where they hold the bend. When your arm is bent, the muscle is working to hold the angle, and the forearm fills with blood whether you are moving or not. When your arm is straight, you are hanging off the skeleton, and the muscle gets a chance to recover even while you are still on the wall.",[17,10329,10330],{},"So the principle is to stay on straight arms whenever you are not actively pulling, and to do the pulling with your legs. It sounds obvious written down. The hard part is that the instinct under pressure is to do the exact opposite: lock the arms in tight and forget the legs entirely.",[12,10332,10334],{"id":10333},"hang-off-the-bones","Hang off the bones",[17,10336,10337],{},"Picture yourself reaching for the next hold from a straight lower arm. Your hand is on a hold, your arm is long, your shoulder is engaged but not cramped, and your weight drops down through the bone into your feet. From there you set a foot, bend the leg, and stand up. As you rise, the next hold comes to you and your arm stays long until the moment your hand closes on it.",[17,10339,10340],{},"Now picture the common mistake. The arm is bent at ninety degrees, the climber stares at a hold just out of reach, and they try to muscle up with the bicep while the legs hang slack. The forearm is screaming, the move feels desperate, and the same hold would have been easy from a long arm and a high foot.",[17,10342,10343],{},"The fix is to keep asking, on every move, whether you can do this with your legs instead. Usually you can.",[12,10345,10347],{"id":10346},"drive-from-the-legs","Drive from the legs",[17,10349,10350],{},"Bent legs are the engine. A bent leg can straighten and lift your whole body, which is exactly what you want it to do. So before a hand move, get a foot high, load it, and press up through it so the move becomes a leg extension rather than an arm pull. The hand just goes along for the ride and catches the hold at the top.",[17,10352,10353],{},"This is why footwork and arm efficiency are really the same conversation. You cannot drive with your legs if your feet are not set, and you cannot relax your arms if your legs are not taking the weight.",[12,10355,10357],{"id":10356},"drills-to-make-it-stick","Drills to make it stick",[17,10359,10360],{},"You will not change this by thinking about it once. You change it by drilling it on easy terrain until it is the default.",[70,10362,10363,10366,10369],{},[73,10364,10365],{},"Straight-arm traverse: pick an easy traverse and climb it with a rule that your arms must stay straight at all times. You will be forced to use your legs and reposition your hips constantly.",[73,10367,10368],{},"The pause game: on a route well below your limit, pause for a breath on every straight arm and shake out the other hand. It teaches you to find and trust the rests.",[73,10370,10371],{},"Quiet reach: reach for each hold slowly from a long arm and only bend at the last moment. It exposes how often you bend early out of nerves.",[17,10373,10374],{},"Spend a few warm-ups doing nothing but this and you will feel the difference in how long you last before the pump arrives. The takeaway is small enough to remember at the wall: stay long in the arms, bend the legs, and let the big muscles do the climbing.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10376},[10377,10378,10379,10380],{"id":10323,"depth":132,"text":10324},{"id":10333,"depth":132,"text":10334},{"id":10346,"depth":132,"text":10347},{"id":10356,"depth":132,"text":10357},"2024-10-18","Why hanging off straight arms and driving with your legs keeps you fresh, and drills to make it automatic.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1593132517397-ceb31d77194a?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Mark McGregor","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mmcgregor",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fstraight-arms-bent-legs-climbing-with-less-pump",{"title":10318,"description":10382},"blog\u002Fstraight-arms-bent-legs-climbing-with-less-pump",[10391,290,8599],"efficiency","V-3-uCcVNiOO11ng_uH9juSQpb7lhSZe4JcajWFbn_0",{"id":10394,"title":10395,"author":7,"body":10396,"category":141,"date":10469,"description":10470,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":427,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":429,"imageCreditUrl":430,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10471,"navigation":152,"path":10472,"readTime":1547,"seo":10473,"stem":10474,"tags":10475,"__hash__":10477},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftoe-hooks-for-steep-climbing.md","Toe hooks for steep climbing",{"type":9,"value":10397,"toc":10463},[10398,10402,10405,10408,10412,10415,10418,10422,10425,10428,10431,10442,10446,10449,10460],[12,10399,10401],{"id":10400},"the-opposite-of-a-heel-hook","The opposite of a heel hook",[17,10403,10404],{},"Where a heel hook pulls a hold towards you, a toe hook pulls you towards the wall. You catch a hold with the top of your foot, over the laces, and pull with the front of your shin and the top of the foot to stop your lower body swinging out. On steep ground that is exactly the fight you are in. Once the wall tips past vertical your feet want to cut loose and your body wants to swing away, and a toe hook is one of the cleanest ways to shut that down.",[17,10406,10407],{},"It is a quieter tool than the heel hook and easier to overlook, but on roofs and steep ground a well-placed toe is often the difference between staying composed and getting spat off.",[12,10409,10411],{"id":10410},"what-it-does-for-you","What it does for you",[17,10413,10414],{},"A toe hook does three jobs. It keeps your feet on the wall so you do not cut loose. It lets you generate body tension by opposing a hand or another foot, so you can pull yourself into a position and hold it. And it gives you something to pull against during a reach, which turns a swinging slap into a controlled, static move.",[17,10416,10417],{},"The most obvious place is the roof, where there is nothing to stand on and the only way to keep your hips up is to hook a toe over a hold and pull. But you will also use them on the way out of overhangs, to stop a swing after a long move, or to lock your body in while you reach through with a hand.",[12,10419,10421],{"id":10420},"how-to-place-one","How to place one",[17,10423,10424],{},"Catch the hold with the top of your foot, getting as much rubber and shoelace area onto it as you can. Point your toes and pull your foot back towards your body so the top of the foot grips. The pull comes from your shin and the muscles on the front of the lower leg, plus your core holding everything together.",[17,10426,10427],{},"The key idea is opposition. A toe hook only works against something. You pull in with the toe while pushing or pulling somewhere else, and the tension between the two keeps you locked to the wall. A toe hook on its own, with nothing to oppose, just dangles.",[17,10429,10430],{},"Watch for these:",[70,10432,10433,10436,10439],{},[73,10434,10435],{},"Get the foot back behind the hold so the top of the foot can bite, not the toe tip.",[73,10437,10438],{},"Keep your ankle firm and toes pointed so the hook does not roll off.",[73,10440,10441],{},"Engage your core. A toe hook with a slack midsection leaks all its tension.",[12,10443,10445],{"id":10444},"training-the-tension-it-needs","Training the tension it needs",[17,10447,10448],{},"Toe hooks demand a particular kind of strength: the front of the shin, the foot, and a core that can hold opposing tension. The best way to build it is by doing them, but a few things help.",[70,10450,10451,10454,10457],{},[73,10452,10453],{},"Spend warm-ups on a steep board or overhanging wall deliberately hooking toes, even on moves that do not need it.",[73,10455,10456],{},"Practise holding a position with one toe hooked and one hand off, feeling the opposition that keeps you on.",[73,10458,10459],{},"On a roof problem below your limit, climb it focusing only on keeping your feet engaged the whole way, never letting them cut.",[17,10461,10462],{},"Toe hooks reward commitment in the same way heels do. A timid toe that you do not really pull with does nothing, so once it is on, drive it back and trust the tension. Build it up gradually rather than yanking maximally on a cold ankle. Spend a few steep sessions hunting for toes and they will quickly become part of how you read overhanging ground, and the wall will stop throwing you off when it tips back.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10464},[10465,10466,10467,10468],{"id":10400,"depth":132,"text":10401},{"id":10410,"depth":132,"text":10411},{"id":10420,"depth":132,"text":10421},{"id":10444,"depth":132,"text":10445},"2024-10-11","How toe hooks keep you on the wall when it tips past vertical, and how to train the tension they need.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftoe-hooks-for-steep-climbing",{"title":10395,"description":10470},"blog\u002Ftoe-hooks-for-steep-climbing",[290,438,10476],"overhang","Tuok7s3vSlyL8KOq8ED2ovXbFqKNyFaipn-kQZseN54",{"id":10479,"title":10480,"author":7,"body":10481,"category":2555,"date":10545,"description":10546,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10547,"imageAlt":10548,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":10549,"mapLabel":10562,"mapLat":10563,"mapLng":10564,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":6415,"meta":10565,"navigation":152,"path":10566,"readTime":4146,"seo":10567,"stem":10568,"tags":10569,"__hash__":10571},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-yosemite.md","Climbing in Yosemite",{"type":9,"value":10482,"toc":10540},[10483,10486,10488,10491,10494,10498,10501,10504,10524,10527,10531,10534,10537],[17,10484,10485],{},"Few places carry as much weight in climbing as Yosemite Valley. The granite walls that rise from the valley floor in California's Sierra Nevada are where so much of modern climbing was figured out, from the first big-wall ascents to the styles and tools we still use today. Standing on the valley floor and craning your neck up El Capitan, you get a sense of scale that photographs never quite manage.",[12,10487,8494],{"id":8493},[17,10489,10490],{},"Yosemite is where a lot of climbing's vocabulary was written. The long, clean cracks running up these walls forced climbers to develop crack technique, jamming hands and fingers into fissures rather than pulling on edges. The sheer size of the faces pushed people to learn how to live on a wall for days, hauling gear, sleeping on ledges or portaledges, and rationing water. Names like El Capitan and Half Dome are landmarks in the sport's history, not just on a map.",[17,10492,10493],{},"The rock itself is glacier-polished granite, which can be slick and demanding. Friction climbing on low-angle slabs, precise footwork on glassy faces and committing crack systems all show up here. It is a place that rewards patience and a willingness to learn techniques that gyms rarely teach.",[12,10495,10497],{"id":10496},"how-to-dip-a-toe-in","How to dip a toe in",[17,10499,10500],{},"You do not need to be aiming at a multi-day wall to enjoy Yosemite. The valley has plenty for climbers at the start of their outdoor journey, and the trick is matching the place to your current level rather than the legend in your head.",[17,10502,10503],{},"A few sensible entry points:",[70,10505,10506,10512,10518],{},[73,10507,10508,10511],{},[76,10509,10510],{},"Single-pitch crags."," Areas around the valley have shorter routes where you can practise crack technique on solid ground without the commitment of a long day.",[73,10513,10514,10517],{},[76,10515,10516],{},"Easy multi-pitch."," Moderate multi-pitch routes let you learn how to move efficiently as a team, manage a rope above the ground and build the head for height, all on terrain that is well within reach.",[73,10519,10520,10523],{},[76,10521,10522],{},"Bouldering."," The valley has its own boulders if you want to keep things close to the ground while you get used to the granite's slick, technical feel.",[17,10525,10526],{},"Crack climbing is the skill that catches most visitors out. If your background is gym faces and bouldering, jamming feels alien and a bit brutal at first. Tape your hands, start on wide, friendly cracks and accept that you will be slow and a little battered for the first few days. It comes with mileage.",[12,10528,10530],{"id":10529},"going-in-with-eyes-open","Going in with eyes open",[17,10532,10533],{},"Yosemite is a serious mountain environment as much as a climbing destination. The walls are big, the weather can turn, and rescue is not guaranteed or quick. Build up gradually, climb well within your limits while you learn the rock, and treat early trips as apprenticeships rather than tick lists.",[17,10535,10536],{},"It is also a heavily protected national park with real pressure on access and the environment. Stick to established trails and approaches, follow local regulations on camping and waste, and respect the closures that protect nesting birds on the big walls each spring. The climbing community's long relationship with this place depends on visitors treating it carefully.",[17,10538,10539],{},"Above all, give yourself time. Yosemite is not a destination you tick in a weekend, and the climbers who get the most from it tend to come back season after season, building skills and slowly working up to the lines that first drew them in. Keep a record of the routes you climb and the techniques that gave you trouble, and each return trip starts from a stronger base.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10541},[10542,10543,10544],{"id":8493,"depth":132,"text":8494},{"id":10496,"depth":132,"text":10497},{"id":10529,"depth":132,"text":10530},"2024-10-04","The valley of big walls and granite history — what it means to climbers and how to dip a toe in.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fclimbing-in-yosemite.jpg","Satellite view of Yosemite Valley, California",[10550,10553,10556,10559],[10551,10552],37.7362,-119.6412,[10554,10555],37.7366,-119.6344,[10557,10558],37.732,-119.634,[10560,10561],37.7316,-119.6408,"Yosemite Valley, California",37.734,-119.6377,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-in-yosemite",{"title":10480,"description":10546},"blog\u002Fclimbing-in-yosemite",[2589,3168,10570],"yosemite","Hd0vwUQtHnZT9DoFx-2gnbbhmCUm9vRWCNDauY8omr8",{"id":10573,"title":10574,"author":7,"body":10575,"category":1703,"date":10632,"description":10633,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10634,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":10635,"imageCreditUrl":10636,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10637,"navigation":152,"path":10638,"readTime":2472,"seo":10639,"stem":10640,"tags":10641,"__hash__":10643},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffoot-rules-on-the-board.md","Foot rules on the board",{"type":9,"value":10576,"toc":10627},[10577,10580,10584,10587,10601,10604,10608,10611,10614,10617,10621,10624],[17,10578,10579],{},"When you set up a problem on a board, you are not just choosing hand holds. You are also choosing what counts as a foot, and that choice changes the climb completely. The same hand sequence can be a friendly V4 or a brutal V7 depending on which foot rule you pick. Here are the common ones and what each is actually training.",[12,10581,10583],{"id":10582},"the-main-foot-rules","The main foot rules",[17,10585,10586],{},"Most LED boards let you set a foot rule when you create or filter a problem. The usual options are these.",[70,10588,10589,10592,10595,10598],{},[73,10590,10591],{},"Footholds only: you may only use the holds marked as feet, often shown in a different colour. This is the standard for graded problems, because it fixes the footwork and makes the grade mean something.",[73,10593,10594],{},"Feet-follow-hands: any hand hold becomes legal for your feet once it is in play, but only hand holds. No dedicated foothelds, no kickboard tricks beyond the holds themselves.",[73,10596,10597],{},"Screw-ons allowed: the small bolt-on footchips scattered around the board are fair game, alongside whatever else the rule permits. These tiny chips make footwork far easier.",[73,10599,10600],{},"Anything goes: feet anywhere on the board, including the kickboard. The most forgiving setting.",[17,10602,10603],{},"The strict end of that list makes a problem harder and more precise; the loose end makes it easier and more about the hands.",[12,10605,10607],{"id":10606},"what-each-one-trains","What each one trains",[17,10609,10610],{},"Footholds-only is the discipline that makes you place feet accurately. Because you are restricted to marked holds, often poor ones at awkward spots, you have to think about exactly where each toe goes, when to drop a heel, and how to keep tension when the only legal foot is miles from where you want it. This is the rule that builds real board footwork, and it is why graded problems use it.",[17,10612,10613],{},"Feet-follow-hands sits in the middle. You get more options than footholds-only, so the climbing feels a touch more flowing, but you still can not just smear anywhere. It rewards using your hand holds as feet cleverly, which is a genuinely useful outdoor skill, since rock does not come with marked footchips either.",[17,10615,10616],{},"Screw-ons and anything-goes lower the footwork demand sharply. With tiny chips or the whole board available, your feet are rarely the problem, so the climbing becomes about the hands and the pulling. That is not lazy, it has its uses: it lets you isolate and train the hand sequence, or push into harder hand holds without footwork being the thing that stops you.",[12,10618,10620],{"id":10619},"picking-a-rule-on-purpose","Picking a rule on purpose",[17,10622,10623],{},"The rule you choose should match what you want from the session. If you are working footwork, body tension and precision, climb footholds-only and accept that it is harder. If you want to train pulling power on small hand holds without your feet being the limiter, loosen the rule so feet stop getting in the way. Both are valid, as long as you choose deliberately rather than by accident.",[17,10625,10626],{},"One thing worth knowing: a problem's published grade assumes the rule it was set with, almost always footholds-only. If you climb it with screw-ons or feet-anywhere, you have made it easier, so the tick does not really count at the stated grade. Keep your hard sends honest by climbing them as set, and use the looser rules as a training tool rather than a shortcut to a grade you have not actually earned.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10628},[10629,10630,10631],{"id":10582,"depth":132,"text":10583},{"id":10606,"depth":132,"text":10607},{"id":10619,"depth":132,"text":10620},"2024-09-27","Feet-follow-hands, screw-ons or anything-goes — the common foot rules and what each one trains.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1600729664711-816e87d1d667?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Daniel Jiménez","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@danieljimenez715",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffoot-rules-on-the-board",{"title":10574,"description":10633},"blog\u002Ffoot-rules-on-the-board",[1715,436,10642],"rules","4xY7sbj3kICzZnSqG4q40RcnY-8DusCr3ZecEeN3elU",{"id":10645,"title":10646,"author":7,"body":10647,"category":141,"date":10739,"description":10740,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10741,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":10742,"imageCreditUrl":10743,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10744,"navigation":152,"path":10745,"readTime":154,"seo":10746,"stem":10747,"tags":10748,"__hash__":10750},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcrimp-or-open-hand-reading-the-hold.md","Crimp or open hand? Reading the hold",{"type":9,"value":10648,"toc":10733},[10649,10653,10656,10671,10675,10678,10681,10684,10688,10691,10717,10720,10724,10727,10730],[12,10650,10652],{"id":10651},"same-hold-different-grip","Same hold, different grip",[17,10654,10655],{},"Grab a small edge and you have a choice to make, even if you have never thought about it consciously. You can crimp it, bending your fingers sharply at the middle knuckle so the fingertips bite down, or you can hang it open-handed, keeping the fingers more extended and draping over the edge. The same piece of rock can be held either way, and the grip you pick changes how hard the move feels and how much strain goes through your fingers.",[17,10657,10658,10659,10662,10663,10666,10667,10670],{},"There are roughly three grips worth knowing. The ",[76,10660,10661],{},"full crimp",", where the fingers bend hard and the thumb wraps over the index finger for extra force. The ",[76,10664,10665],{},"half crimp",", the same bent-finger position without the thumb lock, which is the workhorse grip for edges. And the ",[76,10668,10669],{},"open hand"," or drag, where the fingers stay extended and you hang off the pads. Slopers are basically always held open, with as much skin contact as you can manage.",[12,10672,10674],{"id":10673},"what-each-grip-is-good-for","What each grip is good for",[17,10676,10677],{},"Crimping is powerful. On a small, positive edge, a crimp lets you generate force you simply cannot get with an open hand, because the bent fingers pull more directly down on the lip. When the hold is tiny and incut, crimping is often the only thing that works.",[17,10679,10680],{},"The cost is load. A full crimp puts very high force through the finger tendons and the small pulleys that hold those tendons against the bone, and the thumb lock cranks that up further. It is the grip most associated with finger injuries, the pulley strain that climbers dread. That does not mean you should never crimp. It means you should crimp when you need to, not as a lazy default on holds that did not require it.",[17,10682,10683],{},"Open hand is the gentler position. The pull is spread differently across the finger, and the load on the pulleys is generally lower than a full crimp on the same hold. It is the natural grip for rounded edges, slopers, and anything you can drape rather than bite. Many climbers find their open-hand strength lags behind their crimp strength simply because they avoid using it, which is a habit worth breaking.",[12,10685,10687],{"id":10686},"reading-which-to-use","Reading which to use",[17,10689,10690],{},"A few simple cues help you choose:",[70,10692,10693,10699,10705,10711],{},[73,10694,10695,10698],{},[76,10696,10697],{},"Tiny, sharp, incut edge:"," crimp it. Often a half crimp first, and a full crimp only if you genuinely need the extra force.",[73,10700,10701,10704],{},[76,10702,10703],{},"Rounded, sloping, or generous edge:"," go open-handed and use as much finger and skin contact as the hold allows.",[73,10706,10707,10710],{},[76,10708,10709],{},"Long lock-off or a hold you have to hang for a while:"," prefer open hand where you can, to spare the pulleys.",[73,10712,10713,10716],{},[76,10714,10715],{},"Explosive single pull off a small hold:"," the crimp may be unavoidable, so brace your core and move decisively rather than hanging there.",[17,10718,10719],{},"Outdoors, the rock itself often decides for you. A sharp limestone edge wants a crimp, a rounded sandstone hold wants an open hand. Indoors, the hold shape and how it is set point you the same way.",[12,10721,10723],{"id":10722},"train-both-protect-your-fingers","Train both, protect your fingers",[17,10725,10726],{},"The real reason to think about this is longevity. Fingers are the thing that keeps climbers off the wall more than anything else, and the small pulleys do not recover quickly when they are angry. Defaulting to a full crimp on every hold, especially before you are properly warmed up, is a reliable way to find that out the hard way.",[17,10728,10729],{},"Two habits protect you. First, warm your fingers up gradually before loading any hard crimp, starting open-handed on big holds and working towards smaller edges. Second, deliberately practise open-hand strength so it is genuinely available to you, rather than always reaching for the crimp because it is the only grip you trust. A climber who can hold a hold open-handed has a choice. A climber who can only crimp does not.",[17,10731,10732],{},"If your fingers feel sharp, sore, or tweaky on a particular grip, listen to that. The grip choice that protects your fingers today is the one that keeps you climbing for years.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10734},[10735,10736,10737,10738],{"id":10651,"depth":132,"text":10652},{"id":10673,"depth":132,"text":10674},{"id":10686,"depth":132,"text":10687},{"id":10722,"depth":132,"text":10723},"2024-09-20","When to crimp, when to drape open-handed, and why your grip choice protects your fingers as much as it sends.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1658479422976-adcc505fe42d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Sasha Matveeva","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@sashamatveeva",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcrimp-or-open-hand-reading-the-hold",{"title":10646,"description":10740},"blog\u002Fcrimp-or-open-hand-reading-the-hold",[290,292,10749],"finger health","nSl9eWxmtH_EpxcgXPwLwf73CegpnZxJV8IGWrhjgZ0",{"id":10752,"title":10753,"author":7,"body":10754,"category":1703,"date":10816,"description":10817,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10818,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":10819,"imageCreditUrl":10820,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10821,"navigation":152,"path":10822,"readTime":1547,"seo":10823,"stem":10824,"tags":10825,"__hash__":10827},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbenchmarks-the-board-grades-you-can-trust.md","Benchmarks: the board grades you can trust",{"type":9,"value":10755,"toc":10810},[10756,10759,10763,10766,10769,10773,10776,10779,10783,10786,10797,10800,10804,10807],[17,10757,10758],{},"On a board with tens of thousands of community-set problems, grades drift. Someone sets a problem, calls it V6 because it felt like V6 to them on a good day, and it sits there a touch soft or a touch sandbagged forever. Benchmarks exist to cut through that noise and give you a smaller set of problems whose grades you can actually trust.",[12,10760,10762],{"id":10761},"what-a-benchmark-is","What a benchmark is",[17,10764,10765],{},"A benchmark is a problem that has been singled out as a reliable marker for its grade. Rather than one setter's guess, a benchmark has been climbed by a large number of people, its grade has settled through that broad consensus, and it has been flagged as a steady reference point. When you see the benchmark tag on a board, you are looking at a problem the wider community broadly agrees on.",[17,10767,10768],{},"That matters because the rest of the database is genuinely all over the place. New problems with a handful of ascents can be wildly off, soft enough to flatter you or stiff enough to crush your confidence. Benchmarks are the opposite. They are the few hundred problems you can point to and say, with reasonable confidence, that this is what the grade feels like.",[12,10770,10772],{"id":10771},"why-honest-grades-are-worth-chasing","Why honest grades are worth chasing",[17,10774,10775],{},"The whole reason people train on boards is repeatability and honesty. A grade you can not trust undoes both. If you tick a soft V7, you walk away thinking you have moved up a grade when you have not, and your training drifts towards whatever feels good rather than what actually challenges you.",[17,10777,10778],{},"Benchmarks fix the reference. Because their grades are stable and the holds never move, a benchmark you climb this month means the same as one you climbed six months ago. That makes them the cleanest way to answer the only question training really asks: am I getting stronger.",[12,10780,10782],{"id":10781},"how-to-use-them","How to use them",[17,10784,10785],{},"The simplest way to use benchmarks is as a ladder. Pick the benchmarks at and just above your current level and treat them as your honest test pieces:",[70,10787,10788,10791,10794],{},[73,10789,10790],{},"Project benchmarks at your limit grade, not random hard problems, so a send actually means something.",[73,10792,10793],{},"Repeat a benchmark you have done before to feel whether it has got easier, which is real evidence of progress.",[73,10795,10796],{},"Use a benchmark at a grade below your max as a barometer warm-up to gauge how you are climbing on the day.",[17,10798,10799],{},"Because everyone is climbing the same benchmark problems, they are also a fair point of comparison with friends and with your past self. Two climbers arguing about who is stronger can just go and try the same benchmark, which settles it faster than any conversation.",[12,10801,10803],{"id":10802},"do-not-chase-the-tag-for-its-own-sake","Do not chase the tag for its own sake",[17,10805,10806],{},"A word of caution. Benchmarks are useful precisely because they are reliable references, not because they are inherently better climbs. Some are brilliant movement, some are awkward and one-dimensional, set to test a specific style. If a benchmark suits you perfectly, your tick will read a little flattering; if it plays to your weakness, it will feel sandbagged even though the grade is fair.",[17,10808,10809],{},"Use them as the honest yardstick they are, spread across a few styles so no single weakness skews your read, and let them be the backbone of how you measure progress. Logging your benchmark sends over time, alongside the date and angle, turns a scattered pile of attempts into a clear line you can actually watch climb, which is exactly the kind of record Sendit keeps for you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10811},[10812,10813,10814,10815],{"id":10761,"depth":132,"text":10762},{"id":10771,"depth":132,"text":10772},{"id":10781,"depth":132,"text":10782},{"id":10802,"depth":132,"text":10803},"2024-09-13","Why benchmark problems exist, and how to use them to measure progress honestly.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1508287459906-37445322fdf6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jonathan Ouimet","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mtlwebdesign",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbenchmarks-the-board-grades-you-can-trust",{"title":10753,"description":10817},"blog\u002Fbenchmarks-the-board-grades-you-can-trust",[1715,2378,10826],"benchmarks","SrS5gWXi5L6n1I1W-KQy96RQWk82oxyzjiGS7wQHF8c",{"id":10829,"title":10830,"author":7,"body":10831,"category":4989,"date":10896,"description":10897,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10898,"imageAlt":10899,"imageCredit":10900,"imageCreditUrl":10901,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10902,"navigation":152,"path":10903,"readTime":2472,"seo":10904,"stem":10905,"tags":10906,"__hash__":10908},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fintroducing-sendit-all-in-one-app-for-climbers.md","Introducing Sendit: one app for your whole climbing life",{"type":9,"value":10832,"toc":10889},[10833,10836,10842,10846,10849,10853,10856,10861,10865,10868,10872,10875,10879,10882],[17,10834,10835],{},"Climbing has never had more to keep track of. A board app here, a logbook there, photos\nscattered across your camera roll, beta buried in group chats, and a different account\nfor every gym you visit. We built Sendit because climbing deserves one home — not five.",[17,10837,10838,10841],{},[76,10839,10840],{},"Sendit is the all-in-one app for climbers."," Indoor gyms, outdoor crags and systems\nboards, anywhere in the world. Here is what that means.",[12,10843,10845],{"id":10844},"browse-the-board-then-climb-it","Browse the board, then climb it",[17,10847,10848],{},"Pull up a board, pick an angle, filter by grade, and send the problem to your phone —\nthe holds lit exactly as they are on the wall. No squinting at a tiny screen across the\nroom. Your attempts and sends log straight into your history.",[12,10850,10852],{"id":10851},"track-every-session","Track every session",[17,10854,10855],{},"Every climb you log — grade, angle, attempts, a quick note — builds a history you can\nactually learn from. Streaks, totals, your most-climbed angles, the grades you are\nbreaking into. The numbers are there when you want them and out of the way when you\ndon't.",[3878,10857,10858],{},[17,10859,10860],{},"The point was never to gamify climbing. It was to make the parts that already matter\neasy to see.",[12,10862,10864],{"id":10863},"share-your-sends","Share your sends",[17,10866,10867],{},"A feed built for climbers, not for the algorithm. Post a send, drop the beta, cheer on\nyour friends, and keep the people you actually climb with close. No ads dressed up as\nposts.",[12,10869,10871],{"id":10870},"find-your-next-climb","Find your next climb",[17,10873,10874],{},"A map of gyms, walls and crags — so a new city is an opportunity, not a research\nproject. See what is nearby, what boards they run, and who else is climbing there.",[12,10876,10878],{"id":10877},"whats-next","What's next",[17,10880,10881],{},"This is the start. We are building in the open, listening to climbers, and shipping\nconstantly — and this blog is where we will share technique, training notes, board\nbeta and product updates along the way.",[17,10883,10884,10885,10888],{},"Sendit is ",[76,10886,10887],{},"free on iOS and Android",". Download it, log your next session, and tell us\nwhat you want to see next.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10890},[10891,10892,10893,10894,10895],{"id":10844,"depth":132,"text":10845},{"id":10851,"depth":132,"text":10852},{"id":10863,"depth":132,"text":10864},{"id":10870,"depth":132,"text":10871},{"id":10877,"depth":132,"text":10878},"2024-09-06","Boards, sessions, the feed, the map and your community — pulled into one place that finally feels built for climbers. Here is what Sendit is, and why we made it.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F14717372\u002Fpexels-photo-14717372.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","A climber high on a sunlit outdoor crag","Nicolas Diaz","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@nicolas-diaz",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fintroducing-sendit-all-in-one-app-for-climbers",{"title":10830,"description":10897},"blog\u002Fintroducing-sendit-all-in-one-app-for-climbers",[10907,4999,4998],"announcement","Gs0sgzfZ3E8I8pNJ74KLFXR3jzsRu7S7hWX5brXqpBY",{"id":10910,"title":10911,"author":7,"body":10912,"category":2464,"date":10988,"description":10989,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":10990,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":10991,"navigation":152,"path":10992,"readTime":154,"seo":10993,"stem":10994,"tags":10995,"__hash__":10997},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-sport-trad-the-disciplines-explained.md","Bouldering, sport, trad: the disciplines explained",{"type":9,"value":10913,"toc":10981},[10914,10918,10921,10924,10926,10929,10932,10936,10939,10942,10946,10949,10952,10956,10959,10978],[12,10915,10917],{"id":10916},"one-word-many-sports","One word, many sports",[17,10919,10920],{},"Climbing is really a family of related sports rather than a single thing. They share holds, shoes and a culture, but what they ask of you varies a lot. If you are new, the names get thrown around as though everyone already knows them, so here is a plain tour of the main ones and what each demands.",[17,10922,10923],{},"The three you will hear most are bouldering, sport climbing and trad. Understanding the differences helps you choose where to put your energy, and it stops you nodding along blankly when someone at the gym mentions their latest project.",[12,10925,3585],{"id":293},[17,10927,10928],{},"Bouldering is climbing close to the ground, with no rope, on short walls or rocks rarely higher than four or five metres. Protection comes from thick mats indoors, and from portable crash pads and a spotter outside. You climb a problem, you top out or fall off, you land on the pad, you try again.",[17,10930,10931],{},"What it asks of you is power and movement. Problems are short, often a handful of intense moves, so the emphasis is on pulling hard, precise footwork, and figuring out a sequence. You get many attempts in a session and the rests between them are short. It is the easiest discipline to start, needs the least kit, and is brilliant for learning to move well. Many climbers do nothing else and never feel short-changed.",[12,10933,10935],{"id":10934},"sport-climbing","Sport climbing",[17,10937,10938],{},"Sport climbing is roped climbing on routes protected by bolts that someone has already drilled into the rock or wall. As you climb, you clip the rope through quickdraws attached to those bolts, so if you fall, the rope catches you on the last clip. It needs a partner to belay, holding the other end of the rope and managing your falls and lowers.",[17,10940,10941],{},"The demands shift from power to endurance and head. Routes are long, often twenty to thirty metres or more, so you have to keep moving while pumped and learn to find rests on the way up. There is more safety knowledge involved than in bouldering, clipping, belaying, lowering, but the bolts mean the protection is fixed and reliable. It is the natural next step for many gym climbers who want to go higher.",[12,10943,10945],{"id":10944},"trad-climbing","Trad climbing",[17,10947,10948],{},"Traditional climbing, almost always shortened to trad, is roped climbing where you place your own protection as you go and remove it afterwards, leaving no trace. Instead of clipping pre-placed bolts, you slot devices into cracks and features, things like nuts and camming units, and clip the rope to those. At the top, you usually build an anchor and your partner follows, cleaning the gear out.",[17,10950,10951],{},"This is the most committing and knowledge-heavy of the three. You need to judge rock, place gear that will actually hold, manage rope work and anchors, and keep a cool head, because a poorly placed piece is no use at all. The rewards are adventure, self-reliance, and access to vast amounts of rock that has no bolts. It is not where beginners start, and it is best learned from experienced climbers or qualified instructors.",[12,10953,10955],{"id":10954},"how-they-fit-together","How they fit together",[17,10957,10958],{},"There is no ladder you must climb through these in order, and plenty of people happily stay in one for life. A rough way to think about it:",[70,10960,10961,10966,10972],{},[73,10962,10963,10965],{},[76,10964,3585],{}," for power, movement, and the lowest barrier to entry.",[73,10967,10968,10971],{},[76,10969,10970],{},"Sport"," for endurance, height, and going up roped routes with fixed protection.",[73,10973,10974,10977],{},[76,10975,10976],{},"Trad"," for adventure and self-reliance, once you have the experience to do it safely.",[17,10979,10980],{},"Beyond these you will hear of others, top-roping as a gentle way into roped climbing, indoor lead, big walls, alpine and ice climbing further out. But bouldering, sport and trad cover most of what a new climber needs to make sense of the world. Start with whatever you can get to easily and enjoy, and let curiosity lead you to the rest.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":10982},[10983,10984,10985,10986,10987],{"id":10916,"depth":132,"text":10917},{"id":293,"depth":132,"text":3585},{"id":10934,"depth":132,"text":10935},{"id":10944,"depth":132,"text":10945},{"id":10954,"depth":132,"text":10955},"2024-08-30","A plain-English tour of the main kinds of climbing and what each one asks of you.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775655111243-9382dc0cc089?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-sport-trad-the-disciplines-explained",{"title":10911,"description":10989},"blog\u002Fbouldering-sport-trad-the-disciplines-explained",[562,10996,5576],"disciplines","idEG0L0RU-mEY_ABziyhfQx8pZbaMw2_xcqTyPQNyXM",{"id":10999,"title":11000,"author":7,"body":11001,"category":141,"date":11066,"description":11067,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":1350,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":1352,"imageCreditUrl":1353,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11068,"navigation":152,"path":11069,"readTime":154,"seo":11070,"stem":11071,"tags":11072,"__hash__":11074},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-route-before-you-leave-the-ground.md","How to read a route before you leave the ground",{"type":9,"value":11002,"toc":11060},[11003,11007,11010,11013,11017,11020,11023,11027,11030,11033,11036,11047,11051,11054,11057],[12,11004,11006],{"id":11005},"why-the-time-on-the-ground-is-never-wasted","Why the time on the ground is never wasted",[17,11008,11009],{},"Strength gets the headlines, but the cheapest way to climb harder is to stop wasting energy. Every hold you grab twice, every foot you have to readjust, every dead-end you reverse out of, costs you forearm. Reading a route before you tie in is how you spend that energy on the wall instead of in confusion. Stronger climbers do not just pull harder, they hesitate less, because they have already solved the route standing on the mat.",[17,11011,11012],{},"The good news is route reading is a learnable skill, not a talent. It improves fast once you treat the ground time as part of the climb rather than a delay before the real thing starts.",[12,11014,11016],{"id":11015},"trace-the-line-then-find-the-rests","Trace the line, then find the rests",[17,11018,11019],{},"Start by following the holds from the start to the finish with your eyes, working out which colour or which holds are in. Get the whole shape of the line first: where it goes left, where it kicks back right, where the angle steepens. Climbers often fixate on the first few moves and never look at the top, then arrive at a crux they did not know was coming with nothing left in the tank.",[17,11021,11022],{},"Once you have the line, hunt for the rests. Where can you get a hand shake, drop onto a heel, or stand in balance and breathe. These are the anchors of your plan. You climb from rest to rest, and knowing where they are tells you how hard you can afford to push between them.",[12,11024,11026],{"id":11025},"name-the-crux-and-plan-the-sequence","Name the crux and plan the sequence",[17,11028,11029],{},"Most routes have one section that is clearly the hardest, the crux. Find it and look at it properly. Ask which hand goes where, where your feet will be, and which body position the move demands. A long reach off a crimp usually wants a high foot and a turned hip. A move on slopers wants you square and low with weight pressing down through the feet.",[17,11031,11032],{},"Plan your hand sequence by counting through it, deciding which hand grabs each hold and where the matches happen. A simple way to check your plan is to ask whether your hands end up in the right place for the next move after the crux, not just for the crux itself. It is easy to solve one move and strand yourself crossed up for the one after.",[17,11034,11035],{},"Things worth deciding before you leave the ground:",[70,11037,11038,11041,11044],{},[73,11039,11040],{},"Which hand leads off the start, so you do not have to swap early.",[73,11042,11043],{},"Where the clips or topout fall, and which hand you will hold on with for each.",[73,11045,11046],{},"Which foot to bring up high for the crux, since the wrong one forces a swap mid-move.",[12,11048,11050],{"id":11049},"rehearse-then-trust-it","Rehearse, then trust it",[17,11052,11053],{},"Standing under the route, walk through the sequence with your hands in the air, mimicking the reaches and the body turns. This is not just for show. Mentally rehearsing the movement primes it, and you will climb more decisively for having done it. Picture yourself pulling the crux and pressing into the next rest, not just surviving the hard bit.",[17,11055,11056],{},"Your plan will be wrong sometimes, and that is fine. When you fall, the useful question is not why you are not strong enough but where your read was off. Maybe the rest was not where you thought, or a foot was higher than it looked. Adjust the plan, not just the effort.",[17,11058,11059],{},"Over a season, reading carefully becomes automatic and you stop needing to consciously do it on easier ground. If you log your projects and jot a note on what changed in your beta between attempts, you build a record of how your reading is sharpening, which is one of the quietest and most satisfying kinds of progress.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11061},[11062,11063,11064,11065],{"id":11005,"depth":132,"text":11006},{"id":11015,"depth":132,"text":11016},{"id":11025,"depth":132,"text":11026},{"id":11049,"depth":132,"text":11050},"2024-08-23","Reading the line, naming the crux and planning a sequence before you pull on — the skill that saves the most energy.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-route-before-you-leave-the-ground",{"title":11000,"description":11067},"blog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-route-before-you-leave-the-ground",[11073,290,4036],"route reading","vQjjHiIvbsQSYEgBczhymO4huhiLMqy-1DlD7v_4uOs",{"id":11076,"title":11077,"author":7,"body":11078,"category":1703,"date":11143,"description":11144,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11145,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":11146,"imageCreditUrl":11147,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11148,"navigation":152,"path":11149,"readTime":154,"seo":11150,"stem":11151,"tags":11152,"__hash__":11153},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-train-on-a-systems-board.md","Why train on a systems board",{"type":9,"value":11079,"toc":11137},[11080,11083,11087,11090,11093,11096,11100,11103,11114,11117,11121,11124,11127,11131,11134],[17,11081,11082],{},"A systems board looks like a small, steep wall covered in a grid of holds, often lit up in different colours. It is not trying to be fun in the way a fresh set of comp boulders is fun. It is a tool, and once you understand what it is for, it becomes the most efficient way to get strong that most gyms own.",[12,11084,11086],{"id":11085},"what-a-board-does-that-a-normal-wall-can-not","What a board does that a normal wall can not",[17,11088,11089],{},"The thing that makes a board special is repeatability. The holds never move, the angle is fixed or set by you, and a given problem is the same today as it was last month and will be next year. On a commercial wall, the setters change everything every few weeks, so you can never quite tell whether you got better or the new V5 is just softer.",[17,11091,11092],{},"A board removes that doubt. Climb the same problem at the same angle and the only variable left is you. That makes it honest in a way a constantly changing wall can not be, and honesty is what training needs. You can not improve what you can not measure, and a board gives you something stable to measure against.",[17,11094,11095],{},"It also concentrates the work. The holds on a steep board are deliberately demanding, and the wall is short, so a single problem packs a lot of hard pulling into a handful of moves. You get a big strength stimulus without spending an hour roped up or shuffling between distant boulders.",[12,11097,11099],{"id":11098},"it-trains-the-things-that-actually-limit-you","It trains the things that actually limit you",[17,11101,11102],{},"For most climbers, the limiting factor is not endurance or technique on easy ground. It is the ability to hold small holds and pull hard between them on steep terrain. A systems board is built precisely for that:",[70,11104,11105,11108,11111],{},[73,11106,11107],{},"Finger strength, because the holds are small and the angle loads them hard.",[73,11109,11110],{},"Pulling power, because steep ground demands you generate tension and move through it.",[73,11112,11113],{},"Body tension, because feet cut and bodies swing the moment you stop holding everything tight.",[17,11115,11116],{},"These are exactly the qualities that carry over to harder boulders and routes everywhere else. Spend a season getting strong on a board and you tend to feel it on rock, on the comp wall, and on your projects.",[12,11118,11120],{"id":11119},"the-shared-problem-advantage","The shared-problem advantage",[17,11122,11123],{},"The other reason boards have taken over training rooms is the shared database. The popular LED boards come with thousands of problems set by climbers all over the world, each with a grade and a star rating that gets refined as more people climb it. That means you are rarely guessing how hard something should feel, and you can pick a problem that targets crimps, or slopers, or big spans, depending on what you want to train that day.",[17,11125,11126],{},"Because the angle is adjustable on many boards, the same hold set covers everything from a mellow vertical to a brutal roof. You decide how hard the day is by where you set the wall, not by hunting for the right boulder.",[12,11128,11130],{"id":11129},"use-it-as-a-tool-not-a-playground","Use it as a tool, not a playground",[17,11132,11133],{},"The catch with a board is that it is demanding, and it is easy to overdo. The holds are sharp on the skin and hard on the fingers, so a board is best as a focused block within a session rather than two hours of flailing. Warm up properly, do your hard tries while you are fresh, and stop while you still have something left rather than grinding until your fingers are cooked.",[17,11135,11136],{},"Treated that way, a board earns its place. It is compact, it is honest, and it loads the exact qualities that hold most climbers back. Tracking which problems you have sent and at what angle turns all that repeatable work into a record you can actually learn from, which is part of what Sendit is built to do.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11138},[11139,11140,11141,11142],{"id":11085,"depth":132,"text":11086},{"id":11098,"depth":132,"text":11099},{"id":11119,"depth":132,"text":11120},{"id":11129,"depth":132,"text":11130},"2024-08-16","What a systems board does that a normal wall can not, and why it is the most efficient strength tool in the gym.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1643903096045-07741be1f245?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Mike Markov","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mikemarkov",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-train-on-a-systems-board",{"title":11077,"description":11144},"blog\u002Fwhy-train-on-a-systems-board",[1715,162,4034],"PgN3MiCaFLVdJO05z6lwlqEPZ4XZAzRgJAXGUtDh9p4",{"id":11155,"title":11156,"author":7,"body":11157,"category":141,"date":11219,"description":11220,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11221,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":11222,"imageCreditUrl":11223,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11224,"navigation":152,"path":11225,"readTime":154,"seo":11226,"stem":11227,"tags":11228,"__hash__":11230},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhip-positioning-turning-to-reach-further.md","Hip positioning: turning to reach further",{"type":9,"value":11158,"toc":11213},[11159,11163,11166,11169,11173,11176,11179,11183,11186,11189,11192,11203,11207,11210],[12,11160,11162],{"id":11161},"reach-lives-in-the-hips","Reach lives in the hips",[17,11164,11165],{},"Most climbers who feel short are not short, they are square. Facing the wall full-frontal, chest and hips parallel to the rock, is the natural beginner stance, and it is the one that wastes the most reach. When you are square, your shoulder is as far from the wall as it can be and your reaching arm has to span the full distance from a flat chest. Turn a hip in, and your shoulder rotates closer to the wall and upward, and the same arm suddenly reaches several inches further. No extra strength, just geometry.",[17,11167,11168],{},"This is why two climbers of the same height can find the same move easy or impossible. One stays square and comes up short. The other turns a hip to the wall and the hold drops into reach.",[12,11170,11172],{"id":11171},"how-the-turn-works","How the turn works",[17,11174,11175],{},"The move is to rotate the hip on your reaching side in towards the wall, so that the side of your body, rather than the front, faces the rock. If you are reaching with your right hand, you turn your right hip and shoulder in. Your body goes from facing the wall to facing along it, and your right arm gets to extend straight up the line of your body towards the hold.",[17,11177,11178],{},"To make that turn happen, your feet do the work. Standing on the inside edge of one foot and turning the opposite foot in lets the hips rotate. Often a high foot on the same side as the turn lets you press up and rotate at once, so the reach becomes a stand-up rather than a pull. The arm stays relatively relaxed because the leg and the hip are generating the movement.",[12,11180,11182],{"id":11181},"square-versus-turned","Square versus turned",[17,11184,11185],{},"It helps to feel the difference directly. Stand under a route, pick a high hold, and reach for it facing the wall square. Note where your hand lands. Now turn the matching hip in, drop the opposite shoulder back, and reach again from the same feet. The hand will reach noticeably higher. That gap is reach you have been leaving on the table every time you climb square.",[17,11187,11188],{},"Squaring up is not always wrong. Slopers and pinches often want you facing the wall with weight pressing straight down through your feet, and some balancey slab moves want you flat. But on reaches, especially long ones to crimps and edges, turning in is almost always the answer.",[17,11190,11191],{},"Signs you should turn a hip:",[70,11193,11194,11197,11200],{},[73,11195,11196],{},"A long reach that comes up short when you face the wall.",[73,11198,11199],{},"A move where you can get a high foot on the same side as the reaching hand.",[73,11201,11202],{},"Steep ground where turning in also pulls your hips into the wall and saves your arms.",[12,11204,11206],{"id":11205},"making-it-automatic","Making it automatic",[17,11208,11209],{},"Like every piece of technique, this becomes invisible with practice and stays clunky if you only think about it occasionally. Pick an easy route and climb it making an exaggerated hip turn on every single reach, even where you do not need the extra inches. Feel how the shoulder rotates in and how the leg drives the move.",[17,11211,11212],{},"Then watch for the shortfalls in your real climbing. Next time a hold feels just out of reach, the question is rarely whether you need to grow. It is whether you turned in or stayed square. Turn the hip, drive with the leg, and the reach is usually there. Over time you will set up for it in the route read without thinking, and a lot of moves you wrote off as too far will quietly come into range.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11214},[11215,11216,11217,11218],{"id":11161,"depth":132,"text":11162},{"id":11171,"depth":132,"text":11172},{"id":11181,"depth":132,"text":11182},{"id":11205,"depth":132,"text":11206},"2024-08-09","Why facing the wall square wastes reach, and how turning a hip in adds inches without more strength.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1549048267-b6765b7cbfe2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Daniela Araya","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@danielaraya",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhip-positioning-turning-to-reach-further",{"title":11156,"description":11220},"blog\u002Fhip-positioning-turning-to-reach-further",[290,11229,1241],"hips","pNmyb2nyPiTDLkyn8kt38DiBR9JoUrIsRaIX0vSLnXU",{"id":11232,"title":11233,"author":7,"body":11234,"category":2555,"date":11300,"description":11301,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11302,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":11303,"imageCreditUrl":11304,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11305,"navigation":152,"path":11306,"readTime":1547,"seo":11307,"stem":11308,"tags":11309,"__hash__":11311},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findoor-walls-worth-travelling-for.md","Indoor walls worth travelling for",{"type":9,"value":11235,"toc":11295},[11236,11239,11243,11246,11249,11269,11272,11276,11279,11282,11285,11289,11292],[17,11237,11238],{},"Most of us think of climbing trips in terms of rock, but there is a whole category of indoor walls that are destinations in their own right. Some gyms are so ambitious in their setting, their walls or their atmosphere that climbers will plan a weekend around them. If a stretch of bad weather has scuppered your outdoor plans, or you simply want to climb somewhere with a bit of character, a destination wall can be the whole trip rather than the fallback.",[12,11240,11242],{"id":11241},"what-makes-a-gym-worth-the-journey","What makes a gym worth the journey",[17,11244,11245],{},"A local wall gets you fit and keeps you ticking over. A destination wall offers something you cannot get at home. That might be sheer scale, an unusual style of setting, a piece of competition history, or simply a building that is a pleasure to spend a day in.",[17,11247,11248],{},"The things that tend to set these places apart:",[70,11250,11251,11257,11263],{},[73,11252,11253,11256],{},[76,11254,11255],{},"Wall variety."," Steep cave bouldering, tall lead walls, big slabs and training boards under one roof, so you can climb all day without repeating yourself.",[73,11258,11259,11262],{},[76,11260,11261],{},"Setting quality."," Routes and problems that feel designed rather than just bolted on, with movement that teaches you something.",[73,11264,11265,11268],{},[76,11266,11267],{},"Atmosphere."," A community and a vibe that make a long session fly by, plus decent coffee and food so you can rest between burns without leaving.",[17,11270,11271],{},"Competition venues are a category of their own. Walls that have hosted national or international events often keep features and angles that you rarely see elsewhere, and climbing on a wall where finals were decided has its own appeal.",[12,11273,11275],{"id":11274},"how-to-plan-it","How to plan it",[17,11277,11278],{},"Treat a destination gym like any other trip and a little planning pays off. Check opening hours and whether they run lessons or set new problems on a particular day, because turning up the morning after a reset means fresh climbing rather than chalked-out holds everyone has already cracked.",[17,11280,11281],{},"Look into whether you need an induction or belay certificate before you can lead or use the auto-belays, especially if you are visiting another country where the testing system differs from home. Many walls will run you through their system on arrival, but it is worth knowing in advance so you do not lose half a day.",[17,11283,11284],{},"Pace yourself. A new wall is exciting and it is easy to throw yourself at everything in the first hour, then run out of skin and power by lunchtime. If you have travelled specifically to climb here, a measured session with proper rests will get you more out of the day than a frantic burnout.",[12,11286,11288],{"id":11287},"make-the-most-of-being-somewhere-new","Make the most of being somewhere new",[17,11290,11291],{},"Part of the fun of a destination wall is climbing styles you do not normally meet. If the setting is famously slabby and technical, lean into it rather than gravitating to the steep ground you find comfortable. The whole point of travelling for a wall is to be stretched in a way your home gym does not manage.",[17,11293,11294],{},"Talk to the staff and the regulars. They will point you at the problems and routes the gym is known for, the lines that show off what makes the place special, and the ones worth saving your best attempts for. Keeping a quick log of what you climbed and how it felt also means that when you compare notes with friends back home, you have more than a vague memory of a good day out.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11296},[11297,11298,11299],{"id":11241,"depth":132,"text":11242},{"id":11274,"depth":132,"text":11275},{"id":11287,"depth":132,"text":11288},"2024-08-02","A handful of destination gyms that are reason enough on their own to plan a trip.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1758949868735-41ae958a0286?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jeremy Vejgman","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@jeremy_vejgman",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findoor-walls-worth-travelling-for",{"title":11233,"description":11301},"blog\u002Findoor-walls-worth-travelling-for",[2589,4919,11310],"gyms","B-o7X4pqFzLBjLxM5WXh9VR0P0qote02uyi09e8hnwE",{"id":11313,"title":11314,"author":7,"body":11315,"category":2366,"date":11378,"description":11379,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11380,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":11381,"imageCreditUrl":11382,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11383,"navigation":152,"path":11384,"readTime":2472,"seo":11385,"stem":11386,"tags":11387,"__hash__":11388},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-gaston.md","What is a gaston?",{"type":9,"value":11316,"toc":11373},[11317,11320,11324,11327,11330,11333,11337,11340,11343,11354,11357,11361,11364,11367,11370],[17,11318,11319],{},"Most holds you pull towards your body. A gaston is the awkward exception: a hold you push away from yourself, sideways, with your elbow out and your thumb pointing down, as though you are trying to prise apart a pair of lift doors. It feels weird and weak the first time, and then you realise how often it is the only thing that works.",[12,11321,11323],{"id":11322},"a-grip-that-pushes-not-pulls","A grip that pushes, not pulls",[17,11325,11326],{},"A gaston is defined by direction. Your hand is on a vertical or near-vertical edge, the kind of side-pull you would normally lean away from, but instead of pulling it towards you, you push outwards against it. Thumb down, fingers pointing roughly towards your own midline, elbow flared out to the side.",[17,11328,11329],{},"Compare it to a side-pull and the difference is clear. With a side-pull you hang off the edge and lean your body the opposite way, using your weight against the hold. With a gaston you are pressing into the hold, generating outward force from your shoulder and arm. It is the same edge, used in opposite directions. The gaston is the one where your arm is doing the harder, more isolating job.",[17,11331,11332],{},"The name, fittingly, comes from climbing history. It is widely attributed to the French climber Gaston Rébuffat, and the move is sometimes still called a \"comici\" or simply a \"shoulder press\" depending on who you ask. The lift-door image is the one that sticks though, because that pushing-apart motion is exactly what your two hands often end up doing.",[12,11334,11336],{"id":11335},"when-the-gaston-appears","When the gaston appears",[17,11338,11339],{},"You reach for a gaston when the hold faces the wrong way to pull on it. The classic situation is a vertical edge sitting on the inside of where your body is, so pulling it towards you would just drag you sideways off the wall. Pushing it lets you stabilise and move past it instead.",[17,11341,11342],{},"Common moments a gaston shows up:",[70,11344,11345,11348,11351],{},[73,11346,11347],{},"A vertical edge between your hands that you press against to hold your body in place while you reach with the other hand.",[73,11349,11350],{},"A hold positioned slightly behind you on a steep wall, where pulling would barn-door you off and pushing keeps you pinned.",[73,11352,11353],{},"Sequences where two opposing holds let you press outwards with both hands at once, locking your body into a stable, compression-style position.",[17,11355,11356],{},"Setters love a gaston because it forces a specific body shape and stops people from using their preferred, stronger pulling muscles. On a board climb you will often spot one where a hold is oriented so the only sensible way to engage it is to press.",[12,11358,11360],{"id":11359},"how-to-make-it-work","How to make it work",[17,11362,11363],{},"Gastons feel weak because they load your shoulder and the smaller stabilising muscles rather than the big pulling chain of your back and biceps. There is no getting around the fact that they ask for shoulder strength and good positioning. But technique makes a huge difference.",[17,11365,11366],{},"Keep your elbow out and up, roughly in line with the hold, so the force runs cleanly from your hand through your shoulder. Engage your shoulder before you commit your weight, a loose, relaxed shoulder will collapse the moment you load it. Then use your feet aggressively. The more weight you can keep on your feet, the less the gaston has to hold, and a good high foot or a flagged leg often turns a desperate press into a comfortable one.",[17,11368,11369],{},"Body tension ties it all together. A gaston works best when your whole body is taut and braced, so the push at your hand is supported by tension running through your core down to your feet. Go limp and the position falls apart.",[17,11371,11372],{},"So the next time you find an edge facing the wrong way and your instinct to pull is getting you nowhere, try pushing. Thumb down, elbow out, press it like a lift door. The gaston is unglamorous and a little uncomfortable, but it unsticks sequences that nothing else will.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11374},[11375,11376,11377],{"id":11322,"depth":132,"text":11323},{"id":11335,"depth":132,"text":11336},{"id":11359,"depth":132,"text":11360},"2024-07-26","The hold you push sideways like opening a lift door — when it appears and how to use it.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1688487292578-bfe97c4109f2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Alessandro De Marco","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@demarcale",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-is-a-gaston",{"title":11314,"description":11379},"blog\u002Fwhat-is-a-gaston",[2376,2377,290],"N84ewHwb24d8b8KBxWJQagFJnfrMeGHuP7ELhGN_Zik",{"id":11390,"title":11391,"author":7,"body":11392,"category":2678,"date":11469,"description":11470,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11471,"imageAlt":11472,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11473,"navigation":152,"path":11474,"readTime":154,"seo":11475,"stem":11476,"tags":11477,"__hash__":11480},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-by-the-numbers.md","Climbing by the numbers: the sport's growth, explained",{"type":9,"value":11393,"toc":11462},[11394,11398,11401,11405,11413,11416,11420,11423,11426,11430,11438,11449,11452,11456,11459],[12,11395,11397],{"id":11396},"the-growth-in-figures","The growth, in figures",[17,11399,11400],{},"It is one thing to say climbing is booming and another to show it. Here are the numbers that tell the story, each from a named source so you can check them yourself. Figures move year to year, so treat these as the shape of the trend rather than gospel.",[12,11402,11404],{"id":11403},"gyms-keep-opening","Gyms keep opening",[17,11406,11407,11408,11412],{},"The ",[9853,11409,9907],{"href":11410,"rel":11411},"https:\u002F\u002Fclimbingbusinessjournal.com\u002Fgyms-and-trends-2025\u002F",[9857],", which has tracked the industry for years, counted more than 870 commercial climbing gyms in North America by 2024. New gyms have opened every single year for well over a decade. Growth cooled slightly in 2025 — a few dozen net new gyms rather than the surge of the boom years — but the direction has not changed, and the same expansion has played out across the UK, Europe and Asia.",[17,11414,11415],{},"A striking share of that growth is bouldering. Ropeless, lower-cost to build and quick to walk into, bouldering gyms have made up the bulk of new openings in recent years. It is the format most new climbers meet first.",[12,11417,11419],{"id":11418},"a-global-community-in-the-tens-of-millions","A global community in the tens of millions",[17,11421,11422],{},"Industry estimates now put the worldwide climbing community in the tens of millions of participants, with market analysts valuing the global climbing gym market at roughly three billion US dollars in 2024 and projecting growth near ten per cent a year through the early 2030s. Different reports give different totals — the methods vary — but every serious estimate points the same way: up, and fast.",[17,11424,11425],{},"The demographics matter too. Climbing skews young: a large majority of gym users are under 35, and most climb for fitness and fun rather than competition. This is a recreational sport first, a competitive one second.",[12,11427,11429],{"id":11428},"the-olympic-effect","The Olympic effect",[17,11431,11432,11433,11437],{},"The clearest single milestone was the Olympics. Per ",[9853,11434,11436],{"href":9855,"rel":11435},[9857],"Olympics.com",":",[70,11439,11440,11443,11446],{},[73,11441,11442],{},"Sport climbing debuted at Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) with two medal events.",[73,11444,11445],{},"Paris 2024 expanded to four medal events, and the athlete field grew from 40 to 68.",[73,11447,11448],{},"Los Angeles 2028 will split climbing into three separate disciplines — bouldering, lead and speed — each with its own medals.",[17,11450,11451],{},"Television coverage put climbing in front of audiences who had never seen it, and gyms reported waves of new members in the months that followed.",[12,11453,11455],{"id":11454},"what-the-numbers-miss","What the numbers miss",[17,11457,11458],{},"Statistics capture gyms and medals, but not the quieter reasons people stay: the friend who finally tops their project, the regular Tuesday crew, the first outdoor trip. Those do not show up in a market report, and they are the real engine.",[17,11460,11461],{},"The takeaway is simple. Climbing is no longer niche, it is still growing, and there has never been a better time — or an easier one — to start. If you want to see your own numbers climb, logging your sessions is the place to begin.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11463},[11464,11465,11466,11467,11468],{"id":11396,"depth":132,"text":11397},{"id":11403,"depth":132,"text":11404},{"id":11418,"depth":132,"text":11419},{"id":11428,"depth":132,"text":11429},{"id":11454,"depth":132,"text":11455},"2024-07-19","Gyms, Olympic events and a global community in the tens of millions — the figures behind climbing's rise, with the sources to back them up.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1730659071194-4c833ac5da4e?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Climbers on a busy indoor bouldering wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-by-the-numbers",{"title":11391,"description":11470},"blog\u002Fclimbing-by-the-numbers",[11478,9939,11479],"statistics","industry","quHx87RjbytUz3qqR5mkA_zmpT4MH_5BmbNvnJUwXHE",{"id":11482,"title":11483,"author":7,"body":11484,"category":2464,"date":11581,"description":11582,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11583,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":8350,"imageCreditUrl":8351,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11584,"navigation":152,"path":11585,"readTime":2472,"seo":11586,"stem":11587,"tags":11588,"__hash__":11590},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-wear-climbing.md","What to wear climbing",{"type":9,"value":11485,"toc":11575},[11486,11490,11493,11496,11500,11503,11523,11526,11530,11533,11559,11562,11566,11569,11572],[12,11487,11489],{"id":11488},"you-almost-certainly-already-own-it","You almost certainly already own it",[17,11491,11492],{},"There is a whole industry built around selling climbers expensive technical clothing, and most of it is unnecessary for getting started. The honest truth is that you can rummage through the kit you already have and walk into a gym perfectly well dressed. Climbing clothing has exactly two jobs: let you move freely, and not get in the way.",[17,11494,11495],{},"Think about what climbing actually asks of your body. You high-step until your knee is near your chest, you reach overhead, you bridge your legs wide across a corner. So the only real test for any item is whether it lets you do those things without binding, riding up, or splitting at the seam.",[12,11497,11499],{"id":11498},"what-works","What works",[17,11501,11502],{},"For most people, the wardrobe is simple.",[70,11504,11505,11511,11517],{},[73,11506,11507,11510],{},[76,11508,11509],{},"Stretchy bottoms."," Leggings, joggers, or climbing-cut trousers all work. Gym shorts are fine too, though very short ones can leave your knees and shins exposed to scrapes against the wall. Anything with a bit of give and room to high-step.",[73,11512,11513,11516],{},[76,11514,11515],{},"A top you can move in."," A t-shirt or a vest, loose enough to reach overhead. In a warm gym you will heat up fast once you start, so lighter is usually better.",[73,11518,11519,11522],{},[76,11520,11521],{},"Layers for the walk in."," A hoodie or jumper to warm up in and pull off once you are climbing. Bouldering sessions run hot and cold as you swing between effort and rest.",[17,11524,11525],{},"That genuinely covers it. The clothes do not need to be branded, technical, or new.",[12,11527,11529],{"id":11528},"what-does-not","What does not",[17,11531,11532],{},"A few things are worth avoiding, less because of rules and more because they make climbing annoying.",[70,11534,11535,11541,11547,11553],{},[73,11536,11537,11540],{},[76,11538,11539],{},"Jeans and stiff trousers."," They restrict the big leg movements that climbing relies on, and you will feel it the moment you try to high-step.",[73,11542,11543,11546],{},[76,11544,11545],{},"Anything baggy enough to snag."," Very loose sleeves or flapping hems can catch on holds and obscure your view of your feet.",[73,11548,11549,11552],{},[76,11550,11551],{},"Long, dangling jewellery and rings."," Rings in particular are worth taking off. A ring catching on a hold or a fixture can cause a nasty injury, so most experienced climbers leave them at home.",[73,11554,11555,11558],{},[76,11556,11557],{},"Strong perfume or lotion on the hands."," Anything that makes your fingers slippery works against you. Save the moisturiser for after the session.",[17,11560,11561],{},"Tie long hair back so it stays out of your face, and clip your fingernails reasonably short, as long nails get in the way on small holds and tear easily.",[12,11563,11565],{"id":11564},"on-shoes-and-the-rest","On shoes and the rest",[17,11567,11568],{},"The one piece of proper kit is climbing shoes, and on a first visit you should just hire them rather than buy. They are designed to be snug and to grip the wall in a way trainers never will. Hire a pair, get a feel for it, and only invest once you know you are sticking with it. We have written separately about choosing your first pair.",[17,11570,11571],{},"Bring socks if you are hiring shoes, mostly for comfort and hygiene, though many climbers wear rental shoes barefoot once they are used to it. Chalk keeps sweaty hands dry and most gyms sell or hire it, but it is optional for an easy first go.",[17,11573,11574],{},"The takeaway is that climbing is one of the cheaper sports to start. The barrier to entry is low on purpose. Dig out something stretchy you can move in, leave the rings at home, hire the shoes, and put the money you saved towards more sessions instead.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11576},[11577,11578,11579,11580],{"id":11488,"depth":132,"text":11489},{"id":11498,"depth":132,"text":11499},{"id":11528,"depth":132,"text":11529},{"id":11564,"depth":132,"text":11565},"2024-07-12","You probably already own the right kit. What works, what does not, and why you do not need to spend much.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1703949261787-5ba6cbed1077?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-wear-climbing",{"title":11483,"description":11582},"blog\u002Fwhat-to-wear-climbing",[562,1822,11589],"clothing","95zdrBgy8O3m_w8AZ8OdmOL8l_V1f7WS3vG6WhK_-rg",{"id":11592,"title":11593,"author":7,"body":11594,"category":141,"date":11673,"description":11674,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11675,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":11676,"imageCreditUrl":11677,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11678,"navigation":152,"path":11679,"readTime":154,"seo":11680,"stem":11681,"tags":11682,"__hash__":11684},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-when-you-cant-get-to-the-gym.md","Training when you can't get to the gym",{"type":9,"value":11595,"toc":11666},[11596,11599,11603,11606,11609,11613,11616,11619,11630,11633,11637,11640,11643,11647,11650,11653,11656,11660,11663],[17,11597,11598],{},"Sooner or later a stretch comes along where you cannot get to the wall. An injury, a work trip, a new baby, a gym that shut for refurbishment. The instinct is to write the weeks off and accept the backslide. You do not have to. A lot of genuinely useful climbing work happens nowhere near a hold, and some of it is exactly the stuff most of us skip when the gym is open.",[12,11600,11602],{"id":11601},"train-the-things-climbing-neglects","Train the things climbing neglects",[17,11604,11605],{},"Climbing pulls. It pulls and pulls and pulls, and almost never pushes. Over years that imbalance shows up as rounded shoulders, cranky elbows and a chest that has forgotten what it is for. Time away from the wall is the ideal window to even things out.",[17,11607,11608],{},"Antagonist work is the priority. Press-ups, dips off a sturdy chair, and any overhead pressing you can rig up will start to balance the front of the shoulder against all that pulling from the back. Wrist and forearm work in the opposite direction to gripping, things like reverse wrist curls with a light weight or a tin of beans, can do a lot to keep the elbows quiet. None of this needs to be heavy. Consistency beats intensity here.",[12,11610,11612],{"id":11611},"core-but-the-useful-kind","Core, but the useful kind",[17,11614,11615],{},"Forget endless crunches. The core that matters for climbing is the one that keeps tension between your hands and feet when the wall steepens, so you want to train it to resist movement rather than just produce it.",[17,11617,11618],{},"A short, sharp circuit two or three times a week covers most of it:",[70,11620,11621,11624,11627],{},[73,11622,11623],{},"Front and side planks, held until your form starts to wobble rather than for a fixed time.",[73,11625,11626],{},"Slow leg raises, hanging if you have a bar, lying on the floor if you do not.",[73,11628,11629],{},"Dead bugs and bird dogs for the anti-rotation work that keeps your hips quiet on steep ground.",[17,11631,11632],{},"Done properly these are harder than they look. If a plank feels easy you are probably letting your hips sag, so reset and try again.",[12,11634,11636],{"id":11635},"mobility-is-free-progress","Mobility is free progress",[17,11638,11639],{},"This is the part everyone knows they should do and almost nobody does. A spell at home with no climbing to chase is the moment to finally build a hip and shoulder routine. High steps, deep squats, hip openers and shoulder dislocates with a band or a broomstick. Five or ten minutes a day, most days, will quietly hand you reach and high steps that you have been muscling around for years.",[17,11641,11642],{},"Mobility work also tends to settle the small aches that build up over a season. Coming back from a break feeling looser than when you left is an underrated win.",[12,11644,11646],{"id":11645},"a-careful-word-on-fingerboarding","A careful word on fingerboarding",[17,11648,11649],{},"If you have a board at home, hangboarding can keep your fingers honest while you are away from the wall, but it comes with a warning. Fingerboarding is dense, specific load with none of the distraction that stops you overdoing it at the gym. It is the easiest way to walk straight into a finger injury.",[17,11651,11652],{},"Keep it conservative. Warm up thoroughly, ideally with some pulling and light hangs before you load anything hard. Stick to open-hand or half-crimp on a comfortable edge, repeaters of seven seconds on and three off, a handful of sets, two sessions a week with rest days between. If anything in a finger feels sharp or hot, stop. There is no hang worth a pulley.",[17,11654,11655],{},"If you are nursing a finger injury rather than just stuck at home, leave the board alone entirely and let the antagonist and core work carry you through.",[12,11657,11659],{"id":11658},"come-back-gently","Come back gently",[17,11661,11662],{},"The mistake is treating your first session back as a chance to prove nothing was lost. Your fingers and connective tissue detrain slower than your enthusiasm rebuilds, so the strength feels like it is there before the tendons agree. Drop a grade or two for a week, climb more volume than intensity, and let things catch up.",[17,11664,11665],{},"Weeks off the wall are not wasted weeks. Used well, they fix the imbalances a normal training cycle never gets round to, and plenty of climbers come back from a forced break moving better than before. Jot down what you did at home so that when you are back on the wall you can see what actually carried over.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11667},[11668,11669,11670,11671,11672],{"id":11601,"depth":132,"text":11602},{"id":11611,"depth":132,"text":11612},{"id":11635,"depth":132,"text":11636},{"id":11645,"depth":132,"text":11646},{"id":11658,"depth":132,"text":11659},"2024-07-05","Antagonists, core, mobility and a little fingerboarding — useful work for the weeks you are stuck at home.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1536639070539-43ec572aca6d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Jonathan J. Castellon","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@jon_cast2",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-when-you-cant-get-to-the-gym",{"title":11593,"description":11674},"blog\u002Ftraining-when-you-cant-get-to-the-gym",[162,11683,7505],"home","RU7q286LBsds4uHQcDL2KgoGKDLqsii7B03eTFT_5hw",{"id":11686,"title":11687,"author":7,"body":11688,"category":2464,"date":11753,"description":11754,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11755,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":11756,"imageCreditUrl":11757,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11758,"navigation":152,"path":11759,"readTime":154,"seo":11760,"stem":11761,"tags":11762,"__hash__":11763},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-belay-safely.md","How to belay safely",{"type":9,"value":11689,"toc":11747},[11690,11693,11697,11700,11703,11707,11710,11724,11727,11731,11734,11737,11741,11744],[17,11691,11692],{},"Belaying is the most important job in roped climbing, because you are holding another person's life on the end of a rope. It is not difficult to do well, but it does demand attention and good habits. This is an overview of the fundamentals — it is not a substitute for being taught hands-on by a qualified instructor, which everyone should have before they belay for real.",[12,11694,11696],{"id":11695},"the-one-rule-never-let-go-of-the-brake","The one rule: never let go of the brake",[17,11698,11699],{},"Whatever happens, your brake hand stays on the rope below the device. This is the rule everything else is built around. The friction that holds a fall comes from the rope being bent down and back through the belay device, and your hand keeping it there. Take that hand off, even for a second, and there is nothing stopping the rope running through.",[17,11701,11702],{},"Whenever the climber is moving, the brake side of the rope should be down, in the braking position, with your hand wrapped firmly around it. You only ever let slack out or take it in through a technique that keeps a hand on the brake at all times. If you are not sure how to do that, you are not ready to belay unsupervised yet.",[12,11704,11706],{"id":11705},"the-checks-before-anyone-leaves-the-ground","The checks before anyone leaves the ground",[17,11708,11709],{},"A huge proportion of serious accidents come down to a missed check, and almost all of them are preventable in the thirty seconds before climbing. Both climber and belayer run through it, out loud, every single time:",[70,11711,11712,11715,11718,11721],{},[73,11713,11714],{},"Climber's knot tied correctly and finished — a figure-eight follow-through, dressed and with a backup or long enough tail.",[73,11716,11717],{},"Harness buckles done up and doubled back as the manufacturer requires.",[73,11719,11720],{},"Rope threaded through the belay device the right way and the carabiner locked.",[73,11722,11723],{},"Belayer attached to the rope or anchor as appropriate, and ready.",[17,11725,11726],{},"Check each other, not just yourself. The partner check is there precisely because it is easy to miss your own mistake. Make it a habit you never skip, no matter how routine the climb feels or how many times you have climbed together.",[12,11728,11730],{"id":11729},"catching-the-fall-and-lowering","Catching the fall and lowering",[17,11732,11733],{},"A good catch is a controlled one. The moment a top-rope climber weights the rope, you simply hold the brake firmly and the device locks the rope. There is little drama on top-rope because the climber barely moves. Keep the slack out as they climb so a slip is a small one, but do not yank them off the wall by pulling too tight, either.",[17,11735,11736],{},"Lowering is where beginners often get tense. Keep both hands on the brake, ease the rope through slowly and smoothly, and bring your climber down at a steady, walking pace. Watch them, not the device, so you can stop if they need to sort out feet near the ground or avoid an obstacle. A jerky lower is unpleasant and unsafe; a smooth one is the mark of a good belayer.",[12,11738,11740],{"id":11739},"pay-attention-every-climb","Pay attention, every climb",[17,11742,11743],{},"The quiet skill of belaying is simply staying switched on. Watch your climber the whole time. Anticipate when they are about to make a hard move or clip, and feed or take rope accordingly. Stand close to the wall and roughly under the first bolt or anchor line, not metres back where a fall would drag you sideways. Keep chatting to a minimum when they are in a committing position, and never belay while looking at your phone.",[17,11745,11746],{},"Belaying well is one of the most generous things you do as a climber. Your partner trusts you completely, and that trust is earned through consistent, attentive habits. Get taught properly, practise under supervision until it is second nature, and treat every check as if it is the one that matters — because one day it will be.