Reading the WallHands and holds

Sloper

V3+

Also called sloping hold · Hands and holds

A sloper is a rounded hold with no edge to hook, so friction holds you on. It works only while your body hangs below the hold [102, 184].

Grade Slopers stop many climbers between V3 and V4. Forum advice points to body position and footwork [159].

In motion Re-gripping a sloper
A film strip from the side of a hand settling onto a big rounded hold, from the fingertips to the palm, until the thumb finds a spot below the fingers.
Figure 57 Watch the palm: it comes onto the hold only after the finger pads have dragged over the top. Then the thumb finds a spot below the fingers.

How to do it

  1. From the ground, find the best part of the hold for where your body will be [163].
  2. On a big sloper, spread your fingers and press with palm and fingertips. On a flat ledge, keep the fingers together [184].
  3. Drag the finger pads over the hold. Drag the palm over it too if you can [163].
  4. Look for a thumb spot below or beside the hold [163].
  5. Keep your wrist stiff [163].
  6. Hang low on a straight arm. Keep your hips under the hold [43, 184].
  7. Keep one foot low. Both feet high push your hips out and off the hold [163].
  8. Move slowly. Keep your hips steady between the handholds [43, 163].
A climber on an overhang holding a rounded hold, with the hips out, then low under it, and a close-up of the draped hand.
Figure 58 (a) Both feet high push the hips out. The hand rolls off. (b) The hips hang low under the hold. One foot stays low and the arm is straight. (c) Palm and finger pads drape over the hold, with the wrist below it.

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your body into the hold. Gresham says keep the hips square [163].
  • Squeezing with the forearm instead of using your shoulders, back and core [184].
  • Slapping the same sloper over and over. It strains the wrist [163].
  • Pinning yourself flat to the wall. Pull the hips in [184], but hugging the wall can stop you turning when a hand lets go [14]. Low and under the hold matters more than tight.
Related
Open hand, Palming, Straight arms, Body tension, Heel hook
Watch
Slopers: Technique, Training, and Cheat Codes (Lattice Training); 4 Sloper Mistakes Beginner Boulderers Make (Send Edition)
Sources
[14, 43, 102, 159, 163, 164, 184]
Referenced from
Holds have a direction, Hold direction and body position, What the setter had in mind, Other people’s beta, and reading for your size, Reading the wall for body position, Sitting into it, Lock-off, Open hand, Re-gripping and adjusting, Using the thumb, Volumes, Progression map, V3 (Font 6A/6A+), From V4 to V5, Climbing small, Holds, Glossary of climbing jargon, Problem 3: Overhang, Problem 4: Steep wall