8.4 V3 (Font 6A/6A+)
What problems look like
V3s come in two families. Steep problems sit on 20–40° overhangs with mid-sized edges and rounded holds. Your feet stay on only if you pull with them. Slab and vertical problems have blank wall, volumes and small edges for the feet. There, balance is the crux (the hardest move). Many V3s are built around one clear move, such as a long span or a hook with the heel. Problems have four to ten moves.
Techniques that start to matter
Learn the deadpoint: catch the hold at the top of a small upward movement, when you have stopped rising and feel lighter. Use your first heel hook on a good hold to pull your hips in. Learn overhang basics: Pulling with the toes and Body tension keep your feet on, while a backstep or a partial drop knee turns a hip to the wall. Where you can’t turn in, a lock-off holds you for a slow reach. Your hands meet the sloper, the pinch and the gaston, a hold you push outwards with your elbow out. On big holds, start practising the one-handed dyno, the double dyno and the run-and-jump (this book’s suggestion).
| Technique | Category |
|---|---|
| Backstep | Body positioning |
| Back flag | Body positioning |
| Drop knee | Body positioning |
| Sitting into it | Body positioning |
| Body tension | Body positioning |
| Lock-off | Body positioning |
| Opposition | Body positioning |
| Bumping | Body positioning |
| Deadpoint | Dynamic movement |
| Hip pump | Dynamic movement |
| Jump start | Dynamic movement |
| Pulling with the toes | Feet and legs |
| Heel hook | Feet and legs |
| Sloper | Hands and holds |
| Pinch | Hands and holds |
| Wrapping | Hands and holds |
| Gaston | Hands and holds |
| Re-gripping and adjusting | Hands and holds |
| Overhangs | Terrain |
| Arêtes | Terrain |
| Sit starts | Terrain |
Focus
- Toes into the wall on steep ground. Push through the front of the shoe into the hold, not down along the wall [130].
- Create momentum. Sink your hips a little, then drive up with your legs. Your arms guide the movement rather than haul it [151, 253].
- Flash more. Read each V3 fully before you touch it. Then try to flash it: climb it first go, without falling.
Reading problems at this grade
- Can you catch the crux hold while moving, or must you arrive static (Lock-off)? You can catch a deep hold with a lip. A poor sloper needs a deadpoint or a slow reach.
- Is there a foothold at hip height on the side you move towards? It may be meant for a heel hook.
- On slab, find where you can stand. Then find blank wall clean enough to smear on.
- On a pinch, find the thumb side before you set off.
Physical side
Lattice tests a max hang: the most extra weight you can hang for a few seconds. In its lowest band, V1–V4, climbers add about 19 kg on two arms [254]. That figure mixes men and women over four grades, so many V3 climbers climb well on less (judgement).
Why people stall here
- Feet cutting on the steep. Fix: keep both feet pressing into the wall, even the one you are about to move. Keep your hips close [130].
- Climbing one style. You climb all the steep V3s and avoid the slabs, or the reverse. Lattice’s coaches see plateaus “somewhere between V3–V6”, usually in the first couple of years. They list avoiding weak styles as a main cause [258]. Fix: spend one session in four on the style you avoid.