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11748},[11749,11750,11751,11752],{"id":11695,"depth":132,"text":11696},{"id":11705,"depth":132,"text":11706},{"id":11729,"depth":132,"text":11730},{"id":11739,"depth":132,"text":11740},"2024-06-28","The fundamentals of catching a fall, the checks that matter, and the habits that keep your partner safe.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1525718772071-6ddb36ff174d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Kyle Loftus","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@kyleloftusstudios",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-belay-safely",{"title":11687,"description":11754},"blog\u002Fhow-to-belay-safely",[562,1916,1917],"ECQQ_n2WbMUFFYEMyiOch-k2zTDFctWJKuDlld-geOA",{"id":11765,"title":11766,"author":7,"body":11767,"category":1904,"date":11833,"description":11834,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11835,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":11836,"imageCreditUrl":11837,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11838,"navigation":152,"path":11839,"readTime":2472,"seo":11840,"stem":11841,"tags":11842,"__hash__":11843},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhen-to-resole-your-climbing-shoes.md","When to resole your climbing shoes",{"type":9,"value":11768,"toc":11828},[11769,11772,11776,11779,11805,11808,11812,11815,11818,11822,11825],[17,11770,11771],{},"Climbing shoes wear out, but they rarely wear out all at once. The upper, the closure and the fit can stay perfectly good long after the rubber on the toe has thinned to nothing. Resoling replaces that worn rubber and gives a well-fitting pair a second or third life, often for a fraction of the cost of buying new. The skill is knowing when to send them off, because catch it at the right moment and you keep the shoe you love going for years.",[12,11773,11775],{"id":11774},"how-to-tell-the-rubber-is-going","How to tell the rubber is going",[17,11777,11778],{},"Wear concentrates at the toe, since that is where you stand on most footholds. Keep an eye on a few telltale signs:",[70,11780,11781,11787,11793,11799],{},[73,11782,11783,11786],{},[76,11784,11785],{},"Thinning at the toe."," The sole rubber gets visibly thinner, often developing a smooth, shiny patch where the texture has gone.",[73,11788,11789,11792],{},[76,11790,11791],{},"The rand showing through."," The rand is the thin rubber band that wraps around the toe and side of the shoe. When the sole wears down to it, you will see a colour change or a different texture, sometimes a faint line appearing.",[73,11794,11795,11798],{},[76,11796,11797],{},"A hole forming."," If you can see the fabric or your sock through the toe, you have left it too long.",[73,11800,11801,11804],{},[76,11802,11803],{},"Loss of grip."," Smooth, glassy rubber simply does not stick the way fresh rubber does, and you will notice your feet skating off holds they used to hold.",[17,11806,11807],{},"The single most important thing is to resole before the rand wears through. The rand is structural, and once you put a hole in it the repair becomes far more involved and expensive, if it can be saved at all. As soon as the sole rubber is getting thin over the toe, that is the moment to act, not after.",[12,11809,11811],{"id":11810},"why-resoling-beats-buying-new","Why resoling beats buying new",[17,11813,11814],{},"A good pair of climbing shoes is broken in to your foot. The fit has settled, the stretch has happened, and they feel like an extension of you. Throwing that away because the rubber wore out is a waste of money and a waste of a shoe that fits.",[17,11816,11817],{},"Resoling keeps that dialled fit while restoring the grip. A cobbler who specialises in climbing shoes grinds off the old sole and bonds on fresh rubber, and you can often choose the rubber type and thickness to suit how you climb: stickier and softer for sensitivity, firmer for edging. It typically costs a good deal less than a new pair, and it is the more sustainable choice too, keeping shoes out of landfill.",[12,11819,11821],{"id":11820},"a-few-practical-habits","A few practical habits",[17,11823,11824],{},"Rotate between two pairs if you climb a lot, so neither wears out as fast and you always have a backup while one is away being resoled. Brush dirt off your soles before climbing, since grit between rubber and rock grinds the sole down quicker. And do not walk around outside in your climbing shoes, because pavement and grit chew through rubber far faster than rock ever does.",[17,11826,11827],{},"Keep a rough note of when you bought or last resoled each pair. It is easy to lose track, and knowing roughly how many sessions a sole lasts you means you can send shoes off in good time rather than discovering a hole mid-trip. Catch the wear early and a single pair can serve you for years.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11829},[11830,11831,11832],{"id":11774,"depth":132,"text":11775},{"id":11810,"depth":132,"text":11811},{"id":11820,"depth":132,"text":11821},"2024-06-21","How to tell when rubber is worn out, and why resoling beats buying new.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1756821725773-4de2cedb6183?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Frederick Shaw","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@dropfastcollective",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhen-to-resole-your-climbing-shoes",{"title":11766,"description":11834},"blog\u002Fwhen-to-resole-your-climbing-shoes",[1822,2440,7120],"o8i0WTdQcW1rz5f-d23SfERAoZXf7HHvQLzOoimainI",{"id":11845,"title":11846,"author":7,"body":11847,"category":1904,"date":11935,"description":11936,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":11937,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":11938,"navigation":152,"path":11939,"readTime":1547,"seo":11940,"stem":11941,"tags":11942,"__hash__":11943},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-harness-basics.md","Climbing harness basics",{"type":9,"value":11848,"toc":11930},[11849,11852,11856,11859,11890,11893,11897,11900,11903,11907,11910,11913,11924,11927],[17,11850,11851],{},"The harness is the bit of kit that ties you to the rope, so it earns a little attention. The good news is that any harness sold by a reputable brand is certified to hold far more than you will ever load it with, so you do not need to agonise over safety margins. What matters more is choosing one that fits, suits the climbing you do, and gets retired before it wears out. Here is what to look for.",[12,11853,11855],{"id":11854},"the-parts-of-a-harness","The parts of a harness",[17,11857,11858],{},"A sit harness, the standard type for almost all climbing, is made up of a few key elements:",[70,11860,11861,11867,11872,11878,11884],{},[73,11862,11863,11866],{},[76,11864,11865],{},"The waist belt",", which carries most of the load and where you do up the buckle.",[73,11868,11869,11871],{},[76,11870,6620],{},", which support your thighs and stop you tipping backwards when you hang.",[73,11873,11874,11877],{},[76,11875,11876],{},"The belay loop",", the strong sewn loop at the front that you clip your belay device into and that takes the most direct load.",[73,11879,11880,11883],{},[76,11881,11882],{},"The tie-in points",", the two reinforced loops above and below the belay loop that you thread the rope through when you tie in.",[73,11885,11886,11889],{},[76,11887,11888],{},"Gear loops"," around the sides for racking quickdraws, slings and other kit.",[17,11891,11892],{},"Different harnesses prioritise different things. Sport and gym harnesses are light and minimal. Trad and alpine harnesses have more, sturdier gear loops to carry a full rack. For most people climbing indoors and on bolted routes, a comfortable all-round harness is the right call.",[12,11894,11896],{"id":11895},"how-it-should-fit","How it should fit",[17,11898,11899],{},"Fit is where comfort and safety meet. The waist belt should sit above your hip bones and do up snug enough that you cannot pull it down over your hips. This is the single most important point: if a harness can slide off over your hips, it is not safe, and that is especially worth checking on smaller climbers and children.",[17,11901,11902],{},"The leg loops should be snug but not tight enough to cut in, with room for the layers you might wear. Many harnesses have adjustable leg loops, which helps if you climb in shorts in summer and trousers in winter. Hang in the harness in the shop if you can, because a harness that feels fine standing up can dig in unpleasantly once you are weighting it on the rope.",[12,11904,11906],{"id":11905},"when-to-retire-it","When to retire it",[17,11908,11909],{},"Harnesses do not last forever, and they are not something to nurse along past their best. Inspect yours regularly, paying close attention to the belay loop and tie-in points, since these take the most wear.",[17,11911,11912],{},"Retire a harness if you see:",[70,11914,11915,11918,11921],{},[73,11916,11917],{},"Fraying, fuzzing or cuts in the belay loop or tie-in points beyond surface fluffing.",[73,11919,11920],{},"The coloured wear indicator showing through, on harnesses that have one.",[73,11922,11923],{},"Any sign the stitching is coming undone, or the webbing is stiff, faded or damaged.",[17,11925,11926],{},"Beyond visible damage, manufacturers give a maximum lifespan even for an unused harness, because the materials degrade with age. A harness that has taken a heavy fall, been stored badly or simply got old should be replaced. It is cheap insurance for a piece of kit your life hangs from.",[17,11928,11929],{},"Keep a rough note of when you bought your harness and any big falls it has taken. It makes the retire-or-keep decision easy, and it is one less thing to second-guess when you are racking up at the bottom of a route.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":11931},[11932,11933,11934],{"id":11854,"depth":132,"text":11855},{"id":11895,"depth":132,"text":11896},{"id":11905,"depth":132,"text":11906},"2024-06-14","What makes a good harness, how it should fit, and when to retire one.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775654792608-08a019b97da8?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-harness-basics",{"title":11846,"description":11936},"blog\u002Fclimbing-harness-basics",[1822,2450,6163],"yX7V_5NiafDcH4E9KK72IVcVTfs9zgSuBA_Lv0onTh8",{"id":11945,"title":11946,"author":7,"body":11947,"category":141,"date":12066,"description":12067,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12068,"imageAlt":12069,"imageCredit":283,"imageCreditUrl":284,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12070,"navigation":152,"path":12071,"readTime":1547,"seo":12072,"stem":12073,"tags":12074,"__hash__":12076},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-logging-every-session-makes-you-a-better-climber.md","Why logging every session makes you a better climber",{"type":9,"value":11948,"toc":12059},[11949,11952,11959,11963,11966,11986,11991,11995,11998,12024,12027,12031,12034,12038,12041,12052],[17,11950,11951],{},"Most climbers can tell you their hardest send. Far fewer can tell you how many times\nthey climbed last month, what angle they spend most of their time on, or which grade\nthey have been stuck at and for how long. That gap is exactly where progress hides.",[17,11953,11954,11955,11958],{},"A log turns a vague feeling — ",[2610,11956,11957],{},"\"I think I'm getting stronger\""," — into something you can\nactually see. And once you can see it, you can change it.",[12,11960,11962],{"id":11961},"what-a-log-gives-you-that-memory-cant","What a log gives you that memory can't",[17,11964,11965],{},"Memory is generous and unreliable. It remembers the good sessions and quietly forgets\nthe flat ones. A log does three things memory won't:",[70,11967,11968,11974,11980],{},[73,11969,11970,11973],{},[76,11971,11972],{},"It shows volume."," Sends are exciting, but consistent time on the wall is what\nbuilds climbers. A log makes your real frequency visible.",[73,11975,11976,11979],{},[76,11977,11978],{},"It shows plateaus."," Eight weeks at the same grade is hard to feel and easy to see.",[73,11981,11982,11985],{},[76,11983,11984],{},"It shows patterns."," Maybe you always climb steep and never train slab. Maybe you\nsend well two days after a rest, not one. The data tells you.",[3878,11987,11988],{},[17,11989,11990],{},"You can't manage what you don't measure — and you can't measure what you don't write down.",[12,11992,11994],{"id":11993},"whats-actually-worth-tracking","What's actually worth tracking",[17,11996,11997],{},"You do not need to record everything. A handful of fields, logged honestly, beats a\nspreadsheet you abandon in March:",[3894,11999,12000,12006,12012,12018],{},[73,12001,12002,12005],{},[76,12003,12004],{},"Grade and angle"," — the two numbers that define the climb.",[73,12007,12008,12011],{},[76,12009,12010],{},"Attempts vs. flash"," — first-go sends and projects tell different stories.",[73,12013,12014,12017],{},[76,12015,12016],{},"How it felt"," — a one-line note. \"Pumped early\", \"feet felt great\", \"shoulder twingy\".",[73,12019,12020,12023],{},[76,12021,12022],{},"Rest"," — days since your last session. Recovery is training too.",[17,12025,12026],{},"That is enough to spot a trend within a month.",[3986,12028,12030],{"id":12029},"make-it-frictionless","Make it frictionless",[17,12032,12033],{},"The best log is the one you actually keep. If logging a climb takes thirty seconds and\nlives in your pocket, you will do it. If it takes a notebook and good intentions, you\nwon't. Sendit logs a climb in a couple of taps — grade, angle, attempts, a note — and\nquietly builds the history in the background so the streaks, totals and trends are\nthere when you want them.",[12,12035,12037],{"id":12036},"review-on-a-schedule","Review on a schedule",[17,12039,12040],{},"Logging is only half of it. Once a month, look back. Three questions are enough:",[70,12042,12043,12046,12049],{},[73,12044,12045],{},"Am I climbing as often as I think I am?",[73,12047,12048],{},"What grade and angle do I avoid?",[73,12050,12051],{},"What was different about my best sessions?",[17,12053,12054,12055,12058],{},"Answer those honestly and your next month almost plans itself. Climb, log, review,\nadjust — that is the whole loop, and it is how ten years of climbing turns into ten\nyears of ",[2610,12056,12057],{},"getting better",".",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12060},[12061,12062,12065],{"id":11961,"depth":132,"text":11962},{"id":11993,"depth":132,"text":11994,"children":12063},[12064],{"id":12029,"depth":4021,"text":12030},{"id":12036,"depth":132,"text":12037},"2024-06-07","A training log is not admin — it is the difference between climbing for ten years and climbing the same year ten times. Here is what to track, and why it works.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F8728635\u002Fpexels-photo-8728635.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","A climber mid-session on an indoor bouldering wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-logging-every-session-makes-you-a-better-climber",{"title":11946,"description":12067},"blog\u002Fwhy-logging-every-session-makes-you-a-better-climber",[162,5000,2797,12075],"habits","T6xE9CGtlEeBZ_BR821dI9C3epD7YSbc7zlwWATal8k",{"id":12078,"title":12079,"author":7,"body":12080,"category":2555,"date":12145,"description":12146,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12147,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":11836,"imageCreditUrl":11837,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12148,"navigation":152,"path":12149,"readTime":154,"seo":12150,"stem":12151,"tags":12152,"__hash__":12153},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcrag-etiquette-and-access.md","Crag etiquette and access",{"type":9,"value":12081,"toc":12139},[12082,12085,12089,12092,12095,12099,12102,12116,12119,12123,12126,12129,12133,12136],[17,12083,12084],{},"Outdoor climbing happens on land that almost always belongs to someone else, whether that is a farmer, a national park, a conservation body or the wider public. Crags stay open because climbers behave well enough that landowners and communities tolerate them, and they close when that goodwill runs out. Crag etiquette is not fussiness. It is the quiet set of habits that keeps the places we love accessible for the people who come after us.",[12,12086,12088],{"id":12087},"getting-there-and-parking","Getting there and parking",[17,12090,12091],{},"A surprising number of access problems start in the car park. Climbers blocking gates, parking on verges, filling a small village lane with cars on a sunny weekend: this is how a friendly landowner becomes an unfriendly one. Park only where you are allowed, leave room for tractors and emergency vehicles, and consider lift-sharing to cut the number of cars at popular crags.",[17,12093,12094],{},"Approaches matter too. Stick to established paths even when a shortcut looks quicker, because trampling new lines through fields and fragile ground causes erosion and annoys the people who manage the land. Shut gates behind you, keep dogs under control around livestock, and treat the walk in as part of your responsibility rather than a nuisance to be rushed.",[12,12096,12098],{"id":12097},"leave-no-trace","Leave no trace",[17,12100,12101],{},"The principle is simple: the crag should look no different after your visit than before it. In practice that means a few habits worth making automatic:",[70,12103,12104,12107,12110,12113],{},[73,12105,12106],{},"Take all your litter home, including tape, fruit peel, cigarette ends and the little corner of an energy bar wrapper that always seems to escape.",[73,12108,12109],{},"Deal with human waste properly. Carry it out where required, or bury it well away from the crag, paths and water if that is the local norm.",[73,12111,12112],{},"Brush off excess chalk and avoid tick marks where you can, especially at crags where heavy chalk use is frowned upon or banned.",[73,12114,12115],{},"Do not build new trails, move boulders or chop vegetation to make a problem more convenient.",[17,12117,12118],{},"Chalk deserves a mention of its own. Big white patches on the rock are unsightly and, at some sensitive crags, genuinely contentious. A soft brush at the end of a session goes a long way, and on certain rock types coloured chalk that blends in is encouraged.",[12,12120,12122],{"id":12121},"wildlife-and-the-seasons","Wildlife and the seasons",[17,12124,12125],{},"Crags are habitats. Birds nest on ledges, plants grow in cracks, and the rock itself can be home to species you would never notice. Many crags have seasonal restrictions, most commonly bans during the spring and early summer nesting season to protect birds like peregrines and ravens.",[17,12127,12128],{},"These restrictions are not bureaucracy for its own sake. Ignoring a nesting ban can cause a pair of birds to abandon a clutch, and it can hand the people who oppose climbing access a powerful argument. Check before you travel, respect the dates, and accept that some routes simply are not in season for part of the year.",[12,12130,12132],{"id":12131},"sharing-the-space","Sharing the space",[17,12134,12135],{},"The social side of etiquette is mostly common sense. Do not hog a popular route by leaving a rope on it all day while you rest. Keep noise and music reasonable, because not everyone wants a soundtrack at the crag. Give other parties room, especially around the base of routes where falling gear or a swinging climber is a hazard. If you are new to an area, a friendly word with the locals will teach you more about the place than any guidebook.",[17,12137,12138],{},"None of this is hard. It is a handful of small considerations that, taken together, mean the crag you enjoyed this weekend is still open and welcoming when you bring a friend back next year.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12140},[12141,12142,12143,12144],{"id":12087,"depth":132,"text":12088},{"id":12097,"depth":132,"text":12098},{"id":12121,"depth":132,"text":12122},{"id":12131,"depth":132,"text":12132},"2024-05-31","Leave-no-trace, parking, wildlife and the quiet rules that keep crags open for everyone.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1738321791274-6dadb493a8b8?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcrag-etiquette-and-access",{"title":12079,"description":12146},"blog\u002Fcrag-etiquette-and-access",[2589,3168,7597],"dCKWO1UDKAovrY0MRUfEf207wRasMK9iD7B7D7WhIYY",{"id":12155,"title":12156,"author":7,"body":12157,"category":1904,"date":12222,"description":12223,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12224,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":12225,"imageCreditUrl":12226,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12227,"navigation":152,"path":12228,"readTime":2472,"seo":12229,"stem":12230,"tags":12231,"__hash__":12232},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchalk-and-chalk-bags.md","Chalk and chalk bags",{"type":9,"value":12158,"toc":12216},[12159,12162,12166,12169,12172,12176,12179,12196,12199,12203,12206,12209,12213],[17,12160,12161],{},"Chalk is the cheapest, most universal bit of climbing kit, and also one of the most misunderstood. New climbers tend to either ignore it entirely or coat themselves like they have fallen into a flour bin. Used well, chalk keeps your hands dry and your grip secure. Used badly, it covers the holds, the floor and the person next to you. Here is what it does and how to get it right.",[12,12163,12165],{"id":12164},"what-chalk-actually-does","What chalk actually does",[17,12167,12168],{},"Climbing chalk is magnesium carbonate, the same stuff gymnasts and weightlifters use. Its job is to absorb sweat and moisture from your skin so that your fingers grip the rock or holds rather than greasing off them. Sweaty hands are slippery hands, and on small crimps or rounded slopers even a little moisture can be the difference between sticking a move and skating off.",[17,12170,12171],{},"It is worth saying that chalk is not magic. It will not give you grip you do not have, and caking your hands in it does nothing useful. A light, even layer is all you want. Over-chalking actually reduces friction, because you end up gripping a layer of powder rather than the texture of the hold.",[12,12173,12175],{"id":12174},"loose-block-or-liquid","Loose, block or liquid",[17,12177,12178],{},"Chalk comes in a few forms, and most climbers end up using a mix depending on the situation:",[70,12180,12181,12186,12191],{},[73,12182,12183,12185],{},[76,12184,1739],{}," is the standard powder. Easy to apply, easy to over-apply, and the most prone to creating dust clouds. The default for most people in a chalk bag.",[73,12187,12188,12190],{},[76,12189,1745],{}," is a solid lump you crush down yourself. It tends to be better value and you can control the consistency, breaking off as much as you want.",[73,12192,12193,12195],{},[76,12194,1751],{}," is chalk suspended in alcohol that you rub on and let dry, leaving a thin base layer. It creates almost no dust, lasts well, and many gyms prefer or require it for that reason. A lot of climbers use liquid chalk as a base and top up with loose chalk during a session.",[17,12197,12198],{},"Some chalk includes a drying agent for very sweaty hands, and coloured chalk exists for crags where white tick marks are unwelcome. For most people, plain chalk in whichever form suits the venue is all you need.",[12,12200,12202],{"id":12201},"bags-and-buckets","Bags and buckets",[17,12204,12205],{},"For roped climbing and bouldering on the move, a chalk bag clips to your harness or sits on a belt around your waist, so you can dip mid-route. For bouldering at the base of a wall, a larger chalk bucket sits on the ground and you dip between attempts. Many boulderers carry both.",[17,12207,12208],{},"There is not much to choosing one beyond size, a closure that keeps dust in, and a stiff rim that stays open so you can get your hand in easily. A brush loop and a small pocket for tape or a phone are nice to have. It is one of the few pieces of kit where personality is fine, so pick one you like the look of.",[12,12210,12212],{"id":12211},"keep-it-off-everyone-else","Keep it off everyone else",[17,12214,12215],{},"Chalk dust is the quiet etiquette issue of every gym and crag. Clouds of it hang in the air, settle on holds and aggravate people with sensitive lungs. A few simple habits keep you in everyone's good books: dip lightly rather than slapping clouds about, avoid clapping your hands to knock off excess, consider liquid chalk indoors where dust builds up, and brush your tick marks off outdoor rock at the end of a session. Small courtesies, but they are the difference between a tidy crag and a chalked-out mess.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12217},[12218,12219,12220,12221],{"id":12164,"depth":132,"text":12165},{"id":12174,"depth":132,"text":12175},{"id":12201,"depth":132,"text":12202},{"id":12211,"depth":132,"text":12212},"2024-05-24","Loose, block, liquid — what chalk does, what to buy, and how to keep it off everyone else.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1717876069732-80f23aaf8774?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Quentin Touvard","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@qt_picture",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchalk-and-chalk-bags",{"title":12156,"description":12223},"blog\u002Fchalk-and-chalk-bags",[1822,1823,562],"jF5xey6PV8yaV8K-IFGHKedd5CwRkp6VYC6u9-OcLjs",{"id":12234,"title":12235,"author":7,"body":12236,"category":2555,"date":12316,"description":12317,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12318,"imageAlt":12319,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":12320,"mapLabel":12331,"mapLat":12332,"mapLng":12333,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":4143,"meta":12334,"navigation":152,"path":12335,"readTime":154,"seo":12336,"stem":12337,"tags":12338,"__hash__":12340},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-magic-wood.md","Bouldering in Magic Wood",{"type":9,"value":12237,"toc":12310},[12238,12242,12245,12248,12252,12255,12258,12278,12280,12283,12287,12290,12293,12304,12307],[12,12239,12241],{"id":12240},"a-forest-full-of-granite","A forest full of granite",[17,12243,12244],{},"Tucked into a valley in eastern Switzerland, Magic Wood is one of the most celebrated bouldering venues in Europe. The name fits. It is a steep, mossy, almost fairytale forest beside a rushing river, and scattered through the trees are hundreds of granite and gneiss blocs, many of them steep, overhanging and brutally hard. For boulderers chasing the higher grades, it is close to a pilgrimage. People travel from all over the world to spend their summers battling its test pieces.",[17,12246,12247],{},"The atmosphere is part of the appeal. Damp green light filters through the canopy, the river roars in the background, and the blocs lurk among the trees waiting to humble you.",[12,12249,12251],{"id":12250},"the-rock-and-the-style","The rock and the style",[17,12253,12254],{},"The climbing at Magic Wood is famously physical. The rock gives crisp crimps, slopers and steep, powerful problems on overhanging faces, with plenty of tension moves, compression and hard pulls between small holds. It suits climbers who like to fight. There is gentler climbing too, but the venue's reputation is built on its concentration of hard lines, and many of the classics sit at the harder end of the grade spectrum.",[17,12256,12257],{},"A few things stand out about climbing there:",[70,12259,12260,12266,12272],{},[73,12261,12262,12265],{},[76,12263,12264],{},"It is steep."," A lot of the best problems are overhanging, so expect tension, body positioning and powerful moves rather than delicate slabs.",[73,12267,12268,12271],{},[76,12269,12270],{},"The holds can be sharp."," Granite crimps are hard on the skin, so manage your tips and bring tape.",[73,12273,12274,12277],{},[76,12275,12276],{},"Conditions transform the grades."," Cool, dry air gives the friction that hard problems demand; warm or humid days make everything feel impossible.",[12,12279,2529],{"id":2528},[17,12281,12282],{},"Magic Wood is a summer and autumn venue. The forest sits at altitude, so the warmer months bring conditions cool enough to climb while lower-lying crags are too hot. Late summer into autumn is classic, when the air starts to crisp up and the friction improves. The shade of the trees keeps the sun off, which helps, but the trade-off is that the damp forest holds moisture and the rock can stay greasy after rain. Patience and a good forecast are your friends.",[12,12284,12286],{"id":12285},"etiquette-and-going-prepared","Etiquette and going prepared",[17,12288,12289],{},"Magic Wood's popularity has put pressure on the forest, and access has not always been straightforward over the years. That makes good behaviour essential. Park where you are told, pay any fees, use the proper facilities, keep noise down, and take every scrap of litter home. Brush off your chalk and tick marks, and never climb on wet or fragile rock.",[17,12291,12292],{},"Practical kit for a trip:",[70,12294,12295,12298,12301],{},[73,12296,12297],{},"Several pads between a group, because the landings among the trees and roots can be awkward and uneven.",[73,12299,12300],{},"A good brush for clearing moss and chalk, and tape for your skin.",[73,12302,12303],{},"Warm layers for belaying in the shade, and shoes that suit steep, powerful climbing.",[17,12305,12306],{},"A spotter who knows what they are doing is worth a lot here. The combination of high problems, sloping landings and tree roots means careful pad placement and attentive spotting keep sessions safe.",[17,12308,12309],{},"Magic Wood is not a gentle introduction to outdoor bouldering. It is a place to test yourself on world-class hard rock in a setting that genuinely feels magical. Keeping a log of the problems you try, and the conditions on the day, helps you make sense of a venue where the same line can feel like two different grades depending on the weather.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12311},[12312,12313,12314,12315],{"id":12240,"depth":132,"text":12241},{"id":12250,"depth":132,"text":12251},{"id":2528,"depth":132,"text":2529},{"id":12285,"depth":132,"text":12286},"2024-05-17","The mossy Swiss forest of hard granite blocs that draws boulderers from everywhere.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fbouldering-in-magic-wood.jpg","Satellite view of Magic Wood, Switzerland",[12321,12324,12326,12329],[12322,12323],46.552,9.4414,[12322,12325],9.4458,[12327,12328],46.549,9.446,[12327,12330],9.4412,"Magic Wood, Switzerland",46.5505,9.4435,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbouldering-in-magic-wood",{"title":12235,"description":12317},"blog\u002Fbouldering-in-magic-wood",[2589,293,12339],"switzerland","mr8wtlAHWE6nBCgk76i3ZL59DnepNXG6lQksYATT7JM",{"id":12342,"title":12343,"author":7,"body":12344,"category":2785,"date":12409,"description":12410,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12411,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":12412,"imageCreditUrl":12413,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12414,"navigation":152,"path":12415,"readTime":1547,"seo":12416,"stem":12417,"tags":12418,"__hash__":12419},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsleep-and-recovery-for-climbers.md","Sleep and recovery for climbers",{"type":9,"value":12345,"toc":12403},[12346,12349,12353,12356,12359,12363,12366,12369,12380,12383,12387,12390,12393,12397,12400],[17,12347,12348],{},"Climbing makes you weaker. That sounds wrong, but it is true in the moment: a hard session breaks tissue down and leaves you more tired and slightly more damaged than you started. You do not get stronger on the wall. You get stronger afterwards, while you rest, when the body repairs the damage and overshoots a little. Which means recovery is not the thing you do between training. For a climber, it is half the training.",[12,12350,12352],{"id":12351},"the-gains-happen-in-the-gaps","The gains happen in the gaps",[17,12354,12355],{},"When you finger-train or project at your limit, you are sending a signal: this load is hard, adapt to it. The adaptation — stronger tendons, more capable muscles, better-organised movement — is built during rest. Skip the rest and the signal never gets answered. You keep breaking down without rebuilding, and the result is not strength but staleness, niggles, and a plateau that no amount of extra sessions will shift.",[17,12357,12358],{},"This is why hard climbers often train less than people expect. They have learned that two or three quality sessions with real recovery beat five tired ones. Tendons in particular take a long time to catch up with muscle, so respecting rest is not laziness, it is how you avoid the finger injuries that come from constant under-recovery.",[12,12360,12362],{"id":12361},"sleep-does-the-heavy-lifting","Sleep does the heavy lifting",[17,12364,12365],{},"Of everything you can do to recover, sleep is the one with the most leverage, and the one most often sacrificed. It is when the body does much of its repair work and when the brain consolidates the movement patterns you practised that day. A session where you finally cracked a sequence sinks in far better after a good night's sleep than after a short one.",[17,12367,12368],{},"You do not need to overthink it. The basics carry most of the value:",[70,12370,12371,12374,12377],{},[73,12372,12373],{},"Aim for a consistent amount of sleep most nights rather than catching up at weekends.",[73,12375,12376],{},"Keep roughly regular hours, so your body knows when to wind down.",[73,12378,12379],{},"Give yourself a buffer between a late, adrenaline-heavy session and bed.",[17,12381,12382],{},"If you train hard and sleep badly, the sleep is usually the cheaper thing to fix first. It costs nothing and quietly improves everything else.",[12,12384,12386],{"id":12385},"listen-to-the-signals","Listen to the signals",[17,12388,12389],{},"Recovery is individual. One person bounces back in a day, another needs two or three. The skill is learning to read your own signals rather than copying someone else's schedule. Persistent tiredness, fingers that ache more than usual, sessions that feel flat for no clear reason, a fading appetite for climbing you normally love — these are the body asking for a break, not a sign you need to push harder.",[17,12391,12392],{},"The classic mistake is to answer a flat patch with more volume. Often the fix is the opposite: a few extra rest days, more sleep, decent food, and then a session that suddenly feels easy again. Backing off is hard when you are keen, but it is frequently the move that breaks a plateau.",[12,12394,12396],{"id":12395},"make-rest-visible","Make rest visible",[17,12398,12399],{},"Because recovery happens quietly and out of sight, it is easy to undervalue. Keeping a simple record of your sessions and rest days makes the pattern obvious — you start to notice that your best climbing tends to follow your better-rested weeks, and that runs of back-to-back sessions leave you flat. Sendit lets you see that rhythm at a glance, which makes it far easier to plan rest on purpose instead of only resting once you are already burnt out.",[17,12401,12402],{},"The takeaway is simple and slightly annoying: the way to climb harder is often to do less, sleep more, and let the work you have already done finish itself.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12404},[12405,12406,12407,12408],{"id":12351,"depth":132,"text":12352},{"id":12361,"depth":132,"text":12362},{"id":12385,"depth":132,"text":12386},{"id":12395,"depth":132,"text":12396},"2024-05-10","Why the gains happen between sessions, and how rest and sleep quietly drive your climbing.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F24964830\u002Fpexels-photo-24964830.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","El Olson","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@elolson15",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsleep-and-recovery-for-climbers",{"title":12343,"description":12410},"blog\u002Fsleep-and-recovery-for-climbers",[561,4738,162],"3_6KVExWBRLYIhs0MLk6MmNSWlmXbskH2Y9Id_0prU4",{"id":12421,"title":12422,"author":7,"body":12423,"category":2464,"date":12502,"description":12503,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12504,"imageAlt":1908,"imageCredit":12505,"imageCreditUrl":12506,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12507,"navigation":152,"path":12508,"readTime":154,"seo":12509,"stem":12510,"tags":12511,"__hash__":12513},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcommon-beginner-mistakes-and-easy-fixes.md","Common beginner mistakes (and easy fixes)",{"type":9,"value":12424,"toc":12495},[12425,12428,12432,12435,12438,12442,12445,12448,12452,12455,12458,12472,12475,12479,12482,12485,12489,12492],[17,12426,12427],{},"Almost everyone starts climbing the same way: hauling on their arms, gripping for dear life, and ignoring their feet. It works for a while because early routes are forgiving, but those habits stop working fast and become hard to unlearn. The good news is that the most common beginner mistakes have simple fixes, and catching them early saves you months of frustration later.",[12,12429,12431],{"id":12430},"you-are-overgripping","You are overgripping",[17,12433,12434],{},"New climbers squeeze every hold as if it might escape. It is an understandable reaction to being off the ground, but it burns through your forearm strength in minutes and leaves you pumped and shaking long before the climb should be hard.",[17,12436,12437],{},"The fix is to grip only as hard as a hold actually needs. On a big jug, you barely need to close your hand at all. Practise relaxing your grip the moment you are stable, and shake out a hand whenever you reach a good hold. You will be amazed how much longer you last when you stop death-gripping.",[12,12439,12441],{"id":12440},"you-are-pulling-instead-of-hanging","You are pulling instead of hanging",[17,12443,12444],{},"The classic beginner shape is bent arms, shoulders straining, body hauled into the wall by muscle. Your biceps tire quickly that way, and you have no rest.",[17,12446,12447],{},"Use straight arms whenever you can. Hanging off a relatively straight arm lets your skeleton take the load instead of your muscles, which is far less tiring. Think of your arms as ropes connecting you to the holds, and let your legs do the lifting. You bend your arms to make a move, then settle back onto straight arms as soon as you can.",[12,12449,12451],{"id":12450},"you-are-ignoring-your-feet","You are ignoring your feet",[17,12453,12454],{},"This is the big one. Beginners stare at handholds and let their feet drift onto whatever they happen to land on. But climbing is mostly a leg sport — your legs are far stronger than your arms and should be pushing you up the wall.",[17,12456,12457],{},"A few fixes go a long way:",[70,12459,12460,12463,12466,12469],{},[73,12461,12462],{},"Watch your feet. Place them deliberately and precisely rather than scrabbling.",[73,12464,12465],{},"Use the front edge or the inside edge of your shoe on small holds, not the soft middle.",[73,12467,12468],{},"Once a foot is placed, keep it still. Quiet, accurate feet are a hallmark of good technique.",[73,12470,12471],{},"Trust your feet. Modern shoes stick to far less than you think.",[17,12473,12474],{},"Push through your legs to reach the next hold and you will climb harder routes with much less arm fatigue.",[12,12476,12478],{"id":12477},"you-are-climbing-too-statically-and-too-close-to-the-wall","You are climbing too statically and too close to the wall",[17,12480,12481],{},"Many beginners keep their hips pressed against the wall and reach for everything with a flat, square body. On steeper terrain that pins your weight onto your arms.",[17,12483,12484],{},"Try turning a hip into the wall to reach further — a side-on position lets you extend a long way with less effort. When a foothold is awkward, drop a knee or flag a leg out to the side to keep your balance over your feet. These small adjustments feel strange at first and quickly become second nature.",[12,12486,12488],{"id":12487},"you-are-skipping-the-warm-up-and-overdoing-it","You are skipping the warm-up and overdoing it",[17,12490,12491],{},"Two related mistakes round things off. Cold fingers on hard crimps is asking for a tweak, so spend ten minutes on easy climbing and some light movement before you try anything taxing. And resist the urge to climb every session until your skin and tendons are wrecked. Beginners improve fastest with consistent, controlled sessions, not heroic ones.",[17,12493,12494],{},"None of these fixes require strength you do not have. They are about awareness — noticing what your body is doing and gently steering it toward better habits. Pick one to focus on each session, and within a few weeks they start happening on their own.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12496},[12497,12498,12499,12500,12501],{"id":12430,"depth":132,"text":12431},{"id":12440,"depth":132,"text":12441},{"id":12450,"depth":132,"text":12451},{"id":12477,"depth":132,"text":12478},{"id":12487,"depth":132,"text":12488},"2024-05-03","Overgripping, straight-arm neglect, ignoring feet — the habits to drop early and what to do instead.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1621803458830-50d0c5cbe9e7?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Malachi Brooks","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mebrooks01",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcommon-beginner-mistakes-and-easy-fixes",{"title":12422,"description":12503},"blog\u002Fcommon-beginner-mistakes-and-easy-fixes",[562,290,12512],"mistakes","NRE7R49KWqoRovGqzQUonzIcXmHnyZNIw1QvtgIdvhM",{"id":12515,"title":12516,"author":7,"body":12517,"category":2464,"date":12588,"description":12589,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12590,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":12591,"imageCreditUrl":12592,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12593,"navigation":152,"path":12594,"readTime":4146,"seo":12595,"stem":12596,"tags":12597,"__hash__":12599},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffrom-gym-to-rock-making-the-move-outdoors.md","From gym to rock: making the move outdoors",{"type":9,"value":12518,"toc":12582},[12519,12522,12526,12529,12532,12536,12539,12542,12546,12549,12552,12566,12569,12573,12576,12579],[17,12520,12521],{},"The first time you climb on real rock after a season indoors, two things usually happen. The grades feel harder than you expected, and the climbing feels better than anything plastic ever did. Both are normal. The gym builds fitness and technique brilliantly, but outdoor climbing asks for a slightly different set of skills, and the move from one to the other goes far more smoothly if you know what is coming.",[12,12523,12525],{"id":12524},"the-holds-disappear","The holds disappear",[17,12527,12528],{},"Indoors, the holds are obvious. They are a different colour to the wall, bolted on, and someone has already worked out a sensible sequence. Outdoors, nothing is marked. You have to read the rock yourself, spotting the crimps, slopers and edges that are the same colour as everything around them. A line that looks blank from the ground often turns out to be covered in usable features once your nose is up against it.",[17,12530,12531],{},"This is why outdoor grades feel stiff at first. You are not just climbing the moves, you are finding them. Footwork matters more too, because real rock rewards trusting tiny smears and edges that a gym foothold would never make you consider. Give it a few sessions and your eye starts to tune in.",[12,12533,12535],{"id":12534},"friction-weather-and-rock-type","Friction, weather and rock type",[17,12537,12538],{},"Plastic behaves the same every day. Rock does not. Cold, dry conditions give you grippy friction and your hands hold better; hot, humid days turn the same holds greasy. Climbers chase good conditions for a reason.",[17,12540,12541],{},"The rock itself changes everything as well. Gritstone is rough and rewards bold smearing. Limestone is often steep and pockety. Granite loves crack technique and slabs. You do not need to memorise all of this, but knowing that styles differ explains why a grade at one crag feels nothing like the same grade somewhere else.",[12,12543,12545],{"id":12544},"safety-is-on-you-now","Safety is on you now",[17,12547,12548],{},"This is the big one. Indoors, the floor is padded, the ropes are inspected and a staff member is watching. Outdoors, you are responsible for your own safety, so build up carefully.",[17,12550,12551],{},"A sensible path looks like this:",[70,12553,12554,12557,12560,12563],{},[73,12555,12556],{},"Start with bouldering or top-roping at a friendly, well-documented crag.",[73,12558,12559],{},"Go with experienced climbers, or pay for a qualified instructor for your first trips.",[73,12561,12562],{},"Take a proper guidebook or app so you know the grades, descents and any access notes.",[73,12564,12565],{},"Carry more pads than you think you need for bouldering, and check landings before you commit.",[17,12567,12568],{},"If you want to lead or place gear, get real instruction. Learning to clip bolts, build anchors or place trad protection from a video is how people get hurt. There is no shame in hiring a guide for a day; it is the fastest, safest way to learn skills that genuinely keep you alive.",[12,12570,12572],{"id":12571},"reset-your-expectations","Reset your expectations",[17,12574,12575],{},"Maybe the most useful thing you can do is let go of your gym grade. Dropping a few grades outdoors is not a step backwards, it is just a different game with more variables. Some of the best climbing days come from a route well below your indoor limit that simply happens to be in a beautiful spot on a perfect afternoon.",[17,12577,12578],{},"Bring a brush for cleaning holds, tape for sharp edges, and patience for the descent, which is often the bit nobody warns you about. Pack water, layers and decent shoes for the walk in. And tell someone where you are going.",[17,12580,12581],{},"The reward for all this faff is real. There is a quality to topping out a boulder or a route on actual stone, in a place you had to walk to, that no gym can quite match. Keep a log of the crags you visit and the lines you tick, and over a season you build a map of your own outdoor climbing that is far more satisfying than any leaderboard.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12583},[12584,12585,12586,12587],{"id":12524,"depth":132,"text":12525},{"id":12534,"depth":132,"text":12535},{"id":12544,"depth":132,"text":12545},{"id":12571,"depth":132,"text":12572},"2024-04-26","What changes when you swap plastic for real stone, and how to make your first outdoor trips safe and fun.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1632410394520-e0cb2b0ceca2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Sara Nudaveritas","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@tyrannosara",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffrom-gym-to-rock-making-the-move-outdoors",{"title":12516,"description":12589},"blog\u002Ffrom-gym-to-rock-making-the-move-outdoors",[3168,562,12598],"transition","StVtk5F7b7KBVxfgU5_a2VcvFP9TtDf-wetF6nVteW4",{"id":12601,"title":12602,"author":7,"body":12603,"category":2785,"date":12668,"description":12669,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12670,"imageAlt":2876,"imageCredit":12671,"imageCreditUrl":12672,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12673,"navigation":152,"path":12674,"readTime":1547,"seo":12675,"stem":12676,"tags":12677,"__hash__":12678},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffootwork-lessons-from-the-best-climbers.md","Footwork lessons from the best climbers",{"type":9,"value":12604,"toc":12662},[12605,12608,12612,12615,12618,12622,12625,12628,12632,12635,12649,12652,12656,12659],[17,12606,12607],{},"Stand at the bottom of a climbing wall and watch the best person in the room. The thing that catches your eye is rarely a huge lock-off or a wild dyno. It is how quiet and precise the feet are. Strong climbers move their feet deliberately, trust them completely, and let the legs do the work the arms cannot. That is the part worth stealing.",[12,12609,12611],{"id":12610},"quiet-feet-every-time","Quiet feet, every time",[17,12613,12614],{},"A useful test of your own footwork is sound. If your shoes scrape, slip and slap against the wall, you are placing them with your eyes shut and adjusting on contact. The best climbers place a foot once, precisely, on the spot they already chose, and leave it there.",[17,12616,12617],{},"Practise this on easy ground. Pick a traverse two or three grades below your limit and climb it with one rule: every foot lands silently and does not readjust. It feels slow and fussy at first. After a few sessions it becomes how you move without thinking, and on hard routes that precision is what keeps you on the wall when the holds get small.",[12,12619,12621],{"id":12620},"look-at-the-foot-until-it-lands","Look at the foot until it lands",[17,12623,12624],{},"Beginners look at a foothold, then look up at the next handhold while their foot is still travelling. The foot ends up roughly in the right area and slips at the worst moment. Strong climbers watch the foot all the way onto the hold and only break the gaze once it is set.",[17,12626,12627],{},"It is a tiny habit and it changes everything on small footholds and steep ground. On an overhang especially, a foot that cuts loose because it was placed carelessly costs you a fistful of energy hauling it back on. Watch it land, weight it, then move your eyes.",[12,12629,12631],{"id":12630},"use-more-of-the-shoe-than-the-toe","Use more of the shoe than the toe",[17,12633,12634],{},"Good footwork is not just the front point. The best climbers use the whole shoe depending on the situation:",[70,12636,12637,12640,12643,12646],{},[73,12638,12639],{},"Inside edge for precise, powerful steps and most face climbing.",[73,12641,12642],{},"Outside edge with a turned hip for reaching past your body without barn-dooring.",[73,12644,12645],{},"Heel hooks to pull yourself in on steep ground and take weight off the hands.",[73,12647,12648],{},"The toe scummed or the sole smeared on volumes and slabby blank rock.",[17,12650,12651],{},"Watch how often a strong climber drops a knee or rolls onto an outside edge to bring their hips close to the wall. Hips in means weight over the feet, and weight over the feet means the hands hold less. That single idea — get your weight onto your feet — is behind most of what looks effortless.",[12,12653,12655],{"id":12654},"trust-the-feet-you-cannot-see","Trust the feet you cannot see",[17,12657,12658],{},"On steep terrain you often have to place a foot you can barely see and then commit weight to it before you know it will hold. Less experienced climbers hesitate, the foot peels, and they blame the hold. Experienced climbers place it once, trust it, and move. That trust is built on the slow, quiet practice above. You cannot fake it on the day, but you can train it on every warm-up.",[17,12660,12661],{},"The honest shortcut here is that footwork improves fastest when you stop trying to climb hard and start trying to climb cleanly. Drop a couple of grades, go quiet, watch each foot land, and let your legs carry you. Do that for a few weeks and the harder grades start to feel a lot less like a fight.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12663},[12664,12665,12666,12667],{"id":12610,"depth":132,"text":12611},{"id":12620,"depth":132,"text":12621},{"id":12630,"depth":132,"text":12631},{"id":12654,"depth":132,"text":12655},"2024-04-19","Watch the strongest climbers and it is the feet, not the arms, that stand out. What to copy.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.pexels.com\u002Fphotos\u002F7591305\u002Fpexels-photo-7591305.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&fit=crop&w=1600&h=900","Pavel Danilyuk","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pexels.com\u002F@pavel-danilyuk",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffootwork-lessons-from-the-best-climbers",{"title":12602,"description":12669},"blog\u002Ffootwork-lessons-from-the-best-climbers",[290,436,3250],"m5_nd5ca4JkzeX-xxg3R0BfnF52ky9wfBTNOkINxSBc",{"id":12680,"title":12681,"author":7,"body":12682,"category":1703,"date":12747,"description":12748,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12749,"imageAlt":1707,"imageCredit":5949,"imageCreditUrl":5950,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12750,"navigation":152,"path":12751,"readTime":1547,"seo":12752,"stem":12753,"tags":12754,"__hash__":12755},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwarming-up-on-a-steep-board.md","Warming up on a steep board",{"type":9,"value":12683,"toc":12741},[12684,12687,12691,12694,12697,12701,12704,12707,12718,12721,12725,12728,12731,12735,12738],[17,12685,12686],{},"A steep board is one of the least forgiving warm-up environments in the gym. The holds are small, the angle hangs your full weight off your fingers, and the easiest problem on the wall is often still a real pull. Walk in cold, jump straight on, and you are loading tendons that are not ready. That is how pulleys get tweaked.",[12,12688,12690],{"id":12689},"why-steep-boards-punish-cold-fingers","Why steep boards punish cold fingers",[17,12692,12693],{},"On a vertical wall you can ease in on jugs with your weight over your feet. A steep board takes that option away. Even the soft problems put meaningful load on small holds, because gravity is pulling you off the wall and your fingers have to take the difference. There is no gentle terrain to hide on.",[17,12695,12696],{},"That means the warm-up has to happen before you are properly on the board, and then ramp up carefully once you are. The goal is simple: by the time you touch a hard crimp, your fingers, forearms and shoulders should already be warm, mobile and ready to take load. The first hard problem of the day should never be the first real thing your tendons feel.",[12,12698,12700],{"id":12699},"off-the-wall-first","Off the wall first",[17,12702,12703],{},"Start away from the board entirely. A few minutes of general movement to raise your heart rate and get blood moving makes a real difference, far more than people expect. Then wake the fingers up gently.",[17,12705,12706],{},"A reasonable off-wall on-ramp:",[70,12708,12709,12712,12715],{},[73,12710,12711],{},"A few minutes of light cardio, enough to break a faint sweat.",[73,12713,12714],{},"Shoulder and wrist circles, plus some easy band work for the shoulders if you have a band.",[73,12716,12717],{},"Gentle finger work: open and close the hands, light hangs on a big edge or a jug, nothing remotely maximal.",[17,12719,12720],{},"The aim is to arrive at the board already warm, not to use the board to get warm. Pulley tissue takes longer to come good than your muscles do, so give the fingers extra patience.",[12,12722,12724],{"id":12723},"ramp-up-on-the-wall","Ramp up on the wall",[17,12726,12727],{},"Once you are on, drop the angle if your board adjusts. Starting a steep session at a shallower setting lets you climb actual problems with far less finger load, then steepen towards your working angle as you warm. If the angle is fixed, pick the very easiest problems on the wall and use those instead.",[17,12729,12730],{},"Climb a handful of easy problems, well below your limit, focusing on smooth movement and keeping your feet on. Then step the difficulty up gradually, one grade at a time, with full recovery between problems. You are looking for the point where your fingers feel warm and springy and your forearms have a light, even pump rather than a cold ache. Pushing through cold-finger discomfort is exactly the wrong instinct here.",[12,12732,12734],{"id":12733},"take-your-time-then-commit","Take your time, then commit",[17,12736,12737],{},"A proper board warm-up is rarely under fifteen minutes, and on a cold day it can be longer. That feels slow when you are itching to try your project, but it is the difference between a session and a setback. The strongest climbers in the room are usually the ones spending the most time warming up, not the least.",[17,12739,12740],{},"Once you are genuinely ready, that is when the hard tries belong, fresh and sharp. Get the on-ramp right and your fingers last the session, last the season, and keep you off the long, dull road of injury and rehab. No problem on the wall is worth a torn pulley because you were in a hurry.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12742},[12743,12744,12745,12746],{"id":12689,"depth":132,"text":12690},{"id":12699,"depth":132,"text":12700},{"id":12723,"depth":132,"text":12724},{"id":12733,"depth":132,"text":12734},"2024-04-12","Steep boards punish cold fingers. A gentle on-ramp so your first hard problem is not your first injury.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1522163107776-c8be3ad2247d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwarming-up-on-a-steep-board",{"title":12681,"description":12748},"blog\u002Fwarming-up-on-a-steep-board",[1715,6960,2026],"_oZ8tCBfkGn2JL4VqaUA_GVF26LeQVwP5gxwvfjjml4",{"id":12757,"title":12758,"author":7,"body":12759,"category":1904,"date":12830,"description":12831,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":281,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":283,"imageCreditUrl":284,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":12832,"navigation":152,"path":12833,"readTime":1547,"seo":12834,"stem":12835,"tags":12836,"__hash__":12837},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdynamic-vs-static-ropes.md","Dynamic vs static ropes",{"type":9,"value":12760,"toc":12825},[12761,12765,12768,12771,12774,12778,12781,12795,12798,12802,12805,12808,12811,12822],[12,12762,12764],{"id":12763},"why-a-climbing-rope-stretches","Why a climbing rope stretches",[17,12766,12767],{},"When you fall on lead, your body has built up energy on the way down, and something has to absorb it. A dynamic rope does that by stretching. As the fall comes tight, the rope elongates and pays that energy out gradually rather than slamming it into your harness, your belayer and the gear all at once.",[17,12769,12770],{},"The number that describes this is impact force: the peak load the system feels at the moment a fall is caught. A dynamic rope keeps that force low enough that your body and your protection survive a fall they were never designed to take rigidly. This is not a nice-to-have. A genuinely non-stretch rope catching a leader fall can generate forces high enough to injure the climber or rip out gear. The give is the whole point.",[17,12772,12773],{},"You will see dynamic ropes sold as single, half or twin ropes. A single rope is the everyday choice for sport and most trad. Halves and twins are thinner ropes used as a pair, mainly for wandering trad lines and alpine routes where rope drag and retreat options matter.",[12,12775,12777],{"id":12776},"where-static-rope-belongs","Where static rope belongs",[17,12779,12780],{},"A static rope barely stretches under load, and that is exactly why it is useful for the right jobs. You want a low-stretch rope when you are hanging on it rather than falling on it. Typical uses include:",[70,12782,12783,12786,12789,12792],{},[73,12784,12785],{},"Abseiling and fixed-line work",[73,12787,12788],{},"Top-rope set-ups where the rope is anchored above and you never generate a real fall",[73,12790,12791],{},"Hauling bags on big walls",[73,12793,12794],{},"Caving, rescue and rope-access work",[17,12796,12797],{},"In all of these the load is steady or gentle, so stretch would just be a nuisance, bouncing you around and making progress capture awkward. Static rope is built to sit still under tension and resist abrasion.",[12,12799,12801],{"id":12800},"the-line-you-never-cross","The line you never cross",[17,12803,12804],{},"Here is the rule worth tattooing somewhere: never lead climb on a static rope. Never let a climber fall any meaningful distance onto one.",[17,12806,12807],{},"A short fall onto a static rope produces a brutal, snapping load because nothing absorbs the energy. The force goes straight into your spine and harness, and onto whatever you are clipped to. Even a slip while seconding can hurt if the rope is taut and static. Static rope is for environments where falling is not part of the plan.",[17,12809,12810],{},"In practice the two ropes can look similar coiled up in a kit bag, so treat labelling and storage as a safety habit, not admin:",[70,12812,12813,12816,12819],{},[73,12814,12815],{},"Keep static and dynamic ropes physically separate or clearly marked.",[73,12817,12818],{},"Read the end markings and the manufacturer's tape, which state the type and intended use.",[73,12820,12821],{},"If you cannot confidently identify a rope as dynamic, do not lead on it.",[17,12823,12824],{},"The short version is that a dynamic rope is built to catch falls and a static rope is built to hang on. Use each for its job, keep them apart so you never grab the wrong one in a hurry, and you remove one of the simplest, nastiest mistakes in the sport. If you log your gear, recording each rope's type, length and date of first use makes it far easier to keep track of which is which over the years.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12826},[12827,12828,12829],{"id":12763,"depth":132,"text":12764},{"id":12776,"depth":132,"text":12777},{"id":12800,"depth":132,"text":12801},"2024-04-05","Why climbing ropes stretch, where static rope belongs, and never mixing the two up.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdynamic-vs-static-ropes",{"title":12758,"description":12831},"blog\u002Fdynamic-vs-static-ropes",[1822,6163,1917],"lf-ra9kzUH3c_k3dxgW4j3-00vzL0GYa1LG6THrnT0s",{"id":12839,"title":12840,"author":7,"body":12841,"category":2555,"date":12921,"description":12922,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":12923,"imageAlt":12924,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":12925,"mapLabel":12936,"mapLat":12937,"mapLng":12938,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":12939,"meta":12940,"navigation":152,"path":12941,"readTime":4146,"seo":12942,"stem":12943,"tags":12944,"__hash__":12946},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsport-climbing-in-kalymnos.md","Sport climbing in Kalymnos",{"type":9,"value":12842,"toc":12915},[12843,12847,12850,12853,12857,12860,12863,12883,12885,12888,12892,12895,12898,12912],[12,12844,12846],{"id":12845},"the-island-made-for-clipping-bolts","The island made for clipping bolts",[17,12848,12849],{},"Kalymnos is a small Greek island in the Dodecanese that has quietly become one of the world's favourite sport climbing destinations. The reasons stack up quickly: thousands of bolted routes, grippy grey and orange limestone, short walk-ins, warm sun, blue sea, and a relaxed island culture that welcomes climbers. For a lot of people it is the perfect first climbing holiday abroad, and for many it becomes an annual fixture.",[17,12851,12852],{},"What makes it so good is how easy it is to climb a lot. The crags are close together, the approaches are short, and there are routes at every grade, so a mixed group can all find something to do at the same wall.",[12,12854,12856],{"id":12855},"tufas-and-what-the-climbing-is-like","Tufas and what the climbing is like",[17,12858,12859],{},"Kalymnos is famous for its tufas. These are flowing, dripping formations of limestone that hang down the steeper walls like frozen waterfalls, and climbing them is one of the most distinctive experiences in the sport. You pinch, squeeze and stem your way up features that look impossible from the ground, often on surprisingly positive holds. Alongside the tufas there is plenty of vertical wall climbing on pockets and crimps, and steep, juggy caves where the moves are big and the position is wild.",[17,12861,12862],{},"The grade range is huge. Beginners find gentle, well-protected routes to build confidence on, while the hard cave lines have hosted some of the most impressive climbing anywhere. A few things characterise the place:",[70,12864,12865,12871,12877],{},[73,12866,12867,12870],{},[76,12868,12869],{},"Steep and juggy."," Much of the best climbing is overhanging on good holds, which is both fun and forgiving.",[73,12872,12873,12876],{},[76,12874,12875],{},"Generous bolting."," Routes are well equipped, which makes leading less intimidating for newer sport climbers.",[73,12878,12879,12882],{},[76,12880,12881],{},"Endless options."," With so many sectors, you can always find shade, sun or shelter depending on the day.",[12,12884,2529],{"id":2528},[17,12886,12887],{},"The shoulder seasons are best. Spring and autumn give warm but comfortable temperatures and good conditions across most of the crags. High summer is generally too hot for serious climbing, though early mornings and shaded, sea-facing walls can still work. Winter is mild enough that some climbers visit then too, chasing the sunny sectors. For most people, a trip in spring or autumn hits the sweet spot of good weather and good friction.",[12,12889,12891],{"id":12890},"practicalities","Practicalities",[17,12893,12894],{},"Getting there usually means flying to a nearby larger island and taking a ferry across, which adds to the sense of arriving somewhere a little out of the way. Once there, the climbing infrastructure is excellent and geared around visitors.",[17,12896,12897],{},"A few things worth knowing:",[70,12899,12900,12903,12906,12909],{},[73,12901,12902],{},"A 70-metre rope is the sensible choice, as some routes are long, and always tie a knot in the end before lowering.",[73,12904,12905],{},"Bring plenty of quickdraws, as longer routes can swallow a dozen or more.",[73,12907,12908],{},"Learn to thread a lower-off and clean a route properly before you go, or climb with someone who can.",[73,12910,12911],{},"A wide-brimmed hat, sun cream and lots of water are essential on the sunnier sectors.",[17,12913,12914],{},"The island makes it easy to combine climbing with everything else a Greek holiday offers — swimming, good food and slow evenings by the harbour. Plenty of people who came purely for a couple of weeks of climbing end up returning year after year. Keeping a tick list of the sectors and routes you have done makes planning the next trip far easier, because with thousands of routes on offer, it is genuinely hard to remember where you have already been.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":12916},[12917,12918,12919,12920],{"id":12845,"depth":132,"text":12846},{"id":12855,"depth":132,"text":12856},{"id":2528,"depth":132,"text":2529},{"id":12890,"depth":132,"text":12891},"2024-03-29","The Greek island built for clipping bolts — sea views, tufas and endless easy-access routes.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fsport-climbing-in-kalymnos.jpg","Satellite view of Kalymnos (Grande Grotta), Greece",[12926,12929,12931,12934],[12927,12928],37.0049,26.9426,[12927,12930],26.9458,[12932,12933],37.0028,26.946,[12932,12935],26.9424,"Kalymnos (Grande Grotta), Greece",37.0038,26.9441,16,{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsport-climbing-in-kalymnos",{"title":12840,"description":12922},"blog\u002Fsport-climbing-in-kalymnos",[2589,5853,12945],"greece","QSkT99LhQmIkT796l2_N-3a1qF8YX-RFgIyRP-nLtsY",{"id":12948,"title":12949,"author":7,"body":12950,"category":2785,"date":13021,"description":13022,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13023,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":10307,"imageCreditUrl":10308,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13024,"navigation":152,"path":13025,"readTime":154,"seo":13026,"stem":13027,"tags":13028,"__hash__":13030},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-for-fitness-what-it-does-for-your-body.md","Climbing for fitness: what it does for your body",{"type":9,"value":12951,"toc":13015},[12952,12955,12959,12962,12965,12968,12972,12975,12978,12982,12985,12988,12992,12995,13009,13012],[17,12953,12954],{},"Plenty of people try climbing for the first time expecting a niche bit of fun and walk out realising they have just had one of the best full-body workouts of their lives. The wall has a way of doing that. You are too busy solving the next move to notice you are training, and the next morning your forearms, back and core all let you know exactly how much work they did. As a way to get fit, climbing is unusually complete, and it works on the mind as much as the muscle.",[12,12956,12958],{"id":12957},"strength-you-can-actually-use","Strength you can actually use",[17,12960,12961],{},"Climbing builds the kind of strength that does something. Pulling yourself up a wall recruits your back, shoulders, arms and grip together, while your core works constantly to keep your hips close to the rock and your feet weighted. It is functional strength, the sort that translates into everyday life, rather than isolated muscle worked one machine at a time.",[17,12963,12964],{},"Grip strength in particular is something most training ignores entirely, and climbing develops it relentlessly. Your forearms and fingers get strong in a way few other activities touch. Over months you notice the difference in obvious places, and in odd ones too, like carrying shopping or opening stubborn jars.",[17,12966,12967],{},"The nice part is that it never feels like lifting weights. The strength is a side effect of trying to get to the top.",[12,12969,12971],{"id":12970},"mobility-and-balance","Mobility and balance",[17,12973,12974],{},"Reaching for a distant hold, dropping a knee, rocking onto a high foot: climbing constantly pushes your body through a wide range of motion under control. That builds flexibility in the hips and shoulders and a real sense of body awareness. You learn where your limbs are and how to move your weight precisely, which is balance training disguised as play.",[17,12976,12977],{},"Good climbers are rarely the strongest in the room. They are the ones who use their feet well, stay relaxed and move efficiently. Chasing that efficiency teaches your body to work as a coordinated whole rather than muscling everything with the arms, and that carries over into almost any physical activity you do.",[12,12979,12981],{"id":12980},"a-workout-for-the-brain","A workout for the brain",[17,12983,12984],{},"This is the part people underestimate. Every route is a puzzle, and your job is to solve it with your body while you are on it. You read the holds, plan a sequence, commit, and adjust on the fly when it does not go to plan. That problem-solving demand is genuinely absorbing.",[17,12986,12987],{},"It also means climbing pulls your attention fully into the present. When you are three moves into something hard, there is simply no room left to worry about your inbox. A lot of climbers describe sessions as the only time their head goes quiet, and that mental reset is a big part of why the sport hooks people. The focus it demands is its own kind of stress relief.",[12,12989,12991],{"id":12990},"the-whole-package","The whole package",[17,12993,12994],{},"Pull it together and the appeal is clear:",[70,12996,12997,13000,13003,13006],{},[73,12998,12999],{},"Full-body strength, including grip, that translates into real life.",[73,13001,13002],{},"Better mobility, balance and body awareness.",[73,13004,13005],{},"A constant mental puzzle that keeps your brain engaged.",[73,13007,13008],{},"A natural break from everyday stress while you are on the wall.",[17,13010,13011],{},"There is a social layer too. Most climbing happens with other people, swapping beta, cheering on a hard send, sharing a project. That community keeps you coming back far more reliably than any solo gym routine, and showing up consistently is what actually delivers the fitness in the first place.",[17,13013,13014],{},"You do not need to be strong to start. Beginners often climb on feet and technique long before they have any pulling power, and the strength arrives on its own as you keep going. Two sessions a week is enough to feel real changes within a couple of months. If you like watching the progress add up, keeping a simple log of your sessions and the grades you climb turns those slow gains into something you can actually see, which is often the nudge that keeps a new habit alive.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13016},[13017,13018,13019,13020],{"id":12957,"depth":132,"text":12958},{"id":12970,"depth":132,"text":12971},{"id":12980,"depth":132,"text":12981},{"id":12990,"depth":132,"text":12991},"2024-03-22","Strength, mobility, problem-solving and stress relief — why climbing is such a complete way to train.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1571649123442-dc0e1965e037?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-for-fitness-what-it-does-for-your-body",{"title":12949,"description":13022},"blog\u002Fclimbing-for-fitness-what-it-does-for-your-body",[13029,4738,562],"fitness","IvQJHxOWR4b-EGpN9MCpCDpKDHsF9vOe1DXUg-v89R8",{"id":13032,"title":13033,"author":7,"body":13034,"category":141,"date":13102,"description":13103,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13104,"imageAlt":2194,"imageCredit":5477,"imageCreditUrl":5478,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13105,"navigation":152,"path":13106,"readTime":1547,"seo":13107,"stem":13108,"tags":13109,"__hash__":13110},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fflagging-stop-the-barn-door-before-it-starts.md","Flagging: stop the barn door before it starts",{"type":9,"value":13035,"toc":13095},[13036,13040,13043,13046,13050,13053,13056,13060,13063,13066,13070,13073,13084,13087,13089,13092],[12,13037,13039],{"id":13038},"why-you-swing-off","Why you swing off",[17,13041,13042],{},"You reach for a hold, your hand lands, and then your whole body pivots away from the wall like a door swinging open on a hinge. That is the barn door, and it is one of the most common ways climbers come off, especially on vertical and slabby ground. It happens when your points of contact are stacked on one side of your body. With a hand and foot both on the left, say, there is nothing on the right to balance against, so the moment you move, your right side swings out and pulls you off.",[17,13044,13045],{},"The fix is not to grip harder. It is to put something on the other side. That something is usually a leg, held out into space or pressed against the wall, and using it that way is called flagging.",[12,13047,13049],{"id":13048},"the-outside-flag","The outside flag",[17,13051,13052],{},"An outside flag is the workhorse. Imagine you are reaching up with your right hand off a right foot, and there is no foothold for your left foot. Instead of leaving the left leg dangling, you extend it out to the right, crossing behind, and press the inside edge of that shoe against the wall or just hold it out as a counterweight. That extended leg balances the swing and keeps your hips square to the rock.",[17,13054,13055],{},"You will feel it work immediately. The reach that was throwing you sideways suddenly goes calm and static, because your body is balanced over the foot you are standing on rather than rotating around it.",[12,13057,13059],{"id":13058},"the-inside-flag","The inside flag",[17,13061,13062],{},"The inside flag is the same idea from the other direction. Here you tuck the free leg across in front of your standing leg and press it against the wall to stop the rotation. It is useful when the wall or the holds do not give you room to swing the leg out wide, or when the natural body position has your free leg already crossing in front.",[17,13064,13065],{},"In practice you do not need to memorise which is which. The principle is what matters: when you feel a swing coming, stick a leg out to oppose it, on whichever side stops the rotation. With a bit of practice you will reach for the right one without naming it.",[12,13067,13069],{"id":13068},"reading-when-to-flag","Reading when to flag",[17,13071,13072],{},"The cue to flag is mismatched contact. Look at your stance before a move and notice when your hand and foot are on the same side with nothing on the other. That is a barn door waiting to happen, and a flag is usually the answer. A few common triggers:",[70,13074,13075,13078,13081],{},[73,13076,13077],{},"A long reach off a single foot with no foothold for the other leg.",[73,13079,13080],{},"Moving up on holds that are all stacked towards one side of your body.",[73,13082,13083],{},"Any move where you feel your hips wanting to rotate as you reach.",[17,13085,13086],{},"Get into the habit of asking, before you commit, whether your body is balanced or stacked. If it is stacked, find a flag.",[12,13088,1414],{"id":1413},[17,13090,13091],{},"Flagging feels deliberate and slow at first, then becomes invisible. The way there is reps on easy ground. Pick a slab or a vertical wall a couple of grades below your limit and climb it with one rule: your free leg is never allowed to just hang. Every time it is not on a hold, it flags somewhere, out wide or across the front, to keep you square.",[17,13093,13094],{},"You will be surprised how often that is, and how much steadier you feel. Before long you will stop swinging on your projects without ever consciously deciding to flag, which is the sign it has become part of how you move.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13096},[13097,13098,13099,13100,13101],{"id":13038,"depth":132,"text":13039},{"id":13048,"depth":132,"text":13049},{"id":13058,"depth":132,"text":13059},{"id":13068,"depth":132,"text":13069},{"id":1413,"depth":132,"text":1414},"2024-03-15","What causes the dreaded swing, and how an outside or inside flag keeps you square and in control.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1727999988371-d9e014d884ad?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fflagging-stop-the-barn-door-before-it-starts",{"title":13033,"description":13103},"blog\u002Fflagging-stop-the-barn-door-before-it-starts",[290,791,896],"TyvMVB63LHTBh80xFc9tirWvmP10UnD315-Q_CvfeAU",{"id":13112,"title":13113,"author":7,"body":13114,"category":2555,"date":13188,"description":13189,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13190,"imageAlt":2682,"imageCredit":13191,"imageCreditUrl":13192,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13193,"navigation":152,"path":13194,"readTime":4146,"seo":13195,"stem":13196,"tags":13197,"__hash__":13199},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fplanning-a-climbing-road-trip.md","Planning a climbing road trip",{"type":9,"value":13115,"toc":13182},[13116,13119,13123,13126,13129,13132,13136,13139,13150,13153,13157,13160,13163,13166,13170,13173,13176,13179],[17,13117,13118],{},"A climbing road trip is one of the better things you can do with a fortnight and a friend who tolerates your snoring. Done well it is a string of good days at good crags, with enough rest to keep your skin and your friendship intact. Done badly it is a fortnight of driving in the rain, wrecked fingertips and a vague sense that you should have planned more. The difference is mostly in the preparation.",[12,13120,13122],{"id":13121},"pick-a-destination-that-matches-the-season-and-the-group","Pick a destination that matches the season and the group",[17,13124,13125],{},"Start with timing rather than the dream venue. Most crags have a season, and turning up out of it means greasy holds or full-on rain. A high alpine sport venue is glorious in summer and shut under snow in winter. A sandstone bouldering area might be best in autumn when it is cold and dry. Work out when a place comes into condition, then check that lines up with when you can actually go.",[17,13127,13128],{},"Then be honest about the group. If you have a mix of grades and disciplines, pick somewhere with breadth, a venue or region that has easy and hard, slabs and steeps, so nobody spends the trip belaying routes they cannot get on. A single-grade destination is wonderful if everyone climbs that grade and miserable if they do not.",[17,13130,13131],{},"It helps to choose a base with options nearby rather than one crag in the middle of nowhere. A region with several venues within a short drive gives you somewhere to go when one crag is in the sun, seeping, or busy.",[12,13133,13135],{"id":13134},"build-a-loose-plan-not-an-itinerary","Build a loose plan, not an itinerary",[17,13137,13138],{},"The temptation is to schedule every day. Resist it. Weather will rearrange your plans whatever you write down, so plan in pencil. What you want is a shortlist of crags, a rough sense of which ones suit which conditions, and a fallback for rain.",[70,13140,13141,13144,13147],{},[73,13142,13143],{},"A couple of \"main event\" venues you have travelled for.",[73,13145,13146],{},"A wet-weather option: a steep crag that stays dry, an indoor wall within reach, or a sheltered bouldering spot.",[73,13148,13149],{},"Rest-day ideas that are not climbing, because you will need them more than you think.",[17,13151,13152],{},"Sort out access before you leave. Some crags have parking restrictions, seasonal bird bans, approach walks that are longer than the route, or fees and permits. Reading up beforehand saves you arriving to a locked gate or a nesting closure.",[12,13154,13156],{"id":13155},"pack-the-car-properly","Pack the car properly",[17,13158,13159],{},"The car is your base camp, so pack it like one. Beyond the obvious racks, ropes and shoes, the trip-savers are the dull things: a tarp or groundsheet for muddy bases, a brush kit, plenty of chalk, spare skin glue and tape, and a small medical kit. Sort your sleeping setup before you go rather than improvising at midnight in a lay-by.",[17,13161,13162],{},"Food matters more than people expect. Climbing all day burns through you, and a stove plus a box of simple ingredients keeps you fed without hunting for an open restaurant every evening. Carry far more water than feels necessary, especially in hot, dry venues.",[17,13164,13165],{},"Bring layers for every eventuality. Crags are often higher, windier and colder than the valley, and belaying in the shade while your partner climbs in the sun gets cold fast.",[12,13167,13169],{"id":13168},"pace-the-days-so-the-trip-lasts","Pace the days so the trip lasts",[17,13171,13172],{},"The classic error is going too hard too early. Three full days on the trot and your fingertips are sandpaper, your forearms are wrecked, and the back half of the trip is a write-off. Your skin is the bottleneck, and it recovers slower than your muscles.",[17,13174,13175],{},"A sustainable rhythm tends to be two days on, one day off, adjusted around the weather. Use rest days properly: sightsee, swim, sleep, let your hands recover. Climb the marginal, skin-eating routes when conditions are best and your fingertips are fresh, and save the big juggy mileage for when you are tired or the rock is greasy.",[17,13177,13178],{},"Pace your ambitions too. Pick a realistic main objective or two rather than a tick-list of a dozen hard routes. If you send the project early, brilliant, you have the rest of the trip to play. If you spend the whole fortnight on it and get it on the last day, that is a story worth telling.",[17,13180,13181],{},"A good road trip is equal parts climbing and logistics, and the logistics are what make the climbing possible. Sort the boring stuff in advance and the days look after themselves. Keeping a running list of the crags and lines you want to hit, ticking them off as you go, is a simple way to keep a multi-venue trip from turning into a blur.