8.3 V2 (Font 5+)
What problems look like
Gentle overhangs of about 10–25° become common. Holds include ones you pull sideways or pull up from below. Some moves only work with your body turned sideways to the wall. Footholds no longer sit under every handhold, so you often reach from one foot while the other has nothing useful. Problems have five to ten moves. A short dynamic move (one that uses momentum, so you can’t stop halfway) may appear, but most V2s still go statically.
Techniques that start to matter
On the steep, learn to turn a hip in (Turning the hip in); the backstep builds on this from V3. The side flag stops the barn door swing when one hand lets go. Two sideways holds facing the same way ask for a layback. An undercling at chest height asks you to bring your feet high. Some moves, especially on traverses, ask you to swap feet on one hold (Foot swap). On crimps (small edges held on the fingertips), make the half crimp your default from the start, so you don’t fall into the habit of full crimping. As footholds shrink, Slab technique starts to matter. Problems that finish on top ask for a mantle and a top-out.
A forum poster says some V2s can still be pulled on muscle [76]. Avoid building that habit. On big holds low on the wall, start practising a partial drop knee, small deadpoints and the dyno (this book’s suggestion).
| Technique | Category |
|---|---|
| Turning the hip in | Body positioning |
| Side flag | Body positioning |
| Crossing hands | Body positioning |
| Layback | Body positioning |
| Pivoting | Feet and legs |
| Foot swap | Feet and legs |
| Hand–foot match | Feet and legs |
| Half crimp | Hands and holds |
| Open hand | Hands and holds |
| Undercling | Hands and holds |
| Palming | Hands and holds |
| Mantle | Hands and holds |
| Slab technique | Terrain |
| Volumes | Terrain |
| Traverses | Terrain |
| Top-outs | Terrain |
Focus
- Learn to tell front-on moves from side-on moves. Switch between them on purpose.
- On an overhang, put the outside edge of your shoe on the foothold and turn that hip into the wall. The shoulder on that side rises, which lengthens your reach.
- When one hand is about to let go, press the opposite foot into the wall as a flag. Do it before you move.
Reading problems at this grade
- Two holds facing the same way, such as two sideways holds facing left, mean a layback, or from V3 a backstep.
- A single foothold far out to one side, with nothing on the other side, means a flag, or from V3 a backstep.
Physical side
Nothing specific.
Why people stall here
- Barn-dooring. You swing off when one hand releases. Fix: the flag above, before the hand moves.
- Arms tire on the steep. Fix: straighten your arms and turn a hip in, so your biceps can rest.
V2 is a known plateau: one gym runs a movement clinic for climbers stuck there [257]. The way out is probably learning to climb side-on (judgement).