Climbing Tips-part 1

These five tips were written by a guy called Scott, and sum up the usual advice given to complete novices fairly well.

1. When moving up, stay as close to the face (wall) as you can, the closer your centre of gravity is to the wall, the less your muscles have to work to hold you. If your body is vertical, then all you need to do is stand in place rather than cling to the rock. It helps to climb with the inside edge of your feet, not the toes, to achieve this.
When resting (and you should do this often to look down and check your footholds) straighten your arms (so you don't tire them out) and lean back (ideally with handholds fairly high up).
2. Rely upon your legs more than your upper body strength. Your legs are much stronger than your arms so don't just try to act macho by pulling yourself up the face (wall), just stand up!
3. Bring one foot up at a time, this will reduce the wear on your hands.
4. Try to position your hands and feet on the holds in the positions you will want them in for the next move. This will reduce the amount of switching and improve your speed and skill by making you plan your next move.
5. Don't lean too far away from the wall when you are resting, when you are ready to continue it will just take more strength to pull your body back against the face. (This is more important on short climbs then long day climbs when there is more time to rest.)

To learn good technique, you need to climb hard routes to push your boundaries, but don't forget you also need to climb easy ones on which to practise good technique. Your aim should be to climb easy routes with as little effort as possible.