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13183},[13184,13185,13186,13187],{"id":13121,"depth":132,"text":13122},{"id":13134,"depth":132,"text":13135},{"id":13155,"depth":132,"text":13156},{"id":13168,"depth":132,"text":13169},"2024-03-08","Picking the destination, packing the car and pacing the days — how to plan a multi-crag trip that works.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1677739232343-9460b8a3bccd?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Gabriel Vasiliu","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@gabimedia",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fplanning-a-climbing-road-trip",{"title":13113,"description":13189},"blog\u002Fplanning-a-climbing-road-trip",[13198,3168,9632],"travel","c3f5RyFH6R-Sa56BmzjoyZ9YwZaRJhHQvjRamDmvQS8",{"id":13201,"title":13202,"author":7,"body":13203,"category":141,"date":13359,"description":13360,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13361,"imageAlt":13362,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13363,"navigation":152,"path":13364,"readTime":154,"seo":13365,"stem":13366,"tags":13367,"__hash__":13368},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-actually-rest-between-attempts.md","How to actually rest between attempts",{"type":9,"value":13204,"toc":13350},[13205,13208,13211,13215,13218,13225,13230,13234,13237,13283,13286,13289,13293,13296,13299,13316,13323,13327,13330,13333,13337,13340,13344,13347],[17,13206,13207],{},"You sit down after a hard burn on your project, swap a bit of chat with whoever is around, brush the holds, and pull straight back on. Two minutes later, maybe three. It feels productive. You are trying hard and trying often. And yet you keep peeling off the same crux move, your forearms feeling that little bit more wooden each go. The problem usually is not your fingers or your beta. It is that you never actually rested.",[17,13209,13210],{},"Resting between attempts is one of those things nobody really teaches you. You learn how to warm up, you learn how to fall, but the gap between burns gets treated as dead time. Done well, it is the difference between four quality attempts and eight scrappy ones.",[12,13212,13214],{"id":13213},"why-short-rests-cost-you-sends","Why short rests cost you sends",[17,13216,13217],{},"When you climb something near your limit, you are leaning hard on your anaerobic systems and burning through the energy your muscles can access quickly. That comes with a by-product climbers feel as pump, the tight, swollen forearm that stops your hand closing properly. Clearing it and topping your tank back up takes time, and that time is longer than most people give it.",[17,13219,13220,13221,12058],{},"If you go again too soon, you start the next attempt already fatigued. Your grip is weaker, your footwork gets sloppy because tired legs stop being precise, and you reinforce a slightly worse version of the movement every time. You end up grooving failure. Worse, those repeated maximal pulls on already-tired tendons are exactly the conditions where finger injuries creep in, which we get into properly in ",[9853,13222,13224],{"href":13223},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffinger-strength-without-the-injuries","finger strength without the injuries",[3878,13226,13227],{},[17,13228,13229],{},"A good rest is not laziness. It is the part of the session where your last attempt turns into your next one being better.",[12,13231,13233],{"id":13232},"how-long-is-long-enough","How long is long enough",[17,13235,13236],{},"There is no single magic number, and anyone who gives you one to the second is overselling it. But there are sensible ranges, and they depend on what you are working on.",[3925,13238,13239,13249],{},[3928,13240,13241],{},[3931,13242,13243,13246],{},[3934,13244,13245],{},"What you are doing",[3934,13247,13248],{},"Rough rest between attempts",[3942,13250,13251,13259,13267,13275],{},[3931,13252,13253,13256],{},[3947,13254,13255],{},"Limit bouldering, full power burns",[3947,13257,13258],{},"3 to 5 minutes, sometimes more",[3931,13260,13261,13264],{},[3947,13262,13263],{},"Hard moves on a board",[3947,13265,13266],{},"2 to 4 minutes",[3931,13268,13269,13272],{},[3947,13270,13271],{},"Endurance laps and circuits",[3947,13273,13274],{},"1 to 2 minutes, by design",[3931,13276,13277,13280],{},[3947,13278,13279],{},"Volume and easy mileage",[3947,13281,13282],{},"as much as you need to stay tidy",[17,13284,13285],{},"The honest test is how you feel. If your forearms are still tight, your skin is still hot, and your heart is still going, you are not ready. For genuine limit attempts, do not be shy about resting five minutes or longer. It feels like ages when you are stood at the bottom watching others climb, but it is what lets you bring your best to the move that actually matters.",[17,13287,13288],{},"A useful rule of thumb: the closer a problem is to your absolute limit, the longer you rest. Easy stuff you can churn through. Your one hard project deserves patience.",[12,13290,13292],{"id":13291},"active-or-passive-and-what-to-do-with-the-time","Active or passive, and what to do with the time",[17,13294,13295],{},"You will hear people argue about active versus passive rest. Passive is sitting down doing nothing. Active is gentle movement, like a slow wander around the bouldering area or some loose arm swings. For climbing, light movement tends to help shift the pump a bit faster than sitting stone still, because gentle blood flow helps clear the by-products. But do not turn your rest into more training. Pacing the room is fine, doing pull-ups on the campus board is not.",[17,13297,13298],{},"Here is a simple way to spend the gap so it does the job:",[70,13300,13301,13304,13307,13310,13313],{},[73,13302,13303],{},"Shake your arms out low, below your heart, and let your hands dangle open",[73,13305,13306],{},"Breathe slowly and deliberately for the first minute, longer out-breaths than in",[73,13308,13309],{},"Have a sip of water and a bite of something if it is a long session",[73,13311,13312],{},"Brush the holds on your project and quietly run the beta in your head",[73,13314,13315],{},"Resist the urge to keep gripping things and showing people the crux move with your hands",[17,13317,13318,13319,12058],{},"That mental rehearsal matters more than people think. While your body recovers, your head can do useful work. Picture the exact foot you placed, the moment you committed to the throw, where it went wrong last time. You can read more on planning a sequence in ",[9853,13320,13322],{"href":13321},"\u002Fblog\u002Freading-a-boulder-before-you-pull-on","reading a boulder before you pull on",[12,13324,13326],{"id":13325},"reading-your-own-tank","Reading your own tank",[17,13328,13329],{},"The skill underneath all of this is honesty with yourself. Most of us are biased towards going again, because resting feels passive and we came here to climb. Learn the signals that say you have not recovered.",[17,13331,13332],{},"Your forearms are the obvious one. If you make a tight fist and it feels swollen or slow to open, you are still pumped. Beyond that, watch for sloppiness creeping into the easy parts of a problem. If you are fluffing moves that were fine on your first go, fatigue is talking. Skin is another honest signal, especially on small holds and crimps. When your fingertips are hot and tender, your contact with the rock or plastic gets worse and you start pulling harder to compensate, which is a quick route to a tweak.",[3986,13334,13336],{"id":13335},"when-to-call-it","When to call it",[17,13338,13339],{},"There is also a bigger rest worth respecting, which is the one between sessions. Quality limit attempts are taxing, and you only get a handful of truly good ones in a day before the returns drop off. If you have given a project six honest burns with proper rests and you are getting further from it rather than closer, that is your body telling you the session is done. Coming back fresh in two days will very often get you the send that another ten tired goes today never would.",[12,13341,13343],{"id":13342},"a-simple-structure-to-try","A simple structure to try",[17,13345,13346],{},"Next session, pick one problem at or near your limit and give it this treatment. Warm up properly first, then commit to resting at least three to four minutes between every serious attempt. Use the gap to shake out, breathe, and rehearse. Cap it at five or six real burns. Notice how much sharper attempt four feels compared to a normal session where you machine-gun your goes.",[17,13348,13349],{},"It will feel slow and a little frustrating at first, because you are used to filling every minute. But the climbers who send hard are very rarely the ones throwing themselves at the wall non-stop. They are the patient ones, the ones who look almost lazy between goes and then pull on looking fresh. Give yourself permission to rest, and your good attempts will start to add up. You came to send, and a rested attempt is your best chance of doing exactly that.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13351},[13352,13353,13354,13355,13358],{"id":13213,"depth":132,"text":13214},{"id":13232,"depth":132,"text":13233},{"id":13291,"depth":132,"text":13292},{"id":13325,"depth":132,"text":13326,"children":13356},[13357],{"id":13335,"depth":4021,"text":13336},{"id":13342,"depth":132,"text":13343},"2024-03-01","Most of us rush back onto the wall before we have recovered. Here is how to rest properly between burns so each attempt actually counts.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1730659071139-ca79bf16d835?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","People watching a climber on the wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-actually-rest-between-attempts",{"title":13202,"description":13360},"blog\u002Fhow-to-actually-rest-between-attempts",[162,290,1242,561],"NvRgsd5GWXSy71gF9furGNwipUcW_BbHFzb7G2xLnGw",{"id":13370,"title":13371,"author":7,"body":13372,"category":2464,"date":13537,"description":13538,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13539,"imageAlt":13540,"imageCredit":13541,"imageCreditUrl":13542,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13543,"navigation":152,"path":13544,"readTime":154,"seo":13545,"stem":13546,"tags":13547,"__hash__":13550},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-month-of-climbing-what-to-expect.md","Your first month of climbing, what to expect",{"type":9,"value":13373,"toc":13528},[13374,13377,13380,13384,13387,13394,13397,13411,13416,13420,13423,13426,13454,13466,13470,13473,13481,13485,13488,13491,13495,13498,13515,13519,13522,13525],[17,13375,13376],{},"The first time you walk into a climbing wall it can feel like everyone there grew up doing this. People are casually pulling on tiny holds, calling things by names you do not recognise, and making it all look easy. Four weeks later you will be one of them, give or take, with sore hands and a quiet new obsession. The first month of climbing is a strange and brilliant stretch, and knowing roughly what is coming makes it a lot more fun.",[17,13378,13379],{},"This is not a training plan. It is a plain account of what those first few sessions tend to feel like, what surprises people, and where the early wins are hiding.",[12,13381,13383],{"id":13382},"week-one-everything-is-new-and-your-forearms-hate-you","Week one: everything is new and your forearms hate you",[17,13385,13386],{},"Your first session or two will be a mix of excitement and mild confusion. You will probably start on a bouldering wall, the lower walls with thick mats and no ropes, because it is the easiest way to begin. The climbing itself feels intuitive at first. Pull up, stand up, reach the top.",[17,13388,13389,13390,12058],{},"Then your forearms blow up. That tight, swollen, useless feeling where your hands stop closing properly is called being pumped, and in the first week it arrives fast because you are gripping everything far too hard. This is completely normal and not a sign you are weak. New climbers death-grip every hold out of nerves, which burns energy quickly. We dig into why this happens in ",[9853,13391,13393],{"href":13392},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-your-forearms-blow-up-and-what-to-do","why your forearms blow up, and what to do",[17,13395,13396],{},"A few things will surprise you in week one:",[70,13398,13399,13402,13405,13408],{},[73,13400,13401],{},"Your skin gets sore before your muscles give out, especially the fingertips",[73,13403,13404],{},"Easy-looking routes are often harder than they look from the ground",[73,13406,13407],{},"You will be knackered after forty-five minutes, and that is fine",[73,13409,13410],{},"Climbing down is harder than climbing up, but worth practising from day one",[3878,13412,13413],{},[17,13414,13415],{},"Your first month is less about getting strong and more about your body learning a brand new skill. Strength comes later. Right now you are teaching yourself a language.",[12,13417,13419],{"id":13418},"week-two-the-grip-relaxes-and-the-slang-starts-landing","Week two: the grip relaxes and the slang starts landing",[17,13421,13422],{},"By your second or third visit, two things shift. First, you stop gripping quite so hard, because your nervous system is starting to trust that you will not fall off the second you loosen up. Suddenly you can do a few more moves before the pump arrives. Second, the slang stops sounding like a foreign language.",[17,13424,13425],{},"You will start hearing and using words like:",[70,13427,13428,13433,13438,13443,13449],{},[73,13429,13430,13432],{},[76,13431,8058],{},", to complete a climb cleanly from bottom to top",[73,13434,13435,13437],{},[76,13436,8070],{},", the sequence of moves or the information about how to do them",[73,13439,13440,13442],{},[76,13441,8082],{},", the hardest single section of a climb",[73,13444,13445,13448],{},[76,13446,13447],{},"Flash",", sending something first try with prior knowledge of the moves",[73,13450,13451,13453],{},[76,13452,8064],{},", a climb you are working on over several sessions",[17,13455,13456,13457,13461,13462,12058],{},"If you want the full vocabulary, ",[9853,13458,13460],{"href":13459},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-beta-really-means","what beta really means"," is a good place to start, and the grades themselves get explained in ",[9853,13463,13465],{"href":13464},"\u002Fblog\u002Freading-the-grades-as-a-beginner","reading the grades as a beginner",[12,13467,13469],{"id":13468},"week-three-footwork-starts-to-click","Week three: footwork starts to click",[17,13471,13472],{},"This is usually where the first real penny drops. Up to now you have probably been hauling yourself up with your arms, treating your feet as an afterthought. Around week three, often after watching someone better than you, it clicks that your legs are far stronger than your arms and should be doing most of the work.",[17,13474,13475,13476,13480],{},"When you start actually looking at your feet, placing them deliberately on the holds rather than scrabbling, two good things happen. You stop getting so pumped, because your arms are no longer carrying everything. And you start climbing routes you could not do the week before, not because you got stronger but because you got more efficient. It feels a bit like magic. It is just technique. The drills in ",[9853,13477,13479],{"href":13478},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffootwork-drills-that-pay-off-fast","footwork drills that pay off fast"," are exactly what to work on here.",[12,13482,13484],{"id":13483},"week-four-you-are-a-climber-now","Week four: you are a climber now",[17,13486,13487],{},"By the end of the first month, a few things will be true. You will have a grade or two you can comfortably do and one you are stretching for. You will know your way around the wall, where the easy stuff is and where the scary overhang lives. You will have had at least one session that felt rubbish, where nothing worked, and you will have learned that this is just part of it.",[17,13489,13490],{},"You might also have noticed the social side creeping in. Climbing is unusually friendly for a sport. People share beta with strangers, cheer each other on, and there is no real bench to sit on, so you end up chatting between attempts. Plenty of people who arrive alone leave with a couple of people they climb with regularly.",[3986,13492,13494],{"id":13493},"a-realistic-checklist-for-month-one","A realistic checklist for month one",[17,13496,13497],{},"Rather than chase a grade, aim for these:",[70,13499,13500,13503,13506,13509,13512],{},[73,13501,13502],{},"Climb twice a week if you can, with rest days between",[73,13504,13505],{},"Practise climbing down, not just up",[73,13507,13508],{},"Watch your feet and place them quietly, no scrabbling",[73,13510,13511],{},"Stop before your skin is wrecked, even if you feel fresh otherwise",[73,13513,13514],{},"Learn five bits of slang and one new technique",[12,13516,13518],{"id":13517},"a-word-on-soreness-and-skin","A word on soreness and skin",[17,13520,13521],{},"Your hands will take the brunt of the first month. The skin on your fingertips is not used to this, and it will get tender, maybe even split a little if you overdo it. The fix is simple: stop a bit earlier than you think you need to, keep your hands clean and moisturised on rest days, and do not climb on raw skin. It toughens up within a few weeks. Pushing through and tearing a flapper just means a session or two off.",[17,13523,13524],{},"The same goes for your fingers and elbows more broadly. The classic beginner mistake is climbing five days a week because you are hooked. Your muscles recover quickly but your tendons and skin do not, so two or three sessions a week with rest in between is the sustainable sweet spot early on.",[17,13526,13527],{},"The honest truth about the first month is that it is mostly upside. You improve fast, because there is so much low-hanging fruit in technique. You meet good people. And somewhere around week three or four, a climb that felt impossible on day one will suddenly go, and you will understand exactly why people get hooked on this. Take it steady, look after your skin, and enjoy how quickly it all starts to make sense.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13529},[13530,13531,13532,13533,13536],{"id":13382,"depth":132,"text":13383},{"id":13418,"depth":132,"text":13419},{"id":13468,"depth":132,"text":13469},{"id":13483,"depth":132,"text":13484,"children":13534},[13535],{"id":13493,"depth":4021,"text":13494},{"id":13517,"depth":132,"text":13518},"2024-02-23","Sore hands, mysterious slang and surprising progress. Here is an honest look at what the first four weeks of climbing actually feel like.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1675448057076-4fb80b43c5d6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climbing hold mounted on a wall","2H Media","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@2hmedia",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fyour-first-month-of-climbing-what-to-expect",{"title":13371,"description":13538},"blog\u002Fyour-first-month-of-climbing-what-to-expect",[562,10099,13548,13549],"basics","progress","0k4cNBQl_13-H7xKRq53ZFxTEumttjVjHY2Ij2aYvwk",{"id":13552,"title":13553,"author":7,"body":13554,"category":1904,"date":13732,"description":13733,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13734,"imageAlt":13735,"imageCredit":13541,"imageCreditUrl":13542,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13736,"navigation":152,"path":13737,"readTime":154,"seo":13738,"stem":13739,"tags":13740,"__hash__":13743},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-choose-your-first-pair-of-shoes.md","How to choose your first pair of shoes",{"type":9,"value":13555,"toc":13724},[13556,13559,13562,13566,13569,13617,13626,13631,13635,13638,13641,13644,13661,13664,13666,13669,13672,13676,13679,13687,13691,13694,13708,13711,13715,13721],[17,13557,13558],{},"There is a moment, usually three or four sessions in, when the hire shoes start to feel like the limiting factor. They are battered, stretched, slightly damp from the last person, and they smell of every climber who came before you. Buying your own pair is one of the small joys of getting into climbing. It is also where a lot of beginners go wrong, talked into an aggressive, painful shoe that looks the part and actively holds them back.",[17,13560,13561],{},"Choosing a first pair is not complicated once you know what actually matters. It comes down to shape, fit, and resisting the temptation to buy the shoe a strong climber wears.",[12,13563,13565],{"id":13564},"shape-go-flat-not-downturned","Shape: go flat, not downturned",[17,13567,13568],{},"Climbing shoes broadly fall into three shapes, and the difference is mostly about how curved they are.",[3925,13570,13571,13584],{},[3928,13572,13573],{},[3931,13574,13575,13578,13581],{},[3934,13576,13577],{},"Shape",[3934,13579,13580],{},"What it looks like",[3934,13582,13583],{},"Who it suits",[3942,13585,13586,13597,13607],{},[3931,13587,13588,13591,13594],{},[3947,13589,13590],{},"Neutral, flat",[3947,13592,13593],{},"Looks like a normal shoe, flat sole",[3947,13595,13596],{},"Beginners, all-day comfort, slabs",[3931,13598,13599,13601,13604],{},[3947,13600,7965],{},[3947,13602,13603],{},"Slight downturn and asymmetry",[3947,13605,13606],{},"Improving climbers, all-rounders",[3931,13608,13609,13611,13614],{},[3947,13610,7975],{},[3947,13612,13613],{},"Strong downturn, talon-like toe",[3947,13615,13616],{},"Steep, hard climbing, experienced feet",[17,13618,13619,13620,2451,13623,12058],{},"As a beginner, you want the flat, neutral end of that table. A flat shoe is more comfortable, lets you stand on your feet for long sessions while you build up the habit of using them, and is far better on the slabs and gentle walls where you will spend most of your early time. Aggressive downturned shoes are built to pull on steep terrain and tiny footholds, which is not where you are climbing yet. They are also genuinely uncomfortable, and a shoe you do not want to put on is a shoe that does not get worn. There is more on this in ",[9853,13621,13622],{"href":8764},"how to choose climbing shoes",[9853,13624,13625],{"href":8028},"aggressive, moderate or neutral, choosing a climbing shoe shape",[3878,13627,13628],{},[17,13629,13630],{},"The best first shoe is one you can wear for a whole session and still want to climb in. Performance you cannot tolerate is not performance.",[12,13632,13634],{"id":13633},"fit-snug-not-crippling","Fit: snug, not crippling",[17,13636,13637],{},"This is the part everyone overthinks. You will read that climbing shoes should be agonisingly tight, that real climbers curl their toes and grit their teeth. Ignore most of that for a first pair.",[17,13639,13640],{},"A good first shoe should be snug with no dead space, your toes touching or very gently curled at the end, and no painful pressure points. You want it to feel close and precise, not like a medieval torture device. A shoe that hurts at rest will hurt ten times more on the wall, and you will end up taking it off between every climb, which teaches you bad habits.",[17,13642,13643],{},"Some practical fitting advice:",[70,13645,13646,13649,13652,13655,13658],{},[73,13647,13648],{},"Try shoes on later in the day when your feet are slightly larger",[73,13650,13651],{},"Wear them with no socks, or thin ones if the shop allows",[73,13653,13654],{},"Walk and stand on a small edge or fixture if there is one",[73,13656,13657],{},"Expect leather shoes to stretch a little, synthetic ones much less",[73,13659,13660],{},"If you are between sizes, the more comfortable size is usually right for a first pair",[17,13662,13663],{},"Sizing rarely matches your street shoe size, and it varies wildly between brands, so do not buy purely off a number. If you can try before you buy, do. A shop that lets you stand around in a few pairs is worth more than a small saving online.",[12,13665,8742],{"id":8741},[17,13667,13668],{},"You will see three closure types. For a first shoe, velcro straps are the easy default. They are quick to get on and off, which matters when you are taking your shoes off between climbs as a beginner often does, and they give a decent enough fit for the climbing you are doing.",[17,13670,13671],{},"Laces give the most precise, adjustable fit and tend to suit people with awkwardly shaped feet, but they are a faff to keep doing up. Slip-on elasticated shoes are comfy and good for training but offer the least support. None of this is a big decision at this stage. Velcro and crack on.",[12,13673,13675],{"id":13674},"rubber-and-stiffness-briefly","Rubber and stiffness, briefly",[17,13677,13678],{},"Two more terms you will hear are rubber and stiffness, and they matter a little even at the beginner end.",[17,13680,13681,13682,13686],{},"The rubber is the sticky compound on the sole, and softer rubber grips better but wears faster, while harder rubber lasts longer and supports your foot more. A stiffer shoe supports your foot on small edges and is more forgiving while your foot muscles are still weak, which is genuinely helpful early on. A very soft, sensitive shoe lets you feel the holds but demands strong feet to use well. For a first pair, a moderately stiff, flatter shoe is the friendlier choice. You can chase softness and sensitivity later once your feet have got stronger. If you want to go deeper, ",[9853,13683,13685],{"href":13684},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsoft-versus-stiff-shoes-which-suits-you","soft versus stiff shoes, which suits you"," covers the trade-off properly.",[12,13688,13690],{"id":13689},"what-to-ignore-for-now","What to ignore for now",[17,13692,13693],{},"A few things genuinely do not matter for your first pair:",[70,13695,13696,13699,13702,13705],{},[73,13697,13698],{},"The colour and how it looks, however tempting",[73,13700,13701],{},"What grade your strong mate's shoes are designed for",[73,13703,13704],{},"Whether it is the newest model",[73,13706,13707],{},"Heel and toe hook rubber, which you will not use much yet",[17,13709,13710],{},"You are buying a tool to learn in, not a status symbol. A comfortable, flat, well-fitting shoe at the budget end of the market will serve you better through your first year than an expensive aggressive shoe you wince to put on.",[12,13712,13714],{"id":13713},"looking-after-them","Looking after them",[17,13716,13717,13718,12058],{},"Once you have your shoes, a little care goes a long way. Take them off between long rests so they air out, and never leave them baking in a hot car or stuffed in a sweaty bag for days, because heat and damp wreck the rubber and the smell. When the front edge wears smooth and slick, you do not necessarily need a whole new pair. A resole is far cheaper and keeps a shoe you have broken in going for ages, which we cover in ",[9853,13719,13720],{"href":11839},"when to resole your climbing shoes",[17,13722,13723],{},"Buying your first proper pair of shoes is a small milestone, and it is hard to get badly wrong if you keep it simple. Go flat, fit it snug but bearable, pick velcro, and spend your money on comfort rather than aggression. Get that right and your feet will quietly become one of the best things about your climbing, which is exactly what a good first shoe is meant to do.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13725},[13726,13727,13728,13729,13730,13731],{"id":13564,"depth":132,"text":13565},{"id":13633,"depth":132,"text":13634},{"id":8741,"depth":132,"text":8742},{"id":13674,"depth":132,"text":13675},{"id":13689,"depth":132,"text":13690},{"id":13713,"depth":132,"text":13714},"2024-02-16","Forget the aggressive downturned models for now. Here is how to pick a first climbing shoe that actually helps you learn, and fits properly.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1675448057779-5461731e6b0d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A white wall set with black holds",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-choose-your-first-pair-of-shoes",{"title":13553,"description":13733},"blog\u002Fhow-to-choose-your-first-pair-of-shoes",[1822,13741,13742,2440],"equipment","kit","wafzl3adZg54zMNstYRr2_N6rK6pPj7rx_jHrwgbdrM",{"id":13745,"title":13746,"author":7,"body":13747,"category":1703,"date":13933,"description":13934,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13935,"imageAlt":13936,"imageCredit":13541,"imageCreditUrl":13542,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":13937,"navigation":152,"path":13938,"readTime":154,"seo":13939,"stem":13940,"tags":13941,"__hash__":13944},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsetting-up-a-home-board-on-a-budget.md","Setting up a home board on a budget",{"type":9,"value":13748,"toc":13924},[13749,13752,13755,13759,13762,13765,13770,13774,13777,13794,13797,13801,13804,13858,13861,13865,13874,13877,13881,13884,13901,13904,13908,13915,13921],[17,13750,13751],{},"There is a particular kind of envy that hits when you see someone's home board on the internet. A perfectly lit, immaculate setup in a double garage, every hold colour-coded, an app running the angle by motor. It is brilliant, and it is also completely unnecessary for getting strong at home. A useful board can be a sheet of ply, some bolts and a handful of holds, screwed to the most ordinary wall in your house. The training it gives you is most of what those expensive setups give you.",[17,13753,13754],{},"If you climb regularly and struggle to get to the wall as often as you would like, even a small board pays you back fast. Here is how to put one together without spending a fortune.",[12,13756,13758],{"id":13757},"what-a-home-board-is-actually-for","What a home board is actually for",[17,13760,13761],{},"Before you buy anything, be clear about why you want one. A home board is not for learning to climb or for endless variety. It is a focused training tool. Its value is convenience and repetition: you can do twenty minutes of quality hard moves on a tired Tuesday evening without driving anywhere. That repetition on consistent holds is what builds finger and pulling strength.",[17,13763,13764],{},"So you do not need a huge wall. You need a small, steep surface with good holds, set somewhere you will actually use it. A board you walk past every day gets used. A board in a cold shed at the bottom of the garden does not.",[3878,13766,13767],{},[17,13768,13769],{},"The best home board is not the biggest one. It is the one that is so convenient you train on it without having to talk yourself into it.",[12,13771,13773],{"id":13772},"the-cheapest-viable-build","The cheapest viable build",[17,13775,13776],{},"You can build something genuinely useful with surprisingly little. The core list:",[70,13778,13779,13782,13785,13788,13791],{},[73,13780,13781],{},"A sheet of structural plywood, ideally 18mm, for the climbing surface",[73,13783,13784],{},"Some timber to build a frame at an angle, or a solid existing wall",[73,13786,13787],{},"T-nuts hammered into the back of the ply so holds bolt on anywhere",[73,13789,13790],{},"Bolts to attach holds",[73,13792,13793],{},"A drill, spade bits for the T-nut holes, and basic fixings into a structural wall",[17,13795,13796],{},"The single most important thing is that it is anchored into something that will take your full weight plus the shock of pulling hard. That means hitting the studs or joists in a wall, or a frame bolted properly to the floor and a solid wall. This is the one area where you do not cut corners. A board that comes off the wall mid-session is dangerous.",[3986,13798,13800],{"id":13799},"holds-where-to-actually-spend","Holds: where to actually spend",[17,13802,13803],{},"Holds are the part worth spending money on, and also the part where you can save by being patient. A small, considered set of holds beats a big bin of random shapes. Aim for a spread:",[3925,13805,13806,13816],{},[3928,13807,13808],{},[3931,13809,13810,13813],{},[3934,13811,13812],{},"Hold type",[3934,13814,13815],{},"Why you want some",[3942,13817,13818,13826,13834,13842,13850],{},[3931,13819,13820,13823],{},[3947,13821,13822],{},"Jugs and big edges",[3947,13824,13825],{},"Warming up, feet, easier moves",[3931,13827,13828,13831],{},[3947,13829,13830],{},"Medium edges and crimps",[3947,13832,13833],{},"The bread and butter of finger strength",[3931,13835,13836,13839],{},[3947,13837,13838],{},"Pinches",[3947,13840,13841],{},"Thumb strength and a different grip",[3931,13843,13844,13847],{},[3947,13845,13846],{},"A couple of slopers",[3947,13848,13849],{},"Open-hand strength and a humbling time",[3931,13851,13852,13855],{},[3947,13853,13854],{},"Footholds, small and plentiful",[3947,13856,13857],{},"Forces good footwork on a steep wall",[17,13859,13860],{},"Buy wooden holds if you can. They are kinder on skin than textured resin, which matters a lot when you are training on the same holds repeatedly at home. Watch for second-hand sets, end-of-line bargains and group buys with mates. You do not need fifty holds to start. Twenty good ones, arranged thoughtfully, will keep you busy for months.",[12,13862,13864],{"id":13863},"angle-matters-more-than-size","Angle matters more than size",[17,13866,13867,13868,2451,13871,12058],{},"If you only get one thing right, make it the angle. A vertical board is gentle and good for footwork but limited for strength. The steeper you go, the more it loads your fingers and pulling muscles, and the harder it works you in a small space. For a home strength board, somewhere in the region of twenty to forty degrees overhanging is a popular and effective range. Steeper is more brutal and harder on the body. We go into this properly in ",[9853,13869,13870],{"href":1711},"board angles explained",[9853,13872,13873],{"href":4304},"choosing an angle on the board",[17,13875,13876],{},"If your ceiling height or wall lets you build an adjustable frame, great, but a fixed angle is completely fine and far simpler to build. Pick one steepness you will train on and commit to it.",[12,13878,13880],{"id":13879},"keeping-it-cheap-and-useful","Keeping it cheap and useful",[17,13882,13883],{},"A few ways to keep costs down without ending up with something rubbish:",[70,13885,13886,13889,13892,13895,13898],{},[73,13887,13888],{},"Use one good sheet of ply rather than a huge multi-panel wall",[73,13890,13891],{},"Hammer in plenty of T-nuts now, even where you have no holds yet, so you can add later",[73,13893,13894],{},"Start with second-hand or budget wooden holds and grow the collection slowly",[73,13896,13897],{},"Skip the fancy lighting and app integration entirely at first",[73,13899,13900],{},"Borrow a drill rather than buying one if this is a one-off build",[17,13902,13903],{},"Set against a year of extra wall sessions you could not otherwise fit in, even a modest spend on a home board is good value. And because it lives in your house, the sessions you do are ones you would otherwise have skipped entirely.",[12,13905,13907],{"id":13906},"using-it-without-wrecking-yourself","Using it without wrecking yourself",[17,13909,13910,13911,12058],{},"The catch with a home board is that it is steep, the holds are small, and there is nobody around to tell you to stop. That is a recipe for tweaked fingers if you are not careful. Warm up properly before you pull on hard, even though it is right there and tempting to jump straight on. Build up the intensity over weeks, not days. And take rest days, because training at home makes it far too easy to climb every single night. There is sensible guidance in ",[9853,13912,13914],{"href":13913},"\u002Fblog\u002Fusing-a-board-without-wrecking-your-fingers","using a board without wrecking your fingers",[17,13916,13917,13918,13920],{},"Once it is up, the trick is having a plan rather than just flailing around. Even a loose structure, a warm-up followed by a handful of hard problems you have set yourself, will make the sessions count. ",[9853,13919,5678],{"href":5760}," is worth a read for keeping track of what you have done.",[17,13922,13923],{},"A home board does not need to be impressive to be effective. A sheet of ply, a fixed overhanging angle, a small set of kind wooden holds and a solid fixing will get you most of the way to those garage setups online for a fraction of the money. Build the simple version, put it somewhere you will actually use it, and let the convenience do the work. The strongest home board is the boring one you climb on three times a week.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":13925},[13926,13927,13930,13931,13932],{"id":13757,"depth":132,"text":13758},{"id":13772,"depth":132,"text":13773,"children":13928},[13929],{"id":13799,"depth":4021,"text":13800},{"id":13863,"depth":132,"text":13864},{"id":13879,"depth":132,"text":13880},{"id":13906,"depth":132,"text":13907},"2024-02-09","You do not need a garage gym or a fortune to train at home. Here is how to build a useful climbing board cheaply, and what to spend on first.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1675448057171-c25cecd7f40d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A hand on a small climbing hold",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsetting-up-a-home-board-on-a-budget",{"title":13746,"description":13934},"blog\u002Fsetting-up-a-home-board-on-a-budget",[1715,13942,162,13943],"systems board","diy","d-F4CQRg8FGB1G9sl2q7NEFfRvw4Lo70SZj_0aeSuW0",{"id":13946,"title":13947,"author":7,"body":13948,"category":2555,"date":14083,"description":14084,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":14085,"imageAlt":2559,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":2563,"mapLat":3160,"mapLng":3161,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":3162,"meta":14086,"navigation":152,"path":14087,"readTime":154,"seo":14088,"stem":14089,"tags":14090,"__hash__":14093},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-first-timers-guide-to-the-peak-district.md","A first-timer’s guide to the Peak District",{"type":9,"value":13949,"toc":14076},[13950,13953,13957,13960,13963,13968,13979,13983,13986,13994,13998,14001,14021,14027,14031,14034,14051,14060,14064,14067,14070,14073],[17,13951,13952],{},"Ask a British climber where it all started for them and a surprising number will say the Peak District. The gritstone edges above the moors, the polished limestone in the dales, the long history of bold first ascents and even bolder characters. It is the spiritual home of climbing in this country, and it sits within easy reach of most of England. Your first trip there can feel like a rite of passage, and it can also feel baffling if you have only ever climbed indoors. This is a plain guide to making that first visit go well.",[12,13954,13956],{"id":13955},"two-rocks-two-completely-different-experiences","Two rocks, two completely different experiences",[17,13958,13959],{},"The first thing to understand about the Peak is that it is really two climbing areas wearing one name. There is the grit and there is the limestone, and they ask very different things of you.",[17,13961,13962],{},"Gritstone is the rough, sandy-textured rock of the high edges, places like Stanage and Burbage. It is famous for friction, for slopers and rounded breaks, and for a bold, no-nonsense style. The holds are often not obvious, the moves rely on trusting your feet and your skin, and the climbing tends to reward calm commitment. Limestone, found lower down in the dales, is steeper, often pocketed, sometimes polished smooth by decades of traffic, and generally more about strength and steep technical movement.",[3878,13964,13965],{},[17,13966,13967],{},"The Peak is not one crag, it is two characters. The grit asks you to trust friction and stay calm. The limestone asks you to pull hard and read pockets. Knowing which you are heading to changes how you prepare.",[17,13969,13970,13971,13974,13975,13978],{},"For a first-timer, gritstone bouldering is usually the gentler introduction, and the edges around Stanage are a classic starting point. If you want a proper crag-by-crag steer, ",[9853,13972,13973],{"href":2585},"bouldering at Stanage"," and the broader ",[9853,13976,13977],{"href":3164},"climbing in the Peak District"," are both worth reading before you go.",[12,13980,13982],{"id":13981},"conditions-are-everything-on-grit","Conditions are everything on grit",[17,13984,13985],{},"Here is the thing that catches indoor climbers out: on gritstone, the weather and the temperature genuinely make or break your day. Grit relies on friction, and friction loves cool, dry, breezy conditions. A crisp, cold autumn or winter day with a bit of wind is gold. A warm, humid, still summer afternoon turns the same holds greasy and the same problem two grades harder.",[17,13987,13988,13989,13993],{},"This is why you will hear climbers obsess over conditions in a way that sounds mad until you experience it. Standing under a problem that felt impossible in July and floats in October teaches you fast. We get into the why of all this in ",[9853,13990,13992],{"href":13991},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-climbers-obsess-over-conditions","why climbers obsess over conditions",". For a first trip, aim for a cool, dry day and you will have a far better time.",[12,13995,13997],{"id":13996},"what-to-bring","What to bring",[17,13999,14000],{},"For a bouldering day out on the grit, your kit list is short but specific:",[70,14002,14003,14006,14009,14012,14015,14018],{},[73,14004,14005],{},"Crash pads, ideally more than one between a group, to cover the landing",[73,14007,14008],{},"A brush for cleaning chalk and grime off holds",[73,14010,14011],{},"A flask, because Peak weather turns quickly and warm hands climb better",[73,14013,14014],{},"Proper footwear for the walk in, the ground is uneven and often boggy",[73,14016,14017],{},"A guidebook or app so you can find problems and know the grades",[73,14019,14020],{},"Layers, because it is colder and windier up on the edges than in the valley",[17,14022,14023,14024,12058],{},"Outdoor grades feel harder than indoor ones, so do not be disheartened. The rock does not have bright tape pointing out the holds, the landings are real, and friction is doing things you have never had to think about. A grade you cruise indoors might stop you dead outside, and that is completely normal. There is honest guidance on the transition in ",[9853,14025,14026],{"href":12594},"from gym to rock, making the move outdoors",[12,14028,14030],{"id":14029},"access-ground-and-looking-after-the-place","Access, ground and looking after the place",[17,14032,14033],{},"The Peak is busy, much of it is sensitive moorland, and a lot of access is the result of careful agreements that climbers can quietly ruin by behaving badly. A few basics that matter:",[70,14035,14036,14039,14042,14045,14048],{},[73,14037,14038],{},"Park considerately and do not block gates, farm tracks or passing places",[73,14040,14041],{},"Stick to paths where they exist to limit erosion on the moor",[73,14043,14044],{},"Take every scrap of litter home, including tape and finger skin",[73,14046,14047],{},"Brush off your tick marks and excess chalk when you leave a problem",[73,14049,14050],{},"Keep noise and music down, plenty of people come for the quiet",[17,14052,14053,14054,2451,14056,14059],{},"Nesting birds can mean seasonal restrictions on some crags, so check before you go. None of this is complicated, it is just the difference between climbers being welcome and climbers being a problem. ",[9853,14055,12079],{"href":12149},[9853,14057,14058],{"href":7593},"leave no trace, looking after the crag"," cover it properly.",[12,14061,14063],{"id":14062},"a-realistic-first-day","A realistic first day",[17,14065,14066],{},"Set your expectations sensibly and you will leave wanting more rather than disheartened. A good first day looks something like this.",[17,14068,14069],{},"Arrive in the morning when it is cool, walk in, and spend a good while just warming up on easy problems and getting used to how different the rock feels under your hands and feet. Pick a few classic easier lines rather than chasing a number. Expect to fall off things that look gentle, expect your skin to take a beating on the rough grit, and expect at least one moment where a move suddenly clicks and you understand why people love this place.",[17,14071,14072],{},"Do not try to tick a long list. Two or three good problems done well, in good conditions, with mates and a flask of tea, is a brilliant day out. The Peak rewards repeat visits, and half the pleasure is going back to a problem in better conditions and finally floating it.",[17,14074,14075],{},"The Peak District is one of the best places in the world to learn what climbing outside is really about, and it is right on the doorstep for most of us. Go on a cool dry day, bring pads and patience, respect the place and the people, and start gentle. Whether you fall in love with the bold friction of grit or the steep pull of limestone, your first trip is the start of something most British climbers never quite get over.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":14077},[14078,14079,14080,14081,14082],{"id":13955,"depth":132,"text":13956},{"id":13981,"depth":132,"text":13982},{"id":13996,"depth":132,"text":13997},{"id":14029,"depth":132,"text":14030},{"id":14062,"depth":132,"text":14063},"2024-02-02","Gritstone, limestone and the spiritual home of British climbing. Here is what a first trip to the Peak District is really like, and how to do it well.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Fa-first-timers-guide-to-the-peak-district.jpg",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-first-timers-guide-to-the-peak-district",{"title":13947,"description":14084},"blog\u002Fa-first-timers-guide-to-the-peak-district",[2589,14091,3168,14092],"crags","uk","NPruKR1UtMXO2Er8lWwCye-1O_jTBYl7yPsjzEWUGn4",{"id":14095,"title":14096,"author":7,"body":14097,"category":2785,"date":14225,"description":14226,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":14227,"imageAlt":14228,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":14229,"navigation":152,"path":14230,"readTime":154,"seo":14231,"stem":14232,"tags":14233,"__hash__":14234},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-fear-of-falling-and-how-to-work-with-it.md","The fear of falling, and how to work with it",{"type":9,"value":14098,"toc":14218},[14099,14102,14105,14109,14112,14115,14120,14123,14126,14129,14146,14156,14162,14166,14169,14175,14179,14182,14185,14202,14205,14209,14212,14215],[17,14100,14101],{},"You are two moves from the top, the holds are good, and you know you can do the next move. But your body has quietly decided otherwise. Your breathing has gone shallow, your grip has tightened to a death-clench, and you are stuck, over-gripping a perfectly good hold while a small voice insists that letting go to make the move would be a catastrophe. Almost every climber knows this feeling. The fear of falling is one of the most universal experiences in the sport, and learning to work with it does more for most people's climbing than any amount of finger strength.",[17,14103,14104],{},"The aim here is not to become fearless. Fearlessness is neither realistic nor sensible. The aim is to understand the fear, separate the useful part from the unhelpful part, and slowly expand what you are comfortable with.",[12,14106,14108],{"id":14107},"fear-is-doing-a-job-just-not-always-a-useful-one","Fear is doing a job, just not always a useful one",[17,14110,14111],{},"Your fear of falling is not a flaw. It is a system that kept your ancestors off cliffs, and it is doing exactly what it evolved to do. The trouble is that it cannot tell the difference between a genuinely dangerous fall and a safe one onto a thick mat or a well-belayed rope. It fires the same alarm either way.",[17,14113,14114],{},"So the first mental shift is to stop treating the fear as the enemy and start treating it as information that needs checking. When the alarm goes off, ask a quick honest question: is this actually dangerous, or does it just feel dangerous? On a bouldering wall with good mats and a sensible landing, a fall from low down is genuinely fine. On a high-ball or a bad landing, the fear is right and you should listen. Learning to tell those apart is the whole skill.",[3878,14116,14117],{},[17,14118,14119],{},"You are not trying to delete the fear. You are trying to get an accurate read on the actual risk, so that your body stops sounding the alarm when there is nothing to be alarmed about.",[12,14121,14122],{"id":4609},"Practise falling, on purpose",[17,14124,14125],{},"You cannot think your way out of a fear of falling. You have to teach your body, through repetition, that falling is survivable. This means practising falling deliberately, in safe and controlled conditions, until it stops feeling like an emergency.",[17,14127,14128],{},"For bouldering, that means learning to fall well and doing it often:",[70,14130,14131,14134,14137,14140,14143],{},[73,14132,14133],{},"Start by jumping off from low down onto the mats, landing soft with bent knees",[73,14135,14136],{},"Roll backwards with the fall rather than fighting to stay upright",[73,14138,14139],{},"Keep your arms in, do not stick a hand out to brace",[73,14141,14142],{},"Gradually let go from a little higher as it starts to feel normal",[73,14144,14145],{},"Do this as part of warming up, so falling becomes routine rather than dramatic",[17,14147,14148,14149,2451,14152,14155],{},"The detail of good technique is worth getting right, and ",[9853,14150,14151],{"href":3406},"how to fall safely when bouldering",[9853,14153,14154],{"href":6029},"how to downclimb, and why you should"," both go further. Down-climbing in particular is underrated. Knowing you can reverse out of a position quietly removes a lot of the panic, because you always have a way back.",[17,14157,14158,14159,12058],{},"For roped climbing, the equivalent is practising taking falls with a trusted belayer, starting small with the bolt at your waist and building up. That is a bigger topic, and it depends heavily on trusting the person holding your rope, which is its own thing covered in ",[9853,14160,14161],{"href":4657},"climbing with a fear of falling",[12,14163,14165],{"id":14164},"the-breathing-trick-that-actually-works","The breathing trick that actually works",[17,14167,14168],{},"When fear hits, your breathing is the first thing to go, and it is also the thing you have most direct control over. Gripped climbers hold their breath or pant shallowly, which makes everything worse.",[17,14170,14171,14172,12058],{},"The fix is simple and you can practise it anywhere. When you feel the panic rising mid-climb, deliberately breathe out slowly and fully, longer on the out-breath than the in. A long exhale tells your nervous system to stand down. It will not make the fear vanish, but it buys you a few seconds of clearer thinking, which is often all you need to commit to the move you already know you can do. There is more on this in ",[9853,14173,14174],{"href":8679},"breathing on the wall",[12,14176,14178],{"id":14177},"build-a-ladder-not-a-leap","Build a ladder, not a leap",[17,14180,14181],{},"The big mistake is trying to conquer the fear in one heroic go, throwing yourself at the thing that scares you most. That usually ends in a bad scare that sets you back. Instead, build a ladder of small, manageable steps, each only slightly harder than the last.",[17,14183,14184],{},"A rough version might look like this:",[70,14186,14187,14190,14193,14196,14199],{},[73,14188,14189],{},"Jump off the mats from knee height until it is boring",[73,14191,14192],{},"Then from waist height, then chest, then a normal topping-out height",[73,14194,14195],{},"Climb easy problems and deliberately let go near the top rather than topping out",[73,14197,14198],{},"Try a move you can do but normally bottle, with mats checked and a spotter ready",[73,14200,14201],{},"Only then take on the thing that genuinely scares you",[17,14203,14204],{},"Each rung should feel like a stretch but not a terror. If a step floods you with panic, drop back down a rung and spend more time there. Progress here is slow and unglamorous, and that is exactly why it works. You are quietly rewiring how your body responds, one small safe experience at a time.",[12,14206,14208],{"id":14207},"be-kind-to-yourself-about-it","Be kind to yourself about it",[17,14210,14211],{},"There is a tendency, especially when you watch confident climbers float past their fear, to feel embarrassed about being gripped. Do not be. Fear of falling has very little to do with how good a climber you are. Plenty of strong, experienced climbers are scared witless above a bolt, and plenty of beginners are oddly calm. It is wired differently in everyone, and it fluctuates with sleep, stress, how the session is going and a dozen other things.",[17,14213,14214],{},"Some days the fear will be loud and you will climb scared, and that is a perfectly valid session. Other days it will be quiet and you will surprise yourself. The trend over months matters far more than any single day. If you are practising falling, breathing deliberately, and nudging your comfort zone outwards bit by bit, you are doing the work, even on the days it does not feel like it.",[17,14216,14217],{},"The fear of falling is not something you beat once and are done with. It is something you build a working relationship with, over years. Get an honest read on the real risk, practise falling until your body believes it is safe, breathe out when the alarm sounds, and climb a little braver each session. You will not become fearless, and you would not want to. You will just stop letting a false alarm keep you off moves you are perfectly capable of making.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":14219},[14220,14221,14222,14223,14224],{"id":14107,"depth":132,"text":14108},{"id":4609,"depth":132,"text":14122},{"id":14164,"depth":132,"text":14165},{"id":14177,"depth":132,"text":14178},{"id":14207,"depth":132,"text":14208},"2024-01-26","Fear of falling holds back almost every climber at some point. Here is how to understand it, practise around it, and climb more freely.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775655111255-706378cdf2ca?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber bouldering on an indoor wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-fear-of-falling-and-how-to-work-with-it",{"title":14096,"description":14226},"blog\u002Fthe-fear-of-falling-and-how-to-work-with-it",[2796,3056,5081,4661],"MHmYV_i6hfz6euVQLSUYIK0MmdJA_tLOl28W1V2OOr8",{"id":14236,"title":14237,"author":7,"body":14238,"category":2366,"date":14388,"description":14389,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":14390,"imageAlt":14391,"imageCredit":14392,"imageCreditUrl":14393,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":14394,"navigation":152,"path":13459,"readTime":154,"seo":14395,"stem":14396,"tags":14397,"__hash__":14398},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-beta-really-means.md","What “beta” really means",{"type":9,"value":14239,"toc":14380},[14240,14243,14247,14250,14253,14258,14262,14265,14297,14300,14304,14307,14314,14318,14321,14324,14327,14344,14354,14358,14364,14367,14371,14374,14377],[17,14241,14242],{},"Stand near any bouldering wall for ten minutes and you will hear the word a dozen times. \"What's the beta on this one?\" \"I've got beta for you.\" \"That's not the beta, watch this.\" For a brand new climber it sounds like jargon dropped in to make the sport feel like a club you are not in yet. In fact beta is one of the most useful concepts in climbing, and once you understand what it really covers, you will use it constantly and understand the social rules around it.",[12,14244,14246],{"id":14245},"so-what-is-beta","So what is beta",[17,14248,14249],{},"At its simplest, beta is information about how to do a climb. The sequence of moves, which hand goes where, where the hidden foothold is, how to grip a particular hold, the trick that makes a baffling section suddenly make sense. If someone tells you \"left hand to the crimp, then bump your right foot up and span to the sloper,\" they have given you the beta.",[17,14251,14252],{},"The word is thought to come from videotape footage of climbs being passed around, \"beta\" as in Betamax, so climbers could study the moves before trying them. Whatever the origin, it stuck, and now it covers any information that helps you climb something.",[3878,14254,14255],{},[17,14256,14257],{},"Beta is not cheating and it is not weakness. It is shared knowledge, and climbing has always been a sport where people freely tell each other how the moves go.",[12,14259,14261],{"id":14260},"beta-is-broader-than-just-the-moves","Beta is broader than just the moves",[17,14263,14264],{},"Most people think beta means the sequence of hand and foot moves, and that is the core of it. But climbers use the word more loosely than that, and it helps to know the range:",[70,14266,14267,14273,14279,14285,14291],{},[73,14268,14269,14272],{},[76,14270,14271],{},"Move beta",", the actual sequence of hands and feet through a problem",[73,14274,14275,14278],{},[76,14276,14277],{},"Hold beta",", how to use a specific hold, the best part to grab, which way to pull",[73,14280,14281,14284],{},[76,14282,14283],{},"Body beta",", where to put your hips, when to flag, how to stay tight",[73,14286,14287,14290],{},[76,14288,14289],{},"Conditions beta",", whether a crag is in good nick, when to go, what the weather does to it",[73,14292,14293,14296],{},[76,14294,14295],{},"Approach beta",", how to find the crag, where to park, how long the walk in is",[17,14298,14299],{},"So when someone at the crag asks for \"the beta,\" they might mean the moves, or they might mean the whole package of useful local knowledge. Context tells you which.",[12,14301,14303],{"id":14302},"beta-is-personal","Beta is personal",[17,14305,14306],{},"Here is the thing that takes a while to learn: beta is not one fixed answer. The sequence that works perfectly for a tall climber with long arms can be useless for a shorter one, who needs an extra intermediate hold to bridge a reach. A flexible climber might rest a heel up high where a stiffer climber cannot. Someone with strong fingers might crimp a hold that someone else has to use open-handed.",[17,14308,14309,14310,14313],{},"This means you should treat offered beta as a suggestion, not gospel. Try it, but if it does not fit your body, do not assume you are failing. You might just need different beta. Some of the best climbing problem-solving happens when you ignore the \"standard\" sequence and find a way that suits you. The skill of working this out for yourself is genuinely worth developing, and ",[9853,14311,14312],{"href":11069},"reading a route before you leave the ground"," is a good place to start.",[12,14315,14317],{"id":14316},"the-etiquette-of-giving-beta","The etiquette of giving beta",[17,14319,14320],{},"This is the part nobody writes down but everyone is judged by. There is an unwritten code around offering beta, and getting it wrong is one of the quicker ways to annoy people at the wall.",[17,14322,14323],{},"The golden rule: do not give unsolicited beta. If someone is working a problem, trying hard, and visibly enjoying the puzzle of it, shouting the sequence at them robs them of the best part. Lots of climbers want to figure things out for themselves, and \"spraying beta\" at someone who did not ask is poor form. Wait until they ask, or at least offer rather than insist: \"do you want a tip, or are you working it out?\"",[17,14325,14326],{},"A few sensible guidelines:",[70,14328,14329,14332,14335,14338,14341],{},[73,14330,14331],{},"Ask before you tell, every time",[73,14333,14334],{},"If someone is clearly enjoying the process, leave them to it",[73,14336,14337],{},"Keep it brief and let them try it rather than narrating every move",[73,14339,14340],{},"Respect that your beta might not suit their body, and say so",[73,14342,14343],{},"Never imply someone is daft for not seeing it",[17,14345,14346,14347,2451,14351,12058],{},"There is more on the social side of all this in ",[9853,14348,14350],{"href":14349},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-unwritten-rules-of-the-bouldering-mat","the unwritten rules of the bouldering mat",[9853,14352,14353],{"href":5392},"gym etiquette every new climber should know",[12,14355,14357],{"id":14356},"beta-and-how-you-climb","Beta and how you climb",[17,14359,14360,14361,12058],{},"Knowing the beta changes what your send counts as, which is why the word crops up alongside terms like flash and onsight. If you complete a climb first try with the beta already in your pocket, having watched someone or been told the moves, that is a flash. If you do it first try with no prior information at all, working it out as you go, that is an onsight, which is generally held in higher regard precisely because you had no beta. The full breakdown is in ",[9853,14362,14363],{"href":2372},"flash, onsight, redpoint, send styles explained",[17,14365,14366],{},"So beta is not just a tip, it is part of how climbers describe the quality of an ascent. Doing something with full beta is a perfectly good send. Doing it cold, reading it yourself on the fly, is a different and rarer achievement.",[12,14368,14370],{"id":14369},"using-beta-well-as-you-learn","Using beta well as you learn",[17,14372,14373],{},"For a newer climber, beta is a brilliant learning tool if you use it actively rather than passively. When someone shows you a sequence, do not just copy it move for move. Ask why it works. Why does the left hand go first? What does the flag stop from happening? Understanding the reasoning teaches you to read climbs yourself, which is the long game.",[17,14375,14376],{},"And get comfortable both asking for and offering beta, because the give and take of it is a big part of why climbing is such a friendly sport. Standing under a problem with a couple of strangers, all chipping in ideas about how the crux might go, is one of the small pleasures of the wall. You arrived not knowing each other and ten minutes later you are collectively solving a puzzle.",[17,14378,14379],{},"Beta, in the end, is just climbers helping each other up. It covers the moves, the holds, the conditions and the local know-how, it is always personal to the body using it, and it comes with a quiet code about asking before you tell. Learn to read it, share it, and most importantly to question it and find what works for you. Do that and you will not only climb harder, you will slot neatly into the most generous part of climbing culture.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":14381},[14382,14383,14384,14385,14386,14387],{"id":14245,"depth":132,"text":14246},{"id":14260,"depth":132,"text":14261},{"id":14302,"depth":132,"text":14303},{"id":14316,"depth":132,"text":14317},{"id":14356,"depth":132,"text":14357},{"id":14369,"depth":132,"text":14370},"2024-01-19","Beta is the most-used word at any wall, but it covers more than you think. Here is what climbers actually mean by it, and how to use it well.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1766955049104-8db0cd0be342?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A jagged rock formation against blue sky","Ryan Franco","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@weekendw0rrier",{},{"title":14237,"description":14389},"blog\u002Fwhat-beta-really-means",[2376,2377,8242,562],"yf0lYoRv9dc6XW4dzz70cgXk8l7FtHu0fJemCo1AoIA",{"id":14400,"title":14401,"author":7,"body":14402,"category":1811,"date":14609,"description":14610,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":14611,"imageAlt":14612,"imageCredit":14613,"imageCreditUrl":14614,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":14615,"navigation":152,"path":14616,"readTime":154,"seo":14617,"stem":14618,"tags":14619,"__hash__":14621},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbeginner-shoes-worth-the-money.md","Beginner shoes worth the money",{"type":9,"value":14403,"toc":14602},[14404,14407,14410,14414,14417,14420,14437,14440,14444,14447,14529,14536,14541,14545,14548,14551,14555,14558,14561,14578,14587,14591,14596,14599],[17,14405,14406],{},"Walk into a climbing shop as a beginner and the shoe wall is a wall of confusion. Dozens of models, wild price ranges, aggressive shapes that look like they belong on a sci-fi villain, and a member of staff who climbs V-hard-than-you trying to be helpful. The honest news is that the beginner end of the shoe market is one of the best-value corners of climbing kit. You do not need to spend top money to get a shoe that genuinely helps you learn. You just need to know what actually matters and what is marketing.",[17,14408,14409],{},"This is a review of what makes a beginner shoe worth your money, written in terms of features rather than fashionable model names, because the specific model that is hyped this year will be a different one next year while the principles stay the same.",[12,14411,14413],{"id":14412},"what-worth-the-money-actually-means-for-a-beginner","What \"worth the money\" actually means for a beginner",[17,14415,14416],{},"A good first shoe is not the one that performs best at the limit. It is the one that helps you build good habits, lasts a reasonable time, and does not put you off wearing it. Measured against that, an expensive aggressive shoe is often poor value for a beginner, while a modest flat shoe is excellent value.",[17,14418,14419],{},"So when we talk about worth the money, we mean these things:",[70,14421,14422,14425,14428,14431,14434],{},[73,14423,14424],{},"It is comfortable enough that you keep it on between climbs",[73,14426,14427],{},"It is flat or only mildly downturned, so it suits the easy terrain you climb on",[73,14429,14430],{},"It has decent rubber that grips and resoles cheaply when worn",[73,14432,14433],{},"It fits your foot shape without crippling pressure points",[73,14435,14436],{},"It is at the affordable end, because you will likely want a second, better-suited pair within a year",[17,14438,14439],{},"Hit those and the exact brand barely matters. Miss them and the fanciest shoe on the wall is wasted on you.",[12,14441,14443],{"id":14442},"the-features-that-earn-their-place","The features that earn their place",[17,14445,14446],{},"Let us break down what to actually look for, and roughly what it is worth paying attention to.",[3925,14448,14449,14462],{},[3928,14450,14451],{},[3931,14452,14453,14456,14459],{},[3934,14454,14455],{},"Feature",[3934,14457,14458],{},"What to want as a beginner",[3934,14460,14461],{},"Worth paying for",[3942,14463,14464,14474,14485,14496,14507,14518],{},[3931,14465,14466,14468,14471],{},[3947,14467,13577],{},[3947,14469,14470],{},"Flat or mildly downturned",[3947,14472,14473],{},"Yes, this is the big one",[3931,14475,14476,14479,14482],{},[3947,14477,14478],{},"Stiffness",[3947,14480,14481],{},"Moderately stiff, supportive",[3947,14483,14484],{},"Yes, helps weak feet",[3931,14486,14487,14490,14493],{},[3947,14488,14489],{},"Rubber",[3947,14491,14492],{},"Decent grip, resoleable",[3947,14494,14495],{},"Some, but not premium",[3931,14497,14498,14501,14504],{},[3947,14499,14500],{},"Closure",[3947,14502,14503],{},"Velcro for ease",[3947,14505,14506],{},"Mild preference",[3931,14508,14509,14512,14515],{},[3947,14510,14511],{},"Aggression",[3947,14513,14514],{},"None",[3947,14516,14517],{},"No, actively unhelpful",[3931,14519,14520,14523,14526],{},[3947,14521,14522],{},"Brand prestige",[3947,14524,14525],{},"Irrelevant",[3947,14527,14528],{},"No",[17,14530,14531,14532,2451,14534,12058],{},"The shape and stiffness are where your money genuinely buys something useful. A flat, supportive shoe lets you stand on small footholds before your foot muscles are strong, and it is comfortable enough that you build the habit of wearing it for whole sessions. That habit is worth more to your climbing than any amount of sticky rubber. The reasoning behind shape and stiffness is covered properly in ",[9853,14533,13625],{"href":8028},[9853,14535,13685],{"href":13684},[3878,14537,14538],{},[17,14539,14540],{},"The most expensive shoe in the shop is rarely the best beginner shoe. The best beginner shoe is the comfortable, flat, mid-priced one you forget you are wearing.",[12,14542,14544],{"id":14543},"where-spending-more-is-wasted","Where spending more is wasted",[17,14546,14547],{},"It is worth being blunt about where extra money does nothing for a beginner. Aggressive downturn is built for steep, hard climbing and tiny footholds, neither of which you are doing yet, and it comes at the cost of comfort. Premium soft, sensitive rubber lets advanced climbers feel the rock, but it demands strong feet to use and wears fast, so on a beginner it is both unhelpful and a false economy. And brand prestige, the cachet of the model the strong climbers wear, buys you nothing but the right to mention it.",[17,14549,14550],{},"None of that is to say expensive shoes are bad. They are excellent at what they are for. They are just not for you yet, and paying for performance you cannot use is the definition of poor value.",[12,14552,14554],{"id":14553},"fit-beats-everything","Fit beats everything",[17,14556,14557],{},"Here is the catch that no review can solve for you: the best-reviewed shoe in the world is worthless if it does not fit your foot. Feet vary enormously, narrow and wide, high and low volume, long toes and short, and brands cut their shoes to different shapes. A model that fits one person like a glove pinches another into agony.",[17,14559,14560],{},"This is why we always push people to try shoes on in person if they possibly can, rather than buying off a review or a size chart. A few practical pointers when you do:",[70,14562,14563,14566,14569,14572,14575],{},[73,14564,14565],{},"Aim for snug with no dead space, toes touching or gently curled, no sharp pain",[73,14567,14568],{},"Try late in the day when feet are at their largest",[73,14570,14571],{},"Stand on a small edge if the shop has one, to feel the support",[73,14573,14574],{},"If between sizes, take the comfier one for a first pair",[73,14576,14577],{},"Remember leather stretches a bit, synthetics barely at all",[17,14579,14580,14581,13974,14584,12058],{},"There is fuller fitting advice in ",[9853,14582,14583],{"href":13737},"how to choose your first pair of shoes",[9853,14585,14586],{"href":7222},"best beginner climbing shoes, a buyer's guide",[12,14588,14590],{"id":14589},"getting-your-moneys-worth-over-time","Getting your money's worth over time",[17,14592,14593,14594,12058],{},"Once you have picked a sensible shoe, you can stretch its value with a bit of care. Air it out after sessions rather than leaving it festering in your bag. Keep it out of hot cars, because heat ruins rubber and bakes in the smell. And when the toe wears smooth and slick, do not bin it, get it resoled. A resole costs a fraction of a new pair and brings a broken-in shoe back to life, which is covered in ",[9853,14595,13720],{"href":11839},[17,14597,14598],{},"Treated this way, an affordable beginner shoe gives you a year or more of good service, and by the time you outgrow it you will have a much better sense of what you actually want from a second pair. That is the real value of a good first shoe: it teaches you what you like.",[17,14600,14601],{},"The short version is this. A beginner shoe worth the money is flat, moderately stiff, comfortable enough to keep on, decently grippy, resoleable, and priced at the sensible end. Try it on, ignore the aggressive hype and the prestige, and spend your saved money on a few extra sessions instead. Get that right and your feet will quietly carry you through your first year of climbing, which is exactly the job a good first shoe is there to do.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":14603},[14604,14605,14606,14607,14608],{"id":14412,"depth":132,"text":14413},{"id":14442,"depth":132,"text":14443},{"id":14543,"depth":132,"text":14544},{"id":14553,"depth":132,"text":14554},{"id":14589,"depth":132,"text":14590},"2024-01-12","What separates a good first climbing shoe from a waste of cash. A no-nonsense look at what to look for at the beginner end, without naming the hype.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1758907461743-38d0ad12b6c3?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A jagged peak above a village","Pix Tresa","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@pixtresa",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbeginner-shoes-worth-the-money",{"title":14401,"description":14610},"blog\u002Fbeginner-shoes-worth-the-money",[1822,14620,2440,562],"reviews","0G94lJg1ZpzNZ8osUqAJ-MD69jh_vw9VBIzbwYPYL1U",{"id":14623,"title":14624,"author":7,"body":14625,"category":2678,"date":14811,"description":14812,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":14813,"imageAlt":14814,"imageCredit":14815,"imageCreditUrl":14816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":14817,"navigation":152,"path":14818,"readTime":154,"seo":14819,"stem":14820,"tags":14821,"__hash__":14824},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-history-of-the-grade.md","The history of the grade",{"type":9,"value":14626,"toc":14804},[14627,14630,14634,14637,14640,14645,14649,14652,14655,14723,14733,14737,14740,14743,14746,14750,14753,14756,14770,14777,14781,14784,14787,14801],[17,14628,14629],{},"Two climbers stood under the same boulder problem can have a genuine argument about whether it is a soft touch or a sandbag, and both can be a bit right. That argument is older than either of them, older than the climbing wall, older than the sticky rubber on their shoes. Grades have been contested since the moment someone first tried to put a number on how hard a piece of rock is to climb. Understanding where the grade came from, and why there are so many competing systems, makes that number a lot less stressful and a fair bit more interesting.",[12,14631,14633],{"id":14632},"why-grade-anything-at-all","Why grade anything at all",[17,14635,14636],{},"Before grades, climbers described routes in words, which worked fine when everyone knew everyone and climbed the same crag. But as climbing spread, people wanted a quick way to know whether a route was within their ability before committing to it, or whether it would kill them. A grade is, at heart, a warning and a promise: this is roughly how hard, and roughly how serious.",[17,14638,14639],{},"The trouble is that \"how hard\" is not one thing. A route can be hard because the moves are desperate, or because it is long and pumpy, or because a fall would be terrible, or because the rock is loose and the gear is rubbish. Different climbing cultures, in different places, cared about different combinations of those things, and so they built different grading systems. That is why we ended up with a confusing patchwork rather than one tidy scale.",[3878,14641,14642],{},[17,14643,14644],{},"A grade was never meant to be a precise measurement. It started as one person's honest guess at how hard a thing felt, passed on to the next person as a rough heads-up.",[12,14646,14648],{"id":14647},"a-patchwork-of-systems","A patchwork of systems",[17,14650,14651],{},"If you have ever been baffled by V-grades and Font grades and French sport grades and British trad grades all describing climbs, you are not alone, and the history explains it. Different systems grew up to describe different disciplines and different national traditions.",[17,14653,14654],{},"A rough map of the main ones you will meet:",[3925,14656,14657,14670],{},[3928,14658,14659],{},[3931,14660,14661,14664,14667],{},[3934,14662,14663],{},"System",[3934,14665,14666],{},"Mostly used for",[3934,14668,14669],{},"Where it grew up",[3942,14671,14672,14682,14692,14702,14713],{},[3931,14673,14674,14677,14679],{},[3947,14675,14676],{},"V-scale",[3947,14678,3585],{},[3947,14680,14681],{},"United States",[3931,14683,14684,14687,14689],{},[3947,14685,14686],{},"Font (Fontainebleau)",[3947,14688,3585],{},[3947,14690,14691],{},"France",[3931,14693,14694,14697,14700],{},[3947,14695,14696],{},"French sport",[3947,14698,14699],{},"Roped sport climbing",[3947,14701,14691],{},[3931,14703,14704,14707,14710],{},[3947,14705,14706],{},"British trad (adjectival plus technical)",[3947,14708,14709],{},"Traditional climbing",[3947,14711,14712],{},"Britain",[3931,14714,14715,14718,14721],{},[3947,14716,14717],{},"YDS",[3947,14719,14720],{},"Roped climbing",[3947,14722,14681],{},[17,14724,14725,14726,2451,14729,14732],{},"Each of these made sense in its own context. The British trad system, for instance, uses two parts, an adjectival grade for the overall seriousness and a technical grade for the hardest move, precisely because British trad cared as much about how scary and committing a route was as about the difficulty of the moves. Bouldering systems like V and Font focus purely on the difficulty of the movement, because on a boulder with a mat below, the seriousness is mostly taken out of it. If you want the practical detail of reading these, ",[9853,14727,14728],{"href":9280},"how climbing grades work, V and font",[9853,14730,14731],{"href":5849},"how rope grades work, French and YDS"," lay it all out.",[12,14734,14736],{"id":14735},"grades-creep-upwards-over-time","Grades creep upwards over time",[17,14738,14739],{},"One of the more interesting things history shows is that the top of every grading scale keeps moving. When a system is invented, the hardest climb of the day sits at the top. Then someone climbs something harder, and the scale has to be extended. This has happened again and again across every discipline.",[17,14741,14742],{},"This open-endedness is deliberate and a bit beautiful. Nobody designing the early scales assumed they knew the limit of human climbing, so they built systems that could keep growing. The hardest grades climbed today would have been considered physically impossible by earlier generations, and the same will very likely be said of today's limits in a few decades.",[17,14744,14745],{},"It also means grades are not absolute across time. A given grade was calibrated against the climbing of its era, the techniques, the training, the shoes. As the sport got better at all of those, what counts as a given grade shifted subtly too. A number is a snapshot of a moment as much as a measurement.",[12,14747,14749],{"id":14748},"the-eternal-argument-soft-stiff-and-sandbags","The eternal argument: soft, stiff and sandbags",[17,14751,14752],{},"Because grades started as one person's honest guess, they have always been subjective and inconsistent. The first ascensionist suggests a grade, the climbing community either agrees or argues, and over time a rough consensus settles, though it never fully settles. Some crags and areas have a reputation for being stiff, where everything feels harder than the number, and these get called sandbagged. Others feel generous, or soft.",[17,14754,14755],{},"This is not a flaw to be fixed, it is baked into what a grade is. A few things follow from accepting that:",[70,14757,14758,14761,14764,14767],{},[73,14759,14760],{},"Grades vary between crags, areas and countries, sometimes by a noticeable margin",[73,14762,14763],{},"Indoor grades and outdoor grades rarely line up, indoors usually feels softer",[73,14765,14766],{},"A single climb can suit your body and feel easy, or fight your body and feel brutal",[73,14768,14769],{},"Old-school areas often grade harder than modern gyms, on purpose or by tradition",[17,14771,14772,14773,14776],{},"The whole tradition of sandbagging, sometimes affectionate and sometimes mischievous, is part of climbing culture. ",[9853,14774,14775],{"href":7296},"What is sandbagging"," goes into the lore of it.",[12,14778,14780],{"id":14779},"what-the-history-should-teach-you","What the history should teach you",[17,14782,14783],{},"The practical lesson from all this messy history is a healthy looseness about grades. They are useful, they are not sacred. Use them to pick climbs roughly within your range and to avoid getting in over your head somewhere serious. Do not use them to measure your worth, to compare yourself against other climbers, or to have a bad day because something graded at \"your level\" spat you off.",[17,14785,14786],{},"A few honest reminders the history backs up:",[70,14788,14789,14792,14795,14798],{},[73,14790,14791],{},"Your body suits some grades and styles and not others, and that is normal",[73,14793,14794],{},"A number from one area does not transfer cleanly to another",[73,14796,14797],{},"Falling off something at your grade does not mean you have got worse",[73,14799,14800],{},"The most satisfying climbing often ignores the number entirely",[17,14802,14803],{},"Grades came from climbers trying to be helpful to each other, giving a rough heads-up about what a route would ask of them. They splintered into many systems because climbers in different places cared about different kinds of difficulty, and they keep growing because nobody has found the limit. Treat the number on the topo as what it has always been, a useful, fallible, human estimate, and it stops being a source of stress and goes back to being what it was for: a friendly warning about what you are about to pull on.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":14805},[14806,14807,14808,14809,14810],{"id":14632,"depth":132,"text":14633},{"id":14647,"depth":132,"text":14648},{"id":14735,"depth":132,"text":14736},{"id":14748,"depth":132,"text":14749},{"id":14779,"depth":132,"text":14780},"2024-01-05","Where climbing grades came from, why there are so many systems, and what that messy history tells us about how to treat a number on a topo.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1764943094553-15c1bc3e1cb0?