Problem 3 Overhang

About V3. The wall overhangs 20°, seen from behind. B has room for two hands. Start: both hands on B. Finish: both hands on E.

Read it yourself

Step 3. Which way does each hold face?
Step 4. Give A, C and D an L or an R.
Step 5. Compare the marks on A with those on E. What do they tell you? What kind of hold is D? Where must your body be to hold it? What could put it there?
Step 6. Where is the crux?

A 20-degree overhang from behind with lettered holds and four footholds; one big hold sits out to the right. — Figure 6

The answer to problem 3

The moves

Left foot on 1, right foot on 2. Left foot to 3, then 4.
Right heel into the bowl of A. Toes out, knee out. Both hands stay on.
Tighten your buttocks. Press the heel and pull it towards your bum. Stand up on your left foot at the same time. Your hips go in and up to the right. B is below your shoulder now and can only press, so don’t stop. As your hips rise, left hand to C, a sidepull.
Right hand to D, a sloper. Hang under it. Keep pulling with the heel.
Left foot up to B, the old start hold. Keep the heel on.
Stand up on your left foot until your hips are higher than A. Then roll onto your whole foot on A. Right hand to E, leaving D as your hips rise.
Left hand to E.

The same overhang with a climber whose right heel hooks the big hold out to the side, the right hand high on a rounded hold. — Figure 7 Move 4. The heel holds your hips in. The arrow shows where they went in move 3.

Crux. Moves 3 to 5. You leave the start for a small edge and a sloper. Only the heel keeps your hips in. At move 5 both feet come high, so the sloper can roll off (judgement).

Why the obvious try fails. You take A with your right hand: it is the biggest hold in reach. Then you stand on 4 and take your right foot off. D is now in reach. But your left hand and foot make a hinge (the line you swing around) far left of D. You swing open as your right hand lets go. A back flag stops the swing, but your hips stay far left. A sloper only holds with your body below it [102, 184]. A toe or flat sole on A can only drag on friction. Press hard and it shoves your hips left and out. A heel sits in A’s bowl, so it has something to pull against and draws you in (judgement). Rubber marks and no chalk suggest a foothold [34, 36].

What to try next. If the heel won’t go on with both hands on B, take A with your right hand first. Set the heel beside your hand and carry on from move 3. If the heel slips, change the foot’s angle by a few degrees [91] and keep your hips close [92]. Warm up first [111]. Turning the foot out hard on a heel close to your hip can tear a knee ligament [103].

Tall climbers. C and D are in reach from feet 4 and 3. The heel still keeps your hips in.

Small climbers. Don’t skip foot 4. From foot 3, D is out of reach even with the heel.

Entries: Heel hook, Sloper, Rockover