6 Ways To Read Climbing Routes
By FrictionLabs Pro Blog
Just as reading sheet music is both about individual notes and the connections between them, reading a climbing route is an attempt to understand its holds and the movements between them.
Correctly reading a route will save you an enormous amount of time and energy, leaving you with a higher chance of completing your project. You’ll also increase your understanding of movement and climbing efficiency – that means less failure and more success over time.
Here are six tips for you to blow up your route-reading skills:
1. Find your route
It’s important to climb on routes or boulder problems that fall within your personal skill level. It’s okay to aim high and try difficult routes, but this could lead to you getting stuck on one move and missing out on your progression and improvement.
2. Start + finish holds, and everything in between
Many beginner climbers make the mistake of hopping onto routes without even looking up. Visually evaluating the whole climb before you step off the ground.
3. Plan your Beta
In the world of rock climbing, Beta is information about a route. The term has essentially become a synonym for “sequence,” i.e. the sequence of hand and foot movements.
4. Put your plan into action and climb!
You’ve done your research. Time to test your hypotheses! Get your body on the wall and try to transform your theories into reality. As you climb, pay attention to how the plans you made on the ground are actually translating onto the wall.
5. Evaluate – where, how, and why did you fall?
If you found your way to the top of the wall, congratulations! In all likelihood, you fell somewhere—falling is the most common physical feat in all of rock climbing. So don’t freak out. Evaluate!
6. Practice the moves and finish your project!
In terms of climbing, you may need to try and revise certain moves many, many times. This can be as simple as switching which foot you’re standing on or shifting your weight below a hand hold. Be patient and respect this process... until the send!
FrictionLabs co-founder, Kevin Brown, set out to make a chalk that would help (not hinder) climbers perform at their best. "We set out to create a chalk that acted like a high performance climbing shoe for your hands.”
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