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A white chalk cliff face","Valentin Lacoste","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@valentinlacoste",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-history-of-the-grade",{"title":14624,"description":14812},"blog\u002Fthe-history-of-the-grade",[14822,14823,7598,2378],"culture","history","O654eYz9Ae9KX5Byt8Ow9gRTjWUjqpTMfd3eWqa7F-Q",{"id":14826,"title":14827,"author":7,"body":14828,"category":141,"date":14991,"description":14992,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":14993,"imageAlt":14994,"imageCredit":14815,"imageCreditUrl":14816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":14995,"navigation":152,"path":13223,"readTime":154,"seo":14996,"stem":14997,"tags":14998,"__hash__":14999},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffinger-strength-without-the-injuries.md","Finger strength without the injuries",{"type":9,"value":14829,"toc":14983},[14830,14833,14837,14840,14843,14848,14852,14855,14864,14868,14871,14874,14891,14897,14901,14904,14907,14927,14933,14937,14940,14943,14960,14970,14974,14977,14980],[17,14831,14832],{},"Ask any climber a few years in about their worst climbing memories and a fair number will involve a finger. The pop on a crimp, the dull ache that would not go away, the months off while a tendon or a pulley sulked its way back to health. Finger strength is one of the biggest single factors in climbing harder, and the fingers are also where most of us pick up our most frustrating injuries. The good news is that the two are not in conflict. You can build genuinely strong fingers without wrecking them, as long as you respect how slowly that tissue actually adapts.",[12,14834,14836],{"id":14835},"why-fingers-get-hurt-in-the-first-place","Why fingers get hurt in the first place",[17,14838,14839],{},"The key fact to hold onto is this: your muscles get stronger far faster than your tendons and pulleys do. Pull hard for a few months and your forearms will respond quickly. The connective tissue in your fingers, the tendons and the little pulleys that hold them against the bone, adapts on a much slower timescale, often measured in many months.",[17,14841,14842],{},"That mismatch is where injuries come from. Your muscles develop the strength to pull harder on smaller holds before your fingers have developed the resilience to take that load. You feel strong, you crimp something tiny with full power, and the weakest link, a pulley, gives. So the whole game of building finger strength safely is really about not letting your enthusiasm and your muscle strength outrun your connective tissue.",[3878,14844,14845],{},[17,14846,14847],{},"Your fingers can get strong, but only on their own schedule. Most finger injuries are not bad luck, they are someone asking the tissue to do next year's loading this month.",[12,14849,14851],{"id":14850},"climbing-is-finger-training","Climbing is finger training",[17,14853,14854],{},"Before you reach for a hangboard or any fancy tool, understand that the single best and safest builder of finger strength for most climbers is simply climbing, regularly, on a sensible variety of holds. Every time you pull on, your fingers are being loaded and are slowly adapting. For a beginner and well into the intermediate stage, just climbing consistently does most of the work, and it does it in the context of real movement so the strength is useful.",[17,14856,14857,14858,2451,14861,12058],{},"So the first piece of advice for finger strength without injuries is almost anticlimactic: climb regularly, do not skip rest days, and let your fingers toughen up over months of normal sessions before you go looking for dedicated finger training. There is sound guidance in ",[9853,14859,14860],{"href":9540},"building finger strength without getting hurt",[9853,14862,14863],{"href":8844},"looking after your fingers",[12,14865,14867],{"id":14866},"warming-up-is-not-optional","Warming up is not optional",[17,14869,14870],{},"If you do nothing else from this article, warm your fingers up properly before you load them hard. Cold tendons are stiff and far more likely to complain, and the difference a proper warm-up makes is enormous.",[17,14872,14873],{},"A sensible finger warm-up builds gradually:",[70,14875,14876,14879,14882,14885,14888],{},[73,14877,14878],{},"Start with some general movement to get blood flowing, arms and shoulders too",[73,14880,14881],{},"Climb easy problems on big holds, well below your limit, for a good while",[73,14883,14884],{},"Move onto slightly smaller holds and steeper ground gradually",[73,14886,14887],{},"Do a few easy hangs or pulls on a hangboard before any maximal hang",[73,14889,14890],{},"Only go to your hardest crimps once everything feels warm and ready",[17,14892,14893,14894,12058],{},"The temptation, especially on a board or a hangboard at home, is to skip straight to the hard stuff because it is right there. That is exactly when fingers get hurt. There is good detail in ",[9853,14895,14896],{"href":6956},"a warm-up that actually prepares you to climb",[12,14898,14900],{"id":14899},"vary-your-grips","Vary your grips",[17,14902,14903],{},"A subtle cause of finger trouble is doing everything in the same grip, usually a hard, full crimp with the thumb wrapped, because it feels powerful. The full crimp puts the most stress on your pulleys of any grip. Relying on it constantly loads the same vulnerable tissue over and over.",[17,14905,14906],{},"The fix is to deliberately use a range of grips and to favour the gentler ones:",[70,14908,14909,14915,14921],{},[73,14910,14911,14914],{},[76,14912,14913],{},"Open hand or half crimp"," for most of your climbing and training, kinder on pulleys",[73,14916,14917,14920],{},[76,14918,14919],{},"Full crimp"," sparingly, when a hold genuinely demands it",[73,14922,14923,14926],{},[76,14924,14925],{},"Pinches and slopers"," to load the fingers in different ways and build all-round strength",[17,14928,14929,14930,12058],{},"Building this variety not only spreads the load and reduces injury risk, it makes you a more adaptable climber. The differences between grips are laid out in ",[9853,14931,14932],{"href":10745},"crimp or open hand, reading the hold",[12,14934,14936],{"id":14935},"if-and-when-you-hangboard","If and when you hangboard",[17,14938,14939],{},"A hangboard is an effective, controllable way to build finger strength, and it is also a very efficient way to hurt yourself if you rush in. The controllability cuts both ways: there is no movement to distract you, just your fingers on an edge taking load.",[17,14941,14942],{},"A few rules for hangboarding without injury:",[70,14944,14945,14948,14951,14954,14957],{},[73,14946,14947],{},"Do not start hangboarding until you have a year or more of regular climbing behind you",[73,14949,14950],{},"Always warm up thoroughly first, never hang cold",[73,14952,14953],{},"Use bigger edges and lower intensity to begin with, and progress glacially",[73,14955,14956],{},"Stop the moment you feel any sharp or unusual finger pain, not after",[73,14958,14959],{},"Build it in once or twice a week with full rest, not daily",[17,14961,14962,14963,2451,14965,14969],{},"The crucial mindset is patience. Hangboard progress that feels frustratingly slow is hangboard progress that does not injure you. Rushing the loading is the single most common way climbers tweak fingers on the board. ",[9853,14964,7387],{"href":7501},[9853,14966,14968],{"href":14967},"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-hangboard-routine-for-busy-weeks","a hangboard routine for busy weeks"," cover the practical side.",[12,14971,14973],{"id":14972},"listen-to-the-early-warnings","Listen to the early warnings",[17,14975,14976],{},"Most finger injuries give you warning signs before the dramatic pop, and learning to heed them is what separates climbers who train for decades from those who keep getting sidelined. A bit of stiffness in the morning, a niggle in a specific finger after sessions, a hold that suddenly feels tender to pull on, these are your body asking you to back off. The macho instinct to climb through finger pain is exactly the wrong one. A few days of rest now is a far better deal than a few months off later.",[17,14978,14979],{},"Build deload weeks in, where you climb easier and less, especially when life is stressful or sleep is poor, because tissue recovers when you let it. And accept that finger strength is the most patient project in climbing. There is no shortcut to resilient fingers, only consistent loading over a long time with enough rest to adapt.",[17,14981,14982],{},"Strong fingers are worth the wait, and they do not have to come at the price of injury. Climb regularly, warm up like you mean it, vary your grips, leave dedicated finger training until you have a base, progress any loading painfully slowly, and respect the early warning niggles. Do that and your fingers will quietly get stronger year on year, ready for the next grade rather than nursing the last tweak. The strongest climbers are very often just the ones who never had to stop.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":14984},[14985,14986,14987,14988,14989,14990],{"id":14835,"depth":132,"text":14836},{"id":14850,"depth":132,"text":14851},{"id":14866,"depth":132,"text":14867},{"id":14899,"depth":132,"text":14900},{"id":14935,"depth":132,"text":14936},{"id":14972,"depth":132,"text":14973},"2023-12-29","Strong fingers win at climbing, but they are also where most of us get hurt. Here is how to build grip strength steadily without tweaking a tendon.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1767708148502-6794daf98a23?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A rocky slope under a clear sky",{},{"title":14827,"description":14992},"blog\u002Ffinger-strength-without-the-injuries",[162,290,1242,7505],"Wgp1Ul819JPLDqYzG8Cwza_qKmnBUxqIYOsBjHqhLo8",{"id":15001,"title":15002,"author":7,"body":15003,"category":2464,"date":15182,"description":15183,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":15184,"imageAlt":15185,"imageCredit":15186,"imageCreditUrl":15187,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":15188,"navigation":152,"path":15189,"readTime":154,"seo":15190,"stem":15191,"tags":15192,"__hash__":15195},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffalling-and-down-climbing-without-the-fear.md","Falling and down-climbing without the fear",{"type":9,"value":15004,"toc":15174},[15005,15008,15011,15015,15018,15021,15026,15030,15033,15036,15050,15053,15063,15067,15070,15073,15076,15090,15093,15097,15100,15161,15164,15168,15171],[17,15006,15007],{},"The first time I watched a regular drop off a boulder problem on purpose, two moves below the top, I thought something had gone wrong. They landed soft, rolled back, and shook their hands out like nothing had happened. Nothing had. They had simply decided the next move was not on that day, and stepping off was the sensible thing to do. That small, undramatic act is one of the most useful skills in climbing, and almost nobody teaches it.",[17,15009,15010],{},"Falling and down-climbing are the two things that quietly cap how hard most new climbers will push. You can have the fingers and the footwork, but if some part of your brain is bracing for a bad landing, you will hold back without even noticing. The good news is that both are learnable, and you do not need to be brave to get good at them. You need a method.",[12,15012,15014],{"id":15013},"why-your-body-fights-you","Why your body fights you",[17,15016,15017],{},"When you are gripped, your body does sensible prehistoric things. It tenses, it grabs harder, it tries to keep you exactly where you are. That is great if you are about to fall off a cliff and terrible if you are two feet above a thick mat and need to commit to a move. The fear is real and worth respecting, but on safe terrain it is usually out of proportion to the actual risk.",[17,15019,15020],{},"The way through is not to ignore the fear. It is to give your body enough good data that it stops sounding the alarm. Every controlled fall you take onto a mat, where you land fine and walk away, is a small deposit in that account. Do enough of them and the alarm goes quiet on its own.",[3878,15022,15023],{},[17,15024,15025],{},"You are not trying to become fearless. You are trying to teach your nervous system that a fall onto the mat is a non-event, so it stops hijacking your decisions on the wall.",[12,15027,15029],{"id":15028},"learning-to-fall-well","Learning to fall well",[17,15031,15032],{},"Falling badly is what people are actually afraid of, and that fear is justified. Most bouldering injuries that are not finger-related come from landing wrong. So before you practise falling, learn the shape of a good landing.",[17,15034,15035],{},"The basics, indoors onto a soft mat:",[70,15037,15038,15041,15044,15047],{},[73,15039,15040],{},"Land on both feet, knees soft and slightly bent, never locked straight.",[73,15042,15043],{},"Let your legs collapse and roll backwards onto your bum and then your back, spreading the impact.",[73,15045,15046],{},"Keep your arms in. Do not put a hand out behind you to brace, that is how wrists break.",[73,15048,15049],{},"Look where you are dropping so you can spot the mat, the edges, and anyone nearby.",[17,15051,15052],{},"Practise this from low down first. Pull onto an easy problem, get a foot or two off the ground, and just let go and land properly. Do it ten times. Then go a little higher. You are drilling the landing, not testing your nerve. Once a soft, rolling landing is automatic, height becomes far less frightening because your body already knows what to do when you arrive.",[17,15054,15055,15056,15058,15059,15062],{},"If falling onto rock outside is on your mind, that is a different conversation about pad placement and spotting, and the stakes are higher. Our piece on ",[9853,15057,14151],{"href":3406}," goes into that properly. For roped climbing, working with a fall is its own skill, and ",[9853,15060,15061],{"href":14230},"the fear of falling, and how to work with it"," is worth a read.",[12,15064,15066],{"id":15065},"down-climbing-the-skill-nobody-mentions","Down-climbing, the skill nobody mentions",[17,15068,15069],{},"Here is the thing about topping out a boulder problem: you still have to get down. A lot of new climbers heave themselves over the top, then realise they are now standing on a tall block with no obvious way off, and the panic arrives late. Down-climbing solves this, and it is also a genuinely useful skill for bailing off a problem you do not want to commit to.",[17,15071,15072],{},"Climbing down feels awkward at first because you cannot see your feet as easily and the moves run in reverse. But it trains your footwork harder than going up, because you have to trust feet you can barely see and weight them precisely. Many strong climbers down-climb their warm-up problems deliberately for exactly this reason.",[17,15074,15075],{},"A simple way in:",[3894,15077,15078,15081,15084,15087],{},[73,15079,15080],{},"Pick an easy problem you can already do comfortably.",[73,15082,15083],{},"Climb to the top, then reverse it move by move back to the floor.",[73,15085,15086],{},"Move slowly. Look down, spot a foothold, weight it, then move a hand.",[73,15088,15089],{},"When it gets too hard to reverse cleanly, that is your cue to drop, and now you get to practise the landing.",[17,15091,15092],{},"Down-climbing and falling feed each other. The better you are at reversing moves, the less often you need to fall, and the calmer you are when you do.",[3986,15094,15096],{"id":15095},"a-simple-progression","A simple progression",[17,15098,15099],{},"If you want a structure to follow over a few sessions:",[3925,15101,15102,15115],{},[3928,15103,15104],{},[3931,15105,15106,15109,15112],{},[3934,15107,15108],{},"Session focus",[3934,15110,15111],{},"What to practise",[3934,15113,15114],{},"What it builds",[3942,15116,15117,15128,15139,15150],{},[3931,15118,15119,15122,15125],{},[3947,15120,15121],{},"Landings",[3947,15123,15124],{},"Drop and roll from low height, ten reps",[3947,15126,15127],{},"A safe, automatic landing",[3931,15129,15130,15133,15136],{},[3947,15131,15132],{},"Controlled falls",[3947,15134,15135],{},"Let go a move higher each time",[3947,15137,15138],{},"Trust in the mat",[3931,15140,15141,15144,15147],{},[3947,15142,15143],{},"Reversing",[3947,15145,15146],{},"Down-climb every easy problem",[3947,15148,15149],{},"Footwork and a calm exit",[3931,15151,15152,15155,15158],{},[3947,15153,15154],{},"Putting it together",[3947,15156,15157],{},"On a real attempt, choose to down-climb or fall",[3947,15159,15160],{},"Real decisions under mild pressure",[17,15162,15163],{},"None of this needs to happen in one session. Spread it out. A few minutes at the start of each visit, while you are warm but fresh, adds up faster than you would think.",[12,15165,15167],{"id":15166},"let-the-fear-shrink-on-its-own","Let the fear shrink on its own",[17,15169,15170],{},"The aim is not to swagger up to the top of everything and huck yourself off without a thought. Plenty of excellent climbers are sensibly cautious, and good judgement about when to commit and when to step off is part of the craft, not a weakness. What you are after is the freedom to make those decisions clearly, rather than having them made for you by a body that is bracing for the worst.",[17,15172,15173],{},"Start low, keep the landings soft, and down-climb the easy stuff until it feels boring. Do that consistently and one day you will catch yourself stepping off a problem two moves from the top, landing soft, shaking your hands out, and thinking nothing of it. That is the whole goal, and it sneaks up on you quietly.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":15175},[15176,15177,15178,15181],{"id":15013,"depth":132,"text":15014},{"id":15028,"depth":132,"text":15029},{"id":15065,"depth":132,"text":15066,"children":15179},[15180],{"id":15095,"depth":4021,"text":15096},{"id":15166,"depth":132,"text":15167},"2023-12-22","Two skills that quietly hold most new climbers back, and a calm, practical way to build confidence in both falling and reversing moves.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1602680119228-5d82e8e6f668?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Trees on a rocky mountainside","Dmitry Sumskoy","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@sumskoydmitry",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffalling-and-down-climbing-without-the-fear",{"title":15002,"description":15183},"blog\u002Ffalling-and-down-climbing-without-the-fear",[562,10099,13548,15193,15194],"falling","confidence","4-mqjMoKT06BlimlXeOBCEw6yCHDk2IdZMtBfSglKqo",{"id":15197,"title":15198,"author":7,"body":15199,"category":1904,"date":15392,"description":15393,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":15394,"imageAlt":15395,"imageCredit":15396,"imageCreditUrl":15397,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":15398,"navigation":152,"path":15399,"readTime":154,"seo":15400,"stem":15401,"tags":15402,"__hash__":15404},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhen-to-resole-versus-replace.md","When to resole versus replace",{"type":9,"value":15200,"toc":15385},[15201,15204,15207,15211,15214,15217,15237,15240,15245,15249,15252,15255,15259,15262,15265,15334,15343,15347,15350,15378,15382],[17,15202,15203],{},"There is a specific kind of denial that climbers do about their shoes. You know the toe has gone thin. You can feel the texture of the wall through it on hard toe holds. But the shoes are broken in just right, they fit like a second skin, and so you keep climbing on them, telling yourself one more session, until one day you push through the rubber entirely and the puzzle changes from \"should I resole\" to \"have I ruined these\". Knowing where that line sits will save you money and save your favourite pair.",[17,15205,15206],{},"Resoling is straightforward in principle. A cobbler who specialises in climbing shoes strips off the worn rubber and bonds on fresh, usually for a fraction of the price of a new pair. Done in time, it brings a beloved shoe back to near-new performance. Done too late, it cannot, because the damage has spread past the part that resoling fixes.",[12,15208,15210],{"id":15209},"how-a-climbing-shoe-wears-out","How a climbing shoe wears out",[17,15212,15213],{},"The rubber on a climbing shoe does most of its dying at the toe, because that is where you stand on small edges, smear, and toe-hook. The thin strip of rubber wrapping the very front of the shoe is the first casualty. Underneath the rubber sits the rand, a band that holds the shoe's shape and tension, and beneath everything the leather or synthetic upper.",[17,15215,15216],{},"The order in which these fail is what matters:",[70,15218,15219,15225,15231],{},[73,15220,15221,15224],{},[76,15222,15223],{},"The sole rubber goes first."," It thins under the ball of the foot and at the toe. This is normal and exactly what a resole replaces.",[73,15226,15227,15230],{},[76,15228,15229],{},"The toe rand goes next",", if you keep climbing on worn soles. Once you wear through to the rand, a resole gets more involved and a touch more expensive, but it is usually still doable.",[73,15232,15233,15236],{},[76,15234,15235],{},"The upper or the shape goes last."," Once the shoe has lost its tension or you have blown through into the upper, even a good resole will not bring back the performance.",[17,15238,15239],{},"The whole game is catching the shoe at the first stage.",[3878,15241,15242],{},[17,15243,15244],{},"The cheapest resole is the one you book before you can see the rand. Wait until you can, and you are gambling with the part that makes the shoe worth saving.",[12,15246,15248],{"id":15247},"the-signs-it-is-time-to-resole","The signs it is time to resole",[17,15250,15251],{},"Get into the habit of looking at the toe of your shoes at the end of a session, not just feeling for performance. You are looking for the rubber at the very front getting thin and shiny, the edge softening so it no longer bites on small holds, and the texture of the wall starting to come through when you stand on something tiny.",[17,15253,15254],{},"A reliable home test: look at the toe in good light. If you can see the colour of the rand starting to show through a translucent thinning of the sole, you are right at the resole window. Book it. If there is a clear hole and you can see the rand directly, you have left it slightly late but a resole is usually still on. If the rand itself is worn or holed, you need a rand repair as well, and the cost climbs.",[12,15256,15258],{"id":15257},"when-to-replace-instead","When to replace instead",[17,15260,15261],{},"Resoling is not always the answer. A new pair makes more sense when the upper has stretched and the shoe no longer fits snugly, when you have worn through past the rand into the structure, or when the shoe is simply tired all over and you have moved on as a climber and want a different shape anyway. There is also a point of diminishing returns: a cheap pair that was near the end of its life may cost more to resole and post than it is worth.",[17,15263,15264],{},"Here is a rough way to think about it:",[3925,15266,15267,15280],{},[3928,15268,15269],{},[3931,15270,15271,15274,15277],{},[3934,15272,15273],{},"Situation",[3934,15275,15276],{},"Resole",[3934,15278,15279],{},"Replace",[3942,15281,15282,15292,15303,15314,15324],{},[3931,15283,15284,15287,15290],{},[3947,15285,15286],{},"Toe rubber thin, rand intact",[3947,15288,15289],{},"Yes, ideally now",[3947,15291,14528],{},[3931,15293,15294,15297,15300],{},[3947,15295,15296],{},"Worn through to the rand",[3947,15298,15299],{},"Yes, with a rand repair",[3947,15301,15302],{},"Maybe",[3931,15304,15305,15308,15311],{},[3947,15306,15307],{},"Through the rand into the upper",[3947,15309,15310],{},"Rarely worth it",[3947,15312,15313],{},"Yes",[3931,15315,15316,15319,15322],{},[3947,15317,15318],{},"Upper stretched, fit gone loose",[3947,15320,15321],{},"No, this is structural",[3947,15323,15313],{},[3931,15325,15326,15329,15332],{},[3947,15327,15328],{},"Shoe shape no longer suits you",[3947,15330,15331],{},"No point",[3947,15333,15313],{},[17,15335,15336,15337,15339,15340,15342],{},"If you are still working out what shape actually suits your climbing, our guide to ",[9853,15338,14583],{"href":13737}," is a good starting point, and ",[9853,15341,13685],{"href":13684}," goes deeper on feel.",[12,15344,15346],{"id":15345},"making-your-shoes-last-between-resoles","Making your shoes last between resoles",[17,15348,15349],{},"You cannot stop a climbing shoe wearing out, but you can slow it down and stretch the gap between resoles.",[3894,15351,15352,15360,15366,15372],{},[73,15353,15354,15357,15358,12058],{},[76,15355,15356],{},"Stop dragging your toes."," Sloppy footwork, where you scrape your toe up the wall before placing it, scrubs rubber off fast. Quiet, precise feet last longer and climb better, which is the whole point of ",[9853,15359,13479],{"href":13478},[73,15361,15362,15365],{},[76,15363,15364],{},"Take them off between climbs."," Walking around in tight shoes, standing on grit and metal, wears the rubber for no benefit at all.",[73,15367,15368,15371],{},[76,15369,15370],{},"Keep them dry and out of the heat."," Do not leave them in a hot car or on a radiator. Heat degrades the glue and the rubber, and sweat-soaked shoes left damp will smell and break down faster.",[73,15373,15374,15377],{},[76,15375,15376],{},"Brush off grit"," before it grinds into the sole.",[12,15379,15381],{"id":15380},"the-honest-takeaway","The honest takeaway",[17,15383,15384],{},"Most climbers replace shoes they should have resoled and resole shoes they should have replaced. The fix is just attention: glance at the toe at the end of every few sessions, learn what your particular shoes look like as they thin, and act at the first hint of the rand showing rather than waiting for a hole. Do that and a pair you love can serve you for years across several resoles, climbing as well in its third life as its first. Look after the rubber, and the rubber looks after you.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":15386},[15387,15388,15389,15390,15391],{"id":15209,"depth":132,"text":15210},{"id":15247,"depth":132,"text":15248},{"id":15257,"depth":132,"text":15258},{"id":15345,"depth":132,"text":15346},{"id":15380,"depth":132,"text":15381},"2023-12-15","How to read the wear on your climbing shoes and decide whether a resole will bring them back or it is genuinely time for a new pair.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1759660020218-f7a558a5e61b?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A rock face against a blue sky","Raymond Petrik","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@raymondpetrik",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhen-to-resole-versus-replace",{"title":15198,"description":15393},"blog\u002Fwhen-to-resole-versus-replace",[1822,13741,13742,2440,15403],"resole","TN-X-4QEHbWGNwngRAlNjU2HsY9COTrPaGIdiVn_eK0",{"id":15406,"title":15407,"author":7,"body":15408,"category":1703,"date":15603,"description":15604,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":15605,"imageAlt":15606,"imageCredit":15607,"imageCreditUrl":15608,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":15609,"navigation":152,"path":15610,"readTime":154,"seo":15611,"stem":15612,"tags":15613,"__hash__":15616},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-moonboard-versus-the-kilter-honestly.md","The Moonboard versus the Kilter, honestly",{"type":9,"value":15409,"toc":15595},[15410,15413,15420,15424,15427,15430,15435,15439,15442,15445,15449,15531,15534,15538,15544,15547,15550,15554,15557,15588,15592],[17,15411,15412],{},"Walk into a decent training-focused wall in the UK and you will usually find at least one of them: the Moonboard, often tucked in a corner with a small crowd of quiet, focused people taking long rests, or the Kilter, lit up like a fruit machine with everyone cheering each other on. They are the two best-known systems boards, they look superficially similar, and they train you in genuinely different ways. If you only get time on one, it is worth knowing which.",[17,15414,15415,15416,15419],{},"Both are standardised boards, meaning the hold layout is the same wherever you go, problems are shared through an app, and a grade on the board roughly means the same thing in Sheffield as it does in San Diego. That is the whole appeal of a systems board, and if the idea is new to you, ",[9853,15417,15418],{"href":11149},"why train on a systems board"," lays out the case.",[12,15421,15423],{"id":15422},"what-the-moonboard-is-like","What the Moonboard is like",[17,15425,15426],{},"The Moonboard is unforgiving and proud of it. It sits at a fixed steep angle, the holds are mostly small, positive but sharp wooden and resin shapes, and the footholds are limited and deliberately poor. There is no adjustable angle. You climb what the board gives you, and what it gives you is a lot of hard pulling on small holds at a steep angle.",[17,15428,15429],{},"The result is a board that builds raw power and finger strength quickly, because there is nowhere to hide. You cannot smear your way out of a bad position or find a sneaky foot. You have to pull hard, hold tension, and move with intent. The grading is famously stiff. A grade on the Moonboard tends to feel harder than the same number elsewhere, which is humbling at first and useful once you accept it.",[3878,15431,15432],{},[17,15433,15434],{},"The Moonboard does not flatter you. It is the climbing equivalent of a coach who only tells you what you got wrong, and for a certain kind of climber that is exactly what works.",[12,15436,15438],{"id":15437},"what-the-kilter-is-like","What the Kilter is like",[17,15440,15441],{},"The Kilter is built around adjustable angle and LED-lit holds. You set the wall anywhere from gently overhanging to brutally steep, and the holds light up to show you the problem. The holds themselves come in a huge range, from tiny crimps to big friendly jugs and slopers, so the board can serve a complete beginner and a hardened crusher on the same panel just by changing the angle and the problem.",[17,15443,15444],{},"That flexibility is its strength. You can warm up at a shallow angle on big holds, then crank the wall over for power work, all without leaving the board. The grading runs softer and more generous than the Moonboard, and the social, lit-up nature of it makes it a friendlier place to be. The flip side is that it is easy to coast, picking holds that are too good and angles that are too kind, and never really pushing.",[12,15446,15448],{"id":15447},"a-side-by-side-look","A side-by-side look",[3925,15450,15451,15463],{},[3928,15452,15453],{},[3931,15454,15455,15457,15460],{},[3934,15456],{},[3934,15458,15459],{},"Moonboard",[3934,15461,15462],{},"Kilter",[3942,15464,15465,15476,15487,15498,15509,15520],{},[3931,15466,15467,15470,15473],{},[3947,15468,15469],{},"Angle",[3947,15471,15472],{},"Fixed and steep",[3947,15474,15475],{},"Fully adjustable",[3931,15477,15478,15481,15484],{},[3947,15479,15480],{},"Holds",[3947,15482,15483],{},"Small, sharp, limited feet",[3947,15485,15486],{},"Huge range, often friendlier",[3931,15488,15489,15492,15495],{},[3947,15490,15491],{},"Grading",[3947,15493,15494],{},"Stiff, humbling",[3947,15496,15497],{},"Softer, more generous",[3931,15499,15500,15503,15506],{},[3947,15501,15502],{},"Best for",[3947,15504,15505],{},"Power and finger strength",[3947,15507,15508],{},"Versatility, beginners to elite",[3931,15510,15511,15514,15517],{},[3947,15512,15513],{},"Atmosphere",[3947,15515,15516],{},"Quiet, focused, intense",[3947,15518,15519],{},"Social, lit-up, encouraging",[3931,15521,15522,15525,15528],{},[3947,15523,15524],{},"Risk",[3947,15526,15527],{},"Easy to get hurt if you rush in",[3947,15529,15530],{},"Easy to coast and not push",[17,15532,15533],{},"Neither column is the \"right\" one. They are tools with different edges.",[12,15535,15537],{"id":15536},"which-one-suits-you","Which one suits you",[17,15539,15540,15541,15543],{},"If you are reasonably experienced, your fingers are conditioned, and you want a focused tool to build power and contact strength, the Moonboard is hard to beat. It does one thing and does it relentlessly. The catch is that the small, sharp holds and steep angle are demanding on fingers and shoulders, so it is not where a newer climber should be spending their sessions. Easing in without hurting yourself matters, and ",[9853,15542,13914],{"href":13913}," is essential reading before you commit.",[17,15545,15546],{},"If you want one board that can grow with you, that you can warm up on, that suits a beginner and still has plenty to offer when you are strong, the Kilter is the more sensible all-rounder. The adjustable angle alone makes it more forgiving on the body, and you can dial the difficulty so that a bad day still gives you a workout rather than a beating. The trade is that you have to bring the discipline yourself, because the board will happily let you take it easy.",[17,15548,15549],{},"A practical middle path, if your wall has both: warm up and build volume on the Kilter, then do your hardest, most focused power efforts on the Moonboard once you are fully warm and your fingers are ready.",[12,15551,15553],{"id":15552},"how-to-actually-use-either-one","How to actually use either one",[17,15555,15556],{},"Whichever board you end up on, the same principles make it work:",[70,15558,15559,15565,15576,15582],{},[73,15560,15561,15564],{},[76,15562,15563],{},"Warm up properly first."," Both boards are steep and finger-intensive, and going at them cold is how people tweak pulleys.",[73,15566,15567,15570,15571,15575],{},[76,15568,15569],{},"Pick benchmarks."," Both apps flag well-tested benchmark problems. These are the ones whose grades you can trust, which makes ",[9853,15572,15574],{"href":15573},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbenchmarks-and-why-they-matter","benchmarks, and why they matter"," worth understanding.",[73,15577,15578,15581],{},[76,15579,15580],{},"Rest like you mean it."," Power work needs long rests between attempts, not the quick turnaround you might use on easy circuits.",[73,15583,15584,15587],{},[76,15585,15586],{},"Log it."," A board's grades are consistent enough that tracking your sessions actually tells you something.",[12,15589,15591],{"id":15590},"the-honest-answer","The honest answer",[17,15593,15594],{},"There is no winner here, only fit. The Moonboard will make you stronger faster if your body is ready for it and you have the discipline to rest hard between burns. The Kilter will serve you across a wider range of days, moods and ability levels, and is the safer place to start. Most climbers who have access to both end up using each for what it does best. If you only have one at your wall, do not lose sleep over it. The board you actually train on consistently beats the perfect board you visit twice a month.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":15596},[15597,15598,15599,15600,15601,15602],{"id":15422,"depth":132,"text":15423},{"id":15437,"depth":132,"text":15438},{"id":15447,"depth":132,"text":15448},{"id":15536,"depth":132,"text":15537},{"id":15552,"depth":132,"text":15553},{"id":15590,"depth":132,"text":15591},"2023-12-08","A straight comparison of the two best-known systems boards, what each one teaches, and which is likely to suit you and your goals.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1777364701608-88711c9046ff?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A rugged cliff face","Bruno BD","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@brunobd",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-moonboard-versus-the-kilter-honestly",{"title":15407,"description":15604},"blog\u002Fthe-moonboard-versus-the-kilter-honestly",[1715,13942,162,15614,15615],"moonboard","kilter","SjSkyN-Yct4X_5TESfxaLB34bScp073IOZjJsSKKYvE",{"id":15618,"title":15619,"author":7,"body":15620,"category":2555,"date":15717,"description":15718,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":15719,"imageAlt":15720,"imageCredit":2560,"imageCreditUrl":2561,"imageType":2562,"mapArea":15721,"mapLabel":15726,"mapLat":4141,"mapLng":4142,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":4143,"meta":15727,"navigation":152,"path":15728,"readTime":154,"seo":15729,"stem":15730,"tags":15731,"__hash__":15732},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffont-what-the-hype-is-actually-about.md","Font: what the hype is actually about",{"type":9,"value":15621,"toc":15711},[15622,15625,15628,15632,15635,15638,15643,15647,15650,15656,15660,15663,15695,15698,15701,15705,15708],[17,15623,15624],{},"Ask a boulderer where they would go if they could pick anywhere, and a surprising number will say the same thing without hesitation: Font. Short for Fontainebleau, the forest south of Paris that has been the spiritual home of bouldering for well over a century. It gets talked about with a reverence that can seem overblown until you go, stand under one of those rounded sandstone bulges, and put your hands on it. Then it makes sense.",[17,15626,15627],{},"The hype is real, but it is not the hype you might expect. Font is not famous for being the steepest or the most spectacular. It is famous for being the most subtle, the most technical, and the most humbling place a lot of climbers will ever pull on.",[12,15629,15631],{"id":15630},"the-rock-is-the-whole-story","The rock is the whole story",[17,15633,15634],{},"Fontainebleau is sandstone, and not the gritty, sharp sandstone you might know from elsewhere. It is fine-grained and rounded, sculpted by time into bulges, scoops and slopers that have almost no positive edges at all. Where other crags give you crimps and jugs to pull on, Font gives you rounded blobs you have to trust, smear and squeeze rather than grip.",[17,15636,15637],{},"This changes everything about how you climb. Power gets you nowhere on a Font slab. What works is balance, precise feet, body tension and a kind of patient faith in friction. Climbers who arrive strong and used to overhanging gyms often spend their first few days falling off problems several grades below their usual, baffled, while a calm local floats up something that looks impossible. That is the famous Font lesson, and it humbles almost everyone.",[3878,15639,15640],{},[17,15641,15642],{},"Font does not reward the climber who pulls hardest. It rewards the one who stands on their feet, stays soft, and believes in a sloper they cannot feel any edge on.",[12,15644,15646],{"id":15645},"the-grading-and-the-circuits","The grading and the circuits",[17,15648,15649],{},"Font has its own grading flavour and a unique way of organising problems. Boulders are grouped into colour-coded circuits, where a single colour links a series of problems of roughly similar difficulty into a journey around an area. You can spend a morning following a circuit, ticking off problem after problem, which is a brilliant way to build volume and get used to the rock.",[17,15651,15652,15653,15655],{},"The grades use the font scale, the same scale you will see on bouldering problems at home written as things like 6A or 7B+. The catch is that Font grades are the original benchmark for that scale, and they can feel notably stiff, especially on the slabs and slopers where technique is everything. A 6A in the forest can feel harder than a 6A indoors, and that is part of the place's character rather than a fault. If the scale itself is new to you, ",[9853,15654,14728],{"href":9280}," untangles it.",[12,15657,15659],{"id":15658},"what-to-expect-on-a-first-trip","What to expect on a first trip",[17,15661,15662],{},"A few honest things nobody tells you before your first visit:",[70,15664,15665,15673,15679,15689],{},[73,15666,15667,15670,15671,12058],{},[76,15668,15669],{},"Conditions are king."," Sandstone is at its best when it is cold and dry. Warm, humid days turn slopers into grease, and the whole forest climbs a grade or more harder. This is why everyone there seems obsessed with the weather, a habit worth understanding before you go via ",[9853,15672,13992],{"href":13991},[73,15674,15675,15678],{},[76,15676,15677],{},"Skin matters more than usual."," The rough sandstone eats fingertips. Two or three hard days in a row and your skin will be the thing that stops you, not your strength.",[73,15680,15681,15684,15685,15688],{},[76,15682,15683],{},"Look after the rock."," Wet sandstone is fragile and holds have broken from people climbing on it damp. The etiquette is firm: stay off it when it is wet, brush off your tick marks and chalk, and tread lightly. ",[9853,15686,15687],{"href":12149},"Crag etiquette and access, the basics"," covers the principles.",[73,15690,15691,15694],{},[76,15692,15693],{},"Bring or hire enough pads."," Some landings are flat and friendly, others are uneven and rocky, and a couple of pads and a spotter make a real difference.",[17,15696,15697],{},"The forest itself is part of the draw. It is genuinely beautiful, easy to wander in, and the walking between problems through pine and silver birch is half the pleasure. You can climb hard or you can mooch around a circuit chatting, and both are completely valid ways to spend a day.",[17,15699,15700],{},"It is also worth saying that Font is not only for the strong. The colour circuits start at genuinely easy grades, so a relative beginner can have a brilliant trip ticking off a gentle circuit while the crushers throw themselves at the testpieces nearby. The forest is generous like that. The same rounded sandstone that humbles a strong gym climber is also forgiving and friendly on the easier lines, with big rounded tops and soft landings on much of the easier ground.",[12,15702,15704],{"id":15703},"why-it-gets-under-your-skin","Why it gets under your skin",[17,15706,15707],{},"Plenty of places have harder problems and bigger lines. What Font has is a particular feeling that climbers chase for years. It is the satisfaction of finally trusting a sloper you would have walked away from on day one. It is topping out a rounded boulder with a view over the trees, having solved it with your feet and your patience rather than brute force. It is the way the place quietly rewires how you climb, so that you come home a more precise, more balanced climber whether you wanted to be or not.",[17,15709,15710],{},"If you go, go in cool weather, manage your skin, climb a few full circuits to soak in the variety, and accept early that you will fall off things you think you should walk up. That acceptance is the doorway. Once you stop fighting the rock and start listening to it, Font becomes the best teacher in bouldering, and you will understand exactly why people talk about it the way they do.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":15712},[15713,15714,15715,15716],{"id":15630,"depth":132,"text":15631},{"id":15645,"depth":132,"text":15646},{"id":15658,"depth":132,"text":15659},{"id":15703,"depth":132,"text":15704},"2023-12-01","Why Fontainebleau holds an almost mythical place in bouldering, what makes the climbing there so distinctive, and what to expect on a first visit.","\u002Fsatellites\u002Ffont-what-the-hype-is-actually-about.jpg","Satellite view of Fontainebleau (Franchard), France",[15722,15723,15724,15725],[4129,4130],[4132,4133],[4135,4136],[4138,4139],"Fontainebleau (Franchard), France",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffont-what-the-hype-is-actually-about",{"title":15619,"description":15718},"blog\u002Ffont-what-the-hype-is-actually-about",[2589,14091,3168,4150,293],"VgnSTALnoOrZt6f3c8Xk9rAWPaSnZSo-6zY3M9DZliE",{"id":15734,"title":15735,"author":7,"body":15736,"category":2785,"date":15844,"description":15845,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":15846,"imageAlt":15847,"imageCredit":15848,"imageCreditUrl":15849,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":15850,"navigation":152,"path":15851,"readTime":154,"seo":15852,"stem":15853,"tags":15854,"__hash__":15856},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-comparison-kills-your-climbing.md","Why comparison kills your climbing",{"type":9,"value":15737,"toc":15836},[15738,15741,15744,15748,15751,15754,15757,15762,15766,15769,15776,15780,15783,15785,15814,15818,15826,15830,15833],[17,15739,15740],{},"There is a moment a lot of climbers will recognise. You are working a problem at the edge of your ability, properly invested, falling and trying again, when someone strolls over, pulls on, and floats up it first go. Suddenly the problem you were proud to be attempting feels small, your effort feels embarrassing, and the session sours. Nothing about your climbing changed in those ten seconds. Only your story about it did. That story, told often enough, is one of the quietest ways climbers hold themselves back.",[17,15742,15743],{},"Comparison is almost impossible to avoid in a sport with numbers attached to everything. Grades invite it. The wall is full of other people doing visible things at visible difficulties. But left unchecked, the habit of measuring yourself against everyone else does real damage, and it is worth understanding how.",[12,15745,15747],{"id":15746},"what-comparison-actually-costs-you","What comparison actually costs you",[17,15749,15750],{},"The obvious cost is enjoyment. Climbing is supposed to be fun, and constantly ranking yourself against strangers is a reliable way to make it stressful. But there are subtler costs too.",[17,15752,15753],{},"Comparison distorts your choices. When you are worried about how you look, you avoid the problems you might fail on in public, which are precisely the problems that would make you better. You gravitate to things you can already do, where you look competent, and your progress stalls because you have stopped operating at your edge. The climber quietly flailing on something too hard for them is often improving faster than the one cruising things to protect their ego.",[17,15755,15756],{},"It also robs you of your own milestones. Send your first of a grade, a genuinely big moment, and if your first thought is that someone else did it years ago at half your age, the achievement evaporates before you have even enjoyed it.",[3878,15758,15759],{},[17,15760,15761],{},"The only climbing comparison that reliably helps is you against yourself a few months ago. Everyone else is climbing a different route through a different body with a different history.",[12,15763,15765],{"id":15764},"why-the-comparison-is-rigged-anyway","Why the comparison is rigged anyway",[17,15767,15768],{},"Even if you wanted to compare fairly, you cannot, because you are never seeing the full picture. The person who flashed your project might have been climbing for fifteen years. They might be built for that exact style, or have a wingspan that turns a desperate move into a reach. They might have wired that specific problem last week. You see five clean seconds and write a whole story about your own inadequacy from it, missing everything that came before.",[17,15770,15771,15772,15775],{},"Grades make this worse because they look objective. A V5 sounds like a fixed thing, the same for everyone, but grades are subjective, style-dependent and inconsistent between walls and crags. Your V5 nemesis and their V5 warm-up might share a number and almost nothing else. Treating that number as a clean ranking of human worth is a category error, and a stressful one. If grades feel more loaded than they should, ",[9853,15773,15774],{"href":14818},"the history of the grade"," is a useful bit of perspective on how arbitrary they really are.",[12,15777,15779],{"id":15778},"climbing-your-own-climb","Climbing your own climb",[17,15781,15782],{},"Breaking the habit is not about pretending you do not notice other people. It is about changing what you do with the noticing.",[17,15784,8625],{},[70,15786,15787,15796,15802,15808],{},[73,15788,15789,15792,15793,12058],{},[76,15790,15791],{},"Track your own progress, privately."," Log your sessions and look back over months, not days. Seeing your own line move up over time is far more motivating than any single comparison, and it is the whole reason ",[9853,15794,15795],{"href":12071},"why logging every session makes you a better climber",[73,15797,15798,15801],{},[76,15799,15800],{},"Define a good session by effort, not outcome."," Did you try hard, work something at your limit, learn a move? That is a win regardless of what anyone else did.",[73,15803,15804,15807],{},[76,15805,15806],{},"Use strong climbers as a resource, not a mirror."," Watch their footwork. Ask for beta. Steal what you can use. That turns the person who would have intimidated you into the best thing in the room.",[73,15809,15810,15813],{},[76,15811,15812],{},"Celebrate other people out loud."," Genuinely cheering a stranger's send breaks the rivalry framing and makes the whole wall a better place to be. It also tends to come back around.",[3986,15815,15817],{"id":15816},"when-the-comparison-is-with-your-past-self","When the comparison is with your past self",[17,15819,15820,15821,15825],{},"There is one comparison that can also turn toxic, and it is comparing yourself to a fitter, stronger version of you from before an injury or a busy stretch of life. That one needs care. Coming back is its own process, and expecting to pick up exactly where you left off is a recipe for frustration and reinjury. ",[9853,15822,15824],{"href":15823},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcoming-back-from-a-climbing-injury-mentally","Coming back from a climbing injury, mentally"," is worth a read if that is where you are.",[12,15827,15829],{"id":15828},"the-freedom-on-the-other-side","The freedom on the other side",[17,15831,15832],{},"The climbers who seem to enjoy this sport the most, year after year, are almost never the ones obsessed with where they rank. They are the ones absorbed in their own climbing, chuffed with their own progress, generous about everyone else's, and largely unbothered by what the strong person in the corner is doing. That is not because they lack ambition. Many of them are quietly very good. It is because they worked out that the comparison was a tax they did not have to pay.",[17,15834,15835],{},"You do not need to conquer the impulse overnight. Just start noticing when it shows up, name it for what it is, and gently steer back to your own session. The problem in front of you, the move you are trying to crack, the small progress you made today: that is your climbing, and it is the only one you can actually do anything about. Climb that one, and let the rest of the room get on with theirs.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":15837},[15838,15839,15840,15843],{"id":15746,"depth":132,"text":15747},{"id":15764,"depth":132,"text":15765},{"id":15778,"depth":132,"text":15779,"children":15841},[15842],{"id":15816,"depth":4021,"text":15817},{"id":15828,"depth":132,"text":15829},"2023-11-24","Measuring yourself against everyone else at the wall quietly drains the joy and progress out of climbing. Here is how to spot it and climb your own climb.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1759065455451-b7dc9cb7dd83?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A large rock formation under cloud","paws and prints","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@paws_and_prints",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-comparison-kills-your-climbing",{"title":15735,"description":15845},"blog\u002Fwhy-comparison-kills-your-climbing",[2796,3056,5081,13549,15855],"headgame","h8kMQx_kQ_bI83eMK1E7ZUVkVw9dNiBMBO1uGwvjpOs",{"id":15858,"title":15859,"author":7,"body":15860,"category":2366,"date":15967,"description":15968,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":15969,"imageAlt":15970,"imageCredit":15186,"imageCreditUrl":15187,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":15971,"navigation":152,"path":15972,"readTime":154,"seo":15973,"stem":15974,"tags":15975,"__hash__":15977},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fflash-send-and-redpoint-explained.md","Flash, send and redpoint, explained",{"type":9,"value":15861,"toc":15961},[15862,15865,15868,15872,15875,15878,15883,15887,15894,15904,15907,15927,15931,15937,15940,15948,15952,15955,15958],[17,15863,15864],{},"You finish a climb, drop to the mat, and your mate asks \"did you flash it?\" and you have no idea what they mean. So you nod, vaguely, and resolve to look it up later. It is one of those bits of climbing language that everyone seems to have absorbed by osmosis, and that nobody explains, partly because the words are simple and partly because the etiquette around them is not. Here is the whole thing, plainly.",[17,15866,15867],{},"The core idea is that in climbing, how you did a climb matters as much as whether you did it. The grade tells you the difficulty. These words tell you the style, and style is what climbers actually talk about.",[12,15869,15871],{"id":15870},"send-the-umbrella-word","Send: the umbrella word",[17,15873,15874],{},"\"Send\" is the broadest of the lot. To send a climb is to complete it cleanly, from the start to the finish, without falling or resting on the rope or otherwise cheating the difficulty. On a boulder problem it means you started at the proper start, did every move, and topped out or held the final hold under control. On a rope it means you climbed from the ground to the anchor without weighting the rope.",[17,15876,15877],{},"The word probably comes from \"send it\", the encouragement you hear shouted at someone about to commit to a hard move. It has become the catch-all term for success. When someone says they sent their project, they mean they finally did it clean. It does not, on its own, say anything about how many tries it took, and that is where the other words come in.",[3878,15879,15880],{},[17,15881,15882],{},"A send is a send, but climbers are nosy about style. The first question after \"did you send\" is almost always \"how\", because the how is the interesting part.",[12,15884,15886],{"id":15885},"flash-and-onsight-doing-it-first-go","Flash and onsight: doing it first go",[17,15888,15889,15890,15893],{},"A ",[76,15891,15892],{},"flash"," is sending a climb on your very first attempt, but with prior knowledge. You watched someone else do it, you got beta, you knew the sequence going in, and you executed it first try. It is a genuinely impressive thing because you have to read, remember and perform without any practice on the actual moves.",[17,15895,15896,15897,15900,15901,15903],{},"An ",[76,15898,15899],{},"onsight"," is the purest version of a first-go ascent. You climb it first try with no prior knowledge at all: you have never seen anyone on it, nobody has told you the beta, you have no idea what is coming. You read it as you go, on sight. Onsighting is prized because it tests everything at once, your strength, your route-reading and your nerve, with no safety net of foreknowledge. The distinction between these two comes down entirely to information, and ",[9853,15902,13460],{"href":13459}," explains the currency they trade in.",[17,15905,15906],{},"To keep them straight:",[70,15908,15909,15915,15921],{},[73,15910,15911,15914],{},[76,15912,15913],{},"Onsight:"," first try, no beta, no prior knowledge. The hardest and most respected.",[73,15916,15917,15920],{},[76,15918,15919],{},"Flash:"," first try, but you had beta or watched it first.",[73,15922,15923,15926],{},[76,15924,15925],{},"Send:"," completed clean, any number of attempts.",[12,15928,15930],{"id":15929},"redpoint-the-climb-you-had-to-work-for","Redpoint: the climb you had to work for",[17,15932,15889,15933,15936],{},[76,15934,15935],{},"redpoint"," is sending a climb after practising it, often over many attempts or many sessions. You fall off, you rehearse the moves, you work out the sequence, you rest and come back, and eventually you put it all together in one clean go from bottom to top. Most hard climbs get done as redpoints, because anything near your limit usually takes work.",[17,15938,15939],{},"The word has a nice bit of history. It comes from the German \"rotpunkt\", coined at the Frankenjura crags, where climbers would paint a red mark at the base of a route they had practised and then climbed cleanly. The red point meant \"done properly, in one push, no resting on gear\". That ethic, that the whole climb has to be linked in a single clean ascent, is what redpoint still means today.",[17,15941,15942,15943,15947],{},"A redpoint is no less of a send than a flash. It is just a different style. Many of the proudest ascents in climbing are long-fought redpoints that took weeks or years. The difference between a project you are still working and the moment it becomes a send is one of the most satisfying transitions in the sport, and ",[9853,15944,15946],{"href":15945},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-difference-between-a-project-and-a-problem","the difference between a project and a problem"," digs into that.",[12,15949,15951],{"id":15950},"why-any-of-this-matters","Why any of this matters",[17,15953,15954],{},"You could ask why climbers bother with all this vocabulary when \"I climbed it\" would do. The answer is that the style of an ascent is most of the story. Onsighting a route says something very different about your climbing than redpointing the same route after thirty tries, even though the grade is identical. The words let climbers describe their experience precisely and honestly, and honesty about style is a point of pride.",[17,15956,15957],{},"There is also a quiet etiquette here. Claiming a flash when you had quietly watched someone do it, or calling something a send when you grabbed a draw on the way up, is frowned on. Nobody is checking, but climbers generally hold themselves to the standard because the whole value of the words depends on them being used truthfully.",[17,15959,15960],{},"So next time someone asks if you flashed it, you can answer properly. Maybe it was an onsight, maybe a flash, maybe a hard-won redpoint after six sessions of cursing. All three are good. The grade is just a number. The style is the bit worth talking about over a brew afterwards, and now you have the words for it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":15962},[15963,15964,15965,15966],{"id":15870,"depth":132,"text":15871},{"id":15885,"depth":132,"text":15886},{"id":15929,"depth":132,"text":15930},{"id":15950,"depth":132,"text":15951},"2023-11-17","The words climbers use for how a climb was done, what each one really means, and why the style of an ascent matters as much as the grade.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1602680119188-b11c64f03752?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A mountain silhouette under blue sky",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fflash-send-and-redpoint-explained",{"title":15859,"description":15968},"blog\u002Fflash-send-and-redpoint-explained",[2376,2377,8242,15976,15935],"send","phQ9nf-_8b1BfdfduCeNoa7w_8JqiTkm3muT94WzpXI",{"id":15979,"title":15980,"author":7,"body":15981,"category":1811,"date":16095,"description":16096,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":16097,"imageAlt":16098,"imageCredit":15396,"imageCreditUrl":15397,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":16099,"navigation":152,"path":13684,"readTime":154,"seo":16100,"stem":16101,"tags":16102,"__hash__":16104},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fsoft-versus-stiff-shoes-which-suits-you.md","Soft versus stiff shoes, which suits you",{"type":9,"value":15982,"toc":16088},[15983,15986,15989,15993,15996,16002,16005,16009,16012,16015,16020,16024,16027,16030,16044,16047,16061,16064,16068,16075,16081,16085],[17,15984,15985],{},"When people ask for shoe advice, they usually ask about downturn, or rubber, or which model is best. Stiffness rarely comes up, and yet it is the property that most changes how a shoe actually feels under your foot. Two shoes can look identical, fit the same, and climb completely differently because one is soft and floppy and the other holds its shape like a small plank. Get the stiffness wrong for your climbing and the shoe will fight you. Get it right and your feet feel like they know what they are doing.",[17,15987,15988],{},"Stiffness is about how much the shoe supports your foot versus how much your foot has to do the work. It runs along a spectrum, and where you want to sit on that spectrum depends on what you climb and how strong your feet currently are.",[12,15990,15992],{"id":15991},"what-a-stiff-shoe-gives-you","What a stiff shoe gives you",[17,15994,15995],{},"A stiff shoe has a firm midsole and a rigid platform under the toe. When you stand on a small edge, the shoe does a lot of the supporting for you. The edge of the sole stays rigid, so your foot does not have to clamp down hard to keep the platform in place. This is why stiff shoes are loved for edging on small holds, for vertical and slabby technical climbing, and for long routes where you want to stand on tiny feet without your toes screaming after an hour.",[17,15997,15998,15999,16001],{},"Stiffness also forgives weaker feet. If your foot and toe muscles are not yet conditioned, a stiffer shoe carries some of that load, so you can stand on small holds longer before your feet tire. This is part of why so many beginner-friendly shoes lean stiffer, and our guide to ",[9853,16000,14586],{"href":7222}," leans that way for a reason.",[17,16003,16004],{},"The trade is sensitivity. A stiff shoe tells you less about what your foot is touching, and it is clumsier on slopers, on volumes, and when you need to smear or wrap your toe around something. It can feel like wearing oven gloves on rounded, frictional terrain.",[12,16006,16008],{"id":16007},"what-a-soft-shoe-gives-you","What a soft shoe gives you",[17,16010,16011],{},"A soft shoe bends and deforms with the rock. It has little or no rigid midsole, so your foot and the shoe wrap around holds and feel everything. This is brilliant for smearing on slabs, for standing on rounded slopers, for steep indoor climbing on big modern footholds and volumes, and for toe-hooking, where you want the shoe to mould around the hold rather than sit on top of it.",[17,16013,16014],{},"Soft shoes reward strong, active feet. Because the shoe does not hold the platform for you, your foot has to do the supporting, which builds foot strength over time but also means weak feet tire fast. On small edges a soft shoe can fold and roll off if you have not got the foot strength to keep it locked, which is why throwing a beginner into a very soft shoe can actually slow their footwork down.",[3878,16016,16017],{},[17,16018,16019],{},"Soft shoes make you a better foot climber because they punish lazy feet. That is a feature if your feet are ready for it and a liability if they are not.",[12,16021,16023],{"id":16022},"picking-for-your-climbing","Picking for your climbing",[17,16025,16026],{},"A few honest pointers, accepting that this is partly personal feel and partly down to where you climb.",[17,16028,16029],{},"Lean stiffer if:",[70,16031,16032,16035,16038,16041],{},[73,16033,16034],{},"You mostly climb slabs, vertical walls or long technical routes.",[73,16036,16037],{},"You climb a lot outdoors on small edges, especially limestone.",[73,16039,16040],{},"Your feet are not yet strong, or your toes ache quickly on small holds.",[73,16042,16043],{},"You want one all-round shoe that does most things acceptably.",[17,16045,16046],{},"Lean softer if:",[70,16048,16049,16052,16055,16058],{},[73,16050,16051],{},"You climb mostly steep, modern indoor terrain with big volumes and slopers.",[73,16053,16054],{},"You toe-hook and smear a lot.",[73,16056,16057],{},"Your footwork and foot strength are already solid.",[73,16059,16060],{},"You value sensitivity and feedback over support.",[17,16062,16063],{},"Most climbers, over time, end up owning more than one pair: a stiffer all-rounder for edging and longer climbs, and a softer pair for steep bouldering and gym sessions. There is no need to rush to that. One sensible pair that suits the climbing you actually do most is plenty to start.",[12,16065,16067],{"id":16066},"a-note-on-break-in-and-on-softening","A note on break-in and on softening",[17,16069,16070,16071,16074],{},"Two things confuse people here. First, all shoes soften slightly as they break in. A stiff shoe will be at its stiffest out of the box and will mellow a little, so do not judge it on the first session. Second, soft shoes wear out their performance faster in one specific way: as the rubber thins, a soft shoe loses what little support it had quickly, whereas a stiff shoe degrades more gracefully. Knowing ",[9853,16072,16073],{"href":11839},"when to resole versus replace"," matters more with soft shoes than stiff.",[17,16076,16077,16078,16080],{},"Whatever you choose, the shoe is only ever half of it. The best stiff shoe in the world will not save sloppy footwork, and the softest, most sensitive shoe will do nothing for feet you are not actually paying attention to. A few sessions of ",[9853,16079,13479],{"href":13478}," will do more for your standing-on-small-things than any upgrade.",[12,16082,16084],{"id":16083},"the-short-version","The short version",[17,16086,16087],{},"If you are unsure, lean slightly stiffer than you think, especially early on. A stiff shoe forgives weak feet, supports you on edges, and lets you climb longer before your toes complain, which makes it the safer default while your footwork and foot strength catch up. Reach for soft when your feet are strong and your climbing has tilted towards steep, frictional, sloper-heavy terrain where sensitivity earns its keep. Try a few pairs on if you can, trust the feel, and remember that the right answer is the shoe that disappears on your foot and lets you forget about it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":16089},[16090,16091,16092,16093,16094],{"id":15991,"depth":132,"text":15992},{"id":16007,"depth":132,"text":16008},{"id":16022,"depth":132,"text":16023},{"id":16066,"depth":132,"text":16067},{"id":16083,"depth":132,"text":16084},"2023-11-10","Stiffness is the quiet decision that shapes how a climbing shoe feels and performs. Here is what soft and stiff each do well, and how to pick for your climbing.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1759660021140-83904efba5d5?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","White rock formations against pale sky",{},{"title":15980,"description":16096},"blog\u002Fsoft-versus-stiff-shoes-which-suits-you",[1822,14620,2440,16103,436],"stiffness","cLKpQuFiQOwkDOI4-Won4N87YUpuY2nP3RCI3RIyKKU",{"id":16106,"title":16107,"author":7,"body":16108,"category":2678,"date":16237,"description":16238,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":16239,"imageAlt":16240,"imageCredit":16241,"imageCreditUrl":16242,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":16243,"navigation":152,"path":13991,"readTime":154,"seo":16244,"stem":16245,"tags":16246,"__hash__":16247},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-climbers-obsess-over-conditions.md","Why climbers obsess over conditions",{"type":9,"value":16109,"toc":16229},[16110,16113,16116,16120,16123,16126,16152,16155,16160,16164,16171,16174,16178,16181,16217,16221,16224,16226],[17,16111,16112],{},"Spend a winter morning at a popular boulder and you will overhear conversations that sound borderline unhinged to anyone outside the sport. People discussing dew points. Someone holding a hand up to feel the breeze and announcing the friction is \"coming in\". A pair driving forty minutes to a different aspect of hillside because the sun has just crept onto the one they were at. To an outsider it looks like superstition. To a climber it is simple cause and effect, because conditions genuinely change how hard a climb is, sometimes by a full grade or more.",[17,16114,16115],{},"This is not posturing. The physics is real, and once you have felt the difference for yourself, the obsession stops looking mad and starts looking like the only sensible response to it.",[12,16117,16119],{"id":16118},"the-physics-behind-the-fuss","The physics behind the fuss",[17,16121,16122],{},"The thing climbers care most about is friction, the grip between rubber, skin and rock. Friction is not constant. It changes with temperature, humidity and how clean and dry the surface is.",[17,16124,16125],{},"The short version of what helps:",[70,16127,16128,16134,16140,16146],{},[73,16129,16130,16133],{},[76,16131,16132],{},"Cold air."," Cooler temperatures firm up the rubber on your shoes and reduce sweating on your fingertips, so both your feet and your hands grip better. There is a sweet spot, usually a few degrees above freezing, where things feel best. Go too cold and your fingers go numb and useless, which is its own problem.",[73,16135,16136,16139],{},[76,16137,16138],{},"Low humidity."," Dry air keeps your skin dry and the rock dry. Humid air leaves a film of moisture on slopers and on your fingertips that turns good holds greasy.",[73,16141,16142,16145],{},[76,16143,16144],{},"A bit of wind."," A light breeze dries sweat off your fingers and chalk between attempts, which is why you will see people perching on top of a boulder facing into the wind to \"dry out\" their tips.",[73,16147,16148,16151],{},[76,16149,16150],{},"Sun off the rock."," Direct sun warms the holds and softens your rubber, so shaded, north-facing crags climb better on warm days. Climbers plan whole sessions around where the sun will and will not be.",[17,16153,16154],{},"Put those together and a slopey problem that feels impossible on a muggy summer afternoon can feel almost easy on a crisp, breezy winter morning. The moves have not changed. The friction has, and friction is most of the battle on rounded holds.",[3878,16156,16157],{},[17,16158,16159],{},"Nobody is imagining it. A sloper you cannot hold at four in the afternoon in August is a different hold at nine on a frosty morning, and chasing that difference is half the game.",[12,16161,16163],{"id":16162},"why-it-matters-more-on-some-rock","Why it matters more on some rock",[17,16165,16166,16167,16170],{},"Conditions matter on everything, but they matter most on rock and climbing styles that depend on friction rather than positive holds. Sloper-heavy bouldering on smooth sandstone is the classic example, which is exactly why the obsession runs so deep among boulderers and why somewhere like ",[9853,16168,16169],{"href":4145},"Font"," lives and dies by the weather. Crimpy, positive climbing is less sensitive, because a sharp edge is a sharp edge whether it is warm or cold, though even there your skin and shoe rubber still perform better when it is cool and dry.",[17,16172,16173],{},"This is also why outdoor climbers seem to vanish in high summer and reappear, full of energy, when the temperature drops in autumn. The \"season\" for hard friction-dependent projects is often the cold months, which feels backwards to anyone used to summer being the time for outdoor sport.",[12,16175,16177],{"id":16176},"using-conditions-without-losing-the-plot","Using conditions without losing the plot",[17,16179,16180],{},"You do not need to become a weather obsessive to benefit from this. A few habits go a long way.",[3894,16182,16183,16189,16195,16201,16211],{},[73,16184,16185,16188],{},[76,16186,16187],{},"Check the forecast for temperature and humidity, not just rain."," A dry but muggy day can climb worse than a cold, clear one.",[73,16190,16191,16194],{},[76,16192,16193],{},"Pick your crag by aspect."," On a warm day, head somewhere shaded. On a cold, sunny day, a sunny crag can be perfect and even pleasant.",[73,16196,16197,16200],{},[76,16198,16199],{},"Time it."," Early mornings and evenings are often cooler and less humid than the middle of the day.",[73,16202,16203,16206,16207,16210],{},[76,16204,16205],{},"Manage your skin and chalk."," Dry your tips in the breeze between burns, brush the holds, and chalk up properly. Good ",[9853,16208,16209],{"href":10181},"brushes and skin care for climbers"," habits help you make the most of whatever conditions you get.",[73,16212,16213,16216],{},[76,16214,16215],{},"Save your hardest efforts for the best window."," If you have a project, put your real attempts into the coldest, driest, breeziest part of the day and warm up or do easier volume the rest of the time.",[3986,16218,16220],{"id":16219},"indoors-it-still-applies","Indoors, it still applies",[17,16222,16223],{},"Even at the wall, conditions are not nothing. A busy, sweaty session on a warm summer evening, with everyone's hands greasing up the holds, climbs harder than a quiet cold morning. You cannot control the gym's weather, but you can notice it, climb your hardest when the place is cool and quiet, and stop blaming yourself for an off day that was partly the air.",[12,16225,15381],{"id":15380},[17,16227,16228],{},"The obsession with conditions is not pretension, it is a rational response to the fact that the same climb can feel like two different climbs depending on the air. You do not have to live by the dew point. But a little awareness, picking cooler, drier, breezier windows for your hardest efforts and choosing the right crag for the day, will quietly hand you grades you thought you were not ready for. And on the days when nothing sticks and the holds feel like glass, it is genuinely comforting to look at a muggy sky and know it is not just you. Sometimes the friction simply is not there, and the right move is to enjoy the day and come back when it is.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":16230},[16231,16232,16233,16236],{"id":16118,"depth":132,"text":16119},{"id":16162,"depth":132,"text":16163},{"id":16176,"depth":132,"text":16177,"children":16234},[16235],{"id":16219,"depth":4021,"text":16220},{"id":15380,"depth":132,"text":15381},"2023-11-03","Temperature, humidity and a breath of wind can change a climb by a full grade. Here is why climbers fuss over conditions, and how to use them in your own climbing.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1762696450375-56cc37285db5?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A large rock formation against the sky","Samantha Walters","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@sjw_84",{},{"title":16107,"description":16238},"blog\u002Fwhy-climbers-obsess-over-conditions",[14822,14823,7598,158,3168],"-3gjwz1fYkXqwiSDSftC0CSpl-XBwcUyhvdEwtFMtEc",{"id":16249,"title":16250,"author":7,"body":16251,"category":141,"date":16395,"description":16396,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":16397,"imageAlt":16398,"imageCredit":14815,"imageCreditUrl":14816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":16399,"navigation":152,"path":13321,"readTime":154,"seo":16400,"stem":16401,"tags":16402,"__hash__":16403},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Freading-a-boulder-before-you-pull-on.md","Reading a boulder before you pull on",{"type":9,"value":16252,"toc":16388},[16253,16256,16259,16263,16266,16269,16305,16308,16312,16315,16350,16355,16359,16362,16368,16372,16375,16378,16381,16385],[17,16254,16255],{},"Watch a strong climber walk up to a problem they have never tried. They do not just grab the start and heave. They stand back, look, point at things, mime a move or two with their hands in the air, shuffle their feet, look again, and only then pull on. That pause is not hesitation. It is route-reading, and it is one of the cheapest, most effective skills in climbing, because the attempts you save by reading well are attempts you get to spend with fresh fingers on the actual moves.",[17,16257,16258],{},"Most newer climbers skip this entirely. They see the start holds, jump on, and try to solve the problem on the fly while pumped and gripped. Sometimes it works. More often they burn three or four goes flailing before they even understand the sequence, and by then their skin and strength are half gone. Learning to read from the ground changes that.",[12,16260,16262],{"id":16261},"what-you-are-actually-looking-for","What you are actually looking for",[17,16264,16265],{},"Reading a boulder is about building a plan before you commit. You are trying to answer a handful of questions while you still have the luxury of standing on the floor with a clear head.",[17,16267,16268],{},"The main things to work out:",[70,16270,16271,16277,16283,16289,16299],{},[73,16272,16273,16276],{},[76,16274,16275],{},"The hand sequence."," Which hand goes to which hold, and in what order. The key question on most problems is which hand starts on a given hold, because that determines everything downstream.",[73,16278,16279,16282],{},[76,16280,16281],{},"The feet."," Where your feet go is usually more important than where your hands go, and it is the thing beginners look at least. Spot the footholds, including the small or hidden ones, and work out which foot goes where for each move.",[73,16284,16285,16288],{},[76,16286,16287],{},"Body position."," Where your hips need to be. Whether a move wants you square to the wall, turned sideways, dropped into a knee, or flagging a leg out for balance.",[73,16290,16291,16294,16295,16298],{},[76,16292,16293],{},"The crux."," The hardest move or section. Identify it early so you can plan to arrive there as fresh and well-positioned as possible. Knowing ",[9853,16296,16297],{"href":3322},"what the crux is"," and where it sits shapes how you climb everything before it.",[73,16300,16301,16304],{},[76,16302,16303],{},"The rests."," Any place you can shake out or recover, especially on longer problems.",[17,16306,16307],{},"You will not get all of this right from the ground, and that is fine. A plan you adjust beats no plan at all.",[12,16309,16311],{"id":16310},"how-to-read-step-by-step","How to read, step by step",[17,16313,16314],{},"A simple process you can run every time:",[3894,16316,16317,16323,16329,16338,16344],{},[73,16318,16319,16322],{},[76,16320,16321],{},"Stand back far enough to see the whole thing."," Walk back several steps. From under the boulder you cannot see the holds higher up or how the line flows.",[73,16324,16325,16328],{},[76,16326,16327],{},"Find the start and the finish first."," Knowing where you are going shapes everything in between.",[73,16330,16331,16334,16335,16337],{},[76,16332,16333],{},"Work out the holds."," Identify each handhold and guess how good it is and how you would grip it. Reading whether something is a crimp, a sloper or a pinch from the ground takes practice, and ",[9853,16336,14932],{"href":10745}," helps you guess better.",[73,16339,16340,16343],{},[76,16341,16342],{},"Trace the feet."," For each hand move, ask where your feet will be. This is where most plans fall apart, because beginners forget the feet.",[73,16345,16346,16349],{},[76,16347,16348],{},"Mime it."," Stand at the base and physically rehearse the moves with your hands and a bit of body movement. It looks slightly daft and it works, because it commits the sequence to memory and surfaces problems before you are hanging off the wall.",[3878,16351,16352],{},[17,16353,16354],{},"The mime on the ground is not showing off. It is loading the sequence into your body so that when you pull on, your hands already know roughly where they are going.",[12,16356,16358],{"id":16357},"why-the-feet-are-the-secret","Why the feet are the secret",[17,16360,16361],{},"If you take one thing from reading a boulder, make it the feet. New climbers default to looking at handholds because hands feel like where the action is. But your feet are what hold you in position, take weight off your arms, and let you reach the next hold without barn-dooring off. A move that feels impossible with your feet in the wrong place often feels easy once they are right.",[17,16363,16364,16365,16367],{},"When you read, deliberately spend more time on the feet than feels natural. Find the small chips and dimples, not just the obvious jugs. Work out which foot goes where so you are not crossing your legs into a tangle. This habit alone will quietly raise your grade, and it pairs naturally with the kind of ",[9853,16366,13479],{"href":13478}," that build the precision to actually use what you read.",[12,16369,16371],{"id":16370},"when-the-plan-goes-wrong","When the plan goes wrong",[17,16373,16374],{},"Here is the honest part: your reading will often be wrong, especially at first. The hold you thought was a jug is a sloper. The foot you planned does not work for your height. The sequence needs to be the other hand on the start. That is completely normal, and good climbers expect it. The value of reading is not that you get it perfect. It is that you arrive with a hypothesis you can test and adjust, instead of pure improvisation.",[17,16376,16377],{},"So when a move does not go, do not just try harder with the same beta. Drop off, look again from the ground, and ask what was wrong. Was your hip in the wrong place? Wrong foot? Wrong hand on the previous hold? Re-reading between attempts, rather than just battering away, is what turns flailing into figuring out.",[17,16379,16380],{},"Tall and short climbers will also read the same problem differently, and that is fine. Reach changes which holds you can skip and which feet you need, so your beta will not always match the person next to you. Learning to read for your own body, rather than copying someone built differently, is part of getting good at this.",[12,16382,16384],{"id":16383},"make-it-a-habit","Make it a habit",[17,16386,16387],{},"The fix is simple: before every attempt on something new, make yourself pause and read it. Stand back, find the start and finish, trace the hands, obsess over the feet, spot the crux, and mime it once. It adds thirty seconds and saves you several wasted burns. Over a session that is the difference between sending fresh and flailing tired. Over a year it is one of the biggest things separating climbers who improve steadily from those who plateau. Read first, pull on second, and watch how many more of your first goes turn into sends.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":16389},[16390,16391,16392,16393,16394],{"id":16261,"depth":132,"text":16262},{"id":16310,"depth":132,"text":16311},{"id":16357,"depth":132,"text":16358},{"id":16370,"depth":132,"text":16371},{"id":16383,"depth":132,"text":16384},"2023-10-27","Most wasted attempts happen before you even touch the wall. Here is how to read a boulder problem from the ground so your first go is your best go.