61 votes

Why is it bad to use your whole foot in rock climbing

It's a matter of practice, but also a matter of feel: When stepping with the front of your foot you have a smaller contact area, so the pressure is higher than using the whole foot. This increases ...
QuantumBrick's user avatar
  • 3,379
36 votes

Why is it bad to use your whole foot in rock climbing

Apart from the reasons already stated, namely getting used to doing it that way as it will help you on smaller footholds, there's also maneuverability: If you step with the entire foot, it is really ...
imsodin's user avatar
  • 21.7k
17 votes
Accepted

How do I get my fingers and toes warm before rock climbing at cold temperatures?

Before the climb As @ShemSeger suggests, most of the work is to be done before the climb itself. You need to stay warm belaying your partner and waiting to climb yourself - if your hands and feet ...
Klara's user avatar
  • 890
17 votes

Techniques for handling pumped arms?

Answer: What should I do before climbing to increase the amount of time I can climb before my forearms start hurting? There are plenty of opinions on what to do before climbing, stretching is ...
rlynn007's user avatar
  • 426
15 votes
Accepted

Safety precautions for a spotter for his/her own safety

This is not a complete list per se. If bouldering outdoors, particularly with an overhang, wear a helmet. This isn't to protect you from a fall, it's to protect your head for if rocks get knocked ...
nhinkle's user avatar
  • 8,710
15 votes

Techniques for handling pumped arms?

Avoiding Pump: Warm up, warm up, warm up. To avoid serious arm pump you need to do at least 15 minutes of EASY climbing. That's 15 minutes of you doing what you feel is exceptionally easy, even if ...
ShemSeger's user avatar
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14 votes
Accepted

How to progress in rock climbing after grades v4 / 5.11+?

Before embarking on specifics, a word of advice: learn to love plateaus. When beginning climbing, we make drastic improvements seemingly every time we go out. As we improve, gains become more and more ...
erfink's user avatar
  • 4,198
14 votes
Accepted

Are there any concrete techniques for down climbing?

Little excursion up front: If you have problems with joints or back when jumping down, do not ignore that. Either you already have a significant problem with those areas, in which case you should ...
imsodin's user avatar
  • 21.7k
14 votes
Accepted

How are different terrains, defined by their angle, called in climbing?

Your descriptions of the first three angles are pretty spot on. Routes less than 90 degrees would usually be described as a slab. Climbing shoes are usually described as being good for a particular ...
Darren's user avatar
  • 2,433
13 votes

Bouldering beside the freeway

Climbing next to a road is, in general, not a pleasant experience. Any roadside rock face is artificially shaped by the excavation that created it. The rock can be more likely to crumble under you as ...
nCCNcXpS35gfBn39zRzJ's user avatar
12 votes

Bouldering, improving and getting up grades

Fall More. If you're not falling a lot, then you're not pushing yourself enough, ergo you won't see much improvement. Grasping a basic understanding of proper climbing technique is what enables most ...
ShemSeger's user avatar
  • 53.5k
12 votes

Why is it bad to use your whole foot in rock climbing

Using your whole foot while rock climbing is a poor practice in most cases as it restricts your footwork and limits your movement options. When stepping with the front of the shoe you are able to ...
BKlassen's user avatar
  • 750
11 votes
Accepted

What to look for in climbing shoes?

Even though you say cost is not a primary factor, I still think it's good to be aware of this point when buying your first climbing shoes when mainly used in gyms (I wasn't aware at the time :) ): ...
imsodin's user avatar
  • 21.7k
10 votes

How do I get my fingers and toes warm before rock climbing at cold temperatures?

Warm Your Core! One thing all climbers have in common, is a big poofy down jacket. Your fingers are only going to be as warm as your core is, so keep your core warm, and that nice warm blood will ...
ShemSeger's user avatar
  • 53.5k
9 votes

What are the advantages of being short when climbing?

As other people already have mentioned here. In general, it is a disadvantage to be tall. If you look at height-performance profiles in rock climbing, they are generally downward-sloping (meaning the ...
Arne's user avatar
  • 401
9 votes

Climbing barefoot/in toe-shoes?

