Cross-throughs: how to reach past your other hand without tying yourself in a knot

The move most people avoid

Watch a newer climber on a traverse and you will see the same pattern. Reach, match, reach, match. Every hold gets two hands, one after the other, and the whole thing moves sideways like a crab. It works on big holds. It falls apart the moment a hold is too small to share, or the next one is just too far for the hand that is meant to go there.

The alternative is the cross-through. Instead of bringing your trailing hand to meet the other one, you send it straight past, over or under your leading arm, to the next hold. It feels strange the first few times, because your arms end up crossed and your body is briefly twisted. Once it clicks, it saves moves, saves skin and gets you past holds you would otherwise have to fight for.

With the evenings drawing in and most people heading back to the wall for winter, it is a good month to learn it properly. Board and circuit problems are full of them.

What a cross-through actually is

You are holding two holds. The next hold is beyond your leading hand. Rather than matching and then moving the leading hand on, you take the trailing hand across your body and put it on the next hold directly.

There are two versions:

Crossing over. The moving arm goes above the arm that is holding on. This is the common one on traverses and on steep ground where the next hold is level or slightly higher.

Crossing under. The moving arm goes beneath. It suits holds that are lower than the one you are on, or underclings, and it often keeps your body closer to the wall.

Either way, the move is the same idea: one fewer hand movement than a match, and no need for two hands on one hold.

When it beats a match

The hold is too small for two hands. A crimp or a small pocket might take one hand well and two hands badly. Matching on it means both hands are on a poor hold at once. Crossing through means one hand stays on the good one.

The next hold is a long way off. A match leaves your leading hand where it was. A cross-through lets the trailing hand travel the full distance in one go, which can turn a big reach into a comfortable one.

You are pumped. Every extra hand movement is time spent hanging. Two cross-throughs can do the job of three or four matches and bumps.

The hold faces the wrong way for a match. Sidepulls in particular often want the opposite hand. If the next hold faces left, the right hand usually pulls on it better, and that often means crossing.

It is not always the answer. If the next hold is a jug and close, matching is simpler and perfectly good. The point is to have both options and pick, rather than defaulting to the match because the cross feels odd.

How to make it feel solid

Turn your hips first. The most common reason a cross-through feels insecure is that the body is still square to the wall. Before you move the hand, turn so the hip on the side of the arm that is holding on comes in towards the wall. The same turn that helps on a twist lock is what makes a cross-through stable.

Straight arm on the hold you are leaving. Hang off the holding arm with the elbow as straight as you can manage. A bent arm tires fast and pulls your shoulder into a bad position when the other arm crosses in front of it.

Set the feet before you go. Look at where your feet will be when you are crossed. Usually you want the foot on the same side as the holding hand to be pressing well, and the other foot either flagged or on a hold that stops you swinging. If you barn door as you cross, see flagging.

Move the hand close to the wall. Swinging the arm out wide pulls your body away from the rock. Bring the moving hand in tight, almost brushing your own forearm or chest, and you stay in balance.

Uncross straight away if you need to. A cross-through is a transition, not a rest. Once the new hand is on, your next move often brings the other hand past, or a foot swap lets you turn back the other way. Think one move ahead.

When it goes wrong

You feel like you will spin off. Hips are too far out, or the opposite foot is not doing anything. Turn in more and get the free leg working, either flagged or pressing on a hold.

The holding hand rips off. The arm was bent, or the hold faced the wrong way for that hand. Try straightening it, or try the cross on the other side.

Your arms lock up and you cannot reach. You are probably crossing over when the hold wants a cross under, or the other way round. Try the opposite version before giving up on the move.

It works once and never again. Film it from the side. Nine times out of ten the good go has the hips in and the bad go does not.

Drills that build the habit

Cross-only traverses. On an easy traverse, ban yourself from matching. Every move is a cross-through. It feels clumsy for ten minutes and then much less so.

Down and back. Traverse one way crossing over, then come back crossing under. Both directions, both versions.

Pick the hand. Before each move on a circuit, decide out loud which hand goes next and why. It sounds daft. It is the quickest way to stop matching by default.

Board warm-ups. On an easy board problem, look for any move you would normally match and try it as a cross instead. Boards are good for this because the holds are close and the angle punishes a square body.

The short version

Crossing through means sending the trailing hand past the leading one to the next hold, over or under. Use it when the hold is too small to share, the next hold is far, or you are pumped. Turn the hip in, hang on a straight arm, set your feet so you do not swing, and keep the moving hand close to the wall. If it feels wrong, try the other version, then film it.

Learning a new move is easier when you can see which attempts worked. Sendit keeps your sessions, attempts and beta notes in one place, so the traverse you finally crossed through cleanly is there to look back on next week.