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1764943094589-72ffed3fbea2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A weathered rock face with vegetation",{},{"title":16250,"description":16396},"blog\u002Freading-a-boulder-before-you-pull-on",[162,290,1242,11073,4036],"aKyhcMsPCabp5OSn7NWlp7VTo4ld6verXc9Gjat306o",{"id":16405,"title":16406,"author":7,"body":16407,"category":2464,"date":16554,"description":16555,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":16556,"imageAlt":16557,"imageCredit":16558,"imageCreditUrl":16559,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":16560,"navigation":152,"path":13464,"readTime":154,"seo":16561,"stem":16562,"tags":16563,"__hash__":16565},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Freading-the-grades-as-a-beginner.md","Reading the grades as a beginner",{"type":9,"value":16408,"toc":16547},[16409,16412,16415,16419,16422,16434,16443,16451,16455,16458,16478,16481,16486,16490,16493,16496,16503,16505,16508,16511,16540,16544],[17,16410,16411],{},"Your first few sessions at the wall, the coloured holds and the moves are confusing enough. Then someone mentions they are working a \"V4\", or you see \"6a+\" written on a tag, or the gym uses a colour system that maps to numbers nobody explains, and suddenly there is a whole second language to learn just to know whether a climb is meant to be hard for you. Grades intimidate beginners far more than they should, partly because they look precise and official when they are anything but. Here is what they actually mean, kept simple.",[17,16413,16414],{},"A grade is one thing: an estimate of how hard a climb is. That is it. It is not a score, not a ranking of you as a person, and not a fixed scientific measurement. Someone made a judgement about the difficulty, other climbers more or less agreed, and the number stuck. Holding that loosely from the start will save you a lot of unnecessary stress.",[12,16416,16418],{"id":16417},"the-scales-you-will-actually-meet","The scales you will actually meet",[17,16420,16421],{},"As a beginner in the UK, you will mostly run into two or three systems depending on whether you boulder or climb on ropes.",[17,16423,16424,16426,16427,16429,16430,16433],{},[76,16425,3585],{}," uses one of two scales. Indoors and in much of the world you will see the ",[76,16428,14676],{},", which starts at V0 (the easiest graded problems, though many gyms have even easier ungraded ones) and goes up: V1, V2, V3 and so on, with no upper limit in practice. The other is the ",[76,16431,16432],{},"font scale",", written like 4, 5, 6A, 6A+, 6B, climbing through letters and plus signs. Some UK gyms use one, some the other, some both. They measure the same thing in different dialects.",[17,16435,16436,16438,16439,16442],{},[76,16437,14720],{}," in the UK most commonly uses the ",[76,16440,16441],{},"French sport scale",", written 4, 5, 6a, 6a+, 6b, 6b+ and upward. It looks a bit like the font bouldering scale but it is a separate system for routes, so do not assume a \"6a\" boulder problem and a \"6a\" route are the same difficulty. If you head outdoors onto trad, you will meet the British trad grading system, which is its own beast and well beyond a first session.",[17,16444,16445,16446,2451,16448,16450],{},"If you want the fuller picture of how these relate, ",[9853,16447,14728],{"href":9280},[9853,16449,14731],{"href":5849}," lay them out properly. For now, the headline is: find out which scale your gym uses, and ignore the rest until you need them.",[12,16452,16454],{"id":16453},"what-the-numbers-feel-like-at-the-start","What the numbers feel like at the start",[17,16456,16457],{},"Without inventing false precision, a rough orientation for a beginner boulderer on the V-scale:",[70,16459,16460,16466,16472],{},[73,16461,16462,16465],{},[76,16463,16464],{},"V0 to V1:"," Big holds, straightforward moves. This is where you start, and there is no shame in living here for a while.",[73,16467,16468,16471],{},[76,16469,16470],{},"V2 to V3:"," Moves get more specific, holds get smaller, you start needing technique rather than just pulling.",[73,16473,16474,16477],{},[76,16475,16476],{},"V4 and up:"," Now footwork, body position and a bit of strength all have to come together. Plenty of long-term recreational climbers are very happy operating around here.",[17,16479,16480],{},"The jumps between grades are not even, and they get bigger as you go up, so do not expect to move through them at a steady pace. Spending weeks or months on your first of a grade is completely normal.",[3878,16482,16483],{},[17,16484,16485],{},"A grade is a stranger's opinion about difficulty, written down. Treat it as a rough guide to choosing what to try, never as a verdict on how good you are.",[12,16487,16489],{"id":16488},"why-grades-are-messier-than-they-look","Why grades are messier than they look",[17,16491,16492],{},"The thing that trips up beginners is assuming grades are consistent. They are not, and accepting this early will spare you a lot of confusion.",[17,16494,16495],{},"Grades vary between gyms, because different setters have different standards. They vary within a gym, because two problems at the same grade can feel a grade apart depending on whether they suit your style. They vary by body type, because a reachy move is easy for a tall climber and desperate for a short one. And outdoor grades are often stiffer than indoor ones, so your indoor V3 does not guarantee an outdoor V3.",[17,16497,16498,16499,16502],{},"There is even a name for grades that feel harder than their number, \"sandbagging\", and a whole bit of climbing culture around it. ",[9853,16500,16501],{"href":7296},"What sandbagging is"," is a fun read once you have been caught out by a brutal \"easy\" problem. The point is not that grades are useless. It is that they are approximate, and you should expect inconsistency rather than be unsettled by it.",[12,16504,9262],{"id":9261},[17,16506,16507],{},"Used well, grades are a handy tool. Used badly, they become an anxiety machine. The difference is in how you treat them.",[17,16509,16510],{},"A sane approach for a beginner:",[3894,16512,16513,16519,16525,16534],{},[73,16514,16515,16518],{},[76,16516,16517],{},"Use grades to pick variety, not to chase numbers."," Spread your session across a range. Warm up well below your limit, do a chunk at a comfortable grade to build movement, and finish on a couple at your edge.",[73,16520,16521,16524],{},[76,16522,16523],{},"Climb plenty below your max."," Volume on easier problems builds technique faster than constantly battling your hardest grade. The climbers who improve quickest are not the ones grinding their limit every session.",[73,16526,16527,16530,16531,16533],{},[76,16528,16529],{},"Do not log your self-worth, log your sessions."," Tracking what you climb is genuinely useful for spotting progress, and ",[9853,16532,15795],{"href":12071}," makes the case. Just keep it about your own trend, not a comparison with the room.",[73,16535,16536,16539],{},[76,16537,16538],{},"Expect non-linear progress."," You will leap up grades, then stall for ages, then leap again. Plateaus are normal, not failure.",[12,16541,16543],{"id":16542},"the-takeaway","The takeaway",[17,16545,16546],{},"Learn which scale your gym uses, get a rough feel for what the numbers mean, and then hold the whole thing lightly. Grades are useful for choosing what to try and for tracking your own progress over months. They are useless as a measure of your worth, and unreliable as a precise comparison between climbs, gyms or people. The climbers who enjoy this sport for years tend to be the ones who use grades as a loose map rather than a scoreboard. Pick something that looks fun and a little beyond you, give it a proper go, and let the number be the least interesting thing about the climb.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":16548},[16549,16550,16551,16552,16553],{"id":16417,"depth":132,"text":16418},{"id":16453,"depth":132,"text":16454},{"id":16488,"depth":132,"text":16489},{"id":9261,"depth":132,"text":9262},{"id":16542,"depth":132,"text":16543},"2023-10-20","A clear, no-stress guide to the climbing grades you will meet as a beginner, what the numbers mean, and why you should not take any of them too seriously.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1761243838145-843291f9e356?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Limestone rocks among autumn trees","Laurenz Kruty","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@laukr",{},{"title":16406,"description":16555},"blog\u002Freading-the-grades-as-a-beginner",[562,10099,13548,2378,16564],"v-scale","1UCdzVPzNxJmldeKTbwYFjoCdnsjXEdmDjWY3Bf-Ogg",{"id":16567,"title":16568,"author":7,"body":16569,"category":1904,"date":16746,"description":16747,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":16748,"imageAlt":16749,"imageCredit":15186,"imageCreditUrl":15187,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":16750,"navigation":152,"path":16751,"readTime":1547,"seo":16752,"stem":16753,"tags":16754,"__hash__":16755},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fchalk-liquid-chalk-and-the-great-debate.md","Chalk, liquid chalk and the great debate",{"type":9,"value":16570,"toc":16739},[16571,16574,16577,16581,16584,16604,16607,16612,16616,16619,16627,16631,16634,16637,16641,16644,16705,16708,16712,16715,16722,16725,16736],[17,16572,16573],{},"There is a strange amount of opinion packed into a bag of white powder. Stand near the chalk station at any wall on a busy evening and you will catch someone insisting liquid chalk is the only sensible option, while their mate swears blind that nothing beats a chunky block crumbled by hand. Both of them are right, sort of, and both are repeating something they heard once and never questioned.",[17,16575,16576],{},"So let us actually pull it apart. Chalk is magnesium carbonate, and its one job is to dry the sweat off your fingertips so the rubber of your skin can bite the rock or the plastic. That is it. Everything else, the brands, the scents, the drying agents, is a variation on that single theme. Once you understand what you are trying to achieve, the choice gets a lot less precious.",[12,16578,16580],{"id":16579},"the-three-formats-and-what-they-do","The three formats and what they do",[17,16582,16583],{},"There are really three things you can buy, and they suit different situations rather than being better or worse outright.",[70,16585,16586,16592,16598],{},[73,16587,16588,16591],{},[76,16589,16590],{},"Loose chalk."," The classic powder you scoop from a bag. Cheap, fast to apply, easy to over-apply. Brilliant for redoing your hands between attempts when conditions are humid. The downside is dust, which we will come back to.",[73,16593,16594,16597],{},[76,16595,16596],{},"Block chalk."," A solid lump you crush yourself. You control how fine it goes, it tends to be less dusty in the bag, and many people reckon it lasts longer because you waste less. The faff is real though, you have to crumble it.",[73,16599,16600,16603],{},[76,16601,16602],{},"Liquid chalk."," Chalk suspended in alcohol. You squeeze a blob on, rub it in, the alcohol evaporates and leaves a thin even base layer. It grips well, makes almost no airborne dust, and is the kindest option for indoor air quality.",[17,16605,16606],{},"Most climbers I know end up using a combination. A base of liquid at the start of a session, then loose or block on top through the evening as the liquid wears thin.",[3878,16608,16609],{},[17,16610,16611],{},"If you only change one thing, put a thin layer of liquid chalk on before you warm up. It sets a clean, even base that loose chalk then sticks to, and you will reach for the bag far less often.",[12,16613,16615],{"id":16614},"the-dust-question","The dust question",[17,16617,16618],{},"This is the part the debate usually skips. Loose chalk thrown around an indoor wall becomes a fine haze that hangs in the air, settles on holds, and is genuinely not great to breathe session after session. A lot of newer walls now ask for liquid chalk only, or ban loose chalk outright, precisely for this reason. It is not snobbery, it is ventilation.",[17,16620,16621,16622,16626],{},"Liquid chalk is the obvious fix indoors because the alcohol carries the chalk straight onto your skin with nothing left to float about. Outdoors it matters less for air, but it matters a lot for the rock. Caked chalk on popular problems builds up, hides the texture, and looks grim. A soft ",[9853,16623,16625],{"href":16624},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbrushes-the-most-underrated-tool","brush is the most underrated tool"," you can carry for exactly this, clearing the build-up so the next person gets honest friction rather than a slick of old powder.",[12,16628,16630],{"id":16629},"does-the-colour-matching-thing-matter","Does the colour-matching thing matter?",[17,16632,16633],{},"A bit, on certain rock. Some outdoor venues, particularly sandstone in places where access is sensitive, ask climbers to use chalk tinted to match the rock so the crag does not end up streaked with white tick marks. It is worth knowing the local norm before you turn up. Inside it makes no difference, white is white.",[17,16635,16636],{},"While we are on it, the scented and \"performance\" chalks with added drying agents are mostly personal preference. If you sweat heavily, a chalk with a bit more drying agent can genuinely help you hold a sloper for that extra second. If you have dry skin already, the same product might leave your tips cracked and sore. Try a small amount before you commit to a tub of it.",[12,16638,16640],{"id":16639},"picking-what-suits-you","Picking what suits you",[17,16642,16643],{},"Here is a rough steer, because the right answer depends on where you climb and how your hands behave.",[3925,16645,16646,16659],{},[3928,16647,16648],{},[3931,16649,16650,16653,16656],{},[3934,16651,16652],{},"If you mostly...",[3934,16654,16655],{},"Reach for",[3934,16657,16658],{},"Why",[3942,16660,16661,16672,16683,16694],{},[3931,16662,16663,16666,16669],{},[3947,16664,16665],{},"Climb indoors on plastic",[3947,16667,16668],{},"Liquid base plus loose top-up",[3947,16670,16671],{},"Keeps dust down, sets an even layer",[3931,16673,16674,16677,16680],{},[3947,16675,16676],{},"Boulder outdoors on grit",[3947,16678,16679],{},"Block or loose, plus a brush",[3947,16681,16682],{},"Easy to reapply, manage build-up yourself",[3931,16684,16685,16688,16691],{},[3947,16686,16687],{},"Sweat heavily",[3947,16689,16690],{},"Liquid, or chalk with drying agent",[3947,16692,16693],{},"Better at coping with damp tips",[3931,16695,16696,16699,16702],{},[3947,16697,16698],{},"Have dry, splitting skin",[3947,16700,16701],{},"Less chalk overall, more moisturiser at home",[3947,16703,16704],{},"Over-chalking dries you out further",[17,16706,16707],{},"Notice that none of those answers is \"buy the most expensive one\". The gap between a budget tub and a premium one is far smaller than the gap between using chalk well and slapping it on out of habit.",[12,16709,16711],{"id":16710},"how-to-actually-use-it","How to actually use it",[17,16713,16714],{},"The most common mistake is over-chalking. White gloves up to the wrist do nothing except dry your skin out and leave a mess on the holds. You want a thin, even coating on the contact points, the pads and the first joint. Blow the excess off. If your hands are leaving clouds when you clap them, you have used too much.",[17,16716,16717,16718,16721],{},"The second mistake is chalking when you are not actually sweaty. If your hands are bone dry, more chalk just sits there as a slippery powder. Chalk works on moisture, so reapply when your tips start to feel damp, not on a nervous tic before every move. Learning to tell the difference is part of learning to ",[9853,16719,16720],{"href":13364},"actually rest between attempts",", because a proper rest gives your skin a chance to recover too.",[17,16723,16724],{},"A few small habits that pay off:",[70,16726,16727,16730,16733],{},[73,16728,16729],{},"Keep a nail brush or old toothbrush in your bag for clearing holds.",[73,16731,16732],{},"Moisturise at home in the evening, not at the wall, so your skin is supple by your next session.",[73,16734,16735],{},"If you split a tip, tape it and back off the crimps rather than chalking harder over the top.",[17,16737,16738],{},"In the end the great debate is a bit of a non-event. Loose, block and liquid all do the same job by slightly different means, and the best climbers you will meet tend to carry more than one. Work out what your skin and your local wall actually need, keep the dust down out of respect for the people sharing the air with you, and spend the energy you saved arguing on the climbing instead. That is where it counts.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":16740},[16741,16742,16743,16744,16745],{"id":16579,"depth":132,"text":16580},{"id":16614,"depth":132,"text":16615},{"id":16629,"depth":132,"text":16630},{"id":16639,"depth":132,"text":16640},{"id":16710,"depth":132,"text":16711},"2023-10-13","Loose chalk, blocks or the liquid stuff? A practical look at what each one does for your skin, your grip and the wall you climb on.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1602680120344-d17114b4a92f?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A rocky mountain under cloud",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fchalk-liquid-chalk-and-the-great-debate",{"title":16568,"description":16747},"blog\u002Fchalk-liquid-chalk-and-the-great-debate",[1822,13741,13742,161,293],"DGzfwF-G6LshQ5RYGneFRi2DRcybl72wjh0NR9hY7rU",{"id":16757,"title":16758,"author":7,"body":16759,"category":1703,"date":16946,"description":16947,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":16948,"imageAlt":16949,"imageCredit":16950,"imageCreditUrl":16951,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":16952,"navigation":152,"path":16953,"readTime":1547,"seo":16954,"stem":16955,"tags":16956,"__hash__":16957},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fboard-angles-and-what-they-train.md","Board angles and what they train",{"type":9,"value":16760,"toc":16938},[16761,16764,16767,16771,16774,16777,16781,16784,16844,16851,16855,16858,16861,16866,16870,16873,16876,16880,16883,16886,16900,16908,16912,16915,16935],[17,16762,16763],{},"The first time someone cranked the board up to 40 degrees and told me to have a go, I lasted about two moves before peeling off and landing in a heap. I had been climbing for a couple of years and thought I was reasonably strong. The board disagreed, loudly. What I had not understood was that the angle changes the whole nature of the climbing, not just the difficulty. A move that is trivial at 20 degrees can be desperate at 45, and not because the holds got smaller.",[17,16765,16766],{},"Angle is the single biggest variable on an adjustable board, and most people leave it parked at whatever the last person set. Knowing what each range actually trains lets you point your sessions at something useful rather than just flailing on whatever angle you happen to find.",[12,16768,16770],{"id":16769},"why-angle-matters-more-than-hold-size","Why angle matters more than hold size",[17,16772,16773],{},"When the wall is steep, gravity stops pulling you gently into the holds and starts pulling you off them. Your body weight hangs away from the wall, so your fingers, your core and your shoulders have to do the work of keeping you connected. Drop the angle back towards vertical and a lot of that load shifts onto your feet, balance and precision instead.",[17,16775,16776],{},"That is the key idea. Steepness trades technique for raw pulling power and body tension. Neither end of the range is \"real\" climbing and the other a gimmick, they are different tools. A good board session uses the angle deliberately.",[12,16778,16780],{"id":16779},"a-rough-guide-to-the-ranges","A rough guide to the ranges",[17,16782,16783],{},"These bands are approximate and the feel changes with your height and the set, but they are a fair starting point.",[3925,16785,16786,16798],{},[3928,16787,16788],{},[3931,16789,16790,16792,16795],{},[3934,16791,15469],{},[3934,16793,16794],{},"Mostly trains",[3934,16796,16797],{},"Watch out for",[3942,16799,16800,16811,16822,16833],{},[3931,16801,16802,16805,16808],{},[3947,16803,16804],{},"10 to 25 degrees",[3947,16806,16807],{},"Footwork, balance, precise weight shifts",[3947,16809,16810],{},"Easy to muscle through and skip technique",[3931,16812,16813,16816,16819],{},[3947,16814,16815],{},"25 to 35 degrees",[3947,16817,16818],{},"All-round strength with real tension demands",[3947,16820,16821],{},"The sweet spot, easy to overcook volume",[3931,16823,16824,16827,16830],{},[3947,16825,16826],{},"35 to 45 degrees",[3947,16828,16829],{},"Power, core tension, contact strength",[3947,16831,16832],{},"Hard on fingers and shoulders, fatigues fast",[3931,16834,16835,16838,16841],{},[3947,16836,16837],{},"45 degrees and beyond",[3947,16839,16840],{},"Maximum pulling power and tension",[3947,16842,16843],{},"High injury risk, short sessions only",[17,16845,16846,16847,16850],{},"If you are setting up a board at home and torn on what to commit to, our piece on ",[9853,16848,16849],{"href":13938},"setting up a home board on a budget"," goes into the practical side of mounting and adjustability.",[12,16852,16854],{"id":16853},"the-gentle-end-slab-and-just-past-vertical","The gentle end: slab and just past vertical",[17,16856,16857],{},"Anything from a slight slab up to around 25 degrees rewards good feet and honest weight transfer. You cannot bully these angles with your arms because there is not enough overhang to make pulling pay. Instead you have to stand on small footholds, trust your shoes, and move your hips over your feet.",[17,16859,16860],{},"This is brilliant territory for working footwork and balance, and it is criminally underused. Most people treat the board as a place to get pumped on steep ground, but spending time at a low angle on poor feet does more for your technique than another lap on the jugs. If your footwork drifts when you get nervous, this is where to fix it.",[3878,16862,16863],{},[17,16864,16865],{},"Counterintuitive but true: a low-angle board with bad footholds is one of the best technique tools you own. It punishes lazy feet immediately and gives you no power to hide behind.",[12,16867,16869],{"id":16868},"the-middle-where-most-useful-work-happens","The middle: where most useful work happens",[17,16871,16872],{},"Somewhere around 25 to 35 degrees is the angle most people get the most from. It is steep enough that you cannot ignore body tension, but not so steep that you are reduced to a couple of moves before falling off. You can build proper problems here, link real sequences, and train strength and technique at the same time.",[17,16874,16875],{},"If you only ever set the board to one angle, this band is the safest bet. It builds the kind of strength that carries over to a lot of outdoor and indoor climbing without immediately wrecking your fingers.",[12,16877,16879],{"id":16878},"the-steep-end-power-and-tension","The steep end: power and tension",[17,16881,16882],{},"Past 40 degrees the climbing becomes about power and keeping your body rigid. Your feet want to cut loose, your hips want to sag, and the whole game is fighting that. Done well, steep board work builds the contact strength and tension that lets you hold swings and slap to the next hold without falling off. Done badly, it builds an injury.",[17,16884,16885],{},"The steep end is genuinely effective and genuinely risky. A few honest rules:",[70,16887,16888,16891,16894,16897],{},[73,16889,16890],{},"Warm up properly first, including some easier board climbing, before you touch a steep angle.",[73,16892,16893],{},"Keep the volume low. A handful of hard, quality attempts beats grinding out twenty.",[73,16895,16896],{},"Stop the moment your fingers feel tweaky rather than just tired. The two feel different and you must learn to tell them apart.",[73,16898,16899],{},"Do not climb steep when you are already cooked from a long session, that is when people get hurt.",[17,16901,16902,16903,16907],{},"If you want a structured way to use these angles rather than just picking one and hammering it, ",[9853,16904,16906],{"href":16905},"\u002Fblog\u002Fprogramming-a-board-session","programming a board session"," walks through building a session with intent.",[12,16909,16911],{"id":16910},"picking-an-angle-for-the-day","Picking an angle for the day",[17,16913,16914],{},"Before you climb, ask what you actually want from the session. A simple way to choose:",[3894,16916,16917,16923,16929],{},[73,16918,16919,16922],{},[76,16920,16921],{},"Technique day or coming back from a layoff?"," Stay low, 10 to 25 degrees, and obsess over your feet.",[73,16924,16925,16928],{},[76,16926,16927],{},"General strength and you only have one session this week?"," Sit in the 25 to 35 band and climb real problems.",[73,16930,16931,16934],{},[76,16932,16933],{},"Building power and your fingers are healthy and warm?"," Go steep for a short, sharp burst, then come down.",[17,16936,16937],{},"The board is one of the most honest training tools going, but only if you use the angle on purpose. Stop inheriting whatever the last person left it on, decide what you are training, and set it to match. Your climbing will move forward a lot faster, and your fingers will thank you for the days you chose to stay off the steep stuff.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":16939},[16940,16941,16942,16943,16944,16945],{"id":16769,"depth":132,"text":16770},{"id":16779,"depth":132,"text":16780},{"id":16853,"depth":132,"text":16854},{"id":16868,"depth":132,"text":16869},{"id":16878,"depth":132,"text":16879},{"id":16910,"depth":132,"text":16911},"2023-10-06","From a gentle slab to a brutal 50 degrees, here is what each board angle asks of your body and how to pick the one that suits your goal.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1615307415592-72926ccf614e?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber resting on the floor","Precious Madubuike","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@preciousm",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fboard-angles-and-what-they-train",{"title":16758,"description":16947},"blog\u002Fboard-angles-and-what-they-train",[1715,13942,162,1242,290],"cmcGjY3YRW2EnBSs8bDoKWhSttZDlCRgY0aX8v_g-zg",{"id":16959,"title":16960,"author":7,"body":16961,"category":2555,"date":17175,"description":17176,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":17177,"imageAlt":17178,"imageCredit":17179,"imageCreditUrl":17180,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":17181,"navigation":152,"path":17182,"readTime":1547,"seo":17183,"stem":17184,"tags":17185,"__hash__":17187},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-limestone-versus-grit-a-love-letter.md","UK limestone versus grit, a love letter",{"type":9,"value":16962,"toc":17168},[16963,16966,16969,16973,16976,16979,16999,17006,17011,17015,17018,17021,17041,17044,17048,17051,17121,17125,17128,17131,17138,17142,17145,17165],[17,16964,16965],{},"You can usually tell which rock a climber grew up on by how they describe a good day out. The grit climber talks about friction, about a crisp cold morning when the rock felt like sandpaper and their feet stuck to nothing. The limestone climber talks about a pocket they finally latched, a pumpy sequence of clips, the moment the rope went tight and they sagged back chuffed. Two completely different sports, both of them happening within a couple of hours' drive of each other in this small, damp, brilliant country.",[17,16967,16968],{},"This is not an argument about which is better. It is a love letter to both, and a quiet case for spending time on each, because they make you a different and ultimately better climber.",[12,16970,16972],{"id":16971},"what-grit-asks-of-you","What grit asks of you",[17,16974,16975],{},"Gritstone is the rough, blocky, dark rock of the Peak District and the moors above it. It is mostly the home of bouldering and bold trad, and it has a character all its own. The holds are rarely incut and obvious. Instead you get slopers, rounded breaks, the odd crisp crimp, and a lot of friction. You do not pull hard on grit so much as you trust it, smearing your feet onto nothing and committing your weight before your brain has finished objecting.",[17,16977,16978],{},"Grit teaches:",[70,16980,16981,16987,16993],{},[73,16982,16983,16986],{},[76,16984,16985],{},"Footwork and trust."," Smears that should not work somehow do, if you weight them properly.",[73,16988,16989,16992],{},[76,16990,16991],{},"Slopey grip."," You learn to use an open hand and your whole palm rather than crimping everything.",[73,16994,16995,16998],{},[76,16996,16997],{},"Commitment."," A lot of grit problems and routes have a do-or-fall move where hesitating is the only real mistake.",[17,17000,17001,17002,17005],{},"It is also weather-obsessed in a way that surprises newcomers. Grit climbs vastly better when it is cold and dry, because friction is everything. Climbers will get up before dawn in winter for conditions that, frankly, sound miserable to anyone else. There is a reason ",[9853,17003,17004],{"href":13991},"climbers obsess over conditions",", and grit is where that obsession is born.",[3878,17007,17008],{},[17,17009,17010],{},"Grit does not reward strength so much as nerve and footwork. You can be very strong and still get spat off a slab because you would not commit your weight to a smear. That lesson stays with you.",[12,17012,17014],{"id":17013},"what-limestone-asks-of-you","What limestone asks of you",[17,17016,17017],{},"Limestone is the pale, often steep and pocketed rock of places like the Yorkshire dales, the white Peak, Portland and the Wye valley. It is the natural home of sport climbing in the UK, where you clip bolts up a route and the challenge is as much about stamina as it is about any single move. Where grit is about friction and trust, limestone is frequently about hanging on.",[17,17019,17020],{},"Limestone teaches:",[70,17022,17023,17029,17035],{},[73,17024,17025,17028],{},[76,17026,17027],{},"Endurance."," Longer routes mean managing the pump, finding rests, and keeping your head while your forearms scream.",[73,17030,17031,17034],{},[76,17032,17033],{},"Pockets and crimps."," Two and three-finger pockets are common, which loads your fingers differently and demands you look after them.",[73,17036,17037,17040],{},[76,17038,17039],{},"Clipping under pressure."," Reading where to clip, and doing it efficiently before you pump out, is a skill in itself.",[17,17042,17043],{},"The movement tends to be more positive and more obvious than on grit, but the routes are longer and the fight is sustained. You rarely fall off limestone because you would not commit, you fall off because you ran out of gas. Learning to manage that pump is a craft, and a lot of it comes down to keeping your arms straight and resting whenever you can.",[12,17045,17047],{"id":17046},"a-quick-comparison","A quick comparison",[17,17049,17050],{},"A rough sketch, with all the usual caveats that every crag is its own thing.",[3925,17052,17053,17065],{},[3928,17054,17055],{},[3931,17056,17057,17059,17062],{},[3934,17058],{},[3934,17060,17061],{},"Grit",[3934,17063,17064],{},"Limestone",[3942,17066,17067,17078,17088,17099,17110],{},[3931,17068,17069,17072,17075],{},[3947,17070,17071],{},"Typical style",[3947,17073,17074],{},"Bouldering, bold trad",[3947,17076,17077],{},"Sport, clipping bolts",[3931,17079,17080,17082,17085],{},[3947,17081,15480],{},[3947,17083,17084],{},"Slopers, breaks, crimps",[3947,17086,17087],{},"Pockets, crimps, edges",[3931,17089,17090,17093,17096],{},[3947,17091,17092],{},"The challenge",[3947,17094,17095],{},"Friction, footwork, nerve",[3947,17097,17098],{},"Endurance, the pump",[3931,17100,17101,17104,17107],{},[3947,17102,17103],{},"Best conditions",[3947,17105,17106],{},"Cold and dry",[3947,17108,17109],{},"Dry, less fussy about cold",[3931,17111,17112,17115,17118],{},[3947,17113,17114],{},"Where",[3947,17116,17117],{},"Peak moors, Pennines",[3947,17119,17120],{},"White Peak, Yorkshire, Portland",[12,17122,17124],{"id":17123},"why-you-want-both-in-your-life","Why you want both in your life",[17,17126,17127],{},"Here is the case for not picking a side. Grit will fix your footwork and force you to climb with your whole body, because you cannot just yank on the holds. Take that improved footwork to limestone and your endurance suddenly stretches further, because you are not wasting energy fighting your own feet. Go the other way and limestone builds the finger strength and stamina that lets you hold the rounded grit holds long enough to actually move off them.",[17,17129,17130],{},"They cover each other's blind spots. A climber who only ever does steep sport tends to have woeful slab technique. A climber who only ever boulders on grit often gasses out the moment a route goes past five moves. Spend time on both and the gaps close.",[17,17132,17133,17134,17137],{},"If you are newer to all this and wondering where to start, the ",[9853,17135,17136],{"href":14087},"first-timer's guide to the Peak District"," is a good way in to the grit side, and there is plenty of friendly limestone within reach once you have the bug.",[12,17139,17141],{"id":17140},"getting-started-on-each","Getting started on each",[17,17143,17144],{},"A few practical notes if you fancy trying the one you have not:",[3894,17146,17147,17153,17159],{},[73,17148,17149,17152],{},[76,17150,17151],{},"Going to grit?"," Pick a cold, dry day, take a brush for the slopers, and lower your expectations on the grade. Grit feels hard and humbling at first, which is the whole point.",[73,17154,17155,17158],{},[76,17156,17157],{},"Going to limestone sport?"," Make sure your clipping and lowering are solid before you leave the ground, and treat the first few routes as endurance practice rather than projects.",[73,17160,17161,17164],{},[76,17162,17163],{},"Either way,"," check access and parking before you go, because plenty of British crags sit on sensitive land with arrangements worth respecting.",[17,17166,17167],{},"You do not have to love them equally. Most of us have a favourite, the rock that feels like home. But give the other one a proper go across a few seasons and you will find it quietly making you better on the one you love. That is the gift of climbing in a country with such an absurd variety of rock packed into so little space. Use it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":17169},[17170,17171,17172,17173,17174],{"id":16971,"depth":132,"text":16972},{"id":17013,"depth":132,"text":17014},{"id":17046,"depth":132,"text":17047},{"id":17123,"depth":132,"text":17124},{"id":17140,"depth":132,"text":17141},"2023-09-29","Two of Britain's great rock types, two completely different ways to climb. A fond look at what grit and limestone teach you and why you need both.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1550265486-df3659283974?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A close-up of chalked hands","Matthew Hume","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@matthewhume",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fuk-limestone-versus-grit-a-love-letter",{"title":16960,"description":17176},"blog\u002Fuk-limestone-versus-grit-a-love-letter",[2589,14091,3168,17186,14092],"rock","JvGOuZrrHBZ86a9D_0F-faxO958C0sihn3eKjyQegmQ",{"id":17189,"title":17190,"author":7,"body":17191,"category":2785,"date":17334,"description":17335,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":665,"imageAlt":17336,"imageCredit":667,"imageCreditUrl":668,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":17337,"navigation":152,"path":17338,"readTime":1547,"seo":17339,"stem":17340,"tags":17341,"__hash__":17342},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffinding-a-regular-climbing-partner.md","Finding a regular climbing partner",{"type":9,"value":17192,"toc":17327},[17193,17196,17199,17203,17206,17232,17235,17239,17242,17245,17250,17257,17261,17264,17300,17303,17307,17310,17317,17321,17324],[17,17194,17195],{},"A good climbing partner is worth more than any piece of gear you will ever buy. They are the difference between turning up twice a month when you can be bothered and turning up every week because someone is expecting you. They spot your sketchy beta, hold the rope when it counts, and tell you to stop sandbagging yourself when you back off a problem you can clearly do. Finding one, though, can feel oddly awkward, like dating but with more chalk.",[17,17197,17198],{},"The good news is that climbing is one of the friendliest sports going, and the people who do it generally want more people to do it with. You just have to go about it the right way, and accept that it takes a few tries.",[12,17200,17202],{"id":17201},"where-the-partners-actually-are","Where the partners actually are",[17,17204,17205],{},"You will not find a regular partner sitting at home scrolling. You find them by being a familiar face somewhere, and that means showing up consistently to the same places.",[70,17207,17208,17214,17220,17226],{},[73,17209,17210,17213],{},[76,17211,17212],{},"Your local wall, at the same time each week."," This is the big one. Regulars notice regulars. Climb on the same evening for a month and you will start nodding at the same faces, then chatting, then sharing problems.",[73,17215,17216,17219],{},[76,17217,17218],{},"Beginner and improver courses."," Everyone there is at a similar stage and looking to keep going. The friendships that form on these tend to stick.",[73,17221,17222,17225],{},[76,17223,17224],{},"Club nights and meet-ups."," Most areas have a climbing club or an informal group that runs regular sessions, often with people happy to take newcomers out to real rock.",[73,17227,17228,17231],{},[76,17229,17230],{},"Online local groups."," Plenty of towns have a climbing chat group where people post \"anyone around Thursday?\" It feels a bit cold but it genuinely works.",[17,17233,17234],{},"The thread running through all of these is repetition. One session with a stranger rarely turns into a partnership. Five sessions in the same place turns acquaintances into mates.",[12,17236,17238],{"id":17237},"turning-a-session-into-a-habit","Turning a session into a habit",[17,17240,17241],{},"Meeting someone is the easy half. The trick is converting a pleasant one-off into a standing arrangement, and the way you do that is by making it concrete.",[17,17243,17244],{},"When a session goes well, do not leave it on a vague \"we should do this again\". Pin it down before you part ways. \"Same time next week?\" is a small sentence that does enormous work. A fixed day, even loosely, gives the whole thing a backbone, and turning up because someone is waiting for you is one of the best cures going for the weeks when motivation dips.",[3878,17246,17247],{},[17,17248,17249],{},"The single most useful sentence in building a climbing partnership is \"same time next week?\" said out loud before you leave the building. Vague good intentions evaporate by Tuesday.",[17,17251,17252,17253,17256],{},"If you both keep a log, even a simple one, you start to share a sense of progress and it gives you something to natter about. We are biased, but ",[9853,17254,17255],{"href":12071},"logging every session"," is far more fun with someone to compare notes with.",[12,17258,17260],{"id":17259},"being-the-partner-people-want","Being the partner people want",[17,17262,17263],{},"This is the part nobody mentions. Finding a partner is partly about being someone worth climbing with. The best climbers to share a session with are not the strongest, they are the reliable, encouraging ones. A short list of what makes you that person:",[3894,17265,17266,17272,17282,17288,17294],{},[73,17267,17268,17271],{},[76,17269,17270],{},"Turn up when you say you will."," Flaking is the fastest way to lose a partner. If you have to cancel, do it early.",[73,17273,17274,17277,17278,17281],{},[76,17275,17276],{},"Belay attentively."," If you are climbing ropes, nothing builds trust like a partner who watches you the whole way up and never has their phone out. If you are rusty, brush up on ",[9853,17279,17280],{"href":11759},"how to belay safely"," before you offer.",[73,17283,17284,17287],{},[76,17285,17286],{},"Be encouraging without being a coach."," Spray beta only when asked. A \"come on, you've got this\" lands better than a stream of unsolicited instructions.",[73,17289,17290,17293],{},[76,17291,17292],{},"Share the rope time fairly."," Do not hog the project while your partner cools down and gets bored.",[73,17295,17296,17299],{},[76,17297,17298],{},"Climb at compatible intensity."," You do not need to be the same grade, but you do need to want roughly the same kind of session.",[17,17301,17302],{},"That last point matters more than people expect. A partnership where one person wants quiet technique work and the other wants to thrash themselves on hard projects will grind. You do not need a clone, but you need someone whose idea of a good evening overlaps with yours.",[12,17304,17306],{"id":17305},"when-grades-do-not-match","When grades do not match",[17,17308,17309],{},"A common worry is that you are too weak, or too strong, to be a useful partner. Most of the time this matters far less than you think, especially for bouldering, where you can both work the same problem at your own pace and cheer each other on. For roped climbing it takes a bit more thought, but a stronger climber can happily belay a weaker one and use the rests to recover, and a weaker climber gets to watch good movement up close.",[17,17311,17312,17313,17316],{},"The thing that actually kills these pairings is not the grade gap but a difference in attitude, where one person treats the gap as a problem. If you can both be relaxed about it, a mixed-ability partnership is one of the best ways to learn. Just keep an eye that nobody slips into ",[9853,17314,17315],{"href":15851},"comparing themselves"," in a way that sours the session.",[12,17318,17320],{"id":17319},"give-it-time","Give it time",[17,17322,17323],{},"Here is the honest bit. You might click with the first person you climb with, or it might take a dozen mismatches before you find someone you genuinely look forward to seeing. That is normal. Treat early sessions as low stakes, climb with lots of different people, and do not force a partnership that is not flowing. The right one tends to feel easy.",[17,17325,17326],{},"Keep showing up, keep saying \"same time next week?\", and keep being the kind of person you would want on the other end of the rope. The partnership will come, and when it does, your climbing and your weeks will be a great deal better for it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":17328},[17329,17330,17331,17332,17333],{"id":17201,"depth":132,"text":17202},{"id":17237,"depth":132,"text":17238},{"id":17259,"depth":132,"text":17260},{"id":17305,"depth":132,"text":17306},{"id":17319,"depth":132,"text":17320},"2023-09-22","Where to meet people who climb, how to turn a one-off session into a regular thing, and how to be the partner others actually want to climb with.","A climber gripping the rock",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffinding-a-regular-climbing-partner",{"title":17190,"description":17335},"blog\u002Ffinding-a-regular-climbing-partner",[2796,3056,5081,7759],"j0pQCvk-MsA-h9Bh362eePeCbxyuo8GoRdUnkRBzv5I",{"id":17344,"title":17345,"author":7,"body":17346,"category":2366,"date":17538,"description":17539,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":17540,"imageAlt":17541,"imageCredit":17542,"imageCreditUrl":17543,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":17544,"navigation":152,"path":17545,"readTime":1547,"seo":17546,"stem":17547,"tags":17548,"__hash__":17549},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fopen-hand-crimp-and-the-grips-in-between.md","Open hand, crimp and the grips in between",{"type":9,"value":17347,"toc":17531},[17348,17351,17354,17358,17361,17381,17384,17388,17391,17459,17462,17467,17471,17474,17480,17484,17487,17507,17510,17514,17517,17528],[17,17349,17350],{},"For something so central to climbing, the way we hold on is weirdly under-discussed. New climbers tend to grab everything the same way, usually a tense, knuckle-bent grip that feels secure and quietly wrecks their fingers over time. The truth is there is a whole vocabulary of grips, each suited to a different shape of hold, and learning which is which does two things. It makes you climb harder, and it keeps your fingers in one piece for the long haul.",[17,17352,17353],{},"Let us name the grips, explain what they do, and clear up the jargon that gets thrown around.",[12,17355,17357],{"id":17356},"the-main-grips-named","The main grips, named",[17,17359,17360],{},"There are really three families of grip, with a couple of useful variations. The names refer to what your fingers are doing, not the hold itself.",[70,17362,17363,17369,17375],{},[73,17364,17365,17368],{},[76,17366,17367],{},"Open hand (or open three-drag)."," Your fingers are nearly straight, draping over the hold with very little bend at the knuckles. The load spreads across the tendons gently. This is the grip for slopers, big rounded holds and most outdoor edges.",[73,17370,17371,17374],{},[76,17372,17373],{},"Half crimp."," The big knuckles bend to around ninety degrees, the fingertips press down, but your thumb stays off. Strong, versatile, and the workhorse grip for edges of all sizes.",[73,17376,17377,17380],{},[76,17378,17379],{},"Full crimp."," Like the half crimp but you wrap your thumb over the top of your index finger for extra power. The most forceful grip you have, and the hardest on your finger joints and tendons.",[17,17382,17383],{},"Between open hand and half crimp sits a continuum, and most climbing happens somewhere along it rather than at the extremes. The skill is choosing where on that line to sit for a given hold.",[12,17385,17387],{"id":17386},"what-each-grip-is-for","What each grip is for",[17,17389,17390],{},"Matching grip to hold is the whole game, and getting it wrong is one of the more common reasons people get gripped and pump out.",[3925,17392,17393,17404],{},[3928,17394,17395],{},[3931,17396,17397,17399,17402],{},[3934,17398,13812],{},[3934,17400,17401],{},"Best grip",[3934,17403,16658],{},[3942,17405,17406,17417,17428,17438,17448],{},[3931,17407,17408,17411,17414],{},[3947,17409,17410],{},"Sloper, rounded blob",[3947,17412,17413],{},"Open hand",[3947,17415,17416],{},"Maximises skin contact and friction",[3931,17418,17419,17422,17425],{},[3947,17420,17421],{},"Decent edge",[3947,17423,17424],{},"Half crimp",[3947,17426,17427],{},"Strong without overloading the joints",[3931,17429,17430,17433,17435],{},[3947,17431,17432],{},"Tiny crimp you must hold",[3947,17434,14919],{},[3947,17436,17437],{},"Most force, used sparingly",[3931,17439,17440,17443,17445],{},[3947,17441,17442],{},"Pocket (one to three fingers)",[3947,17444,14913],{},[3947,17446,17447],{},"Spreads load, protects tendons",[3931,17449,17450,17453,17456],{},[3947,17451,17452],{},"Big jug",[3947,17454,17455],{},"Whatever is comfy",[3947,17457,17458],{},"It is a jug, relax and shake out",[17,17460,17461],{},"The thing worth burning into memory is that the full crimp is powerful but expensive. It puts the most strain on the small pulleys in your fingers, the bits that go ping when people get a finger injury. Use it when a hold genuinely demands it, not as your default for everything.",[3878,17463,17464],{},[17,17465,17466],{},"If you grab every hold in a full crimp out of habit, you are spending your finger health on holds that did not need it. Learn to default to open hand and half crimp, and save the full crimp for when nothing else will do.",[12,17468,17470],{"id":17469},"the-open-hand-habit","The open hand habit",[17,17472,17473],{},"If you take one thing away, make it this: train yourself to default to the open hand. New climbers almost universally over-crimp because the bent-knuckle grip feels more secure on small holds. It is more secure, in the short term. But it loads your fingers hardest, fatigues fast, and is the riskiest grip for the kind of slow, nagging injuries that sideline people for months.",[17,17475,17476,17477,17479],{},"The open hand feels weaker at first because, frankly, it is weaker until you build it. But it is far kinder to your tendons and it transfers brilliantly to outdoor rock, where slopers and rounded holds reward an open grip. Spend a few sessions deliberately holding things more open than feels natural and you will build the strength while protecting your fingers. Our piece on ",[9853,17478,13224],{"href":13223}," goes deeper on building that base safely.",[12,17481,17483],{"id":17482},"pockets-pinches-and-the-awkward-ones","Pockets, pinches and the awkward ones",[17,17485,17486],{},"A few grips do not fit the open-to-crimp line neatly:",[3894,17488,17489,17495,17501],{},[73,17490,17491,17494],{},[76,17492,17493],{},"Pockets."," Holds with a hole you slot one, two or three fingers into. The fewer fingers, the more each one is loaded, so two and three-finger pockets are kinder than the brutal single-finger \"mono\". Spread the load when you can and warm up thoroughly before pulling hard on them.",[73,17496,17497,17500],{},[76,17498,17499],{},"Pinches."," Holds you squeeze between fingers and thumb. The thumb does real work here, and pinch strength is its own thing you can train. Common on volumes indoors and on certain outdoor features.",[73,17502,17503,17506],{},[76,17504,17505],{},"Gastons."," Not a grip exactly, but worth knowing. A gaston is when you push out against a hold with your elbow flared, like prising open a lift door. The fingers are often in a half-crimp, but the body position is what makes it a gaston.",[17,17508,17509],{},"You will meet all of these as you climb more, and the jargon stops sounding mysterious once you have actually used the grip on the wall.",[12,17511,17513],{"id":17512},"building-the-habit-on-the-wall","Building the habit on the wall",[17,17515,17516],{},"Knowing the names is step one. Making the right grip automatic takes deliberate practice. A simple way to work on it:",[70,17518,17519,17522,17525],{},[73,17520,17521],{},"On your warm-up, consciously name the grip you are using on each hold. Out loud or in your head, \"open hand, half crimp, jug\". It sounds daft but it builds awareness fast.",[73,17523,17524],{},"Pick an easy traverse and climb it forcing yourself to use open hand on everything, even holds you would normally crimp. It will feel weird and that is the point.",[73,17526,17527],{},"When you do reach for a full crimp, notice it. If you find you are full-crimping a hold that did not need it, file that away.",[17,17529,17530],{},"Over a few weeks this stops being effortful and becomes how you climb. You will find you naturally drape an open hand over the rounded stuff and reserve the crimp for when it is truly required. That habit is one of the quiet markers of an experienced climber, and it is the difference between fingers that last decades and fingers that keep letting you down. Hold on cleverly, not just hard, and your climbing will go further in every sense.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":17532},[17533,17534,17535,17536,17537],{"id":17356,"depth":132,"text":17357},{"id":17386,"depth":132,"text":17387},{"id":17469,"depth":132,"text":17470},{"id":17482,"depth":132,"text":17483},{"id":17512,"depth":132,"text":17513},"2023-09-15","A plain-English glossary of how climbers hold on, from open hand to full crimp, and when to reach for each grip to climb harder and stay healthy.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1570642503856-55972f7fb58a?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A close-up of climbing hands","Elahe Motamedi","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@elahemotamedi",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fopen-hand-crimp-and-the-grips-in-between",{"title":17345,"description":17539},"blog\u002Fopen-hand-crimp-and-the-grips-in-between",[2376,2377,8242,7505,290],"r2hWDVsshpAhrA7a_LgAdifuWrX4L_IcyZdfZMd38Bc",{"id":17551,"title":17552,"author":7,"body":17553,"category":1811,"date":17734,"description":17735,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":17736,"imageAlt":17737,"imageCredit":17738,"imageCreditUrl":17739,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":17740,"navigation":152,"path":17741,"readTime":1547,"seo":17742,"stem":17743,"tags":17744,"__hash__":17745},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-chalk-bag-features-that-matter.md","The chalk bag features that matter",{"type":9,"value":17554,"toc":17727},[17555,17558,17561,17565,17568,17582,17585,17589,17592,17661,17664,17669,17673,17676,17683,17687,17694,17697,17701,17704,17724],[17,17556,17557],{},"A chalk bag is the bit of kit climbers think about least and use the most. You will reach into it hundreds of times a session, every session, for years. And yet most people buy whatever looks nice or whatever was on the shelf, then never give it another thought. Which is mostly fine, because a chalk bag is hard to get badly wrong. But a few features genuinely affect how well it works, and knowing them helps you spend your money on the things that matter rather than the things that just look good.",[17,17559,17560],{},"Let us go through what actually counts, starting with the biggest decision.",[12,17562,17564],{"id":17563},"bag-or-bucket","Bag or bucket?",[17,17566,17567],{},"The first fork in the road is whether you want a small waist-worn bag or a large floor-standing bucket. They are for different jobs.",[70,17569,17570,17576],{},[73,17571,17572,17575],{},[76,17573,17574],{},"Waist bag."," Clips to a belt or strap, hangs at your back, holds enough chalk for one pair of hands. This is what you want for roped climbing, where you chalk up mid-route, and for bouldering outdoors where you carry it on the walk-in.",[73,17577,17578,17581],{},[76,17579,17580],{},"Bucket."," A big, wide, stable tub that sits on the ground at the base of a boulder problem. Holds loads of chalk, often fits a brush and your phone, and you dip both hands at once between attempts. Standard for indoor bouldering and outdoor sessions where you are working one problem.",[17,17583,17584],{},"Plenty of climbers own both, and that is the sensible move once you are climbing regularly. If you are buying your first one and mostly bouldering, a bucket is the friendlier choice. If you are roping up, you need a waist bag.",[12,17586,17588],{"id":17587},"the-features-worth-checking","The features worth checking",[17,17590,17591],{},"Beyond size, a handful of details separate a bag you forget about, in the good way, from one that quietly annoys you.",[3925,17593,17594,17605],{},[3928,17595,17596],{},[3931,17597,17598,17600,17602],{},[3934,17599,14455],{},[3934,17601,8494],{},[3934,17603,17604],{},"What to look for",[3942,17606,17607,17617,17628,17639,17650],{},[3931,17608,17609,17611,17614],{},[3947,17610,14500],{},[3947,17612,17613],{},"Stops chalk spilling in your pack",[3947,17615,17616],{},"A drawcord or stiff roll-top that actually shuts",[3931,17618,17619,17622,17625],{},[3947,17620,17621],{},"Stiff rim",[3947,17623,17624],{},"Lets you get your hand in easily",[3947,17626,17627],{},"A wired or rigid opening that holds its shape",[3931,17629,17630,17633,17636],{},[3947,17631,17632],{},"Fleece lining",[3947,17634,17635],{},"Holds chalk and coats your hands well",[3947,17637,17638],{},"Soft pile inside, not bare fabric",[3931,17640,17641,17644,17647],{},[3947,17642,17643],{},"Brush holder",[3947,17645,17646],{},"Keeps a brush to hand",[3947,17648,17649],{},"Loops or slots on a bucket",[3931,17651,17652,17655,17658],{},[3947,17653,17654],{},"Waist belt",[3947,17656,17657],{},"Comfort on the wall",[3947,17659,17660],{},"Adjustable, not a flimsy cord",[17,17662,17663],{},"The closure is the one people underrate. A bag that does not shut properly turns your rucksack into a snow globe. A simple drawcord that you can cinch tight, or a bucket with a roll-top lid, saves you a lot of grief and a lot of wasted chalk.",[3878,17665,17666],{},[17,17667,17668],{},"The stiff rim is the unsung hero. A bag whose mouth collapses shut the moment you take your hand out is a daily irritation. One that stays open lets you dip without looking, which matters more than you would think mid-route.",[12,17670,17672],{"id":17671},"the-lining-question","The lining question",[17,17674,17675],{},"Inside, most decent bags have a soft fleece or pile lining. This is not just padding, it holds loose chalk in the fibres so your hand picks up an even coating rather than a clump. A bare nylon interior works, but you tend to either get nothing or a fistful. If you can, feel inside before you buy and go for something with a proper soft pile.",[17,17677,17678,17679,17682],{},"This pairs with how you use chalk in the first place. A good lining gives you a light, even dusting, which is exactly what you want. If you find yourself caking your hands regardless, the bag is not the problem, your technique is, and our look at ",[9853,17680,17681],{"href":16751},"chalk, liquid chalk and the great debate"," covers using less of it more effectively.",[12,17684,17686],{"id":17685},"brush-holders-and-the-extras","Brush holders and the extras",[17,17688,17689,17690,17693],{},"On a bucket, a brush holder is genuinely useful. Keeping a brush slotted into a loop on the side means you can clear holds between goes without rummaging, and a ",[9853,17691,17692],{"href":16624},"brush is one of the most underrated tools"," you own, so having it to hand encourages you to actually use it. Some buckets also have a zipped pocket for keys, a phone or tape. Nice to have, not essential.",[17,17695,17696],{},"For a waist bag, keep it simple. You want it light, snug to your back, and easy to spin round one-handed. Extra pockets and gadgets just add bulk where you do not need it.",[12,17698,17700],{"id":17699},"what-not-to-pay-extra-for","What not to pay extra for",[17,17702,17703],{},"A few things that look like features but rarely change your climbing:",[3894,17705,17706,17712,17718],{},[73,17707,17708,17711],{},[76,17709,17710],{},"Fancy fabric and prints."," Lovely, but they do nothing for performance. Buy the pattern you like once the practical boxes are ticked.",[73,17713,17714,17717],{},[76,17715,17716],{},"Excessive pockets on a waist bag."," Weight and bulk for little gain. A small key pocket is plenty.",[73,17719,17720,17723],{},[76,17721,17722],{},"Oversized buckets."," Beyond a sensible size, a giant bucket is just awkward to carry. You do not need a bin's worth of chalk at the base of a problem.",[17,17725,17726],{},"The honest summary is that a chalk bag is a low-stakes purchase where a few details, the closure, the rim, the lining, separate good from fiddly. Get those right, pick the size that matches how you climb, and then choose whichever colour or pattern makes you smile. You are going to be looking at it for years, so you may as well like it. Sort the function first, enjoy the form second, and then forget about it entirely, which is exactly what a good chalk bag lets you do.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":17728},[17729,17730,17731,17732,17733],{"id":17563,"depth":132,"text":17564},{"id":17587,"depth":132,"text":17588},{"id":17671,"depth":132,"text":17672},{"id":17685,"depth":132,"text":17686},{"id":17699,"depth":132,"text":17700},"2023-09-08","Closure, stiffness, brush holders and bucket versus bag. A practical run through the chalk bag features worth paying attention to before you buy.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1633264985178-d23fa9a59c96?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a mountainside","sehoon ye","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@_3bread",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-chalk-bag-features-that-matter",{"title":17552,"description":17735},"blog\u002Fthe-chalk-bag-features-that-matter",[1822,14620,2440,1823,293],"fBbPf0E3dXpYQyDAHr8PtXqPPW_Wz-B5k1YJgT82a8s",{"id":17747,"title":17748,"author":7,"body":17749,"category":2678,"date":17934,"description":17935,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":17936,"imageAlt":17937,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":17938,"navigation":152,"path":14349,"readTime":1547,"seo":17939,"stem":17940,"tags":17941,"__hash__":17942},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-unwritten-rules-of-the-bouldering-mat.md","The unwritten rules of the bouldering mat",{"type":9,"value":17750,"toc":17927},[17751,17754,17757,17761,17764,17767,17781,17784,17788,17791,17796,17799,17830,17834,17837,17840,17893,17897,17900,17914,17917,17921,17924],[17,17752,17753],{},"Walk into a bouldering area for the first time and it looks like glorious chaos. People sprawled on the mats, others walking under climbers mid-move, someone lying flat staring up at a problem as if they have lost something. There is no obvious queue, no signs, no marshal blowing a whistle. And yet it mostly works, because there is a whole set of unwritten rules that regulars follow without thinking. The trouble is nobody tells you what they are, so newcomers stumble into them by accident and feel embarrassed for no good reason.",[17,17755,17756],{},"So here is the rulebook nobody hands you. None of this is officially written down, but break it and you will get the looks. Follow it and you will fit in within one session.",[12,17758,17760],{"id":17759},"the-space-under-a-climber-is-sacred","The space under a climber is sacred",[17,17762,17763],{},"The single most important rule: do not walk, sit, lie or stand under someone who is climbing. The area beneath an active climber is their landing zone, and if they fall, that is where they go. It is the most common newbie mistake and the one that actually causes injuries.",[17,17765,17766],{},"Before you cross a mat, glance up. If someone is on the wall, wait or go round. If you are not sure whether they are about to pull on, just ask. Climbers expect this and nobody minds the question.",[70,17768,17769,17772,17775,17778],{},[73,17770,17771],{},"Look up before you step onto any mat.",[73,17773,17774],{},"Never cut across the fall zone of someone mid-problem.",[73,17776,17777],{},"If you are resting, do it at the edge of the mat, not slap in the middle of the landing area.",[73,17779,17780],{},"Keep your bag, water bottle and brush off the mats entirely.",[17,17782,17783],{},"That last one matters more than it sounds. A water bottle left on the matting is an ankle waiting to be broken when someone drops onto it. Bags go on the racks or against the wall, never on the floor where people land.",[12,17785,17787],{"id":17786},"brushing-beta-and-taking-turns","Brushing, beta and taking turns",[17,17789,17790],{},"There is no formal queue at a boulder problem, but there is an understood rhythm. People take turns, give each other space, and read the room.",[3878,17792,17793],{},[17,17794,17795],{},"The unspoken etiquette is simple: have your go, then step well back and let others have theirs. The person who monopolises a problem for twenty minutes while three people wait is the one everybody quietly resents.",[17,17797,17798],{},"A few norms around sharing problems:",[3894,17800,17801,17807,17815,17824],{},[73,17802,17803,17806],{},[76,17804,17805],{},"Step back between goes."," After your attempt, move off the mat and out of the way so the next person can climb. Resting in the landing zone while you catch your breath blocks everyone.",[73,17808,17809,17812,17813,12058],{},[76,17810,17811],{},"Do not spray beta uninvited."," Telling someone exactly how to do a problem they did not ask about robs them of the fun of working it out. Offer once if they seem stuck, then leave them to it. There is more on this in ",[9853,17814,13460],{"href":13459},[73,17816,17817,17820,17821,17823],{},[76,17818,17819],{},"Brush the holds when they get gunky,"," especially after a sweaty go, and re-chalk for the next person rather than leaving a slick mess. A ",[9853,17822,16625],{"href":16624}," for keeping shared problems honest.",[73,17825,17826,17829],{},[76,17827,17828],{},"Do not hog a problem when it is busy."," If a queue forms, alternate goes rather than running lap after lap.",[12,17831,17833],{"id":17832},"spotting-and-the-social-side","Spotting and the social side",[17,17835,17836],{},"Spotting is the act of standing behind a climber ready to steer their fall onto the mat and away from awkward landings, particularly on highball problems or topouts. Indoors with thick matting it is less critical, but outdoors and on tall problems it matters a lot. The etiquette is to offer, not impose.",[17,17838,17839],{},"If someone looks like they are about to commit to a high move and there is no one behind them, a quick \"want a spot?\" is welcome. Equally, do not grab someone mid-climb without asking, you can put them off badly. When you do spot, your job is to protect their head and steer them onto the pads, not to catch them like a falling sack of spuds.",[3925,17841,17842,17851],{},[3928,17843,17844],{},[3931,17845,17846,17848],{},[3934,17847,15273],{},[3934,17849,17850],{},"Good etiquette",[3942,17852,17853,17861,17869,17877,17885],{},[3931,17854,17855,17858],{},[3947,17856,17857],{},"Someone topping out high",[3947,17859,17860],{},"Offer a spot before they start",[3931,17862,17863,17866],{},[3947,17864,17865],{},"You are spotting",[3947,17867,17868],{},"Watch their hips, steer onto the mat",[3931,17870,17871,17874],{},[3947,17872,17873],{},"You want to climb their problem",[3947,17875,17876],{},"Wait for them to finish and step back",[3931,17878,17879,17882],{},[3947,17880,17881],{},"You finished your go",[3947,17883,17884],{},"Move off the mat promptly",[3931,17886,17887,17890],{},[3947,17888,17889],{},"Outdoor session, shared pads",[3947,17891,17892],{},"Ask before flinging your pad down on theirs",[12,17894,17896],{"id":17895},"the-little-things-that-mark-you-out","The little things that mark you out",[17,17898,17899],{},"Beyond safety, there is a layer of social courtesy that experienced climbers follow on autopilot. None of it is hard, it is mostly just paying attention to the people around you.",[70,17901,17902,17905,17908,17911],{},[73,17903,17904],{},"Keep the noise reasonable. A bit of encouragement is great, blasting music from a speaker in a shared space is not.",[73,17906,17907],{},"Do not sit on the mat lacing your shoes in the middle of a busy landing zone. Find a corner.",[73,17909,17910],{},"Celebrate other people's sends. A genuine \"nice one\" when a stranger tops their project is part of what makes the bouldering area a good place to be.",[73,17912,17913],{},"If you are filming yourself, make sure your tripod and your filming are not blocking the problem or the landing.",[17,17915,17916],{},"These small habits are how the place stays friendly. The bouldering area runs on a kind of casual mutual respect, and the climbers who get it right are the ones who keep half an eye on everyone else rather than tunnelling on their own session.",[12,17918,17920],{"id":17919},"you-will-get-it-quickly","You will get it quickly",[17,17922,17923],{},"If all this feels like a lot to remember, relax. Nobody expects a first-timer to have it nailed, and the climbing community is generally forgiving of honest mistakes. Watch what the regulars do, keep off the landing zones, take your turn, and ask when you are unsure. Within a session or two it becomes second nature and you stop thinking about it.",[17,17925,17926],{},"The whole point of these unwritten rules is to keep a busy, shared, slightly dangerous space safe and pleasant for everyone in it. Get them right and you become part of what makes a good bouldering area good. That is a far nicer thing to be than the person standing in the fall zone wondering why everyone is staring. Look up, step back, and enjoy it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":17928},[17929,17930,17931,17932,17933],{"id":17759,"depth":132,"text":17760},{"id":17786,"depth":132,"text":17787},{"id":17832,"depth":132,"text":17833},{"id":17895,"depth":132,"text":17896},{"id":17919,"depth":132,"text":17920},"2023-09-01","Nobody hands you a rulebook for the bouldering area, but there are unwritten norms around space, spotting and waiting. Here is how not to be that person.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1578886141033-b9f066572135?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A hiker on a trail in focus",{},{"title":17748,"description":17935},"blog\u002Fthe-unwritten-rules-of-the-bouldering-mat",[14822,14823,7598,5396,293],"_9QRrhmjJ1J5WgjT9qVk0HlXaOCH39IlWujxeVtWyGc",{"id":17944,"title":17945,"author":7,"body":17946,"category":141,"date":18157,"description":18158,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":18159,"imageAlt":18160,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":18161,"navigation":152,"path":13478,"readTime":1547,"seo":18162,"stem":18163,"tags":18164,"__hash__":18166},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffootwork-drills-that-pay-off-fast.md","Footwork drills that pay off fast",{"type":9,"value":17947,"toc":18149},[17948,17951,17954,17958,17961,17964,17969,17972,17975,17978,17998,18005,18009,18012,18015,18018,18029,18033,18036,18108,18111,18115,18118,18121,18128,18132,18135,18146],[17,17949,17950],{},"Most climbers, when they get stuck on a move, assume they need to get stronger. They go away and hang off a board, build their fingers, come back, and find the move just as hard. Nine times out of ten the problem was never their fingers. It was their feet. Sloppy footwork quietly sabotages people for years, and the maddening thing is that it is the fastest thing in climbing to improve. You can feel a difference within a single session of deliberate practice, long before any strength training pays back.",[17,17952,17953],{},"These are drills you can do at any wall, on easy ground, with no special kit. They are not glamorous. They are the boring stuff that separates people who plateau from people who keep getting better. Give them a few sessions and watch what happens.",[12,17955,17957],{"id":17956},"why-feet-matter-more-than-you-think","Why feet matter more than you think",[17,17959,17960],{},"Your legs are far stronger than your arms and they do not pump out. Every kilo of bodyweight you can drive through your feet is a kilo your fingers do not have to hold. Climbers with good footwork make hard moves look easy precisely because they are letting their legs do the heavy lifting while their hands just direct.",[17,17962,17963],{},"Bad footwork shows up as scrabbling, readjusting, and feet popping off mid-move. Good footwork is quiet, precise, and committed. The drills below all train the same handful of things: looking at your feet, placing them accurately, and trusting them once they are down.",[3878,17965,17966],{},[17,17967,17968],{},"The single best diagnostic for footwork is noise. Listen to yourself climb. If your feet land with a slap and a scrape, they are sloppy. If they touch down silently and stay put, you are getting it right.",[12,17970,5086],{"id":17971},"the-silent-feet-drill",[17,17973,17974],{},"This is the classic, and it is the one to start with. The idea is simple: climb an easy route or traverse and do not let your feet make a sound. Not a tap, not a scrape, nothing.",[17,17976,17977],{},"To do it you are forced to:",[3894,17979,17980,17986,17992],{},[73,17981,17982,17985],{},[76,17983,17984],{},"Look at the foothold"," before you move your foot.",[73,17987,17988,17991],{},[76,17989,17990],{},"Place the foot precisely"," on the best part of the hold, usually the inside edge of your big toe.",[73,17993,17994,17997],{},[76,17995,17996],{},"Set it gently and weight it smoothly"," rather than stabbing at it.",[17,17999,18000,18001,18004],{},"It sounds trivial and it is brutally revealing. Most people cannot get up an easy problem silently the first time. Do a few laps with this as your only focus and you will start placing your feet with care automatically. There is a whole piece on it in ",[9853,18002,18003],{"href":5155},"the silent feet drill"," if you want to go deeper.",[12,18006,18008],{"id":18007},"precision-and-the-one-touch-rule","Precision and the one-touch rule",[17,18010,18011],{},"The second drill targets the habit of repositioning your foot once it is down. Watch a struggling climber and you will see feet land, shuffle, readjust, hop to a better spot. Every one of those readjustments wastes energy and breaks your flow.",[17,18013,18014],{},"The one-touch rule fixes it. Climb an easy route with this single constraint: wherever your foot first touches a hold, that is where it stays. No adjusting. To make it work you have to look at the hold, decide exactly where you want your foot, and put it there first time.",[17,18016,18017],{},"A few things that help your accuracy:",[70,18019,18020,18023,18026],{},[73,18021,18022],{},"Use the inside edge of your toe, not the middle of your foot, so you can pivot and reach.",[73,18024,18025],{},"Keep your heel a touch lower than you think, it locks the foot in place.",[73,18027,18028],{},"Move your eyes to the foothold and keep watching until the foot is set.",[12,18030,18032],{"id":18031},"drills-you-can-rotate-through-a-session","Drills you can rotate through a session",[17,18034,18035],{},"To keep footwork practice from getting stale, rotate through a few drills. Each targets a slightly different fault.",[3925,18037,18038,18051],{},[3928,18039,18040],{},[3931,18041,18042,18045,18048],{},[3934,18043,18044],{},"Drill",[3934,18046,18047],{},"What it fixes",[3934,18049,18050],{},"How to do it",[3942,18052,18053,18064,18075,18086,18097],{},[3931,18054,18055,18058,18061],{},[3947,18056,18057],{},"Silent feet",[3947,18059,18060],{},"Slapping, imprecise placement",[3947,18062,18063],{},"Climb easy ground making no foot noise",[3931,18065,18066,18069,18072],{},[3947,18067,18068],{},"One touch",[3947,18070,18071],{},"Constant readjusting",[3947,18073,18074],{},"Foot stays where it first lands",[3931,18076,18077,18080,18083],{},[3947,18078,18079],{},"Glue feet",[3947,18081,18082],{},"Feet popping off under load",[3947,18084,18085],{},"Imagine glue, never let a foot leave early",[3931,18087,18088,18091,18094],{},[3947,18089,18090],{},"Hover",[3947,18092,18093],{},"Rushing the placement",[3947,18095,18096],{},"Pause foot 2cm off the hold, then set it",[3931,18098,18099,18102,18105],{},[3947,18100,18101],{},"Outside edge",[3947,18103,18104],{},"Over-reliance on inside edge",[3947,18106,18107],{},"Force outside-edge placements on a traverse",[17,18109,18110],{},"Pick two of these per session and spend ten minutes on each as part of your warm-up. You do not need a whole session dedicated to footwork, you need a consistent ten minutes of it every time you climb.",[12,18112,18114],{"id":18113},"trusting-your-feet","Trusting your feet",[17,18116,18117],{},"Precision is half the battle. The other half is trust. Plenty of climbers place their feet beautifully and then refuse to actually commit their weight, hovering over a smear because they do not believe it will hold. The result is they hang off their arms and pump out.",[17,18119,18120],{},"Trust comes from experience, and you build it deliberately by spending time on poor footholds on easy ground, especially on slabs and gentle angles where you are forced to stand on your feet. Smearing, where you press the sole of your shoe onto a featureless bit of wall and trust the friction, feels alarming until you have done it enough to believe it. The more you weight dubious feet on easy terrain, the more you will commit when it counts on something hard.",[17,18122,18123,18124,18127],{},"This is exactly why time on grit and on low-angle ",[9853,18125,18126],{"href":16953},"board angles"," does so much for footwork. There is nowhere to hide, so you learn fast.",[12,18129,18131],{"id":18130},"making-it-stick","Making it stick",[17,18133,18134],{},"The drills are easy. The hard part is keeping them up once the novelty wears off. A few ways to embed them:",[70,18136,18137,18140,18143],{},[73,18138,18139],{},"Make footwork your warm-up ritual every session, not an occasional special.",[73,18141,18142],{},"Pick one fault to obsess over for a couple of weeks rather than scattering your attention.",[73,18144,18145],{},"Climb easy problems with intent sometimes, instead of always reaching for the hardest thing you can.",[17,18147,18148],{},"The payoff is genuinely quick. Unlike finger strength, which takes months and patience, footwork repays you in days. Within a session or two of deliberate practice you will feel your feet sticking better, your arms pumping less, and moves that felt desperate suddenly going. It is the cheapest, fastest upgrade available to almost every climber, and most people skip it because it is not flashy. Be the one who does the boring drills, and you will quietly leave the stronger, sloppier climbers behind.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":18150},[18151,18152,18153,18154,18155,18156],{"id":17956,"depth":132,"text":17957},{"id":17971,"depth":132,"text":5086},{"id":18007,"depth":132,"text":18008},{"id":18031,"depth":132,"text":18032},{"id":18113,"depth":132,"text":18114},{"id":18130,"depth":132,"text":18131},"2023-08-25","A handful of simple footwork drills you can do on any wall that genuinely move the needle in a session or two, plus how to make the habits stick.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1588869222183-9269c9a5d330?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber with a pack on a mountain",{},{"title":17945,"description":18158},"blog\u002Ffootwork-drills-that-pay-off-fast",[162,290,1242,436,18165],"drills","33einkqGoomM1mWtvU71gDiVxHLf5Lt7D_u_1seX4Xs",{"id":18168,"title":18169,"author":7,"body":18170,"category":2464,"date":18408,"description":18409,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":18410,"imageAlt":18411,"imageCredit":18412,"imageCreditUrl":18413,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":18414,"navigation":152,"path":18415,"readTime":1547,"seo":18416,"stem":18417,"tags":18418,"__hash__":18419},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-bring-to-your-first-session.md","What to bring to your first session",{"type":9,"value":18171,"toc":18401},[18172,18175,18178,18182,18185,18210,18213,18217,18220,18252,18263,18268,18272,18275,18349,18352,18356,18359,18388,18391,18395,18398],[17,18173,18174],{},"The night before your first climbing session, it is tempting to fall down an internet hole and convince yourself you need a pile of expensive kit before you are allowed through the door. You do not. One of the best things about climbing is how little you need to start, and a wall full of people who have spent a fortune on gear will be quietly impressed by the beginner who turns up in a normal t-shirt and just gets stuck in.",[17,18176,18177],{},"Here is the honest packing list for a first session, what the wall sorts out for you, and the stuff you can happily ignore until you are sure you are hooked.",[12,18179,18181],{"id":18180},"what-the-wall-provides","What the wall provides",[17,18183,18184],{},"This is the part that surprises people. For your first visit, the centre supplies almost everything you actually need to climb safely.",[70,18186,18187,18192,18198,18204],{},[73,18188,18189,18191],{},[76,18190,8281],{}," Every wall rents them. They will not be glamorous and they may smell a bit, but they do the job perfectly for learning. Do not buy your own yet.",[73,18193,18194,18197],{},[76,18195,18196],{},"Chalk."," Most walls rent or sell chalk, and some include a chalk bag with shoe hire. You barely need it at first anyway.",[73,18199,18200,18203],{},[76,18201,18202],{},"A harness and ropes,"," if you are doing any roped climbing. For an introductory session this is provided and you will be shown how to use it.",[73,18205,18206,18209],{},[76,18207,18208],{},"Instruction or an induction."," Most walls require a short safety briefing or induction for first-timers, which covers the basics of falling, the rules, and how the place works.",[17,18211,18212],{},"So the genuine answer to \"what do I need to buy?\" before your first session is: nothing. Turn up, hire what you need, and see if you enjoy it before spending a penny.",[12,18214,18216],{"id":18215},"what-to-actually-bring","What to actually bring",[17,18218,18219],{},"Your packing list is short and most of it is already in your house.",[3894,18221,18222,18228,18234,18240,18246],{},[73,18223,18224,18227],{},[76,18225,18226],{},"Comfortable, stretchy clothes."," Leggings, joggers, or shorts you can move in, and a t-shirt. Climbing involves high steps and odd positions, so anything restrictive will annoy you. Avoid anything too baggy that catches on holds.",[73,18229,18230,18233],{},[76,18231,18232],{},"A water bottle."," Climbing is thirstier than it looks. Bring water and sip through the session.",[73,18235,18236,18239],{},[76,18237,18238],{},"A small snack."," A session can run longer than you expect and a bit of energy helps.",[73,18241,18242,18245],{},[76,18243,18244],{},"Socks,"," if you fancy them. Rental shoes are worn snug and many people go sockless, but for a first go in hire shoes a thin pair of socks is perfectly fine and more hygienic.",[73,18247,18248,18251],{},[76,18249,18250],{},"A hair tie"," if you have long hair, to keep it out of the way.",[17,18253,18254,18255,18258,18259,18262],{},"That is genuinely it. There is more detail in ",[9853,18256,18257],{"href":2471},"what to bring to your first session"," and in ",[9853,18260,18261],{"href":8353},"your first day climbing, what to expect"," if you want to walk in fully prepared.",[3878,18264,18265],{},[17,18266,18267],{},"The biggest first-timer mistake is overbuying. Hire everything, climb a few times, and only buy gear once you know which type of climbing you actually love. Your future self, and your wallet, will thank you.",[12,18269,18271],{"id":18270},"what-to-wear-in-a-bit-more-detail","What to wear, in a bit more detail",[17,18273,18274],{},"Clothing trips people up because climbing asks your body to do things normal exercise does not. You will high-step, drop your knee, and reach in ways that test your range of movement. The fix is simple: wear something stretchy and not too tight at the waist or knees.",[3925,18276,18277,18291],{},[3928,18278,18279],{},[3931,18280,18281,18284,18286,18289],{},[3934,18282,18283],{},"Good",[3934,18285,16658],{},[3934,18287,18288],{},"Avoid",[3934,18290,16658],{},[3942,18292,18293,18307,18321,18335],{},[3931,18294,18295,18298,18301,18304],{},[3947,18296,18297],{},"Stretchy joggers or leggings",[3947,18299,18300],{},"Move freely, high steps are easy",[3947,18302,18303],{},"Stiff jeans",[3947,18305,18306],{},"Restrict the legs badly",[3931,18308,18309,18312,18315,18318],{},[3947,18310,18311],{},"Fitted t-shirt",[3947,18313,18314],{},"Stays out of the way",[3947,18316,18317],{},"Loose vest or crop",[3947,18319,18320],{},"Rides up, catches on holds",[3931,18322,18323,18326,18329,18332],{},[3947,18324,18325],{},"Thin socks (in hire shoes)",[3947,18327,18328],{},"Comfort and hygiene",[3947,18330,18331],{},"Thick hiking socks",[3947,18333,18334],{},"Too bulky for tight shoes",[3931,18336,18337,18340,18343,18346],{},[3947,18338,18339],{},"Layers you can shed",[3947,18341,18342],{},"You warm up fast",[3947,18344,18345],{},"A heavy hoodie worn climbing",[3947,18347,18348],{},"Overheats, restricts",[17,18350,18351],{},"Leave the jewellery at home or in your bag. Rings in particular are a genuine hazard on climbing holds, and a watch will just get scuffed.",[12,18353,18355],{"id":18354},"what-you-do-not-need-yet","What you do not need yet",[17,18357,18358],{},"The gear shop is full of tempting things, and almost none of them belong in your bag for session one. Hold off on:",[70,18360,18361,18370,18376,18382],{},[73,18362,18363,18366,18367,18369],{},[76,18364,18365],{},"Your own shoes."," Rentals are fine while you learn, and buying before you know your preferences is a gamble. When you are ready, ",[9853,18368,14583],{"href":13737}," will steer you right.",[73,18371,18372,18375],{},[76,18373,18374],{},"A chalk bag and chalk."," You will use barely any chalk early on, and the wall can sort you out.",[73,18377,18378,18381],{},[76,18379,18380],{},"A harness."," Only relevant for roped climbing, and provided for beginners.",[73,18383,18384,18387],{},[76,18385,18386],{},"Anything labelled \"performance\" or \"pro\"."," None of it will make a blind bit of difference at this stage, and most of it is solving problems you do not have yet.",[17,18389,18390],{},"The temptation to kit up before you have started is strong, but resist it. Plenty of people buy a full set of gear, go twice, and never return. Far better to dip a toe in, find out you love it, then buy thoughtfully.",[12,18392,18394],{"id":18393},"a-note-on-nerves","A note on nerves",[17,18396,18397],{},"Bring one more thing that does not fit in a bag: a willingness to look like a beginner. Everyone at the wall was a flailing newcomer once, and nobody is watching you the way you fear. Falling off, getting pumped, not knowing where to go, all of it is completely normal and faintly endearing to the regulars. Ask questions, take the induction seriously, and do not be afraid to climb the easy stuff.",[17,18399,18400],{},"The barrier to starting climbing is wonderfully low. A set of stretchy clothes, a water bottle, and an hour of your time is all it takes to find out whether this becomes the thing you cannot stop thinking about. Pack light, hire the rest, and go and have a brilliant, slightly knackering first session. The expensive decisions can all wait until you know you are hooked, and you will know soon enough.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":18402},[18403,18404,18405,18406,18407],{"id":18180,"depth":132,"text":18181},{"id":18215,"depth":132,"text":18216},{"id":18270,"depth":132,"text":18271},{"id":18354,"depth":132,"text":18355},{"id":18393,"depth":132,"text":18394},"2023-08-18","A no-nonsense packing list for your first climbing session, what the wall provides, what to wear and what you genuinely do not need to buy yet.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1685514371031-b30c30b5b232?