“Some people climb it slowly.” said one of my friends at the climbing gym as I sloppily scramble through an overhung V3. “My feet were falling off and I just wanted to finish the problem.” I replied. In retrospect, he was right.

I need to slow down a bit, actually I need to slow down a lot. and in examining what I said, Just finishing the problem is not what the goal should be. No doubt I looked like a flailing baboon trying to reach for that next hold while my feet molested the wall in search of a hold. I’ve been told time and again that I need to slow down, focus on my footwork and breathe, but I never really paid much attention to it.

I’ve spent the better part of this summer climbing easy to moderate multi-pitch trad where my focus was on solid gear placement, and my climbing form took a back seat to that due to the particular ease the routes.

Now that I am back in the gym for the most part, Bouldering and climbing harder sport routes( 10’s and 11’s) footwork and finesse are back in the foreground. Thats the reason for this post. It’s one thing to send a route, but it’s a whole different ball game when you send that route with perfect form. In this post I’m going to analyze my route climbing and begin to practice habits in good form.

In a recent gym session I noticed, the more frustrated and fatigued I get, the poorer my form becomes, I don’t pay attention to my feet at all and I begin throwing hopelessly for holds that are probably within static reach. once back on the ground I re-centered myself and got on an easier route. one that I had done probably over a hundred times on lead. Though I knew I could do this route without any thought at all, I focused on each move, paying special attention to my breathing and footwork. It was absolutely amazing, I took a seemingly easy climb and made it effortless and comfortable. Furthermore I noticed by taking deliberate full breaths of air I had a lot more energy to spare.

Along with focusing on footwork and better breathing, another solid footwork builder is traversing and down climbing. if you live in a climate where the winter chases you primarily into the gym as I do, this is a perfect opportunity to safely do traversing and down climbing routines. I generally like to traverse around the bouldering area of my gym as a warm up routine followed by a few easy boulder problems.

As for down climbing, next time you top out a route, try and down climb the route as your belayer lowers you off. You will be surprised at how much easier it is to pay attention to your feet, and how quickly you forget about your hands. If you follow this routine, and pay special attention to your feet and breathing, you will be surprised at how quickly it becomes habit and carries into the rest of your routine.

-Patrick