Contents Foreword How to use this book How this book was made Part I Foundations: how movement works and how to read a problem 1 How movement works 1.1 Centre of gravity and base of support 1.2 Straight arms: hang on your skeleton 1.3 Hips and the wall 1.4 Holds have a direction 1.5 Rotation and the barn door 1.6 Static and dynamic 1.7 Tension: connecting hands and feet 1.8 Three questions for every move 2 Reading a problem 2.1 Why read first 2.2 The method, step by step 2.3 Hold direction and body position 2.4 What to read first on each kind of wall 2.5 What the setter had in mind 2.6 Other people’s beta, and reading for your size 2.7 Flash or project? 2.8 Rest between attempts 2.9 When to change the beta 2.10 Indoor grades Part II The techniques, by category and grade 3 Feet and legs 3.1 Feet first 3.2 From foothold to technique 3.3 Shoes 3.4 V0: standing on holds Precise footwork Edging 3.5 V1: toes, smears and big steps Front-pointing Smearing High step Rockover 3.6 V2: moving on your feet Pivoting Foot swap Hand–foot match 3.7 V3: the legs start to pull Pulling with the toes Heel hook 3.8 V4–V5: hooks, clamps and locks Toe hook Bicycle Heel–toe cam Knee bar 4 Body positioning 4.1 Reading the wall for body position 4.2 V0–V1: weight, straight arms and the basic stance Weight shift Straight arms Frog position Barn door Matching hands Stemming 4.3 V2: turning in, flagging and crossing Turning the hip in Side flag Crossing hands Layback 4.4 V3: twisting, staying tight and locking off Backstep Back flag Drop knee Sitting into it Body tension Lock-off Opposition Bumping 4.5 V4: locking in and squeezing Twist lock Inside flag Compression 5 Hands and holds 5.1 Every hold has a direction 5.2 Positive and negative holds 5.3 Contact strength and grip endurance 5.4 V0–V1: big holds and the first directions Jug Sidepull 5.5 V2: edges, open hands, pressing and pulling up Half crimp Open hand Undercling Palming Mantle 5.6 V3: slopers, pinches and gastons Sloper Pinch Wrapping Gaston Re-gripping and adjusting 5.7 V4: pockets and thumbs Pocket Using the thumb 5.8 V5: the full crimp Full crimp 6 Dynamic movement 6.1 Static or dynamic? 6.2 Where “deadpoint” comes from 6.3 Power comes from the legs and hips 6.4 Momentum and timing 6.5 V3: momentum in everyday moves Deadpoint Hip pump Jump start 6.6 V4: leaving the wall One-handed dyno Dyno Latching Cutting loose and swing control Run-and-jump 6.7 V5: comp-style coordination Double dyno Campus move Jumping to a foothold Pogo Competition set pieces 7 Terrain 7.1 How the wall angle changes your body 7.2 Vertical walls 7.3 V2: slabs, traverses and top-outs Slab technique Volumes Traverses Top-outs 7.4 V3: overhangs, arêtes and sit starts Overhangs Arêtes Sit starts 7.5 V4–V5: roofs and dynamic slabs Roofs Dynamic slab Part III Grade by grade: what to focus on from VB to V8+ 8 Grade by grade 8.1 VB–V0 (Font 3–4+) 8.2 V1 (Font 5) 8.3 V2 (Font 5+) 8.4 V3 (Font 6A/6A+) 8.5 V4 (Font 6B/6B+) 8.6 From V4 to V5 8.7 V5 (Font 6C/6C+) 8.8 V6 (Font 7A) 8.9 V7 (Font 7A+) 8.10 V8 and above (Font 7B and up) 8.11 Progression map Part IV Your body and how you learn 9 Your body and how you learn 9.1 Climbing tall 9.2 Climbing small 9.3 Climbing heavier 9.4 Starting as an adult 9.5 Learning technique 9.6 Falling and landing safely Appendices On the mat Troubleshooting: from symptom to technique Balance and swinging Feet Reach and steep ground Holds Slab and volumes Corners and traverses Endurance Reading and tactics Glossary of climbing jargon A–Z of techniques Grade conversion Circuits and colours Corrections to the second edition Sources Index Exercises Eight problems to read 1 Slab 2 Traverse 3 Overhang 4 Steep wall 5 Sit start 6 Long gap 7 Volumes 8 Cave