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a rock face","lena Enz","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@lenaenz",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhat-to-bring-to-your-first-session",{"title":18169,"description":18409},"blog\u002Fwhat-to-bring-to-your-first-session",[562,10099,13548,1822,8357],"e7bfMA9g-xx6EwOiAGlKLh-ablQheum2Tq3OJDlBh1c",{"id":18421,"title":18422,"author":7,"body":18423,"category":1904,"date":18685,"description":18686,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":18687,"imageAlt":18688,"imageCredit":148,"imageCreditUrl":149,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":18689,"navigation":152,"path":18690,"readTime":1547,"seo":18691,"stem":18692,"tags":18693,"__hash__":18695},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-a-starter-rack-without-overspending.md","Building a starter rack without overspending",{"type":9,"value":18424,"toc":18678},[18425,18428,18431,18435,18438,18441,18479,18482,18486,18489,18580,18583,18588,18592,18595,18605,18612,18616,18619,18639,18642,18646,18649,18675],[17,18426,18427],{},"There is a moment, usually a couple of months into climbing, when renting gear every visit starts to feel daft and you decide it is time to buy your own. This is where a lot of people go wrong, walking into a shop and dropping a small fortune on kit they do not yet need, half of which sits in a cupboard. Building a rack well is about sequencing, buying the right things in the right order, borrowing what you can, and resisting the bits that look essential but are not.",[17,18429,18430],{},"A \"rack\" technically means the set of protection gear for trad climbing, but most people use it loosely to mean their whole personal kit. We will cover the sensible build-up for someone moving from total rental to owning what they need, without setting fire to your bank account.",[12,18432,18434],{"id":18433},"buy-in-the-right-order","Buy in the right order",[17,18436,18437],{},"The mistake is buying everything at once. Far better to buy in the order you will actually use things, which spreads the cost and stops you owning kit before you know your preferences.",[17,18439,18440],{},"A sensible sequence for most people:",[3894,18442,18443,18449,18455,18461,18467,18473],{},[73,18444,18445,18448],{},[76,18446,18447],{},"Shoes first."," The one bit of gear that genuinely affects how you climb, and the thing you will outgrow the rentals on soonest. This is where to spend a bit of thought.",[73,18450,18451,18454],{},[76,18452,18453],{},"Chalk bag and chalk."," Cheap, personal, and nice to own. A low-stakes early buy.",[73,18456,18457,18460],{},[76,18458,18459],{},"A harness,"," once you are doing roped climbing regularly. No rush if you mostly boulder.",[73,18462,18463,18466],{},[76,18464,18465],{},"A belay device and a locking carabiner,"," alongside the harness, for roped climbing.",[73,18468,18469,18472],{},[76,18470,18471],{},"A crash pad,"," only if you start bouldering outdoors. A big purchase, easy to share early on.",[73,18474,18475,18478],{},[76,18476,18477],{},"Anything trad or specialist,"," much later, and ideally built up gradually with mentorship.",[17,18480,18481],{},"Notice bouldering needs barely any of this. If you only boulder indoors, shoes and a chalk bag is the entire list, and you are done.",[12,18483,18485],{"id":18484},"where-to-spend-and-where-to-save","Where to spend and where to save",[17,18487,18488],{},"Not all gear rewards spending equally. Some of it is worth investing in, some of it is the same job whatever the price. Here is a rough guide.",[3925,18490,18491,18503],{},[3928,18492,18493],{},[3931,18494,18495,18498,18501],{},[3934,18496,18497],{},"Item",[3934,18499,18500],{},"Spend or save",[3934,18502,16658],{},[3942,18504,18505,18516,18527,18537,18548,18559,18570],{},[3931,18506,18507,18510,18513],{},[3947,18508,18509],{},"Shoes",[3947,18511,18512],{},"Spend a little, on fit",[3947,18514,18515],{},"The one piece that affects performance",[3931,18517,18518,18521,18524],{},[3947,18519,18520],{},"Chalk bag",[3947,18522,18523],{},"Save",[3947,18525,18526],{},"A bag is a bag, buy what you like",[3931,18528,18529,18532,18534],{},[3947,18530,18531],{},"Chalk",[3947,18533,18523],{},[3947,18535,18536],{},"Budget chalk works fine",[3931,18538,18539,18542,18545],{},[3947,18540,18541],{},"Harness",[3947,18543,18544],{},"Middle",[3947,18546,18547],{},"Comfort matters, but no need for top-end",[3931,18549,18550,18553,18556],{},[3947,18551,18552],{},"Belay device",[3947,18554,18555],{},"Save to middle",[3947,18557,18558],{},"Safety is in the technique, not the price",[3931,18560,18561,18564,18567],{},[3947,18562,18563],{},"Crash pad",[3947,18565,18566],{},"Spend if outdoors",[3947,18568,18569],{},"Protects your ankles, worth doing right",[3931,18571,18572,18575,18577],{},[3947,18573,18574],{},"Brush",[3947,18576,18523],{},[3947,18578,18579],{},"A nail brush from a hardware shop works",[17,18581,18582],{},"The headline is that the expensive stuff in the shop is rarely the stuff that matters for a beginner. Shoes and, if you boulder outdoors, a crash pad are where a bit of money is well spent. Almost everything else you can buy at the budget end without losing anything.",[3878,18584,18585],{},[17,18586,18587],{},"The single most overrated beginner purchase is \"upgrading\" kit you have barely used. The single most underrated is taking your time. Borrow, rent and try before you commit, and you will buy better and waste less.",[12,18589,18591],{"id":18590},"shoes-the-one-to-get-right","Shoes: the one to get right",[17,18593,18594],{},"If you buy one thing properly, make it your shoes. Not because you need expensive ones, you absolutely do not, but because fit is everything and a well-fitting cheap shoe beats a poorly fitting expensive one every time.",[17,18596,18597,18598,18600,18601,18604],{},"For a first pair, aim for a neutral or only slightly downturned shape that is comfortable enough to wear for a whole session. Aggressive, heavily downturned shoes are built for steep, hard climbing and will just hurt while you are learning. Go to a shop, try lots on, and pick the snug-but-not-agonising pair that suits your foot. Our guide to ",[9853,18599,14583],{"href":13737}," walks through fit and shape in detail, and ",[9853,18602,18603],{"href":14616},"beginner shoes worth the money"," covers the styles that genuinely earn their place.",[17,18606,18607,18608,18611],{},"A good first pair will also last longer if you look after them, and when they wear down you often have the choice to ",[9853,18609,18610],{"href":15399},"resole rather than replace",", which saves a fair bit over time.",[12,18613,18615],{"id":18614},"borrow-before-you-buy","Borrow before you buy",[17,18617,18618],{},"The cheapest rack is the one you do not buy. Climbing communities are generous, and there is a lot you can borrow or share while you work out what you want.",[70,18620,18621,18627,18633],{},[73,18622,18623,18626],{},[76,18624,18625],{},"Crash pads"," are perfect for sharing. A group heading outdoors only needs a couple between them, so there is no rush to buy your own.",[73,18628,18629,18632],{},[76,18630,18631],{},"Belay devices and harnesses"," can often be borrowed for a session or two while you decide.",[73,18634,18635,18638],{},[76,18636,18637],{},"Trad and specialist gear"," should almost always be learned on borrowed kit with an experienced climber, not bought blind off the internet.",[17,18640,18641],{},"Borrowing also lets you try before you commit. Hate the feel of a particular harness? Better to find out on a borrowed one than after you have paid for it. This is doubly true for the bigger purchases.",[12,18643,18645],{"id":18644},"what-to-skip-entirely-for-now","What to skip entirely, for now",[17,18647,18648],{},"A few things newcomers buy that they really do not need yet:",[70,18650,18651,18657,18663,18669],{},[73,18652,18653,18656],{},[76,18654,18655],{},"A full trad rack."," Unless you are actively learning trad with a mentor, this is a large sum of money for gear you cannot safely use alone. Leave it.",[73,18658,18659,18662],{},[76,18660,18661],{},"Multiple pairs of shoes."," One pair is plenty until you are climbing seriously across different styles.",[73,18664,18665,18668],{},[76,18666,18667],{},"Gadgets and \"training tools\"."," Hangboards, grip trainers and the like belong later, once your fingers are conditioned. Early on they are an injury waiting to happen, not a shortcut.",[73,18670,18671,18674],{},[76,18672,18673],{},"Premium everything."," The top-end version of most kit solves problems you will not have for years.",[17,18676,18677],{},"The whole game with a starter rack is patience. Buy your shoes thoughtfully, pick up the cheap personal bits like a chalk bag, borrow the big-ticket and the specialist stuff while you learn, and let your kit grow alongside your climbing rather than ahead of it. Done this way you spend a fraction of what the over-eager beginner spends, you own gear you actually understand, and nothing sits unused in a cupboard. Climbing is one of the cheaper outdoor sports to get into if you do it sensibly. Do it sensibly.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":18679},[18680,18681,18682,18683,18684],{"id":18433,"depth":132,"text":18434},{"id":18484,"depth":132,"text":18485},{"id":18590,"depth":132,"text":18591},{"id":18614,"depth":132,"text":18615},{"id":18644,"depth":132,"text":18645},"2023-08-11","How to build your first set of climbing gear sensibly, what to buy first, what to borrow, and where it pays to spend versus where it really does not.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1602531762613-e2b9674b9008?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber in a blue jacket on rock",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbuilding-a-starter-rack-without-overspending",{"title":18422,"description":18686},"blog\u002Fbuilding-a-starter-rack-without-overspending",[1822,13741,13742,18694,562],"budget","JllC85JkDY-HcUnOMlWzAMI26Lq_Z013YiyzW5Rl0Mg",{"id":18697,"title":18698,"author":7,"body":18699,"category":1703,"date":18846,"description":18847,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":18848,"imageAlt":18849,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":18850,"navigation":152,"path":13913,"readTime":1547,"seo":18851,"stem":18852,"tags":18853,"__hash__":18854},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fusing-a-board-without-wrecking-your-fingers.md","Using a board without wrecking your fingers",{"type":9,"value":18700,"toc":18837},[18701,18704,18708,18711,18714,18719,18721,18727,18741,18744,18748,18751,18758,18762,18765,18814,18817,18821,18827,18831,18834],[17,18702,18703],{},"The first time most people get on a steep board, they fall in love and overdo it in the same session. The holds are small, the angle is mean, and every problem feels like a fight you want to win right now. Two days later your fingers are stiff, a knuckle aches in a way that does not feel like normal soreness, and you start wondering whether you have done something silly. You probably have, and the good news is it is easy to avoid once you understand what the board is actually doing to your hands.",[12,18705,18707],{"id":18706},"why-boards-are-harder-on-fingers-than-the-gym","Why boards are harder on fingers than the gym",[17,18709,18710],{},"A spray wall or a commercial bouldering wall gives you variety. Big jugs, slopers, volumes, the occasional crimp. Your fingers get a mix of loads and plenty of rests where they are barely working. A board is the opposite. The holds are small and consistent, the angle keeps your weight hanging off your fingertips, and good problems often ask you to hold a tiny edge while you move off it. That is exactly what builds finger strength, and it is also exactly what gets people hurt.",[17,18712,18713],{},"The tissue that takes the strain is mostly the pulleys, the little bands that hold your tendons against the bone in each finger. They adapt slowly. Muscle gets stronger in weeks, but tendons and pulleys take months. So you can feel powerful and motivated long before your fingers are ready for the load you are capable of pulling. The gap between what you can do and what you can safely do is where injuries live.",[3878,18715,18716],{},[17,18717,18718],{},"The board will let you pull harder than your fingers are ready for. Your job is to be the brake, because nothing else will be.",[12,18720,2238],{"id":2237},[17,18722,18723,18724,18726],{},"The single biggest mistake is starting too hard. A proper warm-up is not five minutes of half-hearted pulling, it is fifteen to twenty minutes of gradually waking the tissue up. If you want the full picture, ",[9853,18725,14896],{"href":6956}," goes into it properly, but the short version for a board is this.",[70,18728,18729,18732,18735,18738],{},[73,18730,18731],{},"Get your whole body warm first. A brisk walk, some arm swings, a few minutes off the wall so your heart rate is up.",[73,18733,18734],{},"Climb the easiest problems on the board, well below your limit, on the biggest holds you can find.",[73,18736,18737],{},"Drop the angle if your board adjusts. Starting at 20 or 25 degrees before working up to 40 or 45 saves your fingers a lot of cold loading.",[73,18739,18740],{},"Do a few sets of easy hangs or repeaters on big edges if you have a board with positive holds, just to load the fingers gently before you ask them for everything.",[17,18742,18743],{},"By the time you start trying hard, your fingers should feel warm, slightly pumped and ready, not cold and brittle.",[12,18745,18747],{"id":18746},"manage-the-grips-not-just-the-grades","Manage the grips, not just the grades",[17,18749,18750],{},"Where your fingers go on the hold matters more than the grade of the problem. The full crimp, where your fingertips are bent back hard and your thumb wraps over the top, puts the most force through your pulleys. It is also where most board injuries happen, usually on a move where a foot cuts and you suddenly load a crimp dynamically.",[17,18752,18753,18754,18757],{},"Two simple habits help. First, favour an open-hand or half-crimp grip when you can, especially early in a session. Second, be wary of the move where your feet swing off and all the load lands on one or two crimping fingers at once. That snatch load is what tweaks a pulley. If a problem forces it, do it once cleanly rather than flailing at it ten times. There is more on grip types in ",[9853,18755,18756],{"href":17545},"open hand, crimp and the grips in between"," if you want to understand what your hand is actually doing.",[12,18759,18761],{"id":18760},"how-much-is-too-much","How much is too much",[17,18763,18764],{},"Volume on a board adds up faster than it feels like it should. A handful of hard problems can be more finger load than an hour of varied bouldering. A rough guide for staying healthy:",[3925,18766,18767,18780],{},[3928,18768,18769],{},[3931,18770,18771,18774,18777],{},[3934,18772,18773],{},"Experience on boards",[3934,18775,18776],{},"Sessions per week",[3934,18778,18779],{},"Rough hard attempts per session",[3942,18781,18782,18792,18803],{},[3931,18783,18784,18787,18789],{},[3947,18785,18786],{},"New to it",[3947,18788,3949],{},[3947,18790,18791],{},"5 to 8",[3931,18793,18794,18797,18800],{},[3947,18795,18796],{},"A season or two in",[3947,18798,18799],{},"1 to 2",[3947,18801,18802],{},"8 to 15",[3931,18804,18805,18808,18811],{},[3947,18806,18807],{},"Experienced, no current niggles",[3947,18809,18810],{},"2 to 3",[3947,18812,18813],{},"15 to 25",[17,18815,18816],{},"These are not rules, they are starting points, and they assume you are climbing on other days too. The honest test is how your fingers feel the morning after. A little stiffness that eases as you move is fine. Sharp, localised pain in a single finger is a sign to stop and rest, not to push through.",[3986,18818,18820],{"id":18819},"listen-for-the-difference-between-sore-and-hurt","Listen for the difference between sore and hurt",[17,18822,18823,18824,18826],{},"General forearm and finger fatigue is normal and expected. It is dull, spread out, and gone in a day or two. Injury feels different. It is sharp, it sits in one spot, often at the base of a finger or a knuckle, and it gets worse when you crimp specifically. If you ever feel or hear a pop, that is the session over, no debate. Learning to tell these apart is half the battle of training fingers, and ",[9853,18825,14860],{"href":9540}," covers the recovery side in more detail.",[12,18828,18830],{"id":18829},"build-the-habit-of-stopping-early","Build the habit of stopping early",[17,18832,18833],{},"The climbers who train on boards for years without serious finger injuries tend to share one trait. They stop while they still have something left. They walk away from the session feeling like they could have done one more, rather than chasing a send until their hands are wrecked. That last desperate go, when you are tired and your form has gone, is where the snatch loads and the tweaks happen.",[17,18835,18836],{},"So treat your fingers as the limiting resource, because they are. Keep a session or two of margin in the bank, warm up like it matters, watch the full crimps, and pay attention to the morning-after feeling. Do that and the board becomes the best strength tool you own. Ignore it and you spend half the year nursing a finger and wondering why you keep getting hurt. Train smart and the strength comes anyway, just a little more patiently than your ego would like.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":18838},[18839,18840,18841,18842,18845],{"id":18706,"depth":132,"text":18707},{"id":2237,"depth":132,"text":2238},{"id":18746,"depth":132,"text":18747},{"id":18760,"depth":132,"text":18761,"children":18843},[18844],{"id":18819,"depth":4021,"text":18820},{"id":18829,"depth":132,"text":18830},"2023-08-04","A board can build serious strength or leave your fingers aching for weeks. Here is how to train hard on one without tipping into injury.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1691616791156-5f0bf26cd35c?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A pair of climbing shoes on rock",{},{"title":18698,"description":18847},"blog\u002Fusing-a-board-without-wrecking-your-fingers",[1715,13942,162,7505],"msprQwnh0ZuO1rUIYU4aq5kORs9lEPsUPmgksfdHiSc",{"id":18856,"title":18857,"author":7,"body":18858,"category":2555,"date":19026,"description":19027,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19028,"imageAlt":19029,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19030,"navigation":152,"path":19031,"readTime":1547,"seo":19032,"stem":19033,"tags":19034,"__hash__":19035},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-plan-a-climbing-trip-abroad.md","How to plan a climbing trip abroad",{"type":9,"value":18859,"toc":19017},[18860,18863,18867,18870,18877,18880,18885,18889,18892,18918,18922,18925,18932,18935,18939,18942,18996,18999,19003,19010,19014],[17,18861,18862],{},"There is a particular kind of excitement that comes from booking flights to somewhere you have only seen in videos. Sun-warmed limestone, a forest full of perfect boulders, a long route that has been sitting on your tick list for years. The trip itself is the easy bit. The planning is where people either set themselves up for a brilliant week or end up driving round a foreign valley at dusk trying to find a crag that closed for nesting season. A little homework goes a long way.",[12,18864,18866],{"id":18865},"pick-a-destination-that-matches-you-not-the-hype","Pick a destination that matches you, not the hype",[17,18868,18869],{},"The famous places are famous for a reason, but famous does not always mean right for you. The first question is what kind of climbing you actually want to do, because a sport trip and a bouldering trip ask for completely different planning.",[17,18871,18872,18873,18876],{},"If you boulder, somewhere like Fontainebleau or Magic Wood gives you endless problems and no rope faff, and our piece on ",[9853,18874,18875],{"href":4145},"bouldering in Fontainebleau"," is a good place to start dreaming. If you want long sport routes in the sun, Kalymnos is the classic for good reason. Match the destination to three things: your discipline, your grade range, and the season.",[17,18878,18879],{},"That last one catches people out. A world-class crag is no use if you turn up in the wrong month. Limestone in high summer can be too hot to hold, and many areas are quiet in winter for a reason. Check when the conditions are actually good, not just when you happen to have leave booked.",[3878,18881,18882],{},[17,18883,18884],{},"The best destination is not the hardest or the most famous. It is the one where you will get on a pile of routes at your grade, in good weather, and come home grinning.",[12,18886,18888],{"id":18887},"sort-the-boring-logistics-early","Sort the boring logistics early",[17,18890,18891],{},"The unglamorous stuff is what makes or breaks a trip. Get it done in the first week of planning and forget about it.",[70,18893,18894,18900,18906,18912],{},[73,18895,18896,18899],{},[76,18897,18898],{},"Flights and bags."," Climbing kit is heavy and bulky. Check baggage allowances before you book, and remember a rope and rack can swallow a checked bag on their own.",[73,18901,18902,18905],{},[76,18903,18904],{},"Transport at the other end."," Most good crags are not on a bus route. A hire car is usually essential, and a small cheap one is often a false economy on rough approach roads.",[73,18907,18908,18911],{},[76,18909,18910],{},"Accommodation near the climbing."," Staying an hour from the crag eats your days. Climbers' campsites and gites often sit right by the action and put you among people who know the area.",[73,18913,18914,18917],{},[76,18915,18916],{},"Guidebook."," Buy the proper local guidebook, ideally before you go. Apps are handy but a good book has the approach notes, the access information and the local knowledge that saves a wasted morning.",[12,18919,18921],{"id":18920},"build-a-flexible-plan-not-a-fixed-schedule","Build a flexible plan, not a fixed schedule",[17,18923,18924],{},"The temptation is to plan every day. Resist it. Weather, skin and tiredness will rearrange your week whether you like it or not, so build a plan with options rather than a timetable.",[17,18926,18927,18928,18931],{},"A loose structure that works well is to pick three or four crags or sectors across the area, spread across different angles and aspects so you have somewhere to climb whatever the weather does. A shady wall for the hot afternoons, a sunny one for a cold morning, somewhere gentle for a rest-ish day. Then let the conditions decide the order. Climbers genuinely ",[9853,18929,18930],{"href":13991},"obsess over conditions"," for good reason, and on a trip with limited days it pays to chase the good ones.",[17,18933,18934],{},"Pace yourself too. Five days of hard climbing back to back will leave your fingers and skin in tatters by Wednesday. Plan a rest day in, or at least an easy day, and you will climb better across the whole trip.",[12,18936,18938],{"id":18937},"pack-for-the-climbing-and-the-country","Pack for the climbing and the country",[17,18940,18941],{},"Packing is where a checklist earns its keep. Here is a rough split to work from.",[3925,18943,18944,18954],{},[3928,18945,18946],{},[3931,18947,18948,18951],{},[3934,18949,18950],{},"Climbing kit",[3934,18952,18953],{},"Personal and practical",[3942,18955,18956,18964,18972,18980,18988],{},[3931,18957,18958,18961],{},[3947,18959,18960],{},"Shoes, plus a backup pair",[3947,18962,18963],{},"Sun cream and a hat",[3931,18965,18966,18969],{},[3947,18967,18968],{},"Chalk and brush",[3947,18970,18971],{},"Plenty of finger tape and skin care",[3931,18973,18974,18977],{},[3947,18975,18976],{},"Rope, draws, belay device",[3947,18978,18979],{},"First aid basics and any meds",[3931,18981,18982,18985],{},[3947,18983,18984],{},"Harness and helmet",[3947,18986,18987],{},"Travel adaptor and chargers",[3931,18989,18990,18993],{},[3947,18991,18992],{},"Guidebook and topo",[3947,18994,18995],{},"Cash in local currency",[17,18997,18998],{},"A few things worth flagging. Take more tape and skin repair than you think you need, because sharp foreign rock chews through skin faster than your home wall. Take a backup pair of shoes, because a resole is not an option mid-trip. And do not forget the unglamorous safety kit. A helmet feels optional at the gym and very much is not on a loose foreign crag.",[3986,19000,19002],{"id":19001},"know-the-local-access-rules","Know the local access rules",[17,19004,19005,19006,19009],{},"Every climbing area has its own etiquette and access situation, and getting it wrong can cause real damage to a crag's future. Some have nesting bans, some have parking arrangements with local farmers, some have fragile approaches that need looking after. Read up before you go, and treat the place as a guest would. Our guide to ",[9853,19007,19008],{"href":12149},"crag etiquette and access"," covers the principles, which travel well to anywhere in the world.",[12,19011,19013],{"id":19012},"give-yourself-room-to-enjoy-it","Give yourself room to enjoy it",[17,19015,19016],{},"The last bit of planning is the most important and the easiest to forget. Leave space to just be there. The trips people remember are not always the ones where they sent the hardest route. They are the ones with the long lunch in the shade, the evening swim, the chat with strangers who became friends. Plan enough that the logistics run themselves, then let the trip breathe. Sort the flights, match the season, pack the tape, and stay flexible once you arrive. Do that and your first trip abroad will be the first of many.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19018},[19019,19020,19021,19022,19025],{"id":18865,"depth":132,"text":18866},{"id":18887,"depth":132,"text":18888},{"id":18920,"depth":132,"text":18921},{"id":18937,"depth":132,"text":18938,"children":19023},[19024],{"id":19001,"depth":4021,"text":19002},{"id":19012,"depth":132,"text":19013},"2023-07-28","From picking a destination to packing the rack, a practical walk through planning your first climbing trip overseas without the stress.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1708291018494-42560c206cfc?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A pair of approach shoes on the ground",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-plan-a-climbing-trip-abroad",{"title":18857,"description":19027},"blog\u002Fhow-to-plan-a-climbing-trip-abroad",[2589,14091,3168,13198],"3Y6Y8fbsykMGQiqs1ksqsNam3ZOdvBqDm9nBpz9AkQw",{"id":19037,"title":19038,"author":7,"body":19039,"category":2785,"date":19163,"description":19164,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19165,"imageAlt":19166,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19167,"navigation":152,"path":19168,"readTime":1547,"seo":19169,"stem":19170,"tags":19171,"__hash__":19173},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-when-motivation-dips.md","Climbing when motivation dips",{"type":9,"value":19040,"toc":19154},[19041,19044,19048,19051,19054,19059,19063,19066,19092,19095,19099,19102,19109,19113,19116,19130,19133,19137,19140,19147,19151],[17,19042,19043],{},"You used to count down the hours until your session. Now the gym bag sits by the door and you find reasons not to pick it up. The wall feels like a chore, your projects feel impossible, and you cannot remember why you were so obsessed six months ago. If that sounds familiar, you are not broken and you are not done with climbing. You are just in a dip, and every climber who has stuck at it for any length of time knows exactly how it feels.",[12,19045,19047],{"id":19046},"slumps-are-normal-not-a-verdict","Slumps are normal, not a verdict",[17,19049,19050],{},"The first thing to understand is that a dip in motivation is not a sign you have peaked or that you are secretly not cut out for this. It is the natural rhythm of caring about something for a long time. Motivation is not a steady supply, it rises and falls, and the falls do not mean anything is wrong.",[17,19052,19053],{},"Often a dip has a cause hiding behind it. Tiredness is the big one. If you have been training hard for months, your body and your enthusiasm both need a rest, and the flat feeling is your system asking for one. Stress outside climbing drains the tank too. A hard stretch at work or at home leaves little spare energy for trying hard at the wall. Sometimes the cause is simpler still, you have just been doing the same thing for too long.",[3878,19055,19056],{},[17,19057,19058],{},"A dip in motivation is usually your body or your head asking for something. The trick is working out what, rather than forcing yourself through it.",[12,19060,19062],{"id":19061},"work-out-what-is-actually-missing","Work out what is actually missing",[17,19064,19065],{},"Before you flog yourself back into a routine, take a moment to diagnose the dip. The fix depends entirely on the cause.",[70,19067,19068,19074,19080,19086],{},[73,19069,19070,19073],{},[76,19071,19072],{},"If you are tired,"," the answer is rest, not discipline. A proper break, even a week or two off, can do more for your motivation than any amount of willpower.",[73,19075,19076,19079],{},[76,19077,19078],{},"If you are bored,"," you need novelty. Same gym, same problems, same partners can go stale even when nothing is wrong.",[73,19081,19082,19085],{},[76,19083,19084],{},"If you are frustrated,"," you might be stuck on a goal that has quietly become miserable. A project that felt exciting can curdle into a grind.",[73,19087,19088,19091],{},[76,19089,19090],{},"If life is heavy,"," climbing might need to become low-pressure for a while rather than another thing you are failing at.",[17,19093,19094],{},"Be honest with yourself here. The flat feeling is information, and it is worth reading properly before you decide what to do about it.",[12,19096,19098],{"id":19097},"lower-the-stakes-for-a-bit","Lower the stakes for a bit",[17,19100,19101],{},"When motivation is low, the worst thing you can do is pile on more pressure. Big goals and structured training are brilliant when you are keen and a millstone when you are not. So take the pressure off. Forget grades for a few weeks. Go to the wall with no plan beyond climbing things that look fun. Climb well below your limit and enjoy moving well rather than trying hard.",[17,19103,19104,19105,19108],{},"This is also a good time to lean on other people. Climbing is a social sport, and a session is a completely different thing when you are laughing with mates rather than grinding alone. If your usual crew has drifted, it might be worth ",[9853,19106,19107],{"href":7755},"finding a regular climbing partner"," again, because a standing arrangement with someone gets you out the door on the days you would otherwise stay in.",[3986,19110,19112],{"id":19111},"change-something","Change something",[17,19114,19115],{},"Novelty is a powerful motivator and an underused one. You do not need a whole new sport, just a change of scene. A few ideas that tend to reignite things:",[70,19117,19118,19121,19124,19127],{},[73,19119,19120],{},"Visit a different gym, even just once, for a fresh set of problems.",[73,19122,19123],{},"Get outside if you usually climb indoors, or the reverse.",[73,19125,19126],{},"Try a discipline you normally ignore, like a slab session if you live on steep ground, or some easy routes if you only boulder.",[73,19128,19129],{},"Climb with someone much better or much newer than you, both of which change how you see the wall.",[17,19131,19132],{},"A single different session is sometimes all it takes to remember why you started.",[12,19134,19136],{"id":19135},"keep-the-door-open","Keep the door open",[17,19138,19139],{},"The most important thing during a dip is not to make a permanent decision in a temporary mood. People quit climbing in slumps and regret it later, because the slump passes and the climbing is still there waiting. You do not have to train. You do not have to project. You just have to keep the door open a crack so that when the motivation comes back, and it does come back, you can walk through it.",[17,19141,19142,19143,19146],{},"Sometimes keeping the door open means doing almost nothing. One easy session a fortnight, no expectations, just enough to stay connected to the place and the people. Winter is a classic time for this, and our notes on ",[9853,19144,19145],{"href":5077},"staying motivated through winter"," lean on the same idea. The keen version of you will return, usually when you least expect it, often the moment you stop forcing it.",[12,19148,19150],{"id":19149},"be-kind-to-yourself-and-wait-it-out","Be kind to yourself and wait it out",[17,19152,19153],{},"Climbing is meant to be one of the good things in your life, not another stick to beat yourself with. If it has stopped being fun, the answer is rarely more discipline and more pressure. It is rest, novelty, good company and a bit of patience. Let the dip be a dip. Do less, do it for fun, and trust that the fire comes back. It almost always does, and you often come out of a slump climbing better than when you went in, because the rest did you good and the break reminded you why you love it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19155},[19156,19157,19158,19161,19162],{"id":19046,"depth":132,"text":19047},{"id":19061,"depth":132,"text":19062},{"id":19097,"depth":132,"text":19098,"children":19159},[19160],{"id":19111,"depth":4021,"text":19112},{"id":19135,"depth":132,"text":19136},{"id":19149,"depth":132,"text":19150},"2023-07-21","Every climber goes flat at some point. Here is how to ride out a slump without quitting, and come back keener than before.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1708290369261-bf7635e46c10?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Shoes resting on a coil of rope",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-when-motivation-dips",{"title":19038,"description":19164},"blog\u002Fclimbing-when-motivation-dips",[2796,3056,5081,19172],"rest","KTMbYxjk_OKlUWGlw7r18Wjjk6sffqxaEmWJZZ4G-9w",{"id":19175,"title":19176,"author":7,"body":19177,"category":2366,"date":19341,"description":19342,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19343,"imageAlt":19344,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19345,"navigation":152,"path":19346,"readTime":1547,"seo":19347,"stem":19348,"tags":19349,"__hash__":19350},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fheel-hooks-toe-hooks-and-the-bicycle-decoded.md","Heel hooks, toe hooks and the bicycle, decoded",{"type":9,"value":19178,"toc":19332},[19179,19182,19186,19189,19196,19201,19205,19208,19211,19225,19231,19235,19238,19241,19244,19248,19251,19298,19301,19305,19308,19322,19325,19329],[17,19180,19181],{},"Watch a strong climber on a steep boulder and you will notice their feet doing things that look more like a gymnastics routine than walking. A heel clamped over a hold, a toe hooked behind a volume, both feet pinching a single rib of rock. To a newer climber it can look like showing off. It is actually the opposite. These tricks are how good climbers stop themselves from swinging off steep ground, and they save an enormous amount of arm strength. Here is what the three big ones are and when to reach for them.",[12,19183,19185],{"id":19184},"why-your-feet-matter-most-on-steep-ground","Why your feet matter most on steep ground",[17,19187,19188],{},"On a slab or a vertical wall, your feet mostly hold your weight and your hands keep you balanced. Tip the wall back past vertical and everything changes. Now gravity is trying to peel you off the rock and swing your hips out into space. Your arms can fight that, but arms tire fast. Your feet, used cleverly, can hold you in without you noticing the effort.",[17,19190,19191,19192,19195],{},"That is the whole point of heel hooks, toe hooks and the bicycle. They are not flashy extras, they are the difference between staying on the wall in control and barn-dooring off it. If you are still getting comfortable on overhangs, our piece on ",[9853,19193,19194],{"href":10472},"toe hooks for steep climbing"," pairs nicely with this one.",[3878,19197,19198],{},[17,19199,19200],{},"On steep ground your feet are not just for standing on. They are anchors, and a good hook does the work that would otherwise blow up your arms.",[12,19202,19204],{"id":19203},"the-heel-hook","The heel hook",[17,19206,19207],{},"A heel hook is exactly what it sounds like. You place your heel on top of, or to the side of, a hold and pull with it, almost like a third hand. The power comes from your hamstring and your whole leg, which is far stronger than your fingers.",[17,19209,19210],{},"When to use one:",[70,19212,19213,19216,19219,19222],{},[73,19214,19215],{},"To pull yourself into the wall on a steep move so your hips stay close to the rock.",[73,19217,19218],{},"To take weight off your arms while you reach for the next hold, especially on a long move.",[73,19220,19221],{},"To stop a swing when one hand comes off, by anchoring the heel out to the side.",[73,19223,19224],{},"To rock up onto a high foot when there is nothing to push off below.",[17,19226,19227,19228,12058],{},"The common mistake is being timid with it. A heel hook only works if you commit and actually pull with the leg, engaging your hamstring rather than just resting the heel there. Place the heel precisely, point your toes the way that loads the hook, and pull as if your leg is an arm. There is more on this in ",[9853,19229,19230],{"href":7838},"heel hooks, when to use them and how",[12,19232,19234],{"id":19233},"the-toe-hook","The toe hook",[17,19236,19237],{},"If a heel hook pulls down and in, a toe hook pulls the opposite way. You hook the top of your toes, the laces side of your shoe, behind or under a hold and pull towards yourself. It uses the front of your shin and the top of your foot, and it is the move that keeps you from swinging out on a roof.",[17,19239,19240],{},"Toe hooks shine on the steepest ground. On a roof or a big overhang, a toe hook on a distant hold or volume stops your lower half from cutting loose and penduluming off into space. They are also brilliant in combination with a heel hook on the other foot, where one foot pulls one way and one pulls the other, locking your body in place.",[17,19242,19243],{},"The trick with toe hooks is rubber and tension. You need the top of your shoe pressed actively against the rock and your core switched on to keep the pull alive. A floppy, half-hearted toe hook does nothing.",[12,19245,19247],{"id":19246},"the-bicycle","The bicycle",[17,19249,19250],{},"The bicycle is the clever one, and it confuses people the first time they hear the name. It is a toe hook and a foot press working together on the same hold or the same pair of holds, with one foot pushing and the other pulling, like a foot clamp.",[3925,19252,19253,19264],{},[3928,19254,19255],{},[3931,19256,19257,19259,19262],{},[3934,19258,3936],{},[3934,19260,19261],{},"What it does",[3934,19263,15502],{},[3942,19265,19266,19276,19287],{},[3931,19267,19268,19270,19273],{},[3947,19269,8154],{},[3947,19271,19272],{},"Pulls you in and up",[3947,19274,19275],{},"Big reaches, mantles, stopping swings",[3931,19277,19278,19281,19284],{},[3947,19279,19280],{},"Toe hook",[3947,19282,19283],{},"Stops you swinging out",[3947,19285,19286],{},"Roofs and steep overhangs",[3931,19288,19289,19292,19295],{},[3947,19290,19291],{},"Bicycle",[3947,19293,19294],{},"Clamps a hold from two sides",[3947,19296,19297],{},"Holding a steep foothold with no opposition",[17,19299,19300],{},"Picture a single foothold sticking out from a steep wall. One foot toe-hooks the underside and pulls up, while the other foot presses down on the top. The two forces pinch the hold between them, and suddenly a foot that would have skated off is locked solid. It feels strange the first few times, almost like your feet are doing a handshake, but once it clicks it unlocks moves that felt impossible.",[3986,19302,19304],{"id":19303},"practising-the-three","Practising the three",[17,19306,19307],{},"You will not learn these by reading about them, only by drilling them on easy ground where the stakes are low.",[70,19309,19310,19313,19316,19319],{},[73,19311,19312],{},"Find a steep board or overhanging panel and pick moves well below your limit.",[73,19314,19315],{},"Deliberately use a heel hook even where you would not need one, just to feel it bite.",[73,19317,19318],{},"Hunt out toe hooks on volumes and practise keeping your foot pressed hard.",[73,19320,19321],{},"Try a bicycle on any foothold that sticks out, even if the move does not demand it.",[17,19323,19324],{},"Doing easy moves with deliberate, fussy footwork teaches your body the positions, so when a hard problem forces one on you, it does not feel alien.",[12,19326,19328],{"id":19327},"let-your-feet-do-the-talking","Let your feet do the talking",[17,19330,19331],{},"The fastest way to climb harder on steep ground is rarely more finger strength. It is learning to trust your feet. A confident heel hook, a switched-on toe hook and a well-timed bicycle take huge amounts of load off your arms and let you climb things that would otherwise spit you off. So next time you are on an overhang and your arms are screaming, look down. The hold that saves you is probably under your feet, waiting for you to use it properly.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19333},[19334,19335,19336,19337,19340],{"id":19184,"depth":132,"text":19185},{"id":19203,"depth":132,"text":19204},{"id":19233,"depth":132,"text":19234},{"id":19246,"depth":132,"text":19247,"children":19338},[19339],{"id":19303,"depth":4021,"text":19304},{"id":19327,"depth":132,"text":19328},"2023-07-14","A plain-English guide to the three foot tricks that turn steep climbing from a flailing battle into something that actually works.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1708290397211-8413855682a2?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber sitting with their shoes on",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fheel-hooks-toe-hooks-and-the-bicycle-decoded",{"title":19176,"description":19342},"blog\u002Fheel-hooks-toe-hooks-and-the-bicycle-decoded",[2376,2377,8242,290],"PO8eXd2Wtj6lG9S4W1W8i6GjZOMjdlHWvDj5hIfjFsY",{"id":19352,"title":19353,"author":7,"body":19354,"category":1811,"date":19544,"description":19545,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19546,"imageAlt":19547,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19548,"navigation":152,"path":19549,"readTime":2472,"seo":19550,"stem":19551,"tags":19552,"__hash__":19553},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbelay-devices-assisted-versus-tube.md","Belay devices, assisted versus tube",{"type":9,"value":19355,"toc":19536},[19356,19359,19363,19366,19372,19376,19379,19382,19387,19391,19394,19486,19489,19493,19496,19522,19526,19529],[17,19357,19358],{},"The belay device is the cheapest bit of life-safety kit you will ever buy, and one of the most argued-over. Walk into any gym and you will see two broad camps: people running a simple tube, and people clipped to a chunky assisted-braking device that does some of the holding for them. Both are perfectly good. Both have caught countless falls. The right one for you depends on what you climb, who you climb with, and how you like to manage the rope. Let us clear up the difference without the dogma.",[12,19360,19362],{"id":19361},"how-a-tube-device-works","How a tube device works",[17,19364,19365],{},"A tube device, sometimes called an ATC-style device after a well-known one, is about as simple as climbing gear gets. The rope runs through a slot and pinches against the carabiner. When you pull your brake hand down, the rope kinks hard against the metal and the friction holds the fall. Let the brake hand off and the rope runs freely.",[17,19367,19368,19369,19371],{},"The key thing about a tube is that the friction comes entirely from you. The device does nothing on its own. Your brake hand is the whole system, which is why the golden rule of belaying with a tube is to never, ever let go of the brake rope. Done right it is smooth, light and gives you total control over feeding rope, which is why a lot of experienced climbers still prefer one. If you are new to the whole skill, ",[9853,19370,17280],{"href":11759}," is worth reading first.",[12,19373,19375],{"id":19374},"how-an-assisted-braking-device-works","How an assisted-braking device works",[17,19377,19378],{},"An assisted-braking device adds a mechanism that pinches the rope automatically when it is loaded suddenly, like in a fall. Some use a cam that rotates and clamps, others use geometry to pinch the rope against the frame. The marketing word is assisted, not automatic, and that distinction matters. The device helps hold the fall, but it does not replace your brake hand.",[17,19380,19381],{},"The big advantage is a margin of safety. If a belayer is momentarily distracted, or a fall is bigger than expected, the device adds a layer of backup that a tube does not. That is genuinely reassuring on long sport routes where the belayer is holding a partner for ages, or when you are belaying someone much heavier than you.",[3878,19383,19384],{},[17,19385,19386],{},"Assisted does not mean hands-free. Both kinds of device need a brake hand on the rope at all times. The assist is a backup, not a substitute for good technique.",[12,19388,19390],{"id":19389},"the-honest-trade-offs","The honest trade-offs",[17,19392,19393],{},"Neither device is better in the abstract. They suit different situations. Here is the comparison laid out plainly.",[3925,19395,19396,19408],{},[3928,19397,19398],{},[3931,19399,19400,19402,19405],{},[3934,19401],{},[3934,19403,19404],{},"Tube device",[3934,19406,19407],{},"Assisted-braking device",[3942,19409,19410,19421,19432,19443,19454,19465,19476],{},[3931,19411,19412,19415,19418],{},[3947,19413,19414],{},"Holding power",[3947,19416,19417],{},"All from your hand",[3947,19419,19420],{},"Hand plus mechanism",[3931,19422,19423,19426,19429],{},[3947,19424,19425],{},"Weight and bulk",[3947,19427,19428],{},"Light and small",[3947,19430,19431],{},"Heavier and chunkier",[3931,19433,19434,19437,19440],{},[3947,19435,19436],{},"Feeding rope for lead",[3947,19438,19439],{},"Smooth and quick",[3947,19441,19442],{},"Can be grabby until learned",[3931,19444,19445,19448,19451],{},[3947,19446,19447],{},"Lowering",[3947,19449,19450],{},"Easy and controlled",[3947,19452,19453],{},"Lever needs a feel for it",[3931,19455,19456,19459,19462],{},[3947,19457,19458],{},"Abseiling",[3947,19460,19461],{},"Works on two strands",[3947,19463,19464],{},"Most do not, single strand only",[3931,19466,19467,19470,19473],{},[3947,19468,19469],{},"Price",[3947,19471,19472],{},"Cheaper",[3947,19474,19475],{},"More expensive",[3931,19477,19478,19480,19483],{},[3947,19479,15502],{},[3947,19481,19482],{},"Multi-pitch, trad, all-round",[3947,19484,19485],{},"Single-pitch sport, repeated lowers",[17,19487,19488],{},"A tube is the more versatile tool. It abseils, it works with double ropes, it is light for a long day in the mountains, and it does not care about rope diameter as much. An assisted device buys you safety margin and is lovely for working a sport route where you are lowering your partner over and over. Many climbers own both and pick the right one for the day.",[12,19490,19492],{"id":19491},"things-that-catch-people-out","Things that catch people out",[17,19494,19495],{},"Whichever you choose, a few points trip up newer climbers.",[70,19497,19498,19504,19510,19516],{},[73,19499,19500,19503],{},[76,19501,19502],{},"Rope diameter matters."," Every device has a range of rope thicknesses it is designed for. A skinny rope in a device built for fat ropes can feed too fast, and a fat rope in a skinny device can be a nightmare to pull through. Check your rope against the device.",[73,19505,19506,19509],{},[76,19507,19508],{},"Assisted devices have a learning curve."," Feeding rope quickly for a leader can be jerky at first, and a panicked grab can lock the rope when your leader needs slack. Practise on the ground.",[73,19511,19512,19515],{},[76,19513,19514],{},"Lowering with an assist takes feel."," The release lever is sensitive. Get a lesson and practise low before you trust it with a real lower.",[73,19517,19518,19521],{},[76,19519,19520],{},"A tube punishes lapses harder."," It is less forgiving of a moment's inattention, so the discipline of the brake hand has to be absolute.",[3986,19523,19525],{"id":19524},"which-should-a-newer-climber-get","Which should a newer climber get",[17,19527,19528],{},"If you are mostly climbing indoors and on single-pitch sport, an assisted-braking device is a sensible first buy. The safety margin is genuinely valuable while your belaying habits are still forming, and most modern gyms are happy with them. If you are heading towards trad, multi-pitch or anything that involves abseiling, a tube is the more useful all-rounder and the skill transfers everywhere.",[17,19530,19531,19532,19535],{},"Whatever you pick, the device is only as safe as the person holding it. Good belaying habits matter more than the gear, and our guide to ",[9853,19533,19534],{"href":1912},"belay devices explained"," goes deeper on the technique side. Get the basics drilled in, keep that brake hand on the rope, and either device will look after your partner for years.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19537},[19538,19539,19540,19541],{"id":19361,"depth":132,"text":19362},{"id":19374,"depth":132,"text":19375},{"id":19389,"depth":132,"text":19390},{"id":19491,"depth":132,"text":19492,"children":19542},[19543],{"id":19524,"depth":4021,"text":19525},"2023-07-07","Tube or assisted-braking belay device? A clear look at how each works, where each shines, and how to pick the right one for your climbing.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1708290397194-a3a98356a188?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A person lacing a climbing shoe",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbelay-devices-assisted-versus-tube",{"title":19353,"description":19545},"blog\u002Fbelay-devices-assisted-versus-tube",[1822,14620,1916,1917],"U5Pbr_dnnvUlEIwTLtBRleCGqCOzP9rxppR_JWN0K-Q",{"id":19555,"title":19556,"author":7,"body":19557,"category":2678,"date":19680,"description":19681,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19682,"imageAlt":19683,"imageCredit":19684,"imageCreditUrl":7220,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19685,"navigation":152,"path":19686,"readTime":1547,"seo":19687,"stem":19688,"tags":19689,"__hash__":19691},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcompetition-climbing-a-quick-primer.md","Competition climbing, a quick primer",{"type":9,"value":19558,"toc":19672},[19559,19562,19566,19569,19574,19582,19587,19592,19596,19599,19605,19609,19612,19632,19635,19639,19642,19648,19652,19655,19669],[17,19560,19561],{},"Climbing turned up at the Olympics and a lot of people who had never thought about competitions suddenly found themselves shouting at a screen, not entirely sure what they were watching. Why does the climber get a few minutes to stand and stare at the wall before touching it. What is that buzzer. Why is one of them sprinting up a wall while another is delicately balancing on a sloper. If the scoring has ever baffled you, this is the quick primer to make it all click.",[12,19563,19565],{"id":19564},"the-three-disciplines","The three disciplines",[17,19567,19568],{},"Competition climbing splits into three formats, and they reward almost opposite skills. Understanding the three is the key to following any comp.",[17,19570,19571,19573],{},[76,19572,3585],{}," is short, hard problems on a wall a few metres high with mats below, no rope. Climbers get a set time on each problem and try to reach the top, with a marked zone or hold partway up worth partial credit. It rewards power, problem-solving and the ability to read a sequence quickly. It is the discipline most like what you do at your local bouldering gym.",[17,19575,19576,19578,19579,19581],{},[76,19577,3595],{}," is a single long route, climbed on a rope, that almost nobody is expected to finish. Each climber gets one go and is scored on the highest hold they reach before falling. It rewards endurance and nerve, the ability to keep moving when your forearms are screaming. Our piece on ",[9853,19580,13393],{"href":13392}," explains the pump that decides most lead comps.",[17,19583,19584,19586],{},[76,19585,3605],{}," is the odd one out. Two climbers race up identical routes side by side on the same standardised wall, which never changes. It is pure explosive sprinting, decided in seconds, and it is a genuinely different sport from the other two.",[3878,19588,19589],{},[17,19590,19591],{},"The disciplines reward such different things that being world-class at all three at once is almost unheard of. A boulderer and a speed specialist are barely doing the same activity.",[12,19593,19595],{"id":19594},"what-is-going-on-with-the-staring","What is going on with the staring",[17,19597,19598],{},"The thing that puzzles new viewers most is the period before a bouldering climber touches the wall. In a comp, climbers usually do not get to watch each other, and they do not get practice goes. They walk out, see the problem for the first time, and have to work out the sequence in their head before they climb. That quiet staring is them reading the boulder, planning where their hands and feet will go.",[17,19600,19601,19602,19604],{},"This is a skill in itself, and it is one you can practise at your own wall. Working out the moves before you pull on is called reading, and our guide to ",[9853,19603,13322],{"href":13321}," covers how the pros do it. In a comp, getting the read wrong can cost you the round before you have even started climbing.",[12,19606,19608],{"id":19607},"how-the-scoring-works","How the scoring works",[17,19610,19611],{},"Scoring has changed over the years and varies between formats, but the principles are simple enough to follow.",[70,19613,19614,19620,19626],{},[73,19615,19616,19619],{},[76,19617,19618],{},"In bouldering,"," you score for reaching the top and for reaching the zone hold partway up. Fewer attempts is better, so topping first go beats topping on your fifth try. The buzzer or signal marks the end of your time on a problem.",[73,19621,19622,19625],{},[76,19623,19624],{},"In lead,"," your score is simply the highest hold you control before falling or running out of time. Hold a move that the next climber falls on, and you win the round.",[73,19627,19628,19631],{},[76,19629,19630],{},"In speed,"," it is whoever touches the buzzer at the top first. Times are measured to hundredths of a second.",[17,19633,19634],{},"When the overall results combine more than one discipline, the formats are weighted together, which is why a brilliant boulderer can still win overall despite a weaker lead round.",[12,19636,19638],{"id":19637},"why-comps-are-worth-a-watch","Why comps are worth a watch",[17,19640,19641],{},"Even if you never plan to enter one, watching good climbers compete is a quietly brilliant way to learn. You see how the best in the world read a problem, how they rest mid-route, how they stay calm when it goes wrong. You pick up beta you can steal for your own climbing, and you start to see technique you can copy at your local wall.",[17,19643,19644,19645,19647],{},"There is a culture side too. Comp climbing has its own etiquette, its own legends and its own running arguments about route setting and scoring, much like the wider sport. If you enjoy the history of how climbing got here, ",[9853,19646,15774],{"href":14818}," is a good companion read.",[3986,19649,19651],{"id":19650},"fancy-having-a-go","Fancy having a go",[17,19653,19654],{},"You do not need to be elite to enter a competition. Most gyms run friendly local comps with categories for every level, and they are some of the best fun you can have at a wall. A few pointers if you fancy it:",[70,19656,19657,19660,19663,19666],{},[73,19658,19659],{},"Pick a comp with a beginner or social category. The grading is set so everyone gets problems they can do.",[73,19661,19662],{},"Treat it as a fun session with a scorecard, not a test. The pressure is only what you bring to it.",[73,19664,19665],{},"Watch how other people read the problems. You will learn loads in a single afternoon.",[73,19667,19668],{},"Bring a mate. Local comps are far more about the atmosphere than the result.",[17,19670,19671],{},"Competition climbing looks intimidating from the outside and is surprisingly welcoming once you are in it. Whether you watch the World Cup with a proper understanding of the scoring, or rock up to your gym's monthly fun comp, knowing the formats turns a confusing spectacle into something you can actually enjoy. Give a local one a go. Worst case, you have a laugh and learn a few new problems.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19673},[19674,19675,19676,19677],{"id":19564,"depth":132,"text":19565},{"id":19594,"depth":132,"text":19595},{"id":19607,"depth":132,"text":19608},{"id":19637,"depth":132,"text":19638,"children":19678},[19679],{"id":19650,"depth":4021,"text":19651},"2023-06-30","Boulder, lead and speed, what the formats are and how comps actually work, for anyone who fancies watching or having a go.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1602842900683-0040b9be5dfe?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a brown rock face","omid armin",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcompetition-climbing-a-quick-primer",{"title":19556,"description":19681},"blog\u002Fcompetition-climbing-a-quick-primer",[14822,14823,7598,19690],"competition","AqTEFPoIzpNrvuaa39vR3GQYs7687vP5YvQlFDEBmhM",{"id":19693,"title":19694,"author":7,"body":19695,"category":141,"date":19811,"description":19812,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19813,"imageAlt":19814,"imageCredit":19684,"imageCreditUrl":7220,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19815,"navigation":152,"path":19816,"readTime":1547,"seo":19817,"stem":19818,"tags":19819,"__hash__":19820},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-you-keep-falling-off-the-same-move.md","Why you keep falling off the same move",{"type":9,"value":19696,"toc":19802},[19697,19700,19704,19707,19710,19715,19719,19722,19758,19761,19765,19768,19775,19779,19782,19786,19789,19795,19799],[17,19698,19699],{},"You have done the bottom a dozen times. You have done the top in isolation. But there is that one move in the middle, the same move every single go, that throws you off like it has a personal grudge. You try harder, you get more gripped, you fall off in exactly the same way, and you start to believe you are simply not strong enough. Nine times out of ten, you are wrong about why. The move that keeps beating you is usually a puzzle, not a strength test, and once you see what is actually going wrong, it often unlocks fast.",[12,19701,19703],{"id":19702},"it-is-almost-never-just-strength","It is almost never just strength",[17,19705,19706],{},"The instinct when a move shuts you down is to assume you need to be stronger. Sometimes that is true. Far more often, the climber next to you who floats the move is not stronger than you, they are doing it differently. They have found a body position, a foot, or a moment of timing that turns a desperate lunge into a controlled reach.",[17,19708,19709],{},"Strength is the last thing to blame, not the first. Before you write the move off as too hard, work through the things that are far more likely to be the real culprit. The difference between failing and sticking a move is usually millimetres of position or a fraction of a second of timing.",[3878,19711,19712],{},[17,19713,19714],{},"The move that feels impossible is usually possible with better feet, a different hip, or a calmer head. Strength is real, but it is rarely the bit you are missing.",[12,19716,19718],{"id":19717},"run-through-the-usual-suspects","Run through the usual suspects",[17,19720,19721],{},"When you keep falling off the same move, stop throwing yourself at it and start investigating. Go through this list before your next attempt.",[70,19723,19724,19730,19740,19746,19752],{},[73,19725,19726,19729],{},[76,19727,19728],{},"Your feet."," Are you using the best footholds, or the obvious ones? A higher or more outside foot can change everything about the reach. Bad feet are the single most common cause of a move that will not go.",[73,19731,19732,19735,19736,19739],{},[76,19733,19734],{},"Your hips."," Are your hips turned to the wall or hanging out in space? Turning a hip in, or dropping a knee, can shorten a reach dramatically. Our piece on ",[9853,19737,19738],{"href":11225},"hip positioning, turning to reach further"," is worth a read here.",[73,19741,19742,19745],{},[76,19743,19744],{},"The hold itself."," Are you using the best part of the hold, in the best grip? Sometimes the same edge is desperate as a crimp and fine as an open hand, or there is a better thumb on it you have not found.",[73,19747,19748,19751],{},[76,19749,19750],{},"Timing."," Are you moving statically when the move wants a little pop, or lunging when it wants control? The dead point, that brief weightless moment at the top of a move, is often the secret.",[73,19753,19754,19757],{},[76,19755,19756],{},"Tension."," On steep ground, are your feet cutting because your core has switched off? A toe hook or a switched-on core keeps you on.",[17,19759,19760],{},"Most stuck moves come down to one or two of these. The skill is testing them one at a time rather than randomly flailing.",[12,19762,19764],{"id":19763},"break-it-down-properly","Break it down properly",[17,19766,19767],{},"Throwing yourself at the whole move from the start, over and over, is the slowest way to crack it. You arrive at the hard bit tired and rushed, fail, and learn nothing. Instead, work the move in isolation.",[17,19769,19770,19771,19774],{},"Start from the holds just before the crux and try only the hard move, fresh, again and again. Strip out everything else so you can focus all your attention on what your body is doing. Try one change at a time. Move the foot. Turn the hip. Grab the hold differently. Pause and feel where your weight is. When you find the version that feels easier, drill it until it is automatic, then link it back into the climb. This is the heart of projecting, and ",[9853,19772,19773],{"href":6870},"how to project a climb above your level"," walks through the whole approach.",[3986,19776,19778],{"id":19777},"watch-someone-who-can-do-it","Watch someone who can do it",[17,19780,19781],{},"If a climber at the wall can do the move you cannot, watch them closely. Do not just note that they did it, study how. Where do their feet go? When do their hips turn? Do they pause or do they go in one motion? Then ask. Most climbers are delighted to share beta. You will often spot in five seconds of watching what you could not feel in fifty attempts of your own.",[12,19783,19785],{"id":19784},"know-when-it-really-is-strength","Know when it really is strength",[17,19787,19788],{},"Sometimes, after you have genuinely exhausted the technical fixes, the honest answer is that the move asks for more than you currently have. A big span between two tiny crimps on a steep wall might just need fingers and pulling power you have not built yet. That is fine, and it is useful information.",[17,19790,19791,19792,19794],{},"The key is to reach that conclusion last, not first, and to be honest about whether you have really tried everything else. If it is a strength gap, it is a training project rather than a session project, and something like ",[9853,19793,14860],{"href":9540}," becomes the long game. But check, properly, that you have explored every foot, hip and grip before you decide the wall is asking for muscle you do not have.",[12,19796,19798],{"id":19797},"the-move-usually-gives-in","The move usually gives in",[17,19800,19801],{},"The frustrating move that has beaten you ten sessions running is often one good idea away from going. Better feet, a turned hip, a touch of timing, a calmer head. Stop trying harder and start trying smarter. Break it down, test one thing at a time, steal beta from anyone who can do it, and trust that the puzzle has an answer. When it finally clicks, and it usually does, you will wonder how it ever felt impossible. That moment, the one where the unstickable suddenly sticks, is one of the best feelings in climbing.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19803},[19804,19805,19806,19809,19810],{"id":19702,"depth":132,"text":19703},{"id":19717,"depth":132,"text":19718},{"id":19763,"depth":132,"text":19764,"children":19807},[19808],{"id":19777,"depth":4021,"text":19778},{"id":19784,"depth":132,"text":19785},{"id":19797,"depth":132,"text":19798},"2023-06-23","That one move that spits you off every time is rarely a strength problem. Here is how to diagnose it and finally stick it.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1599243199233-c678d728569b?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on brown rock",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-you-keep-falling-off-the-same-move",{"title":19694,"description":19812},"blog\u002Fwhy-you-keep-falling-off-the-same-move",[162,290,1242,6874],"qkh0bHKzJfH-2QT1nluGGKBsLGQEbWa2V32rOzysv_U",{"id":19822,"title":19823,"author":7,"body":19824,"category":2464,"date":19935,"description":19936,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":19937,"imageAlt":19938,"imageCredit":19939,"imageCreditUrl":19940,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":19941,"navigation":152,"path":19942,"readTime":1547,"seo":19943,"stem":19944,"tags":19945,"__hash__":19946},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-etiquette-nobody-tells-you-about.md","Climbing etiquette nobody tells you about",{"type":9,"value":19825,"toc":19926},[19826,19829,19831,19834,19840,19845,19849,19852,19855,19869,19873,19876,19882,19886,19889,19892,19896,19910,19913,19917,19920],[17,19827,19828],{},"Your first few visits to a climbing wall, the climbing is honestly the easy part. The harder bit is working out the invisible social code that everyone else seems to know. Nobody hands you a leaflet about where to sit, when to climb, or why someone just gave you a slightly pained look for standing where you were standing. It is not snobbery, it is mostly about safety and sharing a small space full of people falling off things. Here is the etiquette nobody bothers to explain, so you can relax and fit straight in.",[12,19830,5320],{"id":5319},[17,19832,19833],{},"This is the big one, and the one beginners break most. When someone is climbing a boulder problem, the area of mat below and around them is their landing zone, and it needs to be clear. A climber can come off without warning and they cannot see the ground below them while they are looking up.",[17,19835,19836,19837,19839],{},"So before you walk across a matted area, glance up. If anyone is on the wall above where you are about to step, wait or go around. Never sit, dump your bag, or stand chatting in the space below a climber. It seems obvious written down, and yet it is the single most common new-climber mistake. Keep the mat below active climbers clear and you have already learned half of gym etiquette. Our guide to ",[9853,19838,14350],{"href":14349}," goes deeper on this.",[3878,19841,19842],{},[17,19843,19844],{},"The mat below a climber is theirs until their feet are back on the ground. Treat it like a road you check before crossing.",[12,19846,19848],{"id":19847},"do-not-hog-the-problem","Do not hog the problem",[17,19850,19851],{},"Walls get busy, and a single problem can attract a little queue without anyone saying anything. The done thing is to climb your go, then step back and let others have a turn, rather than camping under a problem for twenty minutes resting between every attempt.",[17,19853,19854],{},"If someone is clearly working a problem and resting properly between goes, it is polite to ask whether they mind you jumping on between their attempts. Most people are happy to share. The same goes for routes on the rope wall, do not leave a rope hanging on a climb you have wandered off from. A few simple habits keep things flowing:",[70,19856,19857,19860,19863,19866],{},[73,19858,19859],{},"Have your go, then move aside so others can try.",[73,19861,19862],{},"Rest away from the base of the problem, not directly under it.",[73,19864,19865],{},"Ask before working in on a problem someone is clearly projecting.",[73,19867,19868],{},"Do not leave your kit spread across the mat marking your territory.",[12,19870,19872],{"id":19871},"beta-and-when-to-offer-it","Beta, and when to offer it",[17,19874,19875],{},"Beta is the word for information about how to do a climb, the sequence of moves and holds. Sharing it is part of the fun, but unsolicited beta is a quiet sore point. Some people love a tip. Others want to work a problem out for themselves and find it deflating to be told the answer mid-attempt.",[17,19877,19878,19879,19881],{},"The rule of thumb is simple: do not shout beta at someone unless they ask for it. If you can see they are stuck and you want to help, ask first. Something like whether they would like a tip does the job. They might say no, and that is fine. If you are new and unsure what the word even means, ",[9853,19880,13460],{"href":13459}," explains it properly.",[12,19883,19885],{"id":19884},"keep-yourself-and-the-wall-clean","Keep yourself and the wall clean",[17,19887,19888],{},"There is a hygiene and care side to gym etiquette that is easy to overlook. Excess chalk makes a mess and slicks up holds for everyone, so use what you need and brush off your tick marks and chalk smears when you are done with a problem. A brush lives in most chalk bags for exactly this reason.",[17,19890,19891],{},"Your feet matter too. Climbing shoes are for climbing, not for walking to the cafe or the toilets and back. Dirty soles bring grit onto the holds and footholds, which makes everything greasy. Slip your shoes off between climbs or keep a pair of flip-flops by your bag. And give your hands and shoes a chance to stay dry, because sweaty palms and damp rubber make holds feel terrible for the next person too.",[3986,19893,19895],{"id":19894},"a-few-smaller-things","A few smaller things",[70,19897,19898,19901,19904,19907],{},[73,19899,19900],{},"Keep the noise sensible. A bit of encouragement is great, a constant loud commentary less so.",[73,19902,19903],{},"Do not give other people's children climbing instructions unless asked.",[73,19905,19906],{},"If you knock someone's chalk bag or brush off the mat, hand it back.",[73,19908,19909],{},"Re-rack or tidy any communal kit you have used.",[17,19911,19912],{},"None of this is written on a wall anywhere, but doing it marks you out as someone who gets it.",[12,19914,19916],{"id":19915},"everyone-was-new-once","Everyone was new once",[17,19918,19919],{},"Here is the reassuring part. If you do break one of these unspoken rules in your first few sessions, nobody sane will think less of you. Everyone standing in that gym was a clueless beginner once, walking under climbers and shouting beta at strangers, and they learned exactly the way you are learning now. A friendly word, not a telling-off, is how the culture passes on.",[17,19921,19922,19923,19925],{},"So go easy on yourself. Watch what the regulars do, keep the fall zones clear, share the problems, ask before offering beta, and tidy up after yourself. Get those right and you will be indistinguishable from someone who has climbed for years, at least until you pull on. For the rest of the practical first-timer stuff, ",[9853,19924,18257],{"href":18415}," covers the kit side. The community is one of the best things about climbing, and a little courtesy is all it asks of you to join it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":19927},[19928,19929,19930,19931,19934],{"id":5319,"depth":132,"text":5320},{"id":19847,"depth":132,"text":19848},{"id":19871,"depth":132,"text":19872},{"id":19884,"depth":132,"text":19885,"children":19932},[19933],{"id":19894,"depth":4021,"text":19895},{"id":19915,"depth":132,"text":19916},"2023-06-16","The unspoken rules of the climbing wall that no one explains on your first visit, gathered up so you can fit right in from day one.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1624410721903-0b8e8596cc6e?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber in a black jacket on rock","Andrew Shelley","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@andrewshelley",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-etiquette-nobody-tells-you-about",{"title":19823,"description":19936},"blog\u002Fclimbing-etiquette-nobody-tells-you-about",[562,10099,13548,5396],"qOIkXoOoHF_lP-G8e4jfUlGCaCEQUHCftwU_5jmTbOk",{"id":19948,"title":19949,"author":7,"body":19950,"category":1904,"date":20064,"description":20065,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":20066,"imageAlt":17737,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":20067,"navigation":152,"path":20068,"readTime":1547,"seo":20069,"stem":20070,"tags":20071,"__hash__":20072},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcaring-for-a-rope-so-it-lasts.md","Caring for a rope so it lasts",{"type":9,"value":19951,"toc":20056},[19952,19955,19959,19962,19965,19970,19974,19977,19980,19984,19987,20001,20004,20008,20011,20018,20022,20025,20042,20045,20049],[17,19953,19954],{},"A rope is the one piece of climbing kit that is genuinely catching you when you fall, and yet it often gets treated worse than anything else in the bag. Dragged through mud, stuffed wet into a boot, stepped on at the crag, left baking on a parcel shelf in the sun. A rope looked after well stays supple and trustworthy for years. A neglected one stiffens, frays and quietly loses your confidence long before it should. The care is not complicated. It is mostly a handful of small habits that become second nature once you know them.",[12,19956,19958],{"id":19957},"keep-it-off-the-ground","Keep it off the ground",[17,19960,19961],{},"The fastest way to age a rope is to grind dirt into it. Grit and fine particles work their way between the fibres and act like sandpaper from the inside, slowly cutting the rope every time it bends. You cannot see it happening, which is what makes it sneaky.",[17,19963,19964],{},"The simple fix is a rope bag or a tarp. Flake the rope out onto it at the crag rather than straight onto the dirt, and the bag keeps the worst of the grime off. It also stops the rope getting tangled and saves you faffing at the start of every route. At the wall, the same applies, keep the rope off the floor where shoes have tracked grit across it. A rope bag is one of the cheapest, most worthwhile bits of kit you can own.",[3878,19966,19967],{},[17,19968,19969],{},"Dirt is a rope's quiet enemy. Most of the wear you cannot see comes from grit ground into the fibres, not the falls you take.",[12,19971,19973],{"id":19972},"never-stand-on-it","Never stand on it",[17,19975,19976],{},"This deserves its own mention because everyone does it and most people do not realise why it matters. Standing on a rope, especially on a gritty surface, presses sharp particles through the sheath and into the core. It is one of the most common ways climbers damage a rope without noticing.",[17,19978,19979],{},"Make it a habit to step over a rope, never on it, the same way you would avoid treading on someone's hand. It feels fussy at first and becomes automatic. The same goes for dropping heavy or sharp gear onto your flaked rope, and for letting your rope run over sharp edges of rock without thinking about it.",[12,19981,19983],{"id":19982},"washing-and-drying","Washing and drying",[17,19985,19986],{},"Ropes get dirty, and a dirty rope handles worse and wears faster. Washing one is easy and worth doing once or twice a season, or whenever it feels gritty and stiff.",[70,19988,19989,19992,19995,19998],{},[73,19990,19991],{},"Fill a bath with cool or lukewarm water. Hot water can damage the fibres.",[73,19993,19994],{},"Use either plain water or a cleaner made specifically for ropes. Avoid household detergents, which can leave residues that harm the rope.",[73,19996,19997],{},"Flake the rope through the water by hand, working out the worst of the grime.",[73,19999,20000],{},"Rinse it, then dry it out of direct sunlight, loosely coiled or hung, somewhere airy.",[17,20002,20003],{},"That last point matters. Ultraviolet light degrades rope fibres over time, so drying or storing a rope in direct sun is doing it harm. Air-dry it fully before you store it, because a damp rope packed away can develop problems.",[12,20005,20007],{"id":20006},"storing-it-properly","Storing it properly",[17,20009,20010],{},"Between trips, store your rope loosely, somewhere cool, dry and dark. A cupboard is ideal. Avoid garages and sheds where it might meet damp, extremes of temperature, or worse, chemicals. Petrol, solvents, battery acid and other household chemicals can damage rope fibres invisibly, and you would never know until it mattered. Keep your rope well away from anything like that.",[17,20012,20013,20014,20017],{},"A loose coil or a rope bag is better for storage than a tight, kinked bundle. And keep it away from sunlight on the journey too, not left on a hot dashboard or back shelf for a week. If you want the wider picture on kit care, ",[9853,20015,20016],{"href":7116},"looking after your climbing gear"," covers the rest of the rack.",[12,20019,20021],{"id":20020},"knowing-when-to-retire-it","Knowing when to retire it",[17,20023,20024],{},"This is the part people put off, because a rope is not cheap and they always look fine. But every rope has a working life, and a tired rope is not worth your safety. Retire a rope when any of these are true:",[70,20026,20027,20030,20033,20036,20039],{},[73,20028,20029],{},"The sheath is worn through anywhere and you can see the white core.",[73,20031,20032],{},"There is a soft, flat or oddly thin spot when you run it through your hands, which can mean core damage.",[73,20034,20035],{},"It has held a very hard fall, a factor-two type fall onto the anchor, or taken a sharp-edge loading.",[73,20037,20038],{},"It has been in contact with chemicals.",[73,20040,20041],{},"It has simply got old and stiff, even if it looks alright.",[17,20043,20044],{},"Manufacturers give rough lifespans based on how often a rope is used, and a heavily worked rope wears faster than a lightly used one. If in doubt, retire it. A rope is a consumable, and no send is worth trusting a rope you are unsure about. When you do retire one, cut it up so nobody mistakes it for a usable rope, and it makes great gear for hauling or tying things down.",[12,20046,20048],{"id":20047},"a-little-care-goes-a-long-way","A little care goes a long way",[17,20050,20051,20052,20055],{},"None of this is hard. Keep your rope off the ground, never stand on it, wash it now and then, store it cool and dark, and be honest about when it is done. Build those habits and a good rope will see you through years of routes and a great many falls without ever giving you a reason to doubt it. Treat the thing that catches you with a bit of respect, and it will keep catching you. If you are still choosing your first one, ",[9853,20053,20054],{"href":6159},"your first climbing rope, how to choose"," is the place to start.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":20057},[20058,20059,20060,20061,20062,20063],{"id":19957,"depth":132,"text":19958},{"id":19972,"depth":132,"text":19973},{"id":19982,"depth":132,"text":19983},{"id":20006,"depth":132,"text":20007},{"id":20020,"depth":132,"text":20021},{"id":20047,"depth":132,"text":20048},"2023-06-09","Your rope is your lifeline and it deserves looking after. Simple habits for washing, storing and retiring a rope so it serves you for years.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1714788905702-09bb347e248d?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcaring-for-a-rope-so-it-lasts",{"title":19949,"description":20065},"blog\u002Fcaring-for-a-rope-so-it-lasts",[1822,13741,13742,7053],"8Ra79DiEDRat4TJCB808uip8RqKMEyn33u7ZQ86gF4o",{"id":20074,"title":20075,"author":7,"body":20076,"category":1703,"date":20199,"description":20200,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":20201,"imageAlt":20202,"imageCredit":9932,"imageCreditUrl":9933,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":20203,"navigation":152,"path":15573,"readTime":1547,"seo":20204,"stem":20205,"tags":20206,"__hash__":20207},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbenchmarks-and-why-they-matter.md","Benchmarks, and why they matter",{"type":9,"value":20077,"toc":20190},[20078,20081,20085,20088,20091,20096,20100,20103,20133,20136,20140,20143,20146,20152,20156,20173,20177,20180,20183,20187],[17,20079,20080],{},"Anyone who has spent time on a Moonboard or a Kilter has run into the word benchmark, usually attached to a little star or badge next to certain problems. They look the same as any other problem on the board, but climbers treat them with a strange reverence. Send a benchmark and people nod. Spray your own problem and grade it hard and people raise an eyebrow. The reason is simple once you understand it, and benchmarks are one of the most useful tools a board has for telling you whether you are actually getting better.",[12,20082,20084],{"id":20083},"what-a-benchmark-actually-is","What a benchmark actually is",[17,20086,20087],{},"On a board, anyone can set a problem and put a grade on it. That is the joy and the curse of board climbing. The joy is endless fresh problems. The curse is that the grades are wildly inconsistent, because every setter has a different idea of what a given grade should feel like, and people tend to grade their own problems generously.",[17,20089,20090],{},"A benchmark is a problem that has been climbed by a large number of people and broadly agreed to be the grade it claims. The community effectively votes with their attempts, and the problems that hold up as fair, classic and well-set get marked as benchmarks. They are the problems you can trust. When a benchmark says it is a certain grade, that grade means something, because thousands of climbers have weighed in rather than one optimistic setter.",[3878,20092,20093],{},[17,20094,20095],{},"A normal board problem is one person's opinion of a grade. A benchmark is a crowd's. That is the whole difference, and it is everything.",[12,20097,20099],{"id":20098},"why-the-grades-on-boards-drift","Why the grades on boards drift",[17,20101,20102],{},"It helps to understand why board grades are so slippery in the first place. A few reasons:",[70,20104,20105,20111,20117,20123],{},[73,20106,20107,20110],{},[76,20108,20109],{},"Setters grade their own work."," It is human nature to think your own problem is harder than it is, and soft-grade your sends or stiff-grade your projects.",[73,20112,20113,20116],{},[76,20114,20115],{},"Style bias."," A problem that suits the setter feels easy to them, so they grade it down, when to everyone else it is desperate.",[73,20118,20119,20122],{},[76,20120,20121],{},"No moderation on most problems."," Anyone can publish anything, with any grade, and most problems are climbed by very few people.",[73,20124,20125,20128,20129,20132],{},[76,20126,20127],{},"Board grades are not crag grades."," A board grade and the same number outside often feel quite different, which our piece on ",[9853,20130,20131],{"href":9186},"how board grades compare to the gym and outside"," gets into.",[17,20134,20135],{},"Against all that noise, benchmarks are the signal. They cut through the inconsistency by being the problems enough people have climbed to agree on.",[12,20137,20139],{"id":20138},"how-to-use-them-for-real","How to use them for real",[17,20141,20142],{},"The reason benchmarks matter to you, beyond trusting the number, is that they make a brilliant yardstick. Because they are stable and trustworthy, they let you measure yourself honestly over time in a way that random problems never could.",[17,20144,20145],{},"The simple way to use them is this. Pick a few benchmarks at a grade just above your current level and treat them as your projects. Come back to them across a training block. As you start ticking benchmarks you previously could not touch, you have proper evidence you are getting stronger, not just the warm feeling of sending soft problems you set yourself. They are an honest mirror.",[17,20147,20148,20149,12058],{},"You can also use them to compare across time and even across boards, because a benchmark at a given angle is roughly the same challenge today as it was last year. That stability is gold for anyone trying to track progress, and it pairs well with the habit of ",[9853,20150,20151],{"href":5760},"why logging your board sessions pays off",[3986,20153,20155],{"id":20154},"a-sensible-way-to-work-them","A sensible way to work them",[70,20157,20158,20161,20164,20167,20170],{},[73,20159,20160],{},"Warm up properly first, because benchmarks at your limit are hard on cold fingers.",[73,20162,20163],{},"Pick two or three benchmarks at the grade you are chasing, not ten.",[73,20165,20166],{},"Work them across sessions rather than burning out on them in one go.",[73,20168,20169],{},"Log your sends so you can see the trend over weeks, not just days.",[73,20171,20172],{},"Resist the urge to abandon a benchmark for a softer self-set problem when it gets hard. The honest grade is the point.",[12,20174,20176],{"id":20175},"do-not-let-them-become-a-stick-to-beat-yourself-with","Do not let them become a stick to beat yourself with",[17,20178,20179],{},"A word of caution. Benchmarks are an honest measure, and honest measures can sting. Because the grades are trustworthy and often a touch stiff, a benchmark can feel harder than the same grade elsewhere, and it is easy to feel like you have gone backwards when really you have just met a fair grade for once.",[17,20181,20182],{},"Use them as a tool, not a verdict. Progress on a board is rarely a smooth line, and a benchmark that shuts you down for weeks then suddenly goes is completely normal. The board is a demanding environment by design, and the angle alone makes everything feel harder. Keep some perspective, mix benchmarks in with fun problems and other training, and treat the cold honesty of the grade as useful information rather than a judgement.",[12,20184,20186],{"id":20185},"trust-the-crowd-track-the-truth","Trust the crowd, track the truth",[17,20188,20189],{},"Benchmarks exist because board grades are noisy and climbers wanted a way to cut through it. They are the problems the community has agreed to trust, which makes them the best honest yardstick you have for measuring real progress on a board. Use them to project, to track yourself over a season, and to keep your own grading honest. Send a benchmark at a new grade and you have earned it, because the whole crowd vouched for that number. That is worth a lot more than a star next to a problem you set yourself.