I'll chime in from a fairly unique position with anecdotal evidence only. I feel like most of the advice you'll get is from experts that talk down to you condescendingly if you even mention the b-...
George Papadopoulos's user avatar
9 votes

How do I prevent myself from getting pumped when climbing?

Ah the Endurance problem. Well this can either boil down to Power Endurance or just normal Endurance. Power Endurance is where you can retain a high level of power through a pump. This exceeds your ...
Rory Armstorng's user avatar
9 votes

Origin of the "bell curve" for rock climbing route setting

This piece of advice is commonly given to new routesetters, and should generally be taken as a reminder of best practices rather than scientific dogma. For example, Most climbers don't onsight 5.13 ...
erfink's user avatar
  • 4,198
9 votes
Accepted

Where can I find videos of rock climbing competitions?

You can find the official Youtube channel of the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) here. They cover all the official events. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2MGuhIaOP6YLpUx106kTQw
Philipp F.'s user avatar
8 votes

How do I prevent myself from getting pumped when climbing?

Having your muscles "pumped" is not a problem in itself. If you have problems with movement because of it, it is most likely down to muscle type, muscle mass, and cardiovascular effectiveness. ...
Rory Alsop's user avatar
  • 24.9k
8 votes
Accepted

Bouldering beside the freeway

This answer is specific to the US interstate highway system The vast majority of this system is closed to pedestrian (and bicycle) traffic. These are dangerous roads to be on; on average 600+ ...
James Jenkins's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

Correct breathing while bouldering

In various sports and even day-to-day life, breathing techniques make a difference in performance. Generally, you want to breathe deeply, steadily, and with your breathing muscles relaxed. Deep, ...
cr0's user avatar
  • 3,981
8 votes
Accepted

What kind of technique is required for bouldering outdoors?

There is no generic answer to your question - it all depends on the kind of boulders you'll encounter on your destination. For example, if you have overhanging jug problems, the technique required is ...
anderas's user avatar
  • 4,447
8 votes

How do I know if I've made a "first ascent"?

There may be "formal" ways to go about this, potentially online, but I know nothing about this, so I hope others can shed light on that aspect. However there is a "traditional" way about this: Phone ...
imsodin's user avatar
  • 21.7k
8 votes
Accepted

What is the minimum grade of the routes set in the IFSC world cups?

Regarding Grading That's a very common question for people new to competition climbing. Route setting for competition is in general quite different than for "regular" gym routes. Route setters at ...
imsodin's user avatar
  • 21.7k
7 votes

How do I get my fingers and toes warm before rock climbing at cold temperatures?

Put Heat Warmers in your climbing shoes and in your gloves, put a big puffy on. Jumping jacks, lots of jumping jacks, get your heart rate up and get your blood flowing and warmed up. Climb, the first ...
AM_Hawk's user avatar
  • 4,485
7 votes
Accepted

How to learn route setting?

It is a lot of trial and error. Setting bouldering problems tends to be easier since they are shorter. The biggest thing to consider is height. Assuming you are reasonably tall individual, solicit ...
StrongBad's user avatar
  • 10.7k
7 votes
Accepted

When do you need compensation training for bouldering?

The main problems caused by onesided training are reduced movement range, bad posture and lack of stability (which increases the risk of acute injuries). Anyone who has done any kind of intense sport ...
Michael Borgwardt's user avatar
7 votes

How to progress in rock climbing after grades v4 / 5.11+?

The existing answers are very good, but I have some tips that were not emphasized enough: Train with friends. You need to be very mature to be able to visualize and correct your own problems by ...
QuantumBrick's user avatar
  • 3,379
7 votes

Why is it bad to use your whole foot in rock climbing

As others have said, it's bad practice to use the arch and heel because (a) it restricts motion when you're going for the next hold, because there's one fewer joint you can bend, and (b) it throws ...
Adam Chalcraft's user avatar

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