Why Performance in Climbing is Difficult to Measure?

The Relative Nature of Grades Climbing grades are relative more than they are subjective. What’s the difference? Subjective issues are those based entirely on individual perceptions or opinions. In other words, subjective issues occur almost exclusively in our minds, not in the world outside our minds. That is the land of the objective. Relative differences […]
Twist-Locking Series: Advanced Concepts of Back-Stepping

Back-steps are the simplest version of a twist-lock. Being an advanced article, we will assume you know the basics of the back-step. If you need a refresher, here’s how to get into the back-step position. Now, let’s focus on a few details which are important to keep in mind. The key areas we’ll be touching […]
Twist-Locking Series: The Basics of Back-Stepping

What is Twist-Locking? Twist-locking refers to a family of skills, all of which are based on the same underlying concepts: the twist, and the lock. These two concepts provide a new, and flexible, approach to “locking out” our lower body, and therefore reducing the weight our upper body needs to carry. The family of […]
Knee Bars: The Coolest Move in Climbing

Our next skill we are going to cover is also one of the coolest moves in the sport. The principle of a knee bar is similar to that of a heel toe cam, but generally provides much greater support. The Basics of a Knee Bar Place your foot on a foothold (inside or outside edge). […]
The Climbing Basics of Heel Hooks

Heel hooks, like a reverse flag, can be useful on lower angle terrain. However, they become a mandatory tool for roofs and roof exits. The basics of a heel hook are quite simple. You put your heel on a hold and pull your weight toward it. That’s it. The trick to this move is knowing […]