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":20191},[20192,20193,20194,20197,20198],{"id":20083,"depth":132,"text":20084},{"id":20098,"depth":132,"text":20099},{"id":20138,"depth":132,"text":20139,"children":20195},[20196],{"id":20154,"depth":4021,"text":20155},{"id":20175,"depth":132,"text":20176},{"id":20185,"depth":132,"text":20186},"2023-06-02","Benchmark problems are the trusted grades on a board. Here is what makes a problem a benchmark and how to use them to track real progress.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1644000454371-58ff8177fec1?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A close-up of hands holding a rope",{},{"title":20075,"description":20200},"blog\u002Fbenchmarks-and-why-they-matter",[1715,13942,162,2378],"aibmRBoV06PcWavyt_OctRnZPyFPooMYzCABR44oQDo",{"id":20209,"title":15687,"author":7,"body":20210,"category":2555,"date":20380,"description":20381,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":20382,"imageAlt":20383,"imageCredit":20384,"imageCreditUrl":20385,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":20386,"navigation":152,"path":20387,"readTime":154,"seo":20388,"stem":20389,"tags":20390,"__hash__":20391},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcrag-etiquette-and-access-the-basics.md",{"type":9,"value":20211,"toc":20373},[20212,20215,20218,20222,20225,20228,20242,20245,20249,20252,20257,20260,20267,20271,20274,20281,20284,20287,20291,20294,20348,20351,20354,20358,20361,20364,20370],[17,20213,20214],{},"The first time you turn up at a proper outdoor crag, the rules are mostly invisible. There is no front desk, no signage telling you where to chalk up and where not to, no staff member to ask. Just a path, some rock, and a quiet expectation that you already know how to behave. Most of us learn the etiquette by getting it slightly wrong in front of someone who has been climbing there for twenty years.",[17,20216,20217],{},"The good news is that crag etiquette is almost entirely common sense, dressed up in climbing clothes. The other piece of news, less obvious but more important, is that a lot of the places we climb in the UK are not ours by right. We access them through agreements, goodwill, and the patience of farmers and landowners. Treat that carelessly and crags get closed. Treat it well and they stay open for the next person.",[12,20219,20221],{"id":20220},"before-you-even-leave-the-car-park","Before you even leave the car park",[17,20223,20224],{},"A surprising amount of crag etiquette happens before you touch any rock. Parking is the classic flashpoint. Climbers turning up in numbers, blocking a farm gate or a passing place on a single-track lane, is one of the fastest ways to sour a relationship with locals who actually live there.",[17,20226,20227],{},"A few habits go a long way:",[70,20229,20230,20233,20236,20239],{},[73,20231,20232],{},"Park considerately and never block gates, tracks or field entrances, even briefly.",[73,20234,20235],{},"Car-share where you can, especially for popular crags with limited space.",[73,20237,20238],{},"Keep noise down in the car park early in the morning. Slamming boots and shouting beta carries a long way in a quiet valley.",[73,20240,20241],{},"Follow the marked approach path rather than cutting your own line across a field.",[17,20243,20244],{},"It sounds fussy, but the people who live near crags judge climbers as a group. One inconsiderate car can undo a lot of good behaviour from everyone else.",[12,20246,20248],{"id":20247},"access-is-not-automatic","Access is not automatic",[17,20250,20251],{},"Here is the part that catches people out. In England and Wales, the \"right to roam\" under the CRoW Act covers a lot of open access land, but it does not cover everything, and it does not automatically grant you the right to climb. Scotland has more generous access rights, but they still come with responsibilities. Plenty of crags sit on private land where climbing happens only because a quiet agreement exists.",[3878,20253,20254],{},[17,20255,20256],{},"Access is a privilege that gets renewed every time a climber behaves well, and revoked when enough of us don't.",[17,20258,20259],{},"The practical upshot is that you should always check the access notes before you go. The British Mountaineering Council, and the equivalent bodies elsewhere, publish access information and seasonal restrictions. Some crags close for part of the year for nesting birds, particularly peregrines and ravens. Ignoring a nesting restriction is not a small thing. It can get an entire crag banned, and it makes every climber look like a vandal.",[17,20261,20262,20263,20266],{},"If you are heading somewhere new, the same homework that makes a trip smoother also keeps it legal. Our guide on ",[9853,20264,20265],{"href":10095},"how to find a crag near you"," covers where to look for this kind of information.",[12,20268,20270],{"id":20269},"at-the-crag-itself","At the crag itself",[17,20272,20273],{},"Once you are on the rock, the etiquette gets more familiar. Most of it boils down to sharing space and not wrecking the place.",[17,20275,20276,20277,20280],{},"Don't hog a route or a problem. If you are working a project and a queue forms, let people climb through between your attempts. This connects neatly to knowing ",[9853,20278,20279],{"href":13364},"how to actually rest between attempts",", because long rests are easier to justify if you are not making four other people wait while you sit under the line.",[17,20282,20283],{},"Keep your gear tidy. Sprawling ropes, bags and pads across the base of a popular crag is inconsiderate when others want to climb nearby. Bouldering pads in particular have a way of expanding to fill all available ground.",[17,20285,20286],{},"Tick marks deserve a mention. A small dab of chalk to mark a hidden foothold is normal practice, but brush it off when you are done. Leaving the rock plastered in arrows and circles is ugly and unnecessary, and it spoils the experience for the next person who wanted to read the problem themselves.",[12,20288,20290],{"id":20289},"leave-no-trace-properly","Leave no trace, properly",[17,20292,20293],{},"The phrase gets thrown around a lot, so it helps to be specific about what it actually means at a crag.",[3925,20295,20296,20306],{},[3928,20297,20298],{},[3931,20299,20300,20303],{},[3934,20301,20302],{},"Do",[3934,20304,20305],{},"Don't",[3942,20307,20308,20316,20324,20332,20340],{},[3931,20309,20310,20313],{},[3947,20311,20312],{},"Take all litter home, including tape and fruit peel",[3947,20314,20315],{},"Assume \"natural\" rubbish like banana skins will just vanish",[3931,20317,20318,20321],{},[3947,20319,20320],{},"Brush off excess chalk and tick marks",[3947,20322,20323],{},"Leave the rock white and scrawled with arrows",[3931,20325,20326,20329],{},[3947,20327,20328],{},"Use established paths and toilets where they exist",[3947,20330,20331],{},"Dig cat-holes near water sources or paths",[3931,20333,20334,20337],{},[3947,20335,20336],{},"Keep dogs under control around livestock",[3947,20338,20339],{},"Let dogs roam free through fields with sheep",[3931,20341,20342,20345],{},[3947,20343,20344],{},"Climb quietly and respect others' experience",[3947,20346,20347],{},"Play music out loud at a busy crag",[17,20349,20350],{},"The banana skin thing is worth dwelling on. People assume organic litter is fine because it rots, but it can take weeks, it attracts vermin, and it looks grim in the meantime. If you carried it in full, you can carry it out empty.",[17,20352,20353],{},"Toilet etiquette is the unglamorous bit nobody wants to discuss. At popular crags with no facilities, the ground gets genuinely unpleasant if everyone treats the nearest boulder as a urinal. Go well away from the base of the crag, away from water, and bury or pack out anything solid.",[12,20355,20357],{"id":20356},"being-a-good-ambassador","Being a good ambassador",[17,20359,20360],{},"The last piece is the hardest to write as a rule, because it is more of an attitude. When you are at a crag, you represent climbers to everyone who sees you. The walker who watches you hold a gate open for them, or scramble over a wall and dislodge half of it, forms an opinion of climbers from that one moment.",[17,20362,20363],{},"Say hello to other crag users. Thank the farmer if you see them. If you spot litter that isn't yours, pick it up anyway. None of this is heroic, it is just the difference between being a welcome guest and being the reason a crag gets a \"no climbing\" sign next season.",[17,20365,20366,20367,20369],{},"Getting outside for the first time can feel like there is a lot to remember, and there is. But it settles quickly, and the broader transition is worth doing properly. If you are making that move, our piece on ",[9853,20368,14026],{"href":12594}," covers the climbing side of it.",[17,20371,20372],{},"Go gently, leave it better than you found it, and the crag will still be there, open and welcoming, the next time you fancy a day on real rock.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":20374},[20375,20376,20377,20378,20379],{"id":20220,"depth":132,"text":20221},{"id":20247,"depth":132,"text":20248},{"id":20269,"depth":132,"text":20270},{"id":20289,"depth":132,"text":20290},{"id":20356,"depth":132,"text":20357},"2023-05-26","How to be a good guest at the crag, from parking and noise to access agreements, so the places we climb stay open.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1608040308072-b97c4604595b?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on grey rock","Harrison Fitts","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@harrisonfitts",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fcrag-etiquette-and-access-the-basics",{"title":15687,"description":20381},"blog\u002Fcrag-etiquette-and-access-the-basics",[2589,14091,3168,7597],"uQrx6ivvfOtOovlum4DctohSpRAY3q6AkL2T62ig1Xo",{"id":20393,"title":15824,"author":7,"body":20394,"category":2785,"date":20557,"description":20558,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":20559,"imageAlt":20560,"imageCredit":14392,"imageCreditUrl":14393,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":20561,"navigation":152,"path":15823,"readTime":154,"seo":20562,"stem":20563,"tags":20564,"__hash__":20566},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fcoming-back-from-a-climbing-injury-mentally.md",{"type":9,"value":20395,"toc":20550},[20396,20399,20402,20406,20409,20412,20415,20419,20422,20425,20439,20444,20447,20451,20454,20457,20517,20520,20524,20530,20537,20541,20544,20547],[17,20397,20398],{},"The finger feels fine. The physio has signed you off, the swelling went down weeks ago, and on paper you are ready to climb again. So you pull onto an easy problem, get to the first proper crimp, and your whole body flinches before your finger has even loaded. You climb down. The tissue healed. Your head did not.",[17,20400,20401],{},"This is the part nobody warns you about when you tweak a pulley or strain a shoulder. The physical injury gets all the attention, the rehab protocols and the ice and the antagonist work. The mental side gets a shrug and a \"you'll be grand\". But for a lot of climbers, the head takes longer to mend than the hand, and it is the bit that quietly decides whether you come back as the climber you were.",[12,20403,20405],{"id":20404},"why-the-mind-lags-behind-the-body","Why the mind lags behind the body",[17,20407,20408],{},"An injury teaches your nervous system a sharp lesson. It pairs a specific movement, a crimp pull or a big reach, with pain and fear. Your brain is very good at remembering that lesson, and it does not check in with your physio before deciding the move is still dangerous.",[17,20410,20411],{},"So you get a protective flinch, a hesitation, an unwillingness to commit that you did not have before. This is not weakness or being soft. It is your nervous system doing exactly its job, which is to keep you away from things that hurt you. The problem is that it carries on doing it long after the actual danger has passed.",[17,20413,20414],{},"There is grief in there too, which sounds dramatic but is real. If you were climbing well and an injury stops you cold, you lose fitness, you lose projects, you watch your mates progress while you do rehab. That stings. Naming it as a genuine loss, rather than pretending you are fine, is usually the first honest step.",[12,20416,20418],{"id":20417},"go-slower-than-you-think-you-need-to","Go slower than you think you need to",[17,20420,20421],{},"The biggest mistake on the comeback is treating the first session back as a test of where you used to be. You pull on, expect your old grade, fall short, and feel rubbish. Then you either push too hard and reinjure, or you get demoralised and drift away from climbing entirely.",[17,20423,20424],{},"A better approach is to make the early sessions deliberately, almost insultingly, easy.",[70,20426,20427,20430,20433,20436],{},[73,20428,20429],{},"Start on terrain so far below your level that there is no question of it loading the injury hard.",[73,20431,20432],{},"Climb for movement quality, not difficulty. Smooth, quiet, controlled.",[73,20434,20435],{},"Stop while you still have plenty left, rather than chasing one more go.",[73,20437,20438],{},"Treat the first month back as rebuilding trust, not rebuilding grades.",[3878,20440,20441],{},[17,20442,20443],{},"Your goal on the way back is not to prove anything. It is to give your nervous system a stack of good, painless experiences to replace the bad one.",[17,20445,20446],{},"The grade will come back faster than you fear, but only if you stop trying to grab it on day one.",[12,20448,20450],{"id":20449},"rebuilding-trust-in-the-injured-part","Rebuilding trust in the injured part",[17,20452,20453],{},"The flinch fades when you give your brain enough evidence that the movement is safe again. That evidence has to be gradual and specific. If a crimp scared you, you do not fix it by avoiding crimps forever, and you do not fix it by jumping straight onto a desperate crimpy project. You fix it in the middle.",[17,20455,20456],{},"Here is a rough way to ladder the exposure, adjusting the numbers to your own situation and your physio's advice.",[3925,20458,20459,20471],{},[3928,20460,20461],{},[3931,20462,20463,20466,20468],{},[3934,20464,20465],{},"Stage",[3934,20467,13580],{},[3934,20469,20470],{},"What you are training",[3942,20472,20473,20484,20495,20506],{},[3931,20474,20475,20478,20481],{},[3947,20476,20477],{},"Reintroduce",[3947,20479,20480],{},"Easy holds, the injured grip used gently on jugs",[3947,20482,20483],{},"Basic confidence the part still works",[3931,20485,20486,20489,20492],{},[3947,20487,20488],{},"Load lightly",[3947,20490,20491],{},"Bigger crimps and edges, well within strength",[3947,20493,20494],{},"Tolerating the feared movement at low intensity",[3931,20496,20497,20500,20503],{},[3947,20498,20499],{},"Build",[3947,20501,20502],{},"Harder holds, more body weight through the part",[3947,20504,20505],{},"Strength and trust climbing together",[3931,20507,20508,20511,20514],{},[3947,20509,20510],{},"Test",[3947,20512,20513],{},"Near your old level, in a controlled setting",[3947,20515,20516],{},"Proving to yourself the chapter is closed",[17,20518,20519],{},"The key is not skipping a stage because you feel impatient. Each one is laying down good memories. Rush it and you either get hurt again or the fear sticks around, neither of which is the outcome you want.",[12,20521,20523],{"id":20522},"when-the-worry-takes-over","When the worry takes over",[17,20525,20526,20527,20529],{},"Some climbers come back physically and find the worry has spread. Every twinge feels like a relapse. Every session is shadowed by a fear of going backwards. This is common, and it overlaps a lot with the ordinary fear of falling that most climbers wrestle with at some point. The mental tools are similar, and our piece on ",[9853,20528,15061],{"href":14230}," is worth a read if this is where you have landed.",[17,20531,20532,20533,20536],{},"It also helps to remember that injury is a normal part of a long climbing life, not a personal failure. Almost everyone who climbs for years picks up something at some point. The climbers who last are not the ones who never get hurt, they are the ones who handle the comeback patiently. There is a wider point here about not measuring yourself against others, which we get into in ",[9853,20534,20535],{"href":15851},"why comparison kills your climbing",". Watching your friends send while you rehab is exactly the moment that comparison does the most damage.",[12,20538,20540],{"id":20539},"the-quiet-upside","The quiet upside",[17,20542,20543],{},"Nobody wants an injury, but a forced break does odd, occasionally useful things. It strips away the grade-chasing and reminds you why you climb in the first place. A lot of climbers come back with cleaner footwork, because rehab forced them to climb gently and precisely on easy terrain for weeks. Some come back with better movement and a calmer head than they had before.",[17,20545,20546],{},"You also tend to come back with more respect for warming up properly, for antagonist work, and for not ego-climbing on a tired day. Those habits, learned the hard way, often make you a more durable climber over the long run.",[17,20548,20549],{},"Be patient with the head, not just the hand. Give it easy days and small wins and time. The send you have been missing will still be there, and you will enjoy it far more than the one you forced through fear.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":20551},[20552,20553,20554,20555,20556],{"id":20404,"depth":132,"text":20405},{"id":20417,"depth":132,"text":20418},{"id":20449,"depth":132,"text":20450},{"id":20522,"depth":132,"text":20523},{"id":20539,"depth":132,"text":20540},"2023-05-19","The physical recovery is only half the story. Here is how to handle the fear, frustration and confidence dip that come with returning from a climbing injury.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1766955048583-7b1d78da47cf?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber silhouetted on a rock face at dusk",{},{"title":15824,"description":20558},"blog\u002Fcoming-back-from-a-climbing-injury-mentally",[2796,3056,5081,20565],"injury","cxZTk50Ag-LZ_qQYHfFD0blbQz-HHFj6A6jmN5M_isU",{"id":20568,"title":20569,"author":7,"body":20570,"category":2366,"date":20761,"description":20762,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":20763,"imageAlt":20764,"imageCredit":20765,"imageCreditUrl":20766,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":20767,"navigation":152,"path":20768,"readTime":154,"seo":20769,"stem":20770,"tags":20771,"__hash__":20772},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fdynos-deadpoints-and-the-language-of-movement.md","Dynos, deadpoints and the language of movement",{"type":9,"value":20571,"toc":20754},[20572,20575,20578,20582,20585,20591,20594,20598,20601,20604,20609,20615,20619,20622,20625,20639,20642,20646,20649,20732,20738,20742,20745,20748,20751],[17,20573,20574],{},"Stand under a boulder problem with a few experienced climbers and you will hear a whole vocabulary fly past. \"Deadpoint to the pinch, then a little pop to the jug.\" Someone else reckons it goes \"static if you drop-knee, otherwise it's a campus to the lip.\" If you are newer to all this, it sounds like a foreign language with the occasional English word thrown in to confuse you.",[17,20576,20577],{},"It is a foreign language, in a way, but a small and learnable one. Most of it describes one thing: how you move between holds, and specifically how much momentum you use to do it. Once you understand the spectrum from fully static to fully dynamic, the rest of the words slot into place around it.",[12,20579,20581],{"id":20580},"the-static-to-dynamic-spectrum","The static to dynamic spectrum",[17,20583,20584],{},"Everything in this vocabulary lives on a single line. At one end is static movement, where you could pause at any point. At the other is dynamic movement, where momentum does the work and you cannot stop halfway. Almost every move you make is somewhere along that line.",[17,20586,20587,20588,12058],{},"A static move is slow and controlled. You reach, you grab, and if you wanted to you could hold the position frozen, halfway between holds. Static climbing looks calm and looks easy, though holding those positions often takes real strength and tension. There is a whole craft to choosing it, which we get into in ",[9853,20589,20590],{"href":4467},"static or dynamic, choosing how to move",[17,20592,20593],{},"A dynamic move uses speed. You generate momentum from your legs and core, and you ride that momentum to the next hold rather than pulling yourself there slowly. Dynamic moves are often less tiring, because you borrow energy from the swing rather than grinding it out with your arms. The catch is precision: you get one shot to land the hold, and timing matters.",[12,20595,20597],{"id":20596},"the-deadpoint-the-quietly-clever-one","The deadpoint, the quietly clever one",[17,20599,20600],{},"Of all these words, the deadpoint is the most useful and the most misunderstood. It is not a full jump. It is the moment at the very top of an upward movement when you are weightless, hanging for a split second between going up and coming back down.",[17,20602,20603],{},"Picture throwing a ball straight up. At the top of its arc, before it falls, there is an instant where it is barely moving. That is the deadpoint. In climbing, you time your reach so your hand arrives at the target hold exactly at that weightless instant. Because there is no upward or downward force fighting you, you can latch a hold that would feel impossible if you were still being yanked around.",[3878,20605,20606],{},[17,20607,20608],{},"The deadpoint is the difference between snatching at a hold while your body fights you, and placing your hand on it in the one calm moment when nothing is pulling you off.",[17,20610,20611,20612,12058],{},"It is the single most useful dynamic skill for most climbers, far more often relevant than the showy full dyno. We give it a proper look on its own in ",[9853,20613,20614],{"href":5480},"the dead point, the most useful dynamic move",[12,20616,20618],{"id":20617},"the-dyno-and-its-cousins","The dyno and its cousins",[17,20620,20621],{},"A dyno, short for dynamic, is the extreme end of the spectrum. It is a full jump where both hands and both feet leave the wall at once, and for a moment you are flying. It is the move that ends up in every climbing video, and it looks far harder than a well-set one usually is.",[17,20623,20624],{},"Dynos come in varieties:",[70,20626,20627,20630,20633,20636],{},[73,20628,20629],{},"A straight dyno launches you vertically to a hold above.",[73,20631,20632],{},"A lateral dyno sends you sideways across a gap.",[73,20634,20635],{},"A double dyno catches the target with both hands together.",[73,20637,20638],{},"A single dyno latches with one hand, then needs a quick match.",[17,20640,20641],{},"There is a sibling worth knowing too. A \"pop\" or \"throw\" is a smaller, gentler dynamic move where your feet usually stay on, but you still use a quick burst of momentum to flick to the next hold. It sits between the deadpoint and the full dyno.",[12,20643,20645],{"id":20644},"a-quick-reference","A quick reference",[17,20647,20648],{},"Here is the spectrum laid out, roughly from least to most committing, with what each move costs you.",[3925,20650,20651,20667],{},[3928,20652,20653],{},[3931,20654,20655,20658,20661,20664],{},[3934,20656,20657],{},"Term",[3934,20659,20660],{},"Feet leave the wall?",[3934,20662,20663],{},"Can you stop halfway?",[3934,20665,20666],{},"Typical use",[3942,20668,20669,20681,20694,20707,20719],{},[3931,20670,20671,20674,20676,20678],{},[3947,20672,20673],{},"Static",[3947,20675,14528],{},[3947,20677,15313],{},[3947,20679,20680],{},"Balance, control, precise placements",[3931,20682,20683,20686,20688,20691],{},[3947,20684,20685],{},"Deadpoint",[3947,20687,14528],{},[3947,20689,20690],{},"No, but only a small move",[3947,20692,20693],{},"Reaching a hold just out of static range",[3931,20695,20696,20699,20702,20704],{},[3947,20697,20698],{},"Pop or throw",[3947,20700,20701],{},"Usually no",[3947,20703,14528],{},[3947,20705,20706],{},"Quick flick to the next hold",[3931,20708,20709,20711,20714,20716],{},[3947,20710,8175],{},[3947,20712,20713],{},"Yes, all points off",[3947,20715,14528],{},[3947,20717,20718],{},"Big gaps with no static option",[3931,20720,20721,20724,20727,20729],{},[3947,20722,20723],{},"Campus",[3947,20725,20726],{},"Yes, feet only",[3947,20728,14528],{},[3947,20730,20731],{},"Power moves with no footholds",[17,20733,20734,20735,12058],{},"A campus move deserves its own mention. It is a dynamic move done with no feet on the wall at all, hands only, like climbing a ladder by hands alone. It is brutally hard on the fingers and shoulders, and it is also a training method in its own right. More on that in ",[9853,20736,20737],{"href":3489},"what is a campus move",[12,20739,20741],{"id":20740},"reading-which-one-a-problem-wants","Reading which one a problem wants",[17,20743,20744],{},"Knowing the words is half of it. The other half is looking at a problem and working out which kind of movement it is asking for. A few clues help.",[17,20746,20747],{},"If the holds are spaced beyond a controlled reach even at full stretch, and there is a big obvious target, the setter probably wants a dynamic move. If the holds are close together but the body positions are awkward and balancey, it likely rewards static, precise climbing. Often a single problem mixes both, static through a delicate section, then a deadpoint or pop to escape it.",[17,20749,20750],{},"The common beginner mistake is throwing for everything, because dynamic moves feel powerful and fun. The opposite mistake, equally common in nervous climbers, is grinding every move out statically and getting pumped because static climbing is more tiring on the arms. The good climbers you watch are constantly choosing, often without thinking, which tool the move wants.",[17,20752,20753],{},"Learning this vocabulary is not about sounding clever under the boulder. It is about being able to name what you are doing, so you can practise it on purpose. Next time you are at the wall, pick one word from this list, deadpoint is a good start, and spend a session deliberately trying to do it well. Naming the move is the first step to owning it.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":20755},[20756,20757,20758,20759,20760],{"id":20580,"depth":132,"text":20581},{"id":20596,"depth":132,"text":20597},{"id":20617,"depth":132,"text":20618},{"id":20644,"depth":132,"text":20645},{"id":20740,"depth":132,"text":20741},"2023-05-12","A plain-English guide to the words climbers use for dynamic movement, from the deadpoint to the full dyno, and what each one actually means on the wall.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1758480378267-a4d7f84332a6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a rugged rock face with ropes","Catherine Kalmykova","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@kalmyk",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fdynos-deadpoints-and-the-language-of-movement",{"title":20569,"description":20762},"blog\u002Fdynos-deadpoints-and-the-language-of-movement",[2376,2377,8242,1241],"q5EIwjS876V94lt5UpW_cbmPbiniROyUU_Co89vmEG0",{"id":20774,"title":20775,"author":7,"body":20776,"category":1811,"date":20946,"description":20947,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":20948,"imageAlt":20949,"imageCredit":19684,"imageCreditUrl":7220,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":20950,"navigation":152,"path":20951,"readTime":154,"seo":20952,"stem":20953,"tags":20954,"__hash__":20956},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fapproach-shoes-that-earn-their-place.md","Approach shoes that earn their place",{"type":9,"value":20777,"toc":20939},[20778,20781,20784,20788,20791,20794,20797,20801,20804,20818,20821,20826,20830,20833,20840,20844,20847,20918,20921,20926,20930,20933,20936],[17,20779,20780],{},"There is a particular kind of climber who arrives at the crag in a sleek pair of approach shoes, sticky rubber and all, having driven there and walked forty flat metres from the car park. There is another kind who scrambles up a greasy, exposed path to a mountain crag in their everyday trainers, slipping the whole way and wondering why their heart rate is so high. Both have got it slightly wrong. The approach shoe is one of the most useful and most over-bought items in climbing.",[17,20782,20783],{},"An approach shoe is, roughly, a cross between a trainer and a climbing shoe. It has sticky climbing rubber on the sole, often with a flat smearing zone at the toe, but it fits and walks more like a normal shoe. The idea is a single shoe that gets you up a rough, rocky, sometimes scrambly walk-in, and can handle the odd bit of easy climbing without you changing footwear.",[12,20785,20787],{"id":20786},"what-an-approach-shoe-actually-buys-you","What an approach shoe actually buys you",[17,20789,20790],{},"The headline feature is the rubber. A proper approach shoe uses the same kind of sticky compound you find on climbing shoes, not the harder, more durable rubber on a running shoe. On wet rock, polished limestone, or a steep grassy ramp with stone steps, that grip is genuinely reassuring. It is the difference between trusting your feet on a sketchy traverse path and edging across it gripped.",[17,20792,20793],{},"The second feature is the toe. Most approach shoes have a flat, smooth rubber patch at the front, designed for smearing onto small footholds and edging onto little steps. This is what lets you scramble up easy rock, the kind of grade you would happily solo, without bothering to put your rock shoes on.",[17,20795,20796],{},"Beyond that, you are looking at a stiffer sole than a trainer for support on rough ground, a snug-ish fit so your foot does not slide around on steep terrain, and usually some protection around the toe and heel for kicking into rock and scree.",[12,20798,20800],{"id":20799},"when-they-genuinely-earn-their-place","When they genuinely earn their place",[17,20802,20803],{},"The honest answer is that approach shoes are brilliant in some situations and pointless in others. Here is where they pull their weight.",[70,20805,20806,20809,20812,20815],{},[73,20807,20808],{},"Long or rough walk-ins, especially mountain crags, scree slopes and steep paths.",[73,20810,20811],{},"Approaches that involve scrambling, where you want sticky rubber on the actual rock.",[73,20813,20814],{},"Multi-pitch and alpine days, where you want to climb easy ground in your approach shoes and save your rock shoes for the hard pitches.",[73,20816,20817],{},"Slippery, polished or wet rock around the base of a crag where a normal trainer skates.",[17,20819,20820],{},"In those settings, a good approach shoe is a joy and a safety feature. The grip lets you move quickly and confidently over terrain that would otherwise be slow and nervy.",[3878,20822,20823],{},[17,20824,20825],{},"The test is simple: if the walk-in is the crux of your day, an approach shoe earns its place. If the walk-in is a stroll from the car, your trainers are fine.",[12,20827,20829],{"id":20828},"when-your-trainers-will-do","When your trainers will do",[17,20831,20832],{},"This is the part the gear shops would rather you skipped. For a great many UK climbing days, particularly roadside crags and indoor-adjacent bouldering, you do not need approach shoes at all. A flat walk across a field does not demand sticky rubber. Your normal trainers, or even an old pair of shoes you do not mind getting muddy, are completely fine.",[17,20834,20835,20836,20839],{},"Buying approach shoes for short, flat approaches is the footwear equivalent of buying a full rack for a sport crag. It is not wrong exactly, it is just spending money on a problem you do not have. If you are still building out your kit and watching your budget, spend it where it counts first. Our guide to ",[9853,20837,20838],{"href":18690},"building a starter rack without overspending"," takes the same honest line about what you actually need early on.",[12,20841,20843],{"id":20842},"what-to-look-for-if-you-do-buy-a-pair","What to look for if you do buy a pair",[17,20845,20846],{},"Say you have decided you genuinely want a pair, because you are heading into the mountains or onto multi-pitch. Here is how the main features trade off.",[3925,20848,20849,20861],{},[3928,20850,20851],{},[3931,20852,20853,20855,20858],{},[3934,20854,14455],{},[3934,20856,20857],{},"Prioritise if you...",[3934,20859,20860],{},"The trade-off",[3942,20862,20863,20874,20885,20896,20907],{},[3931,20864,20865,20868,20871],{},[3947,20866,20867],{},"Sticky, soft rubber",[3947,20869,20870],{},"Scramble and climb in them often",[3947,20872,20873],{},"Wears out faster than trainer rubber",[3931,20875,20876,20879,20882],{},[3947,20877,20878],{},"Stiff, supportive sole",[3947,20880,20881],{},"Carry loads over long, rough approaches",[3947,20883,20884],{},"Less sensitive for actual climbing",[3931,20886,20887,20890,20893],{},[3947,20888,20889],{},"Precise toe and snug fit",[3947,20891,20892],{},"Edge onto small holds and scramble",[3947,20894,20895],{},"Less comfortable for all-day walking",[3931,20897,20898,20901,20904],{},[3947,20899,20900],{},"Roomy, cushioned fit",[3947,20902,20903],{},"Mostly walk and rarely climb in them",[3947,20905,20906],{},"Sloppier on steep, technical ground",[3931,20908,20909,20912,20915],{},[3947,20910,20911],{},"Lace-to-toe lacing",[3947,20913,20914],{},"Want adjustable, climbing-style precision",[3947,20916,20917],{},"Slightly more faff to get on and off",[17,20919,20920],{},"The big tension is between climbing performance and walking comfort. A burly, precise approach shoe that scrambles beautifully can be hard work over a ten-mile day, while a soft, comfy one walks all day but skates on technical rock. Think honestly about what your days actually involve before chasing the most technical option.",[17,20922,20923,20924,12058],{},"Fit matters more than brand. Approach shoes should be snug enough that your foot does not slide forward on steep descents, mashing your toes, but not so tight they are miserable to walk in. As with any shoe, your foot shape decides more than the marketing does, the same lesson that applies to rock shoes in ",[9853,20925,14583],{"href":13737},[12,20927,20929],{"id":20928},"looking-after-the-rubber","Looking after the rubber",[17,20931,20932],{},"Approach shoe rubber is soft, which is why it grips, and soft rubber wears quickly. If you scramble in them constantly on abrasive rock like grit, expect the toe to round off over a season or two. You can resole many approach shoes, much like rock shoes, which is worth knowing before you bin a pair with good uppers and worn rubber.",[17,20934,20935],{},"Keep them out of the mud where you can, brush the soles before you climb on anything technical, and they will grip better and last longer. Caked-on dried mud turns sticky rubber into a slick disc.",[17,20937,20938],{},"So before you buy, picture your typical climbing day and ask what the walk in is really like. If it is rough, steep, scrambly or wet, treat yourself to a good pair and enjoy the confidence they bring. If it is a wander across a field, save the money, wear your trainers, and put the cash towards something you will actually use.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":20940},[20941,20942,20943,20944,20945],{"id":20786,"depth":132,"text":20787},{"id":20799,"depth":132,"text":20800},{"id":20828,"depth":132,"text":20829},{"id":20842,"depth":132,"text":20843},{"id":20928,"depth":132,"text":20929},"2023-05-05","When an approach shoe is genuinely worth carrying, what to look for in one, and when your trainers will do the job just as well.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1599115086667-c134c829edb6?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a rocky mountain",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fapproach-shoes-that-earn-their-place",{"title":20775,"description":20947},"blog\u002Fapproach-shoes-that-earn-their-place",[1822,14620,2440,20955],"approach","qIkoVJhByzuRDIgrGNEw8hEY4fw2MaZb6FP7aSi1ZSw",{"id":20958,"title":20959,"author":7,"body":20960,"category":2678,"date":21103,"description":21104,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21105,"imageAlt":21106,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21107,"navigation":152,"path":21108,"readTime":154,"seo":21109,"stem":21110,"tags":21111,"__hash__":21113},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-films-worth-your-evening.md","Climbing films worth your evening",{"type":9,"value":20961,"toc":21096},[20962,20965,20968,20972,20975,20978,20981,20985,20988,20998,21002,21005,21010,21016,21020,21023,21077,21080,21084,21090,21093],[17,20963,20964],{},"It is a wet Tuesday in November, your fingers are too trashed to hang off anything, and the forecast for the weekend is grim. This is prime climbing-film weather. There is something about watching other people climb hard on a screen that scratches the itch when you cannot get on rock yourself, and a good climbing film does more than show impressive moves. The best of them are about obsession, fear, friendship and the strange logic of dedicating your life to going up rocks.",[17,20966,20967],{},"Climbing has produced a surprising amount of good cinema, partly because the sport is so visual and partly because the people who make these films are usually climbers themselves. What follows is not a definitive ranking, because that would be silly and everyone's taste differs. It is more a tour of the kinds of climbing film out there, and why you might pick one over another on a given evening.",[12,20969,20971],{"id":20970},"the-famous-big-wall-documentaries","The famous big-wall documentaries",[17,20973,20974],{},"You probably know the headliners already. The free-solo films and the big El Capitan documentaries broke out of the climbing world entirely and got watched by people who have never touched a hold. They earned that audience. The cinematography is extraordinary, the tension is real, and they do a good job of explaining the stakes to a non-climbing partner without boring the climbers in the room.",[17,20976,20977],{},"What makes them work is not the climbing itself, oddly, but the human story wrapped around it. The training, the relationships strained by risk, the years of preparation behind a single day on the wall. If you want to get a sceptical friend or partner interested in why you spend your weekends covered in chalk, these are the ones to put on first. They translate.",[17,20979,20980],{},"The flip side is that they can give a slightly skewed picture of what climbing is. Free soloing a 3,000-foot wall is to most climbing what Formula 1 is to your commute. Brilliant to watch, not remotely representative of the everyday thing.",[12,20982,20984],{"id":20983},"the-bouldering-and-sport-films","The bouldering and sport films",[17,20986,20987],{},"For something closer to the climbing most of us actually do, the bouldering and sport films are where it is at. These tend to follow strong climbers working hard projects over months or years, the redpoint grind, the repeated failures, the eventual send. The drama is smaller in scale and, for a working climber, often more relatable. You have failed on a project too, just at a different grade.",[17,20989,20990,20991,18258,20994,20997],{},"These films are also where you see technique worth stealing. Watch how the best climbers use their feet, how still and quiet their movement is, how they rest mid-route. There is a lot to learn from them, which is a theme we pick up in ",[9853,20992,20993],{"href":3246},"what we can learn from how the pros train",[9853,20995,20996],{"href":12674},"footwork lessons from the best climbers",". A climbing film can double as a coaching session if you watch it with half an eye on the movement rather than just the result.",[12,20999,21001],{"id":21000},"the-quiet-weird-and-historical-gems","The quiet, weird and historical gems",[17,21003,21004],{},"Beyond the polished documentaries there is a whole world of smaller films, and these are often the ones that stick with you. Older footage of climbing's pioneers, grainy and strange, showing people doing remarkable things in hilariously bad gear. Films about a single crag, or a single eccentric climber, or a community rather than a star.",[3878,21006,21007],{},[17,21008,21009],{},"The big films show you what is possible. The small films remind you why anyone bothers, which is often more interesting.",[17,21011,21012,21013,21015],{},"This category is also where you absorb the sport's history and ethics almost by accident. You learn where grades came from, how attitudes to bolting and chipping have shifted, why certain crags carry the weight they do. If that side appeals, it pairs well with reading like ",[9853,21014,15774],{"href":14818},", which covers the same lineage in print.",[12,21017,21019],{"id":21018},"how-to-pick-for-the-evening-you-are-having","How to pick for the evening you are having",[17,21021,21022],{},"Different films suit different moods. Here is a rough guide to matching the film to your evening, and your company.",[3925,21024,21025,21035],{},[3928,21026,21027],{},[3931,21028,21029,21032],{},[3934,21030,21031],{},"You want to...",[3934,21033,21034],{},"Watch the kind of film that...",[3942,21036,21037,21045,21053,21061,21069],{},[3931,21038,21039,21042],{},[3947,21040,21041],{},"Convert a non-climbing friend",[3947,21043,21044],{},"Has a famous big-wall story and high drama",[3931,21046,21047,21050],{},[3947,21048,21049],{},"Get fired up to train",[3947,21051,21052],{},"Follows a hard redpoint project to the send",[3931,21054,21055,21058],{},[3947,21056,21057],{},"Learn movement and footwork",[3947,21059,21060],{},"Lingers on technical bouldering and sport climbing",[3931,21062,21063,21066],{},[3947,21064,21065],{},"Understand the sport's roots",[3947,21067,21068],{},"Digs into history, ethics and old footage",[3931,21070,21071,21074],{},[3947,21072,21073],{},"Just relax and feel the stoke",[3947,21075,21076],{},"Is more travelogue than competition, all landscape",[17,21078,21079],{},"The mistake people make is putting on a tense free-solo film when what they actually wanted was a cosy travelogue. Match the film to the mood and you will enjoy it far more.",[12,21081,21083],{"id":21082},"watching-critically-not-just-passively","Watching critically, not just passively",[17,21085,21086,21087,12058],{},"One small habit makes climbing films better. Watch with a question in mind. On a footwork-focused viewing, mute the inspirational music and just watch the feet. On a mindset viewing, pay attention to how the climber talks to themselves before a hard go, and how they handle falling off. There is real, practical stuff in there if you look for it, the same calm-under-pressure that we dig into for the rest of us in ",[9853,21088,21089],{"href":7379},"climbing and mental health",[17,21091,21092],{},"It is also worth keeping a slightly critical eye on the gloss. Films are edited to build tension and triumph, which means the years of tedious training and the boring failed sessions get compressed into a montage. Real progress is mostly those boring sessions, and no film can quite capture how long they take. Enjoy the stoke, but do not let the highlight reel make your own grindy Tuesday session feel like failure.",[17,21094,21095],{},"So put the kettle on, ignore the rain, and pick something that matches your mood. Whether you come away inspired to project harder, fascinated by the sport's history, or just quietly chuffed to be part of this slightly daft pastime, an evening with a good climbing film is rarely wasted. And the rock will still be there when the weather turns.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21097},[21098,21099,21100,21101,21102],{"id":20970,"depth":132,"text":20971},{"id":20983,"depth":132,"text":20984},{"id":21000,"depth":132,"text":21001},{"id":21018,"depth":132,"text":21019},{"id":21082,"depth":132,"text":21083},"2023-04-28","A guide to the climbing films worth settling in for, from the famous big-wall documentaries to the quieter, weirder gems, and what each one gets right.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1701732375270-544f754f1e22?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber with a backpack on a mountain",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-films-worth-your-evening",{"title":20959,"description":21104},"blog\u002Fclimbing-films-worth-your-evening",[14822,14823,7598,21112],"film","v_s-Z4DMIUJYxQL9io_l5FsiHDxRqlS81VhITNCX0t0",{"id":21115,"title":21116,"author":7,"body":21117,"category":141,"date":21223,"description":21224,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21225,"imageAlt":21226,"imageCredit":1815,"imageCreditUrl":1816,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21227,"navigation":152,"path":21228,"readTime":154,"seo":21229,"stem":21230,"tags":21231,"__hash__":21232},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-power-versus-endurance.md","Training power versus endurance",{"type":9,"value":21118,"toc":21216},[21119,21122,21125,21129,21132,21135,21138,21142,21145,21156,21161,21168,21172,21175,21181,21187,21191,21194,21197,21200,21204,21207,21210,21213],[17,21120,21121],{},"There are two ways climbers fall off. The first is sudden and obvious: you pull onto a move, your fingers cannot hold the position, and you are off before you have really started. The second is slow and grim: you are ten moves up, your forearms have turned to concrete, the holds are still there but your hands simply will not close. The first is mostly a power problem. The second is mostly an endurance problem. Knowing which one is dropping you off the wall changes everything about how you should train.",[17,21123,21124],{},"Most climbers train whichever one they are already good at, because it feels nice. The strong, powerful boulderer keeps doing limit boulder problems and wonders why they get pumped on routes. The enduring route climber keeps doing laps and wonders why hard single moves shut them down. Progress usually comes from training the thing you are worse at, which is annoying, because it is the less fun thing.",[12,21126,21128],{"id":21127},"what-the-words-actually-mean","What the words actually mean",[17,21130,21131],{},"Power, in climbing terms, is your ability to produce a lot of force quickly. It is what gets you through a single very hard move, a powerful pull, a big throw, a desperate latch on a small hold. Strength and power are close cousins here. When a problem has one savage move that you simply cannot do, that is a power or strength limitation.",[17,21133,21134],{},"Endurance is your ability to keep going. It comes in two flavours that are worth separating. Strength-endurance, sometimes called power-endurance, is your capacity to do a series of hard moves in a row before you blow up, think a bouldery sport route with no rests. Aerobic endurance is your ability to keep climbing for a long time on easier terrain, recovering as you go.",[17,21136,21137],{},"Most climbing sits somewhere on this spectrum. A short, brutal boulder problem is nearly all power. A long, steep, pumpy sport route is mostly strength-endurance. A big alpine day on easy ground leans on aerobic endurance. Knowing where your target climbs sit tells you what to train.",[12,21139,21141],{"id":21140},"working-out-which-is-holding-you-back","Working out which is holding you back",[17,21143,21144],{},"The good news is that diagnosing this is straightforward if you pay attention to how you fail. Ask yourself what actually happens when you come off.",[70,21146,21147,21150,21153],{},[73,21148,21149],{},"You fall trying a single hard move that you cannot do even fresh. That points to power.",[73,21151,21152],{},"You can do every move on a route in isolation, but link them and you blow up. That points to strength-endurance.",[73,21154,21155],{},"You feel fine on the hard bits but slowly fade over a long, sustained climb. That points to aerobic endurance.",[3878,21157,21158],{},[17,21159,21160],{},"The move you fall on tells you the truth. If you can do every move separately but never link them, you do not have a strength problem, you have an endurance problem dressed up as one.",[17,21162,21163,21164,21167],{},"It is worth being honest here, because climbers love to blame the wrong thing. Plenty of people convince themselves they need more finger strength when what they actually need is to stop getting so pumped. If you keep coming off the same point on a route, our piece on ",[9853,21165,21166],{"href":19816},"why you keep falling off the same move"," digs into separating a strength issue from a technique or endurance one.",[12,21169,21171],{"id":21170},"training-power","Training power",[17,21173,21174],{},"If power is your limiter, the principle is high intensity and full recovery. You want to be doing hard moves while fresh, then resting properly so the next attempt is also done fresh.",[17,21176,21177,21178,12058],{},"In practice that means limit bouldering: problems at or near your absolute max, just a few moves long, with long rests of several minutes between proper goes. The aim is quality, not quantity. A handful of genuinely maximal attempts beats twenty mediocre ones. Boards are excellent for this because you can dial the difficulty precisely, and we cover the specifics in ",[9853,21179,21180],{"href":9020},"training power on the board",[17,21182,21183,21184,21186],{},"Finger strength is the foundation under all of it, and it is also the thing most likely to get you hurt if you rush. Build it patiently and respect the warning signs, as we lay out in ",[9853,21185,14860],{"href":9540},". Power training rewards the impatient with injuries.",[12,21188,21190],{"id":21189},"training-endurance","Training endurance",[17,21192,21193],{},"If endurance is your limiter, the principle flips: more volume, less rest, lower intensity per move. You are training your forearms to keep working as the pump builds and to recover while still climbing.",[17,21195,21196],{},"For strength-endurance, the classic tools are circuits and intervals. Pick a set of moves that are hard but doable, and climb them for a sustained stretch, somewhere around the length of effort your target routes demand, then rest and repeat. The feeling you are chasing is a deep, building pump that you push through rather than a single max effort. Boards work well for this kind of session too, with the right problems chosen.",[17,21198,21199],{},"For aerobic endurance, the work is gentler and longer. Lots of easy mileage, climbing well within yourself, traversing or doing easy laps, keeping moving and keeping the pump low. It is the least glamorous training there is and the most neglected, but it builds the recovery base that lets everything else work.",[12,21201,21203],{"id":21202},"dont-train-them-at-the-same-time","Don't train them at the same time",[17,21205,21206],{},"Here is the mistake that wastes a lot of effort. Power and endurance pull your body in different directions, and trying to maximise both in the same session, or even the same few weeks, tends to give you a mediocre version of each. The standard answer is to focus, spending a block of weeks leaning into one before switching emphasis to the other.",[17,21208,21209],{},"A rough structure many climbers use is to build a base of endurance and general fitness first, then sharpen power and strength in a focused block closer to when they want to perform. The details depend hugely on your goals and your time, but the principle holds: pick a focus for a while rather than chasing everything at once.",[17,21211,21212],{},"And do not forget that technique quietly trumps both. A pumped climber with good footwork and efficient movement outlasts a stronger one who over-grips every hold. A lot of what looks like an endurance problem is really wasted energy, gripping too hard, hanging off bent arms, fighting bad body positions. Sometimes the cheapest endurance gains come from learning to climb with straighter arms, bent legs and weight on your feet rather than your fingers.",[17,21214,21215],{},"So watch how you fall, train the weakness rather than the strength, focus on one quality at a time, and keep your technique sharp underneath it all. The fastest way to climb harder is usually to stop training the thing you are already good at.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21217},[21218,21219,21220,21221,21222],{"id":21127,"depth":132,"text":21128},{"id":21140,"depth":132,"text":21141},{"id":21170,"depth":132,"text":21171},{"id":21189,"depth":132,"text":21190},{"id":21202,"depth":132,"text":21203},"2023-04-21","What power and endurance actually mean for climbers, how to tell which one is holding you back, and how to train each without neglecting the other.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1708553479135-c3272e5aea2a?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on the side of a mountain",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ftraining-power-versus-endurance",{"title":21116,"description":21224},"blog\u002Ftraining-power-versus-endurance",[162,290,1242,8599],"qNbO7FUA0nNgmhUmWgpIlmigl2uQ0k_cogT_Im9GMM4",{"id":21234,"title":21235,"author":7,"body":21236,"category":2464,"date":21341,"description":21342,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21343,"imageAlt":21344,"imageCredit":11303,"imageCreditUrl":11304,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21345,"navigation":152,"path":21346,"readTime":154,"seo":21347,"stem":21348,"tags":21349,"__hash__":21350},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Ffrom-top-rope-to-lead-the-honest-path.md","From top-rope to lead, the honest path",{"type":9,"value":21237,"toc":21334},[21238,21241,21244,21248,21251,21254,21257,21260,21264,21267,21270,21284,21287,21291,21296,21301,21304,21311,21315,21318,21321,21325,21328,21331],[17,21239,21240],{},"Top-roping is wonderfully forgiving. The rope runs up to an anchor above you and back down to your belayer, so if you slip, you barely move. You can hang, rest, try moves, fail, and try again, all with the safety of knowing a fall is a few centimetres of stretch. Lead climbing takes that comfort blanket away. You clip the rope into the wall as you go, the rope is below you, and a fall means dropping past your last clip before it catches you. The first time that sinks in, it changes how you feel about the whole thing.",[17,21242,21243],{},"The step from top-rope to lead is the moment a lot of indoor climbers either commit to climbing properly or quietly stay on the top-ropes forever. Neither choice is wrong. But if you want to climb outdoors, follow sport routes, or just open up most of what a climbing wall offers, learning to lead is the gateway. Here is an honest look at what actually changes and how to make the step without frightening yourself.",[12,21245,21247],{"id":21246},"what-actually-changes","What actually changes",[17,21249,21250],{},"The physical climbing is the same. The holds do not move, the moves are the moves. What changes is everything around the climbing.",[17,21252,21253],{},"First, you are now responsible for the rope as you climb. You have to clip it into quickdraws or bolts at intervals, which means stopping in positions, often slightly pumped, to pull up slack and clip. That clipping is a skill in itself, and doing it from an awkward stance while gripped is harder than it looks on the ground.",[17,21255,21256],{},"Second, the consequences of a fall change. Above your clip, you will fall the distance to that clip and then the same distance again before the rope comes tight, plus rope stretch. This is normal and safe when done right, but it is a genuinely bigger fall than top-roping, and your body knows it.",[17,21258,21259],{},"Third, belaying changes completely. Lead belaying involves feeding slack, taking it in, and catching dynamic falls, which is a different and more demanding job than top-rope belaying. If you are going to lead, your partner needs to learn lead belaying too, and you need to trust them.",[12,21261,21263],{"id":21262},"learn-the-rope-skills-before-the-fear","Learn the rope skills before the fear",[17,21265,21266],{},"The temptation is to focus entirely on the falling. But the practical skills come first, and getting them solid actually reduces the fear, because a lot of the anxiety comes from fumbling the rope rather than from the height.",[17,21268,21269],{},"Before you lead anything meaningful, get comfortable with:",[70,21271,21272,21275,21278,21281],{},[73,21273,21274],{},"Clipping a quickdraw cleanly with either hand, from various positions.",[73,21276,21277],{},"Recognising and avoiding back-clipping and Z-clipping, the two classic clipping mistakes.",[73,21279,21280],{},"Knowing where your rope should run so it does not end up behind your leg, which can flip you upside down in a fall.",[73,21282,21283],{},"Lead belaying, if you are going to swap roles, which most climbing partners do.",[17,21285,21286],{},"Most walls run a lead course or assessment before they let you lead, and it is worth doing properly rather than treating it as a box to tick. The clipping drills feel tedious on the ground and pay off enormously when you are pumped and committed twenty feet up.",[12,21288,21290],{"id":21289},"the-falling-is-the-hard-part-and-it-is-learnable","The falling is the hard part, and it is learnable",[17,21292,21293,21294,12058],{},"Here is the honest bit. The rope skills are mechanical and you will master them in a few sessions. The fear of leader falls is the real work, and it can take much longer. There is no shortcut, but there is a method, and it is the same method that works for fear of falling generally, which we cover in ",[9853,21295,15061],{"href":14230},[3878,21297,21298],{},[17,21299,21300],{},"Practising falls is not about becoming fearless. It is about giving your nervous system enough safe, controlled falls that it stops treating every clip as a crisis.",[17,21302,21303],{},"The approach is gradual exposure. You take tiny, controlled falls first, just above a clip where the fall is barely a fall, with a belayer you trust. Then slightly bigger. Then bigger still. Each safe fall teaches your body that the rope catches you and nothing bad happens. Skip this and you will lead-climb permanently gripped, never falling, never trying hard, because you are terrified of the consequence. That is a miserable way to climb.",[17,21305,21306,21307,21310],{},"This is also where the broader skill of falling well comes in. If you have done any bouldering, the habits from ",[9853,21308,21309],{"href":15189},"falling and down-climbing without the fear"," carry over, though leader falls have their own particular feel.",[12,21312,21314],{"id":21313},"pick-the-right-routes-to-start","Pick the right routes to start",[17,21316,21317],{},"Do not learn to lead on routes near your physical limit. The fear of falling and the difficulty of the climbing stack up, and you end up gripped and miserable. Drop well below your top-rope grade for your first leads, somewhere you can climb in control, clip calmly, and even take the odd practice fall without it being dramatic.",[17,21319,21320],{},"Steep, overhanging walls are actually friendlier for falling than slabs, because you fall into clean air rather than scraping down the wall. Many climbers find their first comfortable leader falls happen on gently overhanging terrain for exactly this reason. Choose your early lead routes for how they feel to fall on, not just for the grade.",[12,21322,21324],{"id":21323},"dont-rush-and-dont-feel-rushed","Don't rush, and don't feel rushed",[17,21326,21327],{},"There is a quiet pressure at the wall to \"graduate\" to lead, as if top-roping is for beginners and leading is the real thing. Ignore it. Plenty of strong, happy climbers prefer bouldering or top-roping, and there is nothing to prove. Move to lead because you want what it opens up, not because someone made you feel you should.",[17,21329,21330],{},"When you do make the step, go at your own pace. Some people are taking comfortable practice falls within a few weeks, others take a year to feel relaxed on the sharp end, and both are completely normal. The climbers who push through too fast often end up with a deep-seated fear that takes far longer to undo than if they had built it gently in the first place.",[17,21332,21333],{},"Get the rope skills solid, find a belayer you trust, drop the grade right down, and practise falling on purpose. Do that and lead climbing stops being the scary thing on the other side of a wall and becomes just another way to enjoy the climbing you already love.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21335},[21336,21337,21338,21339,21340],{"id":21246,"depth":132,"text":21247},{"id":21262,"depth":132,"text":21263},{"id":21289,"depth":132,"text":21290},{"id":21313,"depth":132,"text":21314},{"id":21323,"depth":132,"text":21324},"2023-04-14","A realistic look at the move from top-roping to lead climbing, what changes, what to learn first, and how to make the step without scaring yourself off.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1727558729775-83c4ab8d55a8?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Climbers gathered around a large boulder",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Ffrom-top-rope-to-lead-the-honest-path",{"title":21235,"description":21342},"blog\u002Ffrom-top-rope-to-lead-the-honest-path",[562,10099,13548,3594],"iLtJLePEVggp-TfcgiXrHWjdTwrGspOD_PZxJ_8k68M",{"id":21352,"title":21353,"author":7,"body":21354,"category":1904,"date":21470,"description":21471,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21472,"imageAlt":21473,"imageCredit":11303,"imageCreditUrl":11304,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21474,"navigation":152,"path":16624,"readTime":154,"seo":21475,"stem":21476,"tags":21477,"__hash__":21478},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fbrushes-the-most-underrated-tool.md","Brushes, the most underrated tool",{"type":9,"value":21355,"toc":21463},[21356,21359,21362,21366,21369,21372,21377,21380,21384,21387,21401,21404,21408,21411,21414,21419,21423,21426,21429,21432,21439,21450,21453,21457,21460],[17,21357,21358],{},"Ask a climber to list their most important gear and they will reel off shoes, chalk, maybe a crash pad or a rope. The brush almost never makes the list, which is odd, because of all the cheap bits of kit in a climbing bag, the humble brush probably does the most to help you actually stick the holds. A grease-coated, chalk-clogged hold can be a full grade harder than the same hold brushed clean. People spend a fortune chasing finger strength and ignore the fifty-pence fix sitting in the bottom of their bag.",[17,21360,21361],{},"A climbing brush is a small handheld brush, usually with stiff boar's hair or synthetic bristles, used to scrub chalk, skin grease and rubber off holds. That is it. There is nothing clever about it, and that is precisely why it gets overlooked. But once you understand what it does to friction, you start brushing properly, and your climbing quietly improves.",[12,21363,21365],{"id":21364},"why-a-clean-hold-grips-better","Why a clean hold grips better",[17,21367,21368],{},"Every time a hand touches a hold, it leaves behind a thin film of skin oils, chalk, and the residue of everyone who climbed before you. Over a session, popular holds build up a polished, greasy glaze. That glaze fills in the tiny surface texture that your fingers and rubber actually grip, and the hold goes from positive to slick.",[17,21370,21371],{},"Brushing scrubs that film away and exposes fresh texture. On small crimps and slopers, where you are relying on friction and the last few millimetres of surface roughness, the difference is dramatic. A sloper you keep sliding off might simply be greasy. Brush it firmly, let the dust settle, and suddenly it holds.",[3878,21373,21374],{},[17,21375,21376],{},"Half the time you are not too weak for the hold, the hold is just too dirty for you. Brush first, blame your fingers second.",[17,21378,21379],{},"This matters most on the worst holds. Big jugs do not care much whether they are clean. The marginal crimps and slopers, the ones at your limit, care enormously, which is exactly why brushing is most useful precisely when you are trying hard.",[12,21381,21383],{"id":21382},"choosing-a-brush","Choosing a brush",[17,21385,21386],{},"Brushes vary more than you would think for such a simple object. A few things matter.",[70,21388,21389,21392,21395,21398],{},[73,21390,21391],{},"Bristle material. Boar's hair is the traditional choice, soft enough not to damage holds but firm enough to clean well. Stiffer synthetic bristles cut through grease faster but can be harsher on rock and on plastic holds.",[73,21393,21394],{},"Bristle stiffness. Stiffer brushes clean aggressively, softer ones are gentler on the surface. For outdoor rock, lean towards natural bristles to avoid wearing the rock.",[73,21396,21397],{},"Head size and shape. A bigger head covers slopers fast, a narrow or pointed one gets into pockets and small incut holds.",[73,21399,21400],{},"Handle and reach. For high holds you cannot reach, a brush on a stick or a telescopic pole saves you stacking pads precariously.",[17,21402,21403],{},"You do not need anything fancy to start. One decent boar's hair brush will do almost everything. As your kit grows, a small pocket brush and a brush on a pole between them cover most situations.",[12,21405,21407],{"id":21406},"how-to-brush-well","How to brush well",[17,21409,21410],{},"Brushing is not just flicking at a hold for show. Done properly it makes a real difference, done badly it does nothing.",[17,21412,21413],{},"Brush firmly, in the direction across the texture rather than just along it, to lift the grease out of the surface. Then, and this is the bit people skip, blow or let the loosened chalk dust clear before you climb. A freshly brushed hold covered in loose dust is no better than before. Give it a moment, or a puff of breath, so you are pulling on clean, dry rock or plastic.",[17,21415,21416,21417,12058],{},"Brush the feet too, not just the hands. A greasy foothold sends your foot skating off at the worst moment, and clean rubber on clean rock is half of good footwork. This ties into the broader skin and friction picture, which we cover alongside brushing in ",[9853,21418,16209],{"href":10181},[12,21420,21422],{"id":21421},"the-etiquette-indoors-and-out","The etiquette, indoors and out",[17,21424,21425],{},"Here is where brushing crosses from gear into manners, and the rules differ between the gym and the crag.",[17,21427,21428],{},"Indoors, brushing is generally encouraged and welcomed. Walls often hang brushes near the problems for exactly this reason. The main courtesy is to brush the holds you have used after a hard session, so you leave them clean for the next person rather than glazed with your grease.",[17,21430,21431],{},"Tick marks are the indoor flashpoint. A tick mark is a small dab of chalk to remind you where a hidden hold or foot is. Fine in moderation, but brush them off when you are done, both because it is tidy and because it spoils the puzzle for the next climber who wanted to read the problem themselves.",[17,21433,21434,21435,21438],{},"Outdoors, brushing carries more weight, because you are dealing with irreplaceable rock and a fragile relationship with access. The ethics here are real, and they are part of a bigger conversation we get into in ",[9853,21436,21437],{"href":8513},"climbing ethics, tick marks, chipping and brushing",". The short version:",[70,21440,21441,21444,21447],{},[73,21442,21443],{},"Use a soft brush on rock, never a wire brush, which scars and polishes the surface permanently.",[73,21445,21446],{},"Brush off your tick marks and excess chalk before you leave. A crag plastered in white chalk and arrows looks grim and upsets non-climbers.",[73,21448,21449],{},"Do not brush holds dry that only exist when wet, and do not over-clean delicate sandstone, which is soft and easily damaged.",[17,21451,21452],{},"The principle is simple. Brush to clean, not to alter, and leave the rock looking as close to untouched as you can.",[12,21454,21456],{"id":21455},"a-small-habit-that-pays-off","A small habit that pays off",[17,21458,21459],{},"The best thing about the brush is that building the habit costs you almost nothing and gives back more than its price suggests. Brush the holds before a hard go. Brush the feet. Let the dust clear. Brush down after a session, indoors for the next person, outdoors for the rock and for access.",[17,21461,21462],{},"Chuck a brush in your bag, use it every session, and you will be surprised how often the hold you were sure you were too weak for turns out to have just been dirty. It is the cheapest grade you will ever buy.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21464},[21465,21466,21467,21468,21469],{"id":21364,"depth":132,"text":21365},{"id":21382,"depth":132,"text":21383},{"id":21406,"depth":132,"text":21407},{"id":21421,"depth":132,"text":21422},{"id":21455,"depth":132,"text":21456},"2023-04-07","Why a good brush quietly makes you climb harder, how to choose one, and the etiquette of brushing holds indoors and out.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1727558675813-0c78f52237a0?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A boulderer leaping for a hold",{},{"title":21353,"description":21471},"blog\u002Fbrushes-the-most-underrated-tool",[1822,13741,13742,8456],"B53yOPusRkmMupM1lpqknMWSM_Z3mrEWpd5wPShW540",{"id":21480,"title":21481,"author":7,"body":21482,"category":1703,"date":21592,"description":21593,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21594,"imageAlt":21595,"imageCredit":889,"imageCreditUrl":890,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21596,"navigation":152,"path":16905,"readTime":154,"seo":21597,"stem":21598,"tags":21599,"__hash__":21601},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fprogramming-a-board-session.md","Programming a board session",{"type":9,"value":21483,"toc":21584},[21484,21487,21490,21494,21497,21500,21514,21521,21523,21526,21532,21537,21541,21544,21547,21550,21553,21557,21560,21564,21569,21572,21576,21581],[17,21485,21486],{},"Most board sessions go the same way. You warm up half-heartedly, pull onto something hard because it looks cool, fail on it a few times, get distracted by whatever your mate is trying, throw yourself at a couple more random problems, and leave forty minutes later with sore fingers and no real idea what you trained. The board is a brilliant training tool, but a board session without a plan is just hard bouldering with extra steps. The difference between the two is structure.",[17,21488,21489],{},"A board, whether it is a Moonboard, a Kilter, or a home systems board, is a concentrated training environment. The angle is steep, the holds are consistent, and the difficulty is dialled in tight. That concentration is exactly why it rewards planning and punishes wandering. An hour on the board with a clear purpose does more than three hours of aimless pulling. Here is how to give a session a shape.",[12,21491,21493],{"id":21492},"decide-the-point-of-the-session-first","Decide the point of the session first",[17,21495,21496],{},"Before you touch a hold, answer one question: what is this session for. The answer shapes everything that follows. A board can train several different things, and they do not mix well in the same session.",[17,21498,21499],{},"The main purposes are roughly:",[70,21501,21502,21505,21508,21511],{},[73,21503,21504],{},"Power and max strength: a few very hard problems, long rests, total quality.",[73,21506,21507],{},"Strength-endurance: sustained, pumpy problems or links, shorter rests.",[73,21509,21510],{},"Volume and skill: lots of moderate problems, working movement and consolidating.",[73,21512,21513],{},"Specific weakness work: targeting a grip type, an angle, or a style you avoid.",[17,21515,21516,21517,21520],{},"Pick one. Trying to train max power and endurance in the same session gives you a watered-down version of both, for the reasons we lay out in ",[9853,21518,21519],{"href":21228},"training power versus endurance",". The session has a job. Everything you do should serve that job.",[12,21522,2238],{"id":2237},[17,21524,21525],{},"The board is steep and the holds are small, which makes it one of the easier places to tweak a finger if you go in cold. A proper warm-up is not optional here, it is injury prevention.",[17,21527,21528,21529,12058],{},"Start off the board entirely. Get your heart rate up and your blood moving with a few minutes of easy movement, then work through some gentle finger and shoulder mobility. Then get on the board and start on the very easiest problems, holds you could do half asleep, gradually working up over fifteen or twenty minutes until your fingers feel warm, open and ready. Do not rush this to get to the \"real\" climbing. On a steep board the warm-up is part of the training, and we go into the specifics in ",[9853,21530,21531],{"href":12751},"warming up on a steep board",[3878,21533,21534],{},[17,21535,21536],{},"The warm-up is not the boring bit before the session. On a board, it is the thing that lets you have a session at all next week.",[12,21538,21540],{"id":21539},"build-the-main-work-around-your-purpose","Build the main work around your purpose",[17,21542,21543],{},"Now the session proper. The shape of it follows the purpose you chose at the start.",[17,21545,21546],{},"If it is a power session, the structure is hard and brief. Pick two or three problems at or near your limit, short, just a handful of powerful moves. Give each a few genuine attempts with long rests in between, three to five minutes, so every go is fresh. Quality over quantity, every time. The temptation is to keep flailing at a problem when you are too pumped to do it justice, but tired attempts just teach bad movement and risk injury. Stop a hard problem while your attempts are still crisp.",[17,21548,21549],{},"If it is a strength-endurance session, flip the logic. Choose problems a notch or two below your limit and link them, or repeat them, with shorter rests, chasing a building pump. Pyramids work well: climb a problem, rest briefly, climb a slightly easier one, and so on. The aim is sustained effort, not a single max go.",[17,21551,21552],{},"If it is a volume or skill session, climb a lot of moderate problems with the emphasis on doing them beautifully. Quiet feet, controlled movement, no thrashing. This is where you actually build technique and consolidate, and it is the most undervalued kind of board session.",[12,21554,21556],{"id":21555},"keep-your-feet-in-the-picture","Keep your feet in the picture",[17,21558,21559],{},"One thing the board quietly does is make people lazy with their feet, because the steep angle and good handholds tempt you to muscle through with your arms. Whatever the session's purpose, hold yourself to good footwork. Place feet deliberately, do not let them cut and swing unless the problem genuinely demands it, and drive from your legs where you can. A session of sloppy, arm-only climbing builds bad habits fast, and on a steep board those habits are hard on your fingers.",[12,21561,21563],{"id":21562},"protect-the-fingers-and-know-when-to-stop","Protect the fingers and know when to stop",[17,21565,21566,21567,12058],{},"The board's biggest risk is that it loads your fingers harder than almost anywhere else, on small holds at a steep angle. The single most useful skill in board training is knowing when to stop. Finger injuries rarely announce themselves with a clear warning, they creep up across a session that went on too long, and we cover that danger in detail in ",[9853,21568,13914],{"href":13913},[17,21570,21571],{},"The honest rule is that the last few problems you force out when you are trashed do almost nothing for your training and most of your injuries. End the session while your climbing still looks good. Leaving with something in the tank is not a wasted session, it is a sustainable one.",[12,21573,21575],{"id":21574},"log-it-or-you-will-repeat-the-same-session-forever","Log it, or you will repeat the same session forever",[17,21577,21578,21579,12058],{},"The last piece is the one that turns a single good session into actual progress. Write down what you did, the problems you sent, the ones you fell on, how you felt, the angle. Without a record you cannot tell whether you are improving or just doing the same things on a loop, and you cannot spot the weakness that keeps recurring. We make the full case for this in ",[9853,21580,20151],{"href":5760},[17,21582,21583],{},"A board session done with a plan, a real warm-up, a single clear purpose, attention to your feet, and a sensible end point, will teach you more in an hour than a month of random pulling. Decide the point before you start, protect your fingers, write it down, and the board becomes the training tool it is meant to be rather than just a hard place to mess about.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21585},[21586,21587,21588,21589,21590,21591],{"id":21492,"depth":132,"text":21493},{"id":2237,"depth":132,"text":2238},{"id":21539,"depth":132,"text":21540},{"id":21555,"depth":132,"text":21556},{"id":21562,"depth":132,"text":21563},{"id":21574,"depth":132,"text":21575},"2023-03-31","How to build a board session with structure instead of just pulling on random problems, from warm-up to the main work, so the time you spend actually counts.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1767850815964-cf6423b9a5dc?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A boulderer on a rock in a forest",{},{"title":21481,"description":21593},"blog\u002Fprogramming-a-board-session",[1715,13942,162,21600],"session","x2xqzI7iLauO7Edeh4WpMaTnq4DtU0EohlMV5ezGEAY",{"id":21603,"title":21604,"author":7,"body":21605,"category":2555,"date":21711,"description":21712,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21713,"imageAlt":21714,"imageCredit":21715,"imageCreditUrl":21716,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21717,"navigation":152,"path":21718,"readTime":154,"seo":21719,"stem":21720,"tags":21721,"__hash__":21722},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Findoor-to-outdoor-making-the-leap.md","Indoor to outdoor, making the leap",{"type":9,"value":21606,"toc":21703},[21607,21610,21613,21617,21620,21623,21628,21632,21635,21649,21652,21656,21659,21665,21671,21675,21678,21683,21687,21690,21693,21697,21700],[17,21608,21609],{},"You can climb a strong grade indoors, you have been doing it for a year or two, and you finally get yourself to a real crag. You walk up, look at the rock, and feel slightly betrayed. Where are the holds. Where are the bright colours telling you what to grab. The thing you are good at and the thing in front of you turn out to be related but not the same, and the first proper day on rock humbles almost everyone. That humbling is normal, and it is also where the good stuff begins.",[17,21611,21612],{},"The gym is a brilliant place to get strong and learn movement, but it is a controlled, simplified version of climbing. Outside, the rock does not care about you, the holds are wherever they happen to be, and a lot of the safety the gym handled invisibly is now your job. Making the leap well is about respecting those differences rather than assuming your indoor grade just transfers across.",[12,21614,21616],{"id":21615},"the-grades-will-not-transfer-and-that-is-fine","The grades will not transfer, and that is fine",[17,21618,21619],{},"The first shock is the grade. The strong gym climber who walks up to an outdoor problem two number grades below their indoor max, and bounces off it repeatedly, is a familiar sight. This is not a sign you are secretly rubbish. Outdoor rock asks for skills the gym never drilled into you.",[17,21621,21622],{},"Indoor holds are obvious, friendly and consistent. Outdoor holds are subtle, often poor, and you have to find them yourself. There are no chalked-up jugs telling you where to go. The footholds in particular are tiny and unmarked, which is why footwork that felt fine indoors suddenly feels desperate. Reading the rock, trusting smears, and standing on nothing are skills you build over time, not ones you arrive with. Drop your expectations, climb well below your indoor grade at first, and let the new skills come.",[3878,21624,21625],{},[17,21626,21627],{},"Your indoor grade is not a lie, but it is not a passport either. Outside, you start again a few grades lower and earn your way back up through skills the gym never taught you.",[12,21629,21631],{"id":21630},"the-skills-the-wall-never-gave-you","The skills the wall never gave you",[17,21633,21634],{},"Beyond pure climbing, the outdoors demands a set of practical skills the gym handled for you without you noticing. These are the things that catch people out.",[70,21636,21637,21640,21643,21646],{},[73,21638,21639],{},"Finding the crag, the path and the actual climbs, then matching them to a guidebook description.",[73,21641,21642],{},"Reading conditions: temperature, humidity, seepage, and whether the rock will even be dry. Outdoor friction changes everything, and learning to chase good conditions is half the battle.",[73,21644,21645],{},"Falling safely onto uneven ground, for boulderers, with pads that you have to place and spot.",[73,21647,21648],{},"Building anchors and managing ropes, for sport and trad, which the gym's fixed setups did for you.",[17,21650,21651],{},"None of this is climbing, exactly, but all of it is part of climbing outside. The single biggest mistake gym climbers make outdoors is treating the rock like a wall with the safety baked in. It is not.",[12,21653,21655],{"id":21654},"bouldering-outside-the-gentler-entry","Bouldering outside, the gentler entry",[17,21657,21658],{},"For most people, bouldering is the easiest way in, because the systems are simpler. No ropes, no anchors, no belaying. But \"simpler\" is not \"no skills\". You need crash pads, you need to place them under the actual landing rather than where it is convenient, and you need someone spotting you, guiding you onto the pads rather than catching you.",[17,21660,21661,21662,21664],{},"Falling outdoors is genuinely different from falling onto a flat gym mat. The ground is uneven, the pads have gaps, and you can twist an ankle on a bad landing that would have been nothing indoors. The habits matter more here, which is why it is worth revisiting ",[9853,21663,14151],{"href":3406}," before you commit to anything high.",[17,21666,21667,21668,12058],{},"There is etiquette too, which the gym never needed to teach you, because outdoor crags run on goodwill and access agreements rather than a membership desk. Parking, noise, litter and respecting the rock all matter, and getting them wrong can get crags closed. We cover the lot in ",[9853,21669,21670],{"href":20387},"crag etiquette and access, the basics",[12,21672,21674],{"id":21673},"ropes-outside-do-not-wing-it","Ropes outside, do not wing it",[17,21676,21677],{},"If you want to sport or trad climb outdoors, do not learn it by guessing. The gym handled the dangerous parts invisibly: the anchors were fixed, the falls were clean, the systems were checked. Outside, lowering off, building anchors, threading chains and managing a rope on real terrain are skills where mistakes have serious consequences.",[17,21679,21680,21681,12058],{},"The honest advice is to learn these from someone competent, a course, a club, an experienced mate who genuinely knows what they are doing, rather than from a video and a hopeful attitude. There is no shame in it, and it is the single biggest safety difference between indoor and outdoor roped climbing. The broader picture of making this move sensibly is laid out in ",[9853,21682,14026],{"href":12594},[12,21684,21686],{"id":21685},"go-with-someone-who-has-done-it","Go with someone who has done it",[17,21688,21689],{},"The shortcut through almost all of this is to go with someone experienced for your first few trips. They will know the crag, the access, the conditions, how to place pads, how to read the rock, and how to keep you safe. You will pick up in a couple of days what would otherwise take a season of fumbling and mild scares.",[17,21691,21692],{},"If you do not know anyone, clubs and the wider climbing community are full of people happy to take a keen beginner out, and there is real value in finding regular partners for it. Outdoor climbing is more social and more cooperative than the gym, partly out of necessity, and that is one of the best things about it.",[12,21694,21696],{"id":21695},"embrace-being-a-beginner-again","Embrace being a beginner again",[17,21698,21699],{},"The mindset that makes this transition fun rather than frustrating is accepting that you are a beginner again, in a way. Yes, you are fit and strong from the gym, and that helps. But outdoor climbing is a different craft, and there is a whole world of subtlety, the way good footwork lets you stand on nothing, the way reading rock becomes second nature, the deep satisfaction of topping out a real boulder with the wind on your face.",[17,21701,21702],{},"Drop the grade, respect the rock, learn the safety properly, and go with people who know more than you. Do that and the gym stops being the destination and becomes the training ground for the real thing. The first time you send something outside, however modest the grade, you will understand why people put up with the faff. It is a different kind of chuffed entirely.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21704},[21705,21706,21707,21708,21709,21710],{"id":21615,"depth":132,"text":21616},{"id":21630,"depth":132,"text":21631},{"id":21654,"depth":132,"text":21655},{"id":21673,"depth":132,"text":21674},{"id":21685,"depth":132,"text":21686},{"id":21695,"depth":132,"text":21696},"2023-03-24","What really changes when you take your climbing from the gym to real rock, the skills the wall never taught you, and how to make the move safely.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1759928222798-63e73f690563?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber on a colourful outdoor wall","Ryunosuke Kikuno","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@ryunosuke_kikuno",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Findoor-to-outdoor-making-the-leap",{"title":21604,"description":21712},"blog\u002Findoor-to-outdoor-making-the-leap",[2589,14091,3168,12598],"SwuIz3wg4BNl1ISjycq_VwwwpmGO3h2rh8-gvi_Jijg",{"id":21724,"title":21725,"author":7,"body":21726,"category":2785,"date":21855,"description":21856,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":21857,"imageAlt":21858,"imageCredit":3403,"imageCreditUrl":3404,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":21859,"navigation":152,"path":21860,"readTime":1547,"seo":21861,"stem":21862,"tags":21863,"__hash__":21864},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-quiet-joy-of-a-midweek-session.md","The quiet joy of a midweek session",{"type":9,"value":21727,"toc":21847},[21728,21731,21734,21738,21741,21744,21758,21761,21766,21770,21773,21779,21783,21786,21800,21803,21807,21810,21816,21820,21823,21837,21844],[17,21729,21730],{},"There is a particular feeling to walking into the centre at half past seven on a Wednesday, when the after-work rush has thinned out and the music has dropped a notch. Half the holds are still chalked from the busy hours, but the queues are gone. You can climb whatever you fancy, in whatever order, and nobody is hovering at the bottom of your problem. That is the midweek session, and once you fall in love with it you start guarding it.",[17,21732,21733],{},"We talk a lot about big weekends and trips away. Those matter. But the ordinary Tuesday or Wednesday night, squeezed in around work and tea and the rest of life, is where most of our climbing actually happens. It deserves a bit of respect.",[12,21735,21737],{"id":21736},"why-the-quiet-hours-are-good-for-you","Why the quiet hours are good for you",[17,21739,21740],{},"A busy session has its own energy, and there are nights when you want exactly that: people cheering you on, beta flying around, a bit of friendly competition. But there is a cost. When the wall is heaving you tend to climb faster, rest less, and quietly measure yourself against everyone else on the mat. You skip the warm-up because you feel self-conscious. You bail off a move you could have worked because someone is waiting.",[17,21742,21743],{},"The quiet midweek slot strips all of that away. With space to breathe you can do the unglamorous things that actually make you better:",[70,21745,21746,21749,21752,21755],{},[73,21747,21748],{},"Warm up properly, without feeling like you are in the way",[73,21750,21751],{},"Repeat a problem five or six times to dial in the movement",[73,21753,21754],{},"Sit under something genuinely hard and try the moves in isolation",[73,21756,21757],{},"Down-climb instead of dropping off, which is gentler on your body and decent practice in its own right",[17,21759,21760],{},"None of that is exciting to watch, which is rather the point. The midweek session is where the boring, useful reps live.",[3878,21762,21763],{},[17,21764,21765],{},"The best climbers I know are not the ones who only show up for the social nights. They are the ones who quietly turn up midweek, do the work, and go home.",[12,21767,21769],{"id":21768},"lower-stakes-more-learning","Lower stakes, more learning",[17,21771,21772],{},"Something shifts mentally when there is no audience. You stop performing and start experimenting. You will try the weird heel hook you would never risk in front of a crowd, or commit to the dyno you keep talking yourself out of. Failure feels cheap, in the best way, so you fail more, and failing more is how the harder stuff eventually goes.",[17,21774,21775,21776,19647],{},"This ties into a wider truth about progress: it is rarely about one heroic effort. It is about volume, attention and a calm head. If you are forever gripped because you feel watched, you never relax enough to learn. The midweek session hands you that calm on a plate. If the head side of climbing is something you wrestle with, our piece on ",[9853,21777,21778],{"href":14230},"the fear of falling and how to work with it",[3986,21780,21782],{"id":21781},"a-loose-shape-for-a-midweek-hour","A loose shape for a midweek hour",[17,21784,21785],{},"You do not need a rigid plan, but a light structure stops you drifting. Something like this works well when you have an hour or so:",[70,21787,21788,21791,21794,21797],{},[73,21789,21790],{},"Ten to fifteen minutes of easy traversing and mobility to get warm",[73,21792,21793],{},"Twenty minutes on movement: pick a couple of problems two or three grades below your limit and climb them as smoothly and quietly as you can",[73,21795,21796],{},"Twenty minutes on a project or two near your limit, working the moves rather than just throwing yourself at the top",[73,21798,21799],{},"A few easy laps to finish, then stretch off while your skin is still warm",[17,21801,21802],{},"Keep it unhurried. The whole appeal of a midweek night is that nothing is forcing your pace.",[12,21804,21806],{"id":21805},"the-social-side-gently","The social side, gently",[17,21808,21809],{},"Quiet does not mean lonely. Some of the best chat at the wall happens midweek, precisely because nobody is rushing. You end up sharing a mat with the same handful of regulars, swapping beta, slowly learning names. It is a softer, slower way to build a climbing community than the packed Friday session, and for a lot of people it sticks better.",[17,21811,21812,21813,21815],{},"If you have been climbing on your own and fancy a bit more company without the chaos, midweek is a brilliant time to find a partner who climbs at a similar pace. Our guide to ",[9853,21814,19107],{"href":17338}," goes into how to do that without it feeling forced. A familiar face on a Tuesday is worth a lot over a season.",[12,21817,21819],{"id":21818},"protecting-the-habit","Protecting the habit",[17,21821,21822],{},"The hard part is not enjoying the midweek session. It is showing up at all, when you are tired and the sofa is warm. A few things help:",[70,21824,21825,21828,21831,21834],{},[73,21826,21827],{},"Pack your bag the night before so leaving is friction-free",[73,21829,21830],{},"Treat it as a fixed appointment, not a maybe, at least for a few weeks until it sticks",[73,21832,21833],{},"Lower the bar for what counts as a win. An hour of easy movement on a flat night is still a session",[73,21835,21836],{},"Go even when you do not feel strong. Some of the most satisfying nights start with you dragging yourself there",[17,21838,21839,21840,21843],{},"On the flat nights, when nothing feels like it is sticking, ease off rather than forcing it. If motivation is properly low, ",[9853,21841,21842],{"href":19168},"climbing when motivation dips"," has some honest thoughts on riding those patches out.",[17,21845,21846],{},"The quiet joy of a midweek session is not really about getting strong, though that happens as a side effect. It is about keeping climbing woven into an ordinary week, on your own terms, at your own pace. Turn up this week, even just for an hour. Climb a few easy ones, try one thing that scares you a little, and go home chuffed. That is the whole game.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":21848},[21849,21850,21853,21854],{"id":21736,"depth":132,"text":21737},{"id":21768,"depth":132,"text":21769,"children":21851},[21852],{"id":21781,"depth":4021,"text":21782},{"id":21805,"depth":132,"text":21806},{"id":21818,"depth":132,"text":21819},"2023-03-17","Why a calm Tuesday night at the wall, with no crowds and no agenda, can be the best climbing of your whole week.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1679783024365-2f33cf6adfc5?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber moving up an indoor wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-quiet-joy-of-a-midweek-session",{"title":21725,"description":21856},"blog\u002Fthe-quiet-joy-of-a-midweek-session",[2796,3056,5081,4919],"B9KQzfiBp-JTo2WTiWJS9oCEZuhoICRQbKjo_PMBG34",{"id":21866,"title":21867,"author":7,"body":21868,"category":2366,"date":22054,"description":22055,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":22056,"imageAlt":22057,"imageCredit":22058,"imageCreditUrl":22059,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":22060,"navigation":152,"path":15945,"readTime":1547,"seo":22061,"stem":22062,"tags":22063,"__hash__":22064},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-difference-between-a-project-and-a-problem.md","The difference between a project and a problem",{"type":9,"value":21869,"toc":22045},[21870,21873,21876,21880,21883,21886,21893,21895,21898,21901,21906,21910,21913,21981,21984,21988,21991,21994,21997,22011,22017,22021,22024,22032,22035,22039,22042],[17,21871,21872],{},"You overhear it within your first week at the wall. Someone points at a line of holds and calls it a problem. Someone else says they have been working their project for a month. They sound like they might mean the same thing, and a lot of the time people use them as if they do. They are related, but they are not interchangeable, and knowing the difference makes the rest of climbing chat click into place.",[17,21874,21875],{},"The short version: a problem is a thing, and a project is a relationship. Let me unpack that, because it actually matters for how you climb.",[12,21877,21879],{"id":21878},"what-a-problem-is","What a problem is",[17,21881,21882],{},"A problem is a single boulder, a set route up a chunk of wall or rock with a defined start and finish. In bouldering, every coloured line of holds at the gym is a problem. Outdoors, every named boulder line in the guidebook is a problem too. The word comes from the idea that each one is a little puzzle of movement to solve.",[17,21884,21885],{},"So a problem is just the climb itself. It exists whether or not you have ever touched it. The graffiti-coloured line on the steep wall is a problem. The classic gritstone arête in the Peak is a problem. Calling something a problem says nothing about your history with it.",[17,21887,21888,21889,21892],{},"If the word \"problem\" still feels fuzzy, or you are mixing it up with routes and pitches, our piece on ",[9853,21890,21891],{"href":10992},"bouldering, sport and trad, the disciplines explained"," lays out where problems sit in the wider climbing picture.",[12,21894,6447],{"id":6446},[17,21896,21897],{},"A project is a problem you cannot yet do. More than that, it is one you have decided to commit to. The moment you point at something at or above your limit and say \"right, I am going to work this until it goes,\" it becomes your project.",[17,21899,21900],{},"The key ingredients are difficulty and intent. A warm-up is a problem, never a project, because you can already do it. A line three grades above your best is just a problem until you choose to invest in it. Then it is your project, and it stays your project until you send it or give up on it.",[3878,21902,21903],{},[17,21904,21905],{},"A project is not defined by the rock. It is defined by your relationship to it. The same boulder can be a casual tick for one climber and a season-long obsession for another.",[12,21907,21909],{"id":21908},"putting-it-side-by-side","Putting it side by side",[17,21911,21912],{},"Here is the distinction laid out plainly:",[3925,21914,21915,21926],{},[3928,21916,21917],{},[3931,21918,21919,21921,21924],{},[3934,21920],{},[3934,21922,21923],{},"Problem",[3934,21925,8064],{},[3942,21927,21928,21939,21950,21959,21970],{},[3931,21929,21930,21933,21936],{},[3947,21931,21932],{},"What it is",[3947,21934,21935],{},"The climb itself",[3947,21937,21938],{},"A climb you are committed to working",[3931,21940,21941,21944,21947],{},[3947,21942,21943],{},"Difficulty",[3947,21945,21946],{},"Any grade",[3947,21948,21949],{},"At or above your limit",[3931,21951,21952,21955,21957],{},[3947,21953,21954],{},"Requires intent",[3947,21956,14528],{},[3947,21958,15313],{},[3931,21960,21961,21964,21967],{},[3947,21962,21963],{},"How long",[3947,21965,21966],{},"N\u002FA, it just exists",[3947,21968,21969],{},"Sessions, weeks, sometimes years",[3931,21971,21972,21975,21978],{},[3947,21973,21974],{},"Example",[3947,21976,21977],{},"\"Nice problem on the slab\"",[3947,21979,21980],{},"\"My project on the steep wall\"",[17,21982,21983],{},"Every project is a problem. Not every problem is a project. That is the whole thing in a sentence.",[12,21985,21987],{"id":21986},"why-the-distinction-is-worth-caring-about","Why the distinction is worth caring about",[17,21989,21990],{},"This is not pedantry for its own sake. The way you treat a project is different from the way you treat an ordinary problem, and confusing the two leads to frustrating sessions.",[17,21992,21993],{},"When you tick through problems, you flow: pull on, climb, top out, move on. You are after volume and movement. When you are projecting, the approach changes completely. You break the climb into sections, work individual moves, rest properly between burns, and accept that you might not link the whole thing for weeks. Throwing yourself at a project the way you cruise through warm-ups is a fast route to wrecked skin and a flat mood.",[17,21995,21996],{},"A few habits that separate good projecting from just flailing:",[70,21998,21999,22002,22005,22008],{},[73,22000,22001],{},"Work the moves in isolation before trying to link them, so you are not always failing low down",[73,22003,22004],{},"Rest long enough between attempts that you give the hard sections a fair shot",[73,22006,22007],{},"Track which moves feel solid and which still feel desperate",[73,22009,22010],{},"Know when to walk away for the day, before your skin and your head are gone",[17,22012,22013,22014,22016],{},"Resting properly between burns is the one most people get wrong. If you tend to rush back on, ",[9853,22015,20279],{"href":13364}," is worth a read before your next session on something hard.",[3986,22018,22020],{"id":22019},"a-quick-test","A quick test",[17,22022,22023],{},"Not sure whether to call something your project or just a problem you fancy. Ask yourself two questions:",[70,22025,22026,22029],{},[73,22027,22028],{},"Can I already do it? If yes, it is a problem, not a project.",[73,22030,22031],{},"Have I committed to working it over multiple goes or sessions? If no, it is still just a problem you might try.",[17,22033,22034],{},"Only a clear yes to the second and no to the first earns the word project.",[12,22036,22038],{"id":22037},"pick-yours","Pick yours",[17,22040,22041],{},"Most of us climb best with one or two projects on the go, alongside a steady diet of ordinary problems to keep things fun and build volume. Too many projects and you spread yourself thin and tick nothing. None at all and you can drift, ticking easy stuff and never pushing.",[17,22043,22044],{},"So next time you are at the wall, climb your problems, enjoy the flow of them, and then pick one thing that feels just out of reach and make it your project. Name it. Come back to it. Work it properly. The day it finally goes, you will understand exactly why climbers make such a fuss about the word.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":22046},[22047,22048,22049,22050,22053],{"id":21878,"depth":132,"text":21879},{"id":6446,"depth":132,"text":6447},{"id":21908,"depth":132,"text":21909},{"id":21986,"depth":132,"text":21987,"children":22051},[22052],{"id":22019,"depth":4021,"text":22020},{"id":22037,"depth":132,"text":22038},"2023-03-10","Two words climbers use constantly, often interchangeably. Here is what each actually means and when to use them.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1615801515500-41decc0804cb?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A person hanging from a wooden training bar","LOGAN WEAVER","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@lgnwvr",{},{"title":21867,"description":22055},"blog\u002Fthe-difference-between-a-project-and-a-problem",[2376,2377,8242,293],"-z9FMLwa9nXgg7ja4C8AnRijCf_KwwLh3zYIwM9m2mw",{"id":22066,"title":22067,"author":7,"body":22068,"category":1811,"date":22292,"description":22293,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":22294,"imageAlt":22295,"imageCredit":22296,"imageCreditUrl":22297,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":22298,"navigation":152,"path":22299,"readTime":1547,"seo":22300,"stem":22301,"tags":22302,"__hash__":22303},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Frecovery-tools-that-are-actually-worth-it.md","Recovery tools that are actually worth it",{"type":9,"value":22069,"toc":22281},[22070,22073,22076,22080,22083,22109,22112,22117,22121,22124,22144,22146,22149,22232,22235,22239,22242,22246,22249,22253,22256,22260,22266,22271,22275,22278],[17,22071,22072],{},"Recovery has become a whole product category, and a lot of it is nonsense dressed up in marketing. Massage guns, fancy compression sleeves, infrared this and cryo that. Some of it helps. Most of it is a way to spend money on the feeling of doing something. The honest truth is that the best recovery tools are cheap, dull, and the ones nobody tries to sell you: sleep, food and rest days.",[17,22074,22075],{},"That said, a few bits of kit genuinely earn their place if you climb a lot. The trick is knowing which ones do something and which ones just give your hands a job while the telly is on. Here is an honest rundown.",[12,22077,22079],{"id":22078},"the-stuff-that-actually-works","The stuff that actually works",[17,22081,22082],{},"Let me start with the things I would happily recommend, with the caveat that none of them are magic. They support recovery, they do not replace it.",[70,22084,22085,22091,22097,22103],{},[73,22086,22087,22090],{},[76,22088,22089],{},"A decent foam roller."," Cheap, lasts forever, and good for easing off tight calves, forearms and upper back after a hard session. It will not fix an injury, but it feels good and helps you move more freely.",[73,22092,22093,22096],{},[76,22094,22095],{},"A finger and forearm massage ball, or just a lacrosse ball."," Climbers load their forearms hard. Rolling them out gently between sessions can take the edge off that tight, ropey feeling. Go easy near tendons.",[73,22098,22099,22102],{},[76,22100,22101],{},"A simple set of resistance bands."," Less for recovery, more for keeping your fingers and shoulders healthy with antagonist work. Worth its weight in gold for staying off the injury list.",[73,22104,22105,22108],{},[76,22106,22107],{},"Skin care basics."," Nail clippers, a fine file or sandpaper, and a tub of climbing balm. Looking after your skin is recovery that keeps you climbing through the week rather than nursing flappers.",[17,22110,22111],{},"None of that costs much, and all of it gets used. Compare that to the gadgets gathering dust in most climbers' cupboards.",[3878,22113,22114],{},[17,22115,22116],{},"The best recovery tool you own is your bed. Everything else is a rounding error next to a proper night's sleep.",[12,22118,22120],{"id":22119},"the-stuff-that-is-mostly-hype","The stuff that is mostly hype",[17,22122,22123],{},"This is where the money tends to leak. Not because these things do nothing, but because they do far less than the price tag implies, and far less than the basics they are meant to enhance.",[70,22125,22126,22132,22138],{},[73,22127,22128,22131],{},[76,22129,22130],{},"Massage guns."," They feel great and there is nothing wrong with using one. But a tenner's worth of foam roller and ball does most of the same job. If you have spare cash and you will actually use it, fine. Do not expect it to transform your forearms.",[73,22133,22134,22137],{},[76,22135,22136],{},"Compression sleeves and socks."," The evidence for performance recovery is thin and mixed. If they feel nice on a long drive home from the crag, grand. As a training tool, do not bank on them.",[73,22139,22140,22143],{},[76,22141,22142],{},"Anything promising to flush lactic acid."," The lactic acid story is largely a myth. That deep forearm pump is not lactic acid lingering for days, and no gadget is clearing it out for you.",[12,22145,17047],{"id":17046},[17,22147,22148],{},"If you are deciding where to put a limited budget, here is roughly how the common options stack up:",[3925,22150,22151,22164],{},[3928,22152,22153],{},[3931,22154,22155,22158,22161],{},[3934,22156,22157],{},"Tool",[3934,22159,22160],{},"Roughly what it does",[3934,22162,22163],{},"Worth it",[3942,22165,22166,22177,22188,22199,22210,22221],{},[3931,22167,22168,22171,22174],{},[3947,22169,22170],{},"Foam roller",[3947,22172,22173],{},"Eases tight muscles, improves mobility",[3947,22175,22176],{},"Yes, cheap and useful",[3931,22178,22179,22182,22185],{},[3947,22180,22181],{},"Massage ball",[3947,22183,22184],{},"Targeted forearm and hand relief",[3947,22186,22187],{},"Yes, very cheap",[3931,22189,22190,22193,22196],{},[3947,22191,22192],{},"Resistance bands",[3947,22194,22195],{},"Antagonist and injury-prevention work",[3947,22197,22198],{},"Yes, essential",[3931,22200,22201,22204,22207],{},[3947,22202,22203],{},"Skin care kit",[3947,22205,22206],{},"Keeps skin climbable all week",[3947,22208,22209],{},"Yes, easy win",[3931,22211,22212,22215,22218],{},[3947,22213,22214],{},"Massage gun",[3947,22216,22217],{},"Convenient muscle massage",[3947,22219,22220],{},"Optional, nice to have",[3931,22222,22223,22226,22229],{},[3947,22224,22225],{},"Compression wear",[3947,22227,22228],{},"Comfort, maybe mild benefit",[3947,22230,22231],{},"Skip unless you love it",[17,22233,22234],{},"Notice the pattern. The cheap, simple things do the heavy lifting.",[12,22236,22238],{"id":22237},"what-actually-moves-the-needle","What actually moves the needle",[17,22240,22241],{},"If you genuinely want to recover better, spend your attention rather than your money. The big three are unglamorous and free.",[3986,22243,22245],{"id":22244},"sleep","Sleep",[17,22247,22248],{},"Nothing on this list comes close to a consistent eight hours. Your fingers, tendons and head all repair while you sleep. If your recovery is poor, it is almost always sleep, not kit.",[3986,22250,22252],{"id":22251},"food","Food",[17,22254,22255],{},"You cannot recover from hard climbing on fumes. Enough protein, enough overall calories, enough water. Skin and tendons need raw materials to rebuild.",[3986,22257,22259],{"id":22258},"rest-days-and-easy-weeks","Rest days and easy weeks",[17,22261,22262,22263,22265],{},"Climbing hard three or four days a week with no easy weeks is a slow road to injury. Programmed rest is recovery. Building in deload weeks is recovery. No tool replaces simply doing less now and then. If you climb mostly on a board, our notes on ",[9853,22264,13914],{"href":13913}," cover how to load yourself without paying for it later.",[17,22267,22268,22269,12058],{},"A particular flag: forearm and finger niggles are the most common way climbers get forced into recovery they did not plan. If your forearms are constantly trashed, the issue is usually load management, not a missing gadget. We dig into the day-to-day side of that in ",[9853,22270,13393],{"href":13392},[12,22272,22274],{"id":22273},"the-honest-bottom-line","The honest bottom line",[17,22276,22277],{},"Buy the foam roller, the ball, the bands and the skin kit. That is maybe the price of one fancy gadget, and it covers everything that genuinely supports recovery. Then put your real effort into sleeping well, eating enough and taking rest days without guilt.",[17,22279,22280],{},"Recovery is not something you buy. It is something you let happen. The kit is a small nudge, nothing more. Get the basics right and your body will do the work for free.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":22282},[22283,22284,22285,22286,22291],{"id":22078,"depth":132,"text":22079},{"id":22119,"depth":132,"text":22120},{"id":17046,"depth":132,"text":17047},{"id":22237,"depth":132,"text":22238,"children":22287},[22288,22289,22290],{"id":22244,"depth":4021,"text":22245},{"id":22251,"depth":4021,"text":22252},{"id":22258,"depth":4021,"text":22259},{"id":22273,"depth":132,"text":22274},"2023-03-03","A no-nonsense look at the recovery kit climbers buy, what earns its place in your bag, and what to skip.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1621958249676-7251d2c18a50?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A person gripping a wooden training rung","Manish Sharma","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@manish_3894",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Frecovery-tools-that-are-actually-worth-it",{"title":22067,"description":22293},"blog\u002Frecovery-tools-that-are-actually-worth-it",[1822,14620,2440,561],"-Y8rmYS4hu8eXNBTeNZcOasMw2seFkfKxFDCkirqTxE",{"id":22305,"title":22306,"author":7,"body":22307,"category":2678,"date":22447,"description":22448,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":22449,"imageAlt":22450,"imageCredit":22451,"imageCreditUrl":22452,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":22453,"navigation":152,"path":22454,"readTime":1547,"seo":22455,"stem":22456,"tags":22457,"__hash__":22458},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-ethics-of-cleaning-a-route.md","The ethics of cleaning a route",{"type":9,"value":22308,"toc":22439},[22309,22312,22315,22319,22322,22325,22329,22332,22352,22359,22364,22368,22371,22377,22383,22389,22393,22396,22399,22402,22416,22420,22423,22429,22433,22436],[17,22310,22311],{},"A brush across a chalky hold seems like the most harmless thing in the world. And usually it is. But cleaning a route sits on a surprisingly contested patch of ground in climbing culture, because the line between tidying up after yourself and altering the rock to suit you is blurrier than it looks. Pull too hard on that thread and you end up in a genuine argument about what climbing even is.",[17,22313,22314],{},"This is one of those topics where reasonable, experienced climbers disagree. So rather than handing down rules, let me lay out where the broad consensus sits, where it gets murky, and how to stay on the right side of it.",[12,22316,22318],{"id":22317},"why-we-clean-at-all","Why we clean at all",[17,22320,22321],{},"Cleaning serves two purposes. The first is practical: chalk build-up makes holds slick and greasy, so a brush restores the friction the rock had before a hundred sweaty hands got on it. The second is courtesy, both to the rock and to the next climber. A boulder caked in chalk tick marks is uglier and, ironically, often harder to read.",[17,22323,22324],{},"Done well, brushing is maintenance. You are returning the hold to roughly the state nature left it in. Almost nobody objects to that. The problems start when cleaning stops being maintenance and becomes modification.",[12,22326,22328],{"id":22327},"the-clear-stuff","The clear stuff",[17,22330,22331],{},"Some of this is settled. You will not find many people arguing the other side:",[70,22333,22334,22340,22346],{},[73,22335,22336,22339],{},[76,22337,22338],{},"Brush off your chalk and tick marks before you leave."," Tick marks are the chalk smudges climbers add to spot footholds. They are fine to use, but rubbing them off afterwards is basic etiquette. Nobody wants to arrive at a classic line covered in someone else's graffiti.",[73,22341,22342,22345],{},[76,22343,22344],{},"Use a soft brush, not a wire one."," Wire brushes tear at the rock surface, especially on softer stone like sandstone and grit. Boar's hair or nylon is the standard for good reason.",[73,22347,22348,22351],{},[76,22349,22350],{},"Never brush wet or damp rock."," Sandstone in particular is fragile when wet, and brushing it then strips the surface and weakens holds permanently. If it is damp, leave it.",[17,22353,22354,22355,22358],{},"If you want the full picture on tools, our piece on ",[9853,22356,22357],{"href":16624},"brushes, the most underrated tool"," covers what to carry and why the cheap wire ones are a false economy on rock.",[3878,22360,22361],{},[17,22362,22363],{},"Brushing the chalk off a hold is housekeeping. Brushing the hold into a different shape is vandalism. The skill is knowing the moment you cross from one to the other.",[12,22365,22367],{"id":22366},"the-murky-middle","The murky middle",[17,22369,22370],{},"Here is where climbers fall out. A few grey areas worth thinking about honestly:",[17,22372,22373,22376],{},[76,22374,22375],{},"Clearing lichen, moss and dirt."," A brand new line often needs cleaning before it is climbable at all. Most accept this for first ascents. But there is a difference between freeing a line that was always there and scrubbing a green hillside bald in search of one. Heavy-handed garden blitzing on established crags annoys people, partly on aesthetics and partly because lichen and moss are part of the ecosystem.",[17,22378,22379,22382],{},[76,22380,22381],{},"Drying a wet hold."," Towelling off a seep on a hot day is widely tolerated. Taking a blowtorch to damp rock, which has genuinely happened, is not. Forcing conditions that nature has not provided is where a lot of people draw a hard line.",[17,22384,22385,22388],{},[76,22386,22387],{},"Persistent over-brushing."," Brushing the same popular holds session after session, year after year, slowly polishes and reshapes them. No single brush does damage, but the cumulative effect on classic problems is real. It is worth a thought before you scrub a hold that is already glassy.",[12,22390,22392],{"id":22391},"where-it-tips-into-chipping","Where it tips into chipping",[17,22394,22395],{},"The far end of this spectrum is chipping: physically altering the rock to create or improve holds. This is the cardinal sin of climbing ethics, and the consensus against it is about as close to universal as climbing gets. A chipped hold is permanent. It removes the challenge for everyone who comes after and it disrespects the climbers, sometimes generations of them, who tried the line as nature made it.",[17,22397,22398],{},"Aggressive cleaning is not chipping, but it lives on the same road. Scrubbing a sloper until it is sharper and more positive is, in effect, a slow chip. Keeping that connection in mind is a good instinct.",[17,22400,22401],{},"A rough mental checklist before you get the brush out:",[70,22403,22404,22407,22410,22413],{},[73,22405,22406],{},"Am I removing chalk and dirt, or changing the hold itself?",[73,22408,22409],{},"Is the rock dry and robust enough to take a brush right now?",[73,22411,22412],{},"Would the climber who did the first ascent recognise this hold afterwards?",[73,22414,22415],{},"Am I leaving the line cleaner and tidier than I found it, or just easier for me?",[12,22417,22419],{"id":22418},"respecting-the-place-not-just-the-rock","Respecting the place, not just the rock",[17,22421,22422],{},"Cleaning ethics are really a subset of a bigger idea: that we are guests at the crag, and access depends on us behaving like it. Aggressive cleaning, trampled vegetation and ugly tick marks are exactly the sort of thing that gets crags closed and landowners' backs up. The history of climbing access in the UK is full of areas lost and regained over how climbers treated the place.",[17,22424,22425,22426,22428],{},"If you climb outside, it is worth knowing the wider etiquette, not just the brushing side. Our guide to ",[9853,22427,21670],{"href":12149}," puts cleaning in its proper context alongside parking, paths and noise.",[12,22430,22432],{"id":22431},"a-simple-way-to-hold-it","A simple way to hold it",[17,22434,22435],{},"You do not need to memorise a rulebook. Carry a soft brush. Use it to clear your chalk and tick marks before you walk away. Leave wet and fragile rock alone. And when you feel the urge to make a hold a bit better, stop and ask whether you are cleaning it or changing it.",[17,22437,22438],{},"Get that instinct right and you will be the climber crags are glad to have. Brush off, tidy up, take a last look back to check the line is as you found it, and head home knowing the next person gets the climb as it was meant to be.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":22440},[22441,22442,22443,22444,22445,22446],{"id":22317,"depth":132,"text":22318},{"id":22327,"depth":132,"text":22328},{"id":22366,"depth":132,"text":22367},{"id":22391,"depth":132,"text":22392},{"id":22418,"depth":132,"text":22419},{"id":22431,"depth":132,"text":22432},"2023-02-24","Where brushing ends and damage begins. A look at the unwritten rules of cleaning rock without crossing the line.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1562725081-7afc517eca8c?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","Grey mountains under cloud","Matthew Fournier","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@mattyfours",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-ethics-of-cleaning-a-route",{"title":22306,"description":22448},"blog\u002Fthe-ethics-of-cleaning-a-route",[14822,14823,7598,3168],"I0HgkpO26JAd31O8kfkLzZTWpUpBITjRYSlo9fhZ-d0",{"id":22460,"title":22461,"author":7,"body":22462,"category":141,"date":22635,"description":22636,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":22637,"imageAlt":22638,"imageCredit":22639,"imageCreditUrl":22640,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":22641,"navigation":152,"path":14967,"readTime":1547,"seo":22642,"stem":22643,"tags":22644,"__hash__":22645},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-hangboard-routine-for-busy-weeks.md","A hangboard routine for busy weeks",{"type":9,"value":22463,"toc":22626},[22464,22467,22470,22474,22477,22488,22493,22498,22502,22505,22508,22519,22522,22525,22529,22532,22578,22581,22585,22588,22599,22602,22606,22609,22616,22620,22623],[17,22465,22466],{},"Some weeks you simply cannot get to the wall. Work goes mad, life happens, and the climbing slips down the list. The good news is that finger strength, the thing most of us most want to protect, is also one of the few things you can maintain in fifteen minutes at home a couple of times a week. A hangboard bolted above a doorway is about the most time-efficient bit of training a climber can own.",[17,22468,22469],{},"This is not a programme for getting dramatically stronger. It is a holding pattern: a minimal, sensible routine to keep your fingers ticking over when you are too busy for proper sessions. Done right it stops you sliding backwards. Done badly it gets you injured, so a few rules matter.",[12,22471,22473],{"id":22472},"before-you-hang-warm-up","Before you hang, warm up",[17,22475,22476],{},"This is the bit everyone wants to skip and the bit that keeps you healthy. Cold fingers on a hangboard is how tendons get hurt. You do not need much, but you need something.",[70,22478,22479,22482,22485],{},[73,22480,22481],{},"A few minutes of gentle cardio, even just star jumps or jogging on the spot, to get blood moving",[73,22483,22484],{},"Wrist and finger circles, openers and gentle stretches",[73,22486,22487],{},"Two or three very light, easy hangs on big jugs before you touch anything small",[17,22489,22490,22491,15062],{},"If you have a resistance band, a minute of finger extensions is a lovely warm-up and helps balance all the pulling. For the wider picture on getting your hands ready to load, ",[9853,22492,14896],{"href":6956},[3878,22494,22495],{},[17,22496,22497],{},"If your fingers are not warm and you are short on time, do less, not more. A skipped warm-up to save five minutes can cost you two months on the sidelines.",[12,22499,22501],{"id":22500},"the-routine","The routine",[17,22503,22504],{},"The simplest effective hangboard method is repeaters or short max hangs on a single, friendly grip. For maintenance in a busy week, keep it dead simple. Use a half crimp or an open-hand grip on a medium edge, something you can hold comfortably for ten seconds without straining.",[17,22506,22507],{},"A basic session looks like this:",[70,22509,22510,22513,22516],{},[73,22511,22512],{},"Hang for around 7 to 10 seconds",[73,22514,22515],{},"Rest for around 2 to 3 minutes",[73,22517,22518],{},"Repeat for 4 to 6 sets",[17,22520,22521],{},"That is it. Ten minutes of actual work, wrapped in a proper warm-up. Twice a week is plenty to hold your strength. Three times if you are recovering well and have nothing else loading your fingers.",[17,22523,22524],{},"The load should feel hard but controlled. You should finish each hang feeling like you had two or three more seconds in the tank, not shaking and slipping off. If you cannot hold the edge for the full time with good form, make it easier: bigger edge, feet on a chair, or a foot on the ground for support. Maintenance work is no place for ego.",[12,22526,22528],{"id":22527},"how-hard-exactly","How hard, exactly",[17,22530,22531],{},"Pitching the intensity is the whole game. Here is a rough guide to keep you in the safe, useful zone:",[3925,22533,22534,22544],{},[3928,22535,22536],{},[3931,22537,22538,22541],{},[3934,22539,22540],{},"If a hang feels...",[3934,22542,22543],{},"What to do",[3942,22545,22546,22554,22562,22570],{},[3931,22547,22548,22551],{},[3947,22549,22550],{},"Easy, you could hold 20+ seconds",[3947,22552,22553],{},"Add a little load or use a smaller edge",[3931,22555,22556,22559],{},[3947,22557,22558],{},"Hard but controlled at 10 seconds",[3947,22560,22561],{},"Spot on, stay here",[3931,22563,22564,22567],{},[3947,22565,22566],{},"Shaky, slipping near the end",[3947,22568,22569],{},"Too hard, make it easier",[3931,22571,22572,22575],{},[3947,22573,22574],{},"Sharp or pinching in the fingers",[3947,22576,22577],{},"Stop. Something is wrong",[17,22579,22580],{},"That last row matters. Hangboarding should feel like effort in the muscles and a strong load in the fingers, never a sharp, localised pain in a joint or tendon. Sharp pain is a stop sign, not a thing to push through.",[12,22582,22584],{"id":22583},"what-to-leave-out-when-you-are-busy","What to leave out when you are busy",[17,22586,22587],{},"The temptation when time is short is to cram. Resist it. A busy-week routine works precisely because it is minimal. Skip:",[70,22589,22590,22593,22596],{},[73,22591,22592],{},"One-arm hangs and other advanced work, which need fresh fingers and full attention",[73,22594,22595],{},"The tiniest edges and most aggressive crimps, which carry the most injury risk for the least maintenance benefit",[73,22597,22598],{},"Long, draining sessions that leave your fingers wrecked for the climbing you do manage to fit in",[17,22600,22601],{},"The goal is to arrive at your next real session with strong, healthy fingers, not to set personal bests on the board in your hallway.",[3986,22603,22605],{"id":22604},"fitting-it-into-a-real-week","Fitting it into a real week",[17,22607,22608],{},"The beauty of this is how little it disrupts anything. Two slots of fifteen minutes, on non-consecutive days, while the kettle boils or before a shower. You do not need kit beyond the board, you do not need to travel, and you do not need to be fresh in the way a hard climbing session demands.",[17,22610,22611,22612,22615],{},"If your week is so packed that even this feels like a stretch, our wider piece on ",[9853,22613,22614],{"href":11679},"training when you cannot get to the gym"," has more options that ask even less of your time.",[12,22617,22619],{"id":22618},"keep-it-honest","Keep it honest",[17,22621,22622],{},"A maintenance routine only works if you are realistic about what it is. It will not turn busy weeks into progress, and trying to force gains out of it is how people get hurt. Its job is humbler and genuinely useful: to make sure that when life calms down and you get back to proper climbing, your fingers are roughly where you left them rather than starting again.",[17,22624,22625],{},"So next busy stretch, do not write the week off. Warm up properly, do your four or five honest hangs a couple of times, and protect what you have built. When you walk back into the centre, you will be glad you kept the engine ticking over.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":22627},[22628,22629,22630,22631,22634],{"id":22472,"depth":132,"text":22473},{"id":22500,"depth":132,"text":22501},{"id":22527,"depth":132,"text":22528},{"id":22583,"depth":132,"text":22584,"children":22632},[22633],{"id":22604,"depth":4021,"text":22605},{"id":22618,"depth":132,"text":22619},"2023-02-17","Short on time but want to keep your fingers strong? A minimal, safe hangboard plan you can fit into a packed week.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1629509912321-7eb11e486747?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber stretching at the base of a wall","Emma Ou","https:\u002F\u002Funsplash.com\u002F@emmaou",{},{"title":22461,"description":22636},"blog\u002Fa-hangboard-routine-for-busy-weeks",[162,290,1242,7505],"WYW2Hyz-dZ0feACtMmSwojUuSWh8v7f5PWYwV6OXxqM",{"id":22647,"title":22648,"author":7,"body":22649,"category":2464,"date":22827,"description":22828,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13361,"imageAlt":13362,"imageCredit":1443,"imageCreditUrl":1444,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":22829,"navigation":152,"path":13392,"readTime":1547,"seo":22830,"stem":22831,"tags":22832,"__hash__":22833},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-your-forearms-blow-up-and-what-to-do.md","Why your forearms blow up, and what to do",{"type":9,"value":22650,"toc":22818},[22651,22654,22657,22661,22664,22667,22672,22676,22679,22682,22716,22720,22723,22737,22740,22744,22747,22800,22803,22807,22810,22812,22815],[17,22652,22653],{},"Twenty minutes into your first proper session, your forearms feel like overinflated balloons. They are swollen, tight, and your hands will barely close. You go to grab a hold and your fingers just open. This is the pump, and every climber alive has felt it. The first time it happens it is genuinely alarming, because it feels like your arms have stopped belonging to you.",[17,22655,22656],{},"The good news is that the pump is normal, harmless and entirely manageable. Better still, learning to deal with it is one of the fastest ways a beginner starts climbing longer and harder. So let me explain what is actually going on and, more usefully, what to do about it.",[12,22658,22660],{"id":22659},"what-the-pump-actually-is","What the pump actually is",[17,22662,22663],{},"When you grip a hold, the muscles in your forearm contract to keep your fingers closed. Hold on hard enough, for long enough, and a couple of things happen. Blood floods into the working muscle, but the constant contraction makes it hard for that blood to flow back out. The muscle swells, fills with the by-products of hard work, and starts to fail. That swollen, can't-grip feeling is the pump.",[17,22665,22666],{},"It is not lactic acid stuck in your arms for days, despite what you might hear. It is a temporary, local fatigue that clears within minutes of resting. Your forearms are not damaged. They are just maxed out and shouting about it.",[3878,22668,22669],{},[17,22670,22671],{},"The pump is not a sign you are doing it wrong. Everyone gets pumped. The difference between a new climber and an experienced one is how quickly they reach it and how calmly they handle it.",[12,22673,22675],{"id":22674},"why-beginners-pump-out-so-fast","Why beginners pump out so fast",[17,22677,22678],{},"Here is the part worth hearing: most of the time, beginners do not pump out because their forearms are weak. They pump out because they are over-gripping. New climbers grab every hold like it is trying to escape, hang with bent arms, and rely entirely on their hands while their feet do nothing.",[17,22680,22681],{},"The fixes are about technique far more than strength:",[70,22683,22684,22690,22700,22710],{},[73,22685,22686,22689],{},[76,22687,22688],{},"You are gripping too hard."," Most holds need a fraction of the force you are using. Consciously loosening your grip to the minimum that keeps you on is the single biggest change you can make.",[73,22691,22692,22695,22696,22699],{},[76,22693,22694],{},"Your arms are bent."," Hanging with bent arms means your forearm and bicep muscles are working constantly. Straight arms let your skeleton take the weight instead. Our piece on ",[9853,22697,22698],{"href":10387},"straight arms, bent legs, climbing with less pump"," is the natural next read here.",[73,22701,22702,22705,22706,22709],{},[76,22703,22704],{},"You are not using your feet."," Pushing with your legs takes load off your hands. Weak footwork dumps all the work onto your forearms. The drills in ",[9853,22707,22708],{"href":5304},"use your feet, the habit that unlocks harder climbs"," help directly.",[73,22711,22712,22715],{},[76,22713,22714],{},"You are not resting on the wall."," You can shake out and recover mid-climb if you find a decent foothold and a straight-arm position. New climbers tend to rush, never resting until they are off.",[12,22717,22719],{"id":22718},"what-to-do-in-the-moment","What to do in the moment",[17,22721,22722],{},"When the pump hits mid-climb, you have a few options that are not just \"fall off\":",[70,22724,22725,22728,22731,22734],{},[73,22726,22727],{},"Find the best foothold you can, drop onto straight arms, and let one hand hang and shake out",[73,22729,22730],{},"Breathe. Holding your breath when gripped makes everything worse",[73,22732,22733],{},"If a hold is good enough to rest on, take ten or twenty seconds before pushing on",[73,22735,22736],{},"If you are well and truly cooked, down-climb rather than dropping, which is gentler and good practice",[17,22738,22739],{},"Between problems or routes, rest properly. Two or three minutes lets the pump drain almost completely. Rushing back on while still pumped is why so many beginners feel like they get worse as a session goes on.",[12,22741,22743],{"id":22742},"a-simple-plan-to-pump-out-less","A simple plan to pump out less",[17,22745,22746],{},"If you want to be the climber who is still going strong at the end of a session, work on it deliberately:",[3925,22748,22749,22758],{},[3928,22750,22751],{},[3931,22752,22753,22756],{},[3934,22754,22755],{},"Focus",[3934,22757,19261],{},[3942,22759,22760,22768,22776,22784,22792],{},[3931,22761,22762,22765],{},[3947,22763,22764],{},"Lighter grip",[3947,22766,22767],{},"Less wasted forearm effort on every hold",[3931,22769,22770,22773],{},[3947,22771,22772],{},"Straight arms",[3947,22774,22775],{},"Skeleton carries weight, not muscle",[3931,22777,22778,22781],{},[3947,22779,22780],{},"Active feet",[3947,22782,22783],{},"Legs share the load with your hands",[3931,22785,22786,22789],{},[3947,22787,22788],{},"Resting on the wall",[3947,22790,22791],{},"Recover mid-climb instead of failing",[3931,22793,22794,22797],{},[3947,22795,22796],{},"Proper rests between climbs",[3947,22798,22799],{},"Start each effort fresh, not half-pumped",[17,22801,22802],{},"Notice that strength is not on the list. It comes eventually, but for a beginner the gains from technique dwarf anything you will get from trying to build endurance directly.",[3986,22804,22806],{"id":22805},"when-does-it-get-better","When does it get better",[17,22808,22809],{},"Quite quickly, as it happens. Within a handful of sessions you will start to feel the pump arrive later and clear faster, mostly because your technique tightens up and your forearms adapt to the new demand. It never goes away entirely, even the strongest climbers in the world pump out, but you reach it less often and recover quicker, and you learn to climb right up to the edge of it without falling apart.",[12,22811,16543],{"id":16542},[17,22813,22814],{},"The pump is not your enemy and it is not a flaw in your climbing. It is just the natural limit of hard gripping, and almost everything that makes it worse for beginners is fixable: over-gripping, bent arms, lazy feet and not resting. Sort those out and you will be astonished how much longer you last.",[17,22816,22817],{},"Next session, pick one thing, probably loosening your grip, and pay attention to it on every climb. Your forearms will thank you, and you will get to the end of the night with something left in the tank.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":22819},[22820,22821,22822,22823,22826],{"id":22659,"depth":132,"text":22660},{"id":22674,"depth":132,"text":22675},{"id":22718,"depth":132,"text":22719},{"id":22742,"depth":132,"text":22743,"children":22824},[22825],{"id":22805,"depth":4021,"text":22806},{"id":16542,"depth":132,"text":16543},"2023-02-10","That swollen, useless-arm feeling new climbers get is called the pump. Here is what causes it and how to climb longer.",{},{"title":22648,"description":22828},"blog\u002Fwhy-your-forearms-blow-up-and-what-to-do",[562,10099,13548,8599],"LZ6iQ-pX5CV3TL4OsLJWYeC3jF0Xv4PAM-6MBp5Ahew",{"id":22835,"title":22836,"author":7,"body":22837,"category":1904,"date":23033,"description":23034,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13539,"imageAlt":13540,"imageCredit":13541,"imageCreditUrl":13542,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":23035,"navigation":152,"path":23036,"readTime":1547,"seo":23037,"stem":23038,"tags":23039,"__hash__":23040},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-crash-pad-buyers-guide.md","A crash pad buyer’s guide",{"type":9,"value":22838,"toc":23023},[22839,22842,22845,22849,22852,22866,22869,22874,22878,22881,22884,22887,22891,22894,22943,22946,22950,22953,22967,22970,22974,22977,22980,22989,22993,22996,23013,23017,23020],[17,22840,22841],{},"The crash pad is the one bit of bouldering kit that stands between you and the ground, and it is also the bulkiest, priciest single thing most boulderers buy. Get it right and it lasts a decade and saves your ankles a hundred times. Get it wrong and you are lugging an awkward, badly cushioned slab to the crag and resenting it. Since you will probably own it for years, it pays to think before you spend.",[17,22843,22844],{},"There is no single best pad, only the best pad for the climbing you do and the way you get there. So rather than push you towards one answer, here is what each part does and how to weigh it up.",[12,22846,22848],{"id":22847},"foam-the-bit-that-matters-most","Foam: the bit that matters most",[17,22850,22851],{},"A crash pad is mostly foam, and how that foam is built is the difference between a mat that protects you and one that bottoms out. Almost all pads use a layered system, and understanding it tells you most of what you need to know.",[70,22853,22854,22860],{},[73,22855,22856,22859],{},[76,22857,22858],{},"A firm top layer",", usually closed-cell foam. This spreads the impact across the pad rather than letting you punch straight through to the ground. A pad that is soft all the way through feels comfy but offers far less real protection.",[73,22861,22862,22865],{},[76,22863,22864],{},"A softer bottom layer",", usually open-cell foam. This absorbs the energy of the fall and cushions the landing.",[17,22867,22868],{},"That firm-over-soft sandwich is what stops a fall safely. Beware very cheap pads that are soft throughout. They feel reassuring when you press them with your hand and bottom out hard when you actually land on them from height.",[3878,22870,22871],{},[17,22872,22873],{},"A crash pad is not a mattress. The slightly firm feel of a good pad is the point. It is there to spread force, not to be comfy to sit on.",[12,22875,22877],{"id":22876},"size-and-thickness","Size and thickness",[17,22879,22880],{},"Bigger is safer, up to a point, and also heavier and more awkward to carry. The right size depends on what you climb and how far you walk in.",[17,22882,22883],{},"A small to medium pad suits low problems, sit starts and travelling light. A large pad gives you more margin for error and a bigger area to aim for on highballs, but it is a beast to carry any distance. Many keen boulderers end up owning more than one and combining them.",[17,22885,22886],{},"Thickness matters too. Most pads sit somewhere around 10 to 13 centimetres of foam. Thinner pads are lighter and fine for low stuff. Thicker pads give more protection for higher falls. Match it honestly to the height you actually climb, not the height you imagine.",[12,22888,22890],{"id":22889},"hinge-or-taco","Hinge or taco?",[17,22892,22893],{},"Pads fold one of two ways, and it is worth knowing the trade-off:",[3925,22895,22896,22908],{},[3928,22897,22898],{},[3931,22899,22900,22903,22906],{},[3934,22901,22902],{},"Type",[3934,22904,22905],{},"How it works",[3934,22907,16797],{},[3942,22909,22910,22921,22932],{},[3931,22911,22912,22915,22918],{},[3947,22913,22914],{},"Hinge",[3947,22916,22917],{},"Folds flat along a seam",[3947,22919,22920],{},"The hinge line is a weak spot if you land right on it",[3931,22922,22923,22926,22929],{},[3947,22924,22925],{},"Taco",[3947,22927,22928],{},"One continuous folded slab, no hinge",[3947,22930,22931],{},"No weak seam, but bulkier and slower to break in",[3931,22933,22934,22937,22940],{},[3947,22935,22936],{},"Baffled \u002F hybrid",[3947,22938,22939],{},"Mixes the two",[3947,22941,22942],{},"A common middle ground",[17,22944,22945],{},"The hinge gap is the main thing to be aware of. Landing exactly on the fold of a hinged pad gives less protection, which is why many people pair pads so the seams do not line up. A taco-style pad avoids the seam entirely but is more cumbersome. Neither is wrong; it is about what annoys you less.",[12,22947,22949],{"id":22948},"straps-carry-and-the-boring-practical-stuff","Straps, carry and the boring practical stuff",[17,22951,22952],{},"You will spend more time carrying your pad than falling on it, so the carry system matters more than people expect. Look for:",[70,22954,22955,22958,22961,22964],{},[73,22956,22957],{},"Comfortable, adjustable shoulder straps that actually pad your shoulders",[73,22959,22960],{},"A waist strap to stop the pad swinging on longer walk-ins",[73,22962,22963],{},"A way to close the pad up with your kit inside, so you can carry shoes, chalk and a flask hands-free",[73,22965,22966],{},"Decent flaps or a closure so your gear does not fall out on the path",[17,22968,22969],{},"A pad that carries badly is a pad you leave at home. If your local bouldering means a long approach, weigh and carry comfort move up the list considerably.",[12,22971,22973],{"id":22972},"how-many-pads-do-you-need","How many pads do you need?",[17,22975,22976],{},"For your first pad, one good medium-to-large mat covers most indoor-adjacent outdoor bouldering and gets you started. As you climb more, and especially as you get on higher or more committing problems, you will want more.",[17,22978,22979],{},"The reason is simple: real falls rarely land you neatly in the middle of one pad. You move sideways, you fall off balance, you top out and step back. Two or three pads let you cover the landing zone, fill the gaps and stack up under the hard moves. This is also where having mates matters, since everyone brings a pad and you build a proper landing between you.",[17,22981,22982,22983,22986,22987,12058],{},"If you are still deciding between buying your own setup and relying on a group, our piece on ",[9853,22984,22985],{"href":4227},"choosing a crash pad for bouldering"," goes deeper on matching pads to terrain, and the unwritten rules of sharing a landing are covered in ",[9853,22988,14350],{"href":14349},[3986,22990,22992],{"id":22991},"a-quick-buying-checklist","A quick buying checklist",[17,22994,22995],{},"Before you hand over your money, run through this:",[70,22997,22998,23001,23004,23007,23010],{},[73,22999,23000],{},"Does it have a firm top layer and softer base, not soft throughout?",[73,23002,23003],{},"Is the size right for the height of problems you actually climb?",[73,23005,23006],{},"Do the straps look like something you would happily carry for a mile?",[73,23008,23009],{},"Can you stuff your kit inside and close it up?",[73,23011,23012],{},"If hinged, are you comfortable with the seam, or would a taco suit you better?",[12,23014,23016],{"id":23015},"buy-once-buy-well","Buy once, buy well",[17,23018,23019],{},"A crash pad is not the place to chase the cheapest option. The very budget pads tend to use poor foam that flattens and bottoms out, which defeats the whole purpose. A solid mid-range pad from a reputable maker will outlast several pairs of shoes and protect you the whole time.",[17,23021,23022],{},"Think about where you climb, how far you walk, and how high you go. Buy the pad that fits that reality rather than the one that looks best in a photo. Then get out there, build a good landing, and fall off in confidence knowing the ground is properly handled.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":23024},[23025,23026,23027,23028,23029,23032],{"id":22847,"depth":132,"text":22848},{"id":22876,"depth":132,"text":22877},{"id":22889,"depth":132,"text":22890},{"id":22948,"depth":132,"text":22949},{"id":22972,"depth":132,"text":22973,"children":23030},[23031],{"id":22991,"depth":4021,"text":22992},{"id":23015,"depth":132,"text":23016},"2023-02-03","Everything to weigh up before buying your first bouldering mat: size, foam, hinges, straps and how many you really need.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-crash-pad-buyers-guide",{"title":22836,"description":23034},"blog\u002Fa-crash-pad-buyers-guide",[1822,13741,13742,293],"eJNlyRwqX-Xl9XqvXCeH3gF6EDRcnWZSERjGxMwnnyM",{"id":23042,"title":23043,"author":7,"body":23044,"category":1703,"date":23243,"description":23244,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13734,"imageAlt":13735,"imageCredit":13541,"imageCreditUrl":13542,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":23245,"navigation":152,"path":23246,"readTime":1547,"seo":23247,"stem":23248,"tags":23249,"__hash__":23250},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-systems-board-nobody-uses-but-should.md","The systems board nobody uses but should",{"type":9,"value":23045,"toc":23233},[23046,23049,23052,23056,23059,23062,23069,23073,23076,23090,23093,23098,23102,23105,23131,23137,23141,23144,23189,23192,23196,23199,23210,23213,23217,23223,23227,23230],[17,23047,23048],{},"In the corner of a lot of gyms there is a steep wall covered in matching pairs of holds, arranged in neat symmetrical columns. It has no app, no leaderboard, no glowing LEDs. Most climbers walk straight past it on their way to the Moonboard or the Kilter, and the systems board sits there largely ignored. Which is a shame, because for a certain kind of training it does things those flashy boards cannot.",[17,23050,23051],{},"The systems board is the unglamorous, unfashionable training tool that quietly makes strong climbers stronger. It is not exciting and it does not produce shareable sends. But if you actually want to improve specific weaknesses, it is one of the best tools in the building.",[12,23053,23055],{"id":23054},"what-a-systems-board-actually-is","What a systems board actually is",[17,23057,23058],{},"The defining feature is symmetry. Holds are mounted in matching left-right pairs at set intervals up the wall, usually the same type of hold repeated in a column: a row of slopers here, a row of crimps there, a row of pinches over there. The wall is steep, often adjustable, and the whole thing is designed so you can do the same movement again and again on the same grip type.",[17,23060,23061],{},"That is the key difference from an app board. A Moonboard or Kilter throws you constantly varied problems that test a bit of everything at once. A systems board lets you isolate one thing, one grip, one body position, and drill it deliberately. It is the difference between playing a match and running a specific drill.",[17,23063,23064,23065,23068],{},"If you are weighing up the app boards too, our honest comparison in ",[9853,23066,23067],{"href":15610},"the Moonboard versus the Kilter, honestly"," is worth a look alongside this.",[12,23070,23072],{"id":23071},"why-it-gets-ignored","Why it gets ignored",[17,23074,23075],{},"Let us be honest about why it sits empty:",[70,23077,23078,23081,23084,23087],{},[73,23079,23080],{},"There is no app telling you what to climb, so you have to bring your own plan",[73,23082,23083],{},"There is no leaderboard or grade, so there is no quick hit of achievement",[73,23085,23086],{},"It looks boring, because it is repetitive by design",[73,23088,23089],{},"Nobody shows you how to use it, so most climbers genuinely do not know what it is for",[17,23091,23092],{},"That last one is the real problem. A systems board with no instructions is just a confusing wall of holds. Give someone a way to use it and it suddenly becomes obvious.",[3878,23094,23095],{},[17,23096,23097],{},"The systems board is not trying to entertain you. It is trying to make you better at one specific thing at a time, and that is exactly why it works.",[12,23099,23101],{"id":23100},"what-it-is-brilliant-for","What it is brilliant for",[17,23103,23104],{},"The whole point of the symmetry is targeted, repeatable training. A few things it does better than almost anything else:",[70,23106,23107,23113,23119,23125],{},[73,23108,23109,23112],{},[76,23110,23111],{},"Grip strength on a specific hold type."," Want to get better on slopers? Climb the sloper column up and down until your forearms scream. The repetition on one grip is the training.",[73,23114,23115,23118],{},[76,23116,23117],{},"Symmetry and weaknesses."," Because moves mirror left and right, you quickly notice if one side is weaker. You can then train the weak side deliberately, something varied problems hide.",[73,23120,23121,23124],{},[76,23122,23123],{},"Body tension and positioning."," Repeating the same move lets you focus entirely on technique, hip position and tension, rather than figuring out new beta each time.",[73,23126,23127,23130],{},[76,23128,23129],{},"Endurance circuits."," Traversing or climbing up and down on one grip type builds grip endurance in a controlled, measurable way.",[17,23132,23133,23134,23136],{},"This sits neatly alongside the case we make for these boards in ",[9853,23135,15418],{"href":11149},", which goes deeper on the principle.",[12,23138,23140],{"id":23139},"a-simple-way-to-start-using-it","A simple way to start using it",[17,23142,23143],{},"If you have never touched the systems board, here is a way in that turns it from intimidating to useful:",[3925,23145,23146,23155],{},[3928,23147,23148],{},[3931,23149,23150,23153],{},[3934,23151,23152],{},"Goal",[3934,23154,22543],{},[3942,23156,23157,23165,23173,23181],{},[3931,23158,23159,23162],{},[3947,23160,23161],{},"Grip strength",[3947,23163,23164],{},"Climb up and down one hold type, several controlled laps",[3931,23166,23167,23170],{},[3947,23168,23169],{},"Find weaknesses",[3947,23171,23172],{},"Mirror a move left and right, note which feels worse",[3931,23174,23175,23178],{},[3947,23176,23177],{},"Body tension",[3947,23179,23180],{},"Repeat one move slowly, focusing on tight core and hips",[3931,23182,23183,23186],{},[3947,23184,23185],{},"Endurance",[3947,23187,23188],{},"Traverse along one grip type until pumped, rest, repeat",[17,23190,23191],{},"Pick one goal per session rather than trying to do everything. The strength of the board is focus, so use it focused.",[3986,23193,23195],{"id":23194},"a-sample-twenty-minutes","A sample twenty minutes",[17,23197,23198],{},"Warm up thoroughly first, because steep boards load fingers hard and cold fingers get hurt. Then:",[70,23200,23201,23204,23207],{},[73,23202,23203],{},"Five minutes on an easy grip type, climbing up and down to get moving",[73,23205,23206],{},"Ten minutes on your chosen focus, say the crimp column, doing controlled laps with full rests between",[73,23208,23209],{},"Five minutes mirroring a couple of moves left and right to check your symmetry",[17,23211,23212],{},"Keep notes on what felt weak. That is the gold the systems board gives you that varied problems do not.",[12,23214,23216],{"id":23215},"a-word-on-going-easy","A word on going easy",[17,23218,23219,23220,23222],{},"Because the board is steep and the holds can be small, it is easy to overcook your fingers, especially on the crimp columns. Build up slowly, warm up properly, and stop before your fingers are wrecked rather than after. The advice in ",[9853,23221,13914],{"href":13913}," applies just as much here as on the app boards.",[12,23224,23226],{"id":23225},"give-it-a-go","Give it a go",[17,23228,23229],{},"Next time you are at the wall and the systems board is sitting empty in the corner, walk over to it instead of past it. Pick one grip type, climb it up and down a few times, and pay attention to what your body is doing. It will not feel like a triumphant session, but the weaknesses it exposes and the strength it builds will show up in your real climbing within a few weeks.",[17,23231,23232],{},"The fancy boards are great fun. The systems board is where a lot of the quiet, deliberate work gets done. Use the tool everyone else ignores, and let it do its boring, brilliant job.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":23234},[23235,23236,23237,23238,23241,23242],{"id":23054,"depth":132,"text":23055},{"id":23071,"depth":132,"text":23072},{"id":23100,"depth":132,"text":23101},{"id":23139,"depth":132,"text":23140,"children":23239},[23240],{"id":23194,"depth":4021,"text":23195},{"id":23215,"depth":132,"text":23216},{"id":23225,"depth":132,"text":23226},"2023-01-27","The plain symmetrical board in the corner gets ignored for the flashy app boards. Here is why that is a mistake.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-systems-board-nobody-uses-but-should",{"title":23043,"description":23244},"blog\u002Fthe-systems-board-nobody-uses-but-should",[1715,13942,162,290],"SkeBDvI4DQks5CpFqGRHpOkkwmhmMmG2t4j78MPHZbY",{"id":23252,"title":23253,"author":7,"body":23254,"category":2555,"date":23468,"description":23469,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":13935,"imageAlt":13936,"imageCredit":13541,"imageCreditUrl":13542,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":23470,"navigation":152,"path":23471,"readTime":1547,"seo":23472,"stem":23473,"tags":23474,"__hash__":23475},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-best-beginner-crags-in-the-uk.md","The best beginner crags in the UK",{"type":9,"value":23255,"toc":23456},[23256,23259,23262,23266,23269,23301,23306,23310,23313,23317,23326,23330,23333,23337,23343,23347,23354,23358,23361,23410,23413,23415,23418,23435,23438,23446,23450,23453],[17,23257,23258],{},"The first time you climb on real rock, everything you learned indoors gets gently turned on its head. The holds are not coloured, nobody has set the route, the landing is real ground and the grade feels harder than the number suggests. It is brilliant and a little intimidating in equal measure. Picking the right crag for those first outdoor sessions makes an enormous difference to whether you come away grinning or rattled.",[17,23260,23261],{},"The UK is spoilt for accessible rock, and you do not need to drive to a remote mountain crag to get started. The best beginner venues share a handful of qualities, and once you know what to look for you can spot a friendly crag anywhere.",[12,23263,23265],{"id":23264},"what-makes-a-crag-beginner-friendly","What makes a crag beginner-friendly",[17,23267,23268],{},"Before naming places, it helps to know why some crags suit beginners and others do not. Look for:",[70,23270,23271,23277,23283,23289,23295],{},[73,23272,23273,23276],{},[76,23274,23275],{},"A short, easy approach."," Lugging pads or a rope up a mountainside before you have even climbed is a quick way to put yourself off. Roadside or near-roadside is ideal.",[73,23278,23279,23282],{},[76,23280,23281],{},"Flat, soft landings for bouldering",", or solid lower-offs and easy top access for routes. You want margin for the mistakes you will inevitably make.",[73,23284,23285,23288],{},[76,23286,23287],{},"Plenty of easy lines close together",", so you are not stuck under one hard problem with nothing else to do.",[73,23290,23291,23294],{},[76,23292,23293],{},"Good, grippy rock that is not too polished."," Some classic spots are so popular the holds have gone glassy, which is no fun when you are learning to trust your feet.",[73,23296,23297,23300],{},[76,23298,23299],{},"A friendly atmosphere",", where you are likely to find other climbers happy to share beta and pads.",[3878,23302,23303],{},[17,23304,23305],{},"The best beginner crag is not the most impressive one. It is the one with a short walk, soft ground and a load of easy climbing where you can fail safely and often.",[12,23307,23309],{"id":23308},"a-few-classic-starting-points","A few classic starting points",[17,23311,23312],{},"These are well-loved venues with plenty of approachable climbing. Conditions, access and parking change, so always check a current guide and any access notes before you go.",[3986,23314,23316],{"id":23315},"the-peak-district","The Peak District",[17,23318,23319,23320,23322,23323,23325],{},"Hard to beat for a first taste, the Peak is packed with grit and limestone within easy reach of much of England. The gritstone edges offer endless easy bouldering and lower-grade routes with short walk-ins, and the rough rock is forgiving on the feet once you learn to trust it. Our ",[9853,23321,17136],{"href":14087}," goes into specifics, and ",[9853,23324,13977],{"href":3164}," covers the area more broadly.",[3986,23327,23329],{"id":23328},"southern-sandstone","Southern sandstone",[17,23331,23332],{},"For those near the south east, the sandstone outcrops offer short, friendly bouldering with soft landings. A particular note here: this rock is fragile, especially when damp, so it is top-rope only for routes and you must never climb or brush it wet. It is a lovely, low-commitment introduction if you respect the rock.",[3986,23334,23336],{"id":23335},"portland-and-the-south-coast","Portland and the south coast",[17,23338,23339,23340,12058],{},"Portland's limestone sport climbing has masses of lower-grade bolted routes, sunny aspect and easy access, which makes it a favourite for people moving from indoor lead to outdoor sport. The bolts mean less kit and less faff while you find your feet. More in ",[9853,23341,23342],{"href":6417},"climbing on Portland",[3986,23344,23346],{"id":23345},"the-lake-district-and-beyond","The Lake District and beyond",[17,23348,23349,23350,23353],{},"A little more committing, but full of gentle valley crags and superb bouldering once you are ready for a slightly bigger day out. Worth keeping in your back pocket as you grow in confidence. See ",[9853,23351,23352],{"href":4565},"bouldering in the Lake District"," for ideas.",[12,23355,23357],{"id":23356},"matching-the-crag-to-your-discipline","Matching the crag to your discipline",[17,23359,23360],{},"Where you should head first depends on what you climb indoors:",[3925,23362,23363,23376],{},[3928,23364,23365],{},[3931,23366,23367,23370,23373],{},[3934,23368,23369],{},"You mostly do",[3934,23371,23372],{},"Look for",[3934,23374,23375],{},"Good first options",[3942,23377,23378,23388,23399],{},[3931,23379,23380,23382,23385],{},[3947,23381,3585],{},[3947,23383,23384],{},"Soft landings, low problems",[3947,23386,23387],{},"Peak grit, southern sandstone",[3931,23389,23390,23393,23396],{},[3947,23391,23392],{},"Sport \u002F lead",[3947,23394,23395],{},"Bolted lower-grade routes",[3947,23397,23398],{},"Portland, limestone sport crags",[3931,23400,23401,23404,23407],{},[3947,23402,23403],{},"Want a bit of everything",[3947,23405,23406],{},"Easy access, variety",[3947,23408,23409],{},"Peak District",[17,23411,23412],{},"There is no rush to climb everything. Starting on the discipline you already know indoors makes the transition to rock far less daunting.",[12,23414,4544],{"id":4543},[17,23416,23417],{},"Real rock asks a bit more of you than the gym. A few things to sort before you go:",[70,23419,23420,23423,23426,23429,23432],{},[73,23421,23422],{},"A current guidebook or reliable online topo so you know the lines and grades",[73,23424,23425],{},"A weather check, since wet rock is often unclimbable and sometimes fragile",[73,23427,23428],{},"Enough pads, or mates with pads, for bouldering",[73,23430,23431],{},"Knowledge of the access situation: parking, paths, any restrictions or seasonal bird bans",[73,23433,23434],{},"The humility to climb well below your indoor grade at first, because outdoor grades feel stiff",[17,23436,23437],{},"That last point catches everyone. The number on a real boulder rarely matches the number at the gym, and outdoor lines reward subtlety your indoor climbing has not built yet. Drop a grade or three, climb lots of easy lines, and let your footwork catch up.",[17,23439,23440,23441,2451,23443,23445],{},"For the broader skills of making this jump, ",[9853,23442,14026],{"href":12594},[9853,23444,21670],{"href":12149}," are the two reads that will serve you best.",[12,23447,23449],{"id":23448},"just-get-out-there","Just get out there",[17,23451,23452],{},"The perfect first crag does not really exist. What matters is choosing somewhere accessible, with easy climbing and a soft landing, where you can make mistakes without consequence and start learning how real rock feels under your hands and feet.",[17,23454,23455],{},"Pick a settled, dry day, go with someone who has been before if you can, climb a stack of easy lines, and do not worry about the grade. The first time you top out a real boulder with the wind on your face, you will understand why so many of us never want to climb only indoors again.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":23457},[23458,23459,23465,23466,23467],{"id":23264,"depth":132,"text":23265},{"id":23308,"depth":132,"text":23309,"children":23460},[23461,23462,23463,23464],{"id":23315,"depth":4021,"text":23316},{"id":23328,"depth":4021,"text":23329},{"id":23335,"depth":4021,"text":23336},{"id":23345,"depth":4021,"text":23346},{"id":23356,"depth":132,"text":23357},{"id":4543,"depth":132,"text":4544},{"id":23448,"depth":132,"text":23449},"2023-01-20","Friendly, accessible UK crags to make your first moves onto real rock, and what makes a good beginner venue.",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-best-beginner-crags-in-the-uk",{"title":23253,"description":23469},"blog\u002Fthe-best-beginner-crags-in-the-uk",[2589,14091,3168,562],"SDuntCtxyDgjcMo9hIUqmfHPhZzDG_nEjqw9YtdhtGU",{"id":23477,"title":23478,"author":7,"body":23479,"category":141,"date":23679,"description":23680,"draft":144,"extension":145,"image":23681,"imageAlt":23682,"imageCredit":4912,"imageCreditUrl":4913,"imageType":150,"mapArea":150,"mapLabel":150,"mapLat":150,"mapLng":150,"mapPath":150,"mapZoom":150,"meta":23683,"navigation":152,"path":23684,"readTime":1547,"seo":23685,"stem":23686,"tags":23687,"__hash__":23688},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-through-a-plateau.md","Climbing through a plateau",{"type":9,"value":23480,"toc":23669},[23481,23484,23487,23491,23494,23497,23523,23528,23532,23535,23538,23558,23561,23565,23568,23622,23625,23629,23635,23639,23642,23645,23649,23652,23659,23663,23666],[17,23482,23483],{},"For your first year or so, climbing feels like a cheat code. Every few weeks you tick a new grade, and progress is so steady you start to believe it will go on forever. Then one day it stops. The grade you have been chipping away at refuses to budge, month after month, and the easy gains dry up. Welcome to the plateau, which every climber hits and which is far more about how you train than how talented you are.",[17,23485,23486],{},"The frustrating thing about a plateau is that doing more of the same is usually what got you stuck in the first place. Breaking out means changing something, and the trick is working out what. Here is how to think about it.",[12,23488,23490],{"id":23489},"why-plateaus-happen","Why plateaus happen",[17,23492,23493],{},"Early progress comes from your body and brain rapidly adapting to a brand new activity. Your fingers toughen, your technique sharpens, your head settles, all at once. Eventually those quick adaptations are largely banked, and further gains have to be earned more deliberately. That natural slowing is not failure; it is just the end of the beginner free ride.",[17,23495,23496],{},"But most plateaus are not really physical limits. They are habits. The usual culprits:",[70,23498,23499,23505,23511,23517],{},[73,23500,23501,23504],{},[76,23502,23503],{},"You only climb the same things."," Same wall, same grades, same style. You have got good at exactly what you do and nothing else.",[73,23506,23507,23510],{},[76,23508,23509],{},"You avoid your weaknesses."," We all gravitate to the climbing we are good at. The slab-avoider stays bad at slabs, the steep-avoider stays bad at steep.",[73,23512,23513,23516],{},[76,23514,23515],{},"You never properly try hard."," Cruising comfortable grades feels nice but does not push the system. Progress lives just past the edge of what you can currently do.",[73,23518,23519,23522],{},[76,23520,23521],{},"You climb too much and rest too little",", so you are always a bit tired and never adapting well.",[3878,23524,23525],{},[17,23526,23527],{},"A plateau is rarely a wall you have hit. It is usually a groove you have worn. The fix is to climb your way out of the groove, not to dig it deeper.",[12,23529,23531],{"id":23530},"find-your-actual-weakness","Find your actual weakness",[17,23533,23534],{},"You cannot fix what you will not name. Spend a session or two paying honest attention to what beats you. Be specific. \"I'm rubbish at crimps\" is a start; \"I fall off small crimps on steep walls when I have to pull in hard\" is something you can train.",[17,23536,23537],{},"Common weak spots and where to take them:",[70,23539,23540,23545,23550,23555],{},[73,23541,23542,23543,12058],{},"Poor footwork and over-gripping, the most common limiter by far. Start with ",[9853,23544,13479],{"href":13478},[73,23546,23547,23548,12058],{},"Weak fingers on small holds, where careful hangboarding helps. See ",[9853,23549,13224],{"href":13223},[73,23551,23552,23553,15947],{},"Falling off the same move every time, which is often a reading or technique gap. ",[9853,23554,19694],{"href":19816},[73,23556,23557],{},"A nervous head that stops you committing, where the issue is fear, not strength.",[17,23559,23560],{},"If you genuinely cannot tell what is holding you back, climb with someone better and ask them to watch you. They will spot it in two problems.",[12,23562,23564],{"id":23563},"change-something-on-purpose","Change something on purpose",[17,23566,23567],{},"Once you know your weakness, deliberately steer towards it. This is uncomfortable, which is rather the point. A few ways to shake the routine:",[3925,23569,23570,23580],{},[3928,23571,23572],{},[3931,23573,23574,23577],{},[3934,23575,23576],{},"If you...",[3934,23578,23579],{},"Try...",[3942,23581,23582,23590,23598,23606,23614],{},[3931,23583,23584,23587],{},[3947,23585,23586],{},"Only boulder",[3947,23588,23589],{},"Add some routes, or vice versa",[3931,23591,23592,23595],{},[3947,23593,23594],{},"Avoid steep ground",[3947,23596,23597],{},"Spend a block of sessions on the steep wall",[3931,23599,23600,23603],{},[3947,23601,23602],{},"Climb the same grades",[3947,23604,23605],{},"Project something well above your limit",[3931,23607,23608,23611],{},[3947,23609,23610],{},"Always flash or fail",[3947,23612,23613],{},"Pick problems you have to work over several goes",[3931,23615,23616,23619],{},[3947,23617,23618],{},"Never train",[3947,23620,23621],{},"Add focused finger or technique work",[17,23623,23624],{},"The principle is the same throughout: stop reinforcing what you are already good at and start loading what you are bad at.",[3986,23626,23628],{"id":23627},"projecting-as-a-tool","Projecting as a tool",[17,23630,23631,23632,23634],{},"One of the most reliable plateau-breakers is committing to a project a clear notch above your best. Working hard moves, falling off repeatedly, and slowly unlocking them forces adaptations that cruising never will. It also teaches you to try genuinely hard, which a lot of plateaued climbers have quietly forgotten how to do. Our guide to ",[9853,23633,19773],{"href":6870}," walks through doing it well.",[12,23636,23638],{"id":23637},"look-at-recovery-not-just-effort","Look at recovery, not just effort",[17,23640,23641],{},"Sometimes the problem is the opposite of not trying hard enough. If you climb four or five days a week, never take easy weeks, and feel permanently a bit flat, you might be plateaued through fatigue rather than lack of stimulus. Adaptation happens during rest, not during the session. A week of doing less, or a couple of proper rest days, can unlock progress more than another hard session would.",[17,23643,23644],{},"Sleep and food sit underneath all of this. You cannot adapt out of a plateau on poor sleep and not enough fuel, however cleverly you train.",[12,23646,23648],{"id":23647},"be-patient-and-keep-records","Be patient and keep records",[17,23650,23651],{},"Breaking a plateau is rarely a single dramatic session. It is usually a few weeks of deliberately working a weakness, feeling clumsy, and then one day noticing that the grade that felt impossible now feels merely hard. Because it is gradual, it helps to keep some kind of log, even a simple note of what you climbed and how it felt, so you can actually see the trend rather than judging it by your mood on any given night.",[17,23653,23654,23655,23658],{},"For a fuller treatment of the topic, ",[9853,23656,23657],{"href":2792},"breaking through a climbing plateau"," covers more ground and is a good companion to this.",[12,23660,23662],{"id":23661},"take-the-long-view","Take the long view",[17,23664,23665],{},"A plateau is not a sign you have peaked. It is a sign that the easy gains are spent and the interesting work begins. Almost every climber who pushes through one does it the same way: they get honest about a weakness, they make themselves do the uncomfortable thing, and they give it time.",[17,23667,23668],{},"So pick the one weakness that costs you the most, point your next few weeks of climbing straight at it, and accept that you will feel worse before you feel better. The grade will move. It always does for the people willing to climb the stuff they are bad at.",{"title":131,"searchDepth":132,"depth":132,"links":23670},[23671,23672,23673,23676,23677,23678],{"id":23489,"depth":132,"text":23490},{"id":23530,"depth":132,"text":23531},{"id":23563,"depth":132,"text":23564,"children":23674},[23675],{"id":23627,"depth":4021,"text":23628},{"id":23637,"depth":132,"text":23638},{"id":23647,"depth":132,"text":23648},{"id":23661,"depth":132,"text":23662},"2023-01-13","Stuck at the same grade for months? Why plateaus happen and the practical ways to break out of one.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1775654792524-739718a3b001?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&crop=entropy&q=80&auto=format","A climber in colourful shorts on a wall",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fclimbing-through-a-plateau",{"title":23478,"description":23680},"blog\u002Fclimbing-through-a-plateau",[162,290,1242,13549],"etCOmaribZjucs86UI3F9XjP4o-HxQTX0jsK9XWwBng",1784277602513]