Get to grips with route reading

Taking a long, hard look at a route before you climb it seems like a no-brainer, but actually READING the route is a bit more tricky. Understanding how to route read can help you climb more efficiently and confidently, on-sight more consistently and progress your climbing.

Many climbers will simply jump straight onto the wall without giving much thought to how they will approach the problem, but curbing your enthusiasm for a moment can help you reach your goals without getting lost along the way! Read on for some top tips on how to nail this key climbing skill...

What is route reading?

If you've ever watched competition climbing, you'll probably have noticed competitors taking some time in front of the wall, often miming movements, before they set off.

Route reading means looking at a route or boulder problem and interpreting a few different things before you leave the ground. It's having a plan in place for how you might climb, assessing where the difficulty may be and preparing for it, and understanding the possible sequences of movement. When climbing outdoors, it's also a good tool to help assess risk, and can help you to identify things like gear placements and clipping positions if you are leading a trad or sport route.

Beginning with the start holds, cast your eyes up, following the line of travel and looking for obvious features that you can use to move up...

What am I looking for?

Route reading on an indoor wall is a little more straightforward than on an outdoor rock face or boulder, as the holds will typically be the same colour and the route therefore more apparent. Outdoors, you'll have to look a bit harder to see what rock features might make good hand or foot holds and work out how best you can use them. Take a good look at the following things and consider what difference they will make to how you climb:

1. Type of hold: Does the climb involve slopers, crimps, jugs, or a combination? Where are the feet and how will you use them in conjunction with hand holds? Can you use a particular hold in more than one way and which way would best play to your strengths?
2. Direction: Generally speaking if a hold is facing to the right, you will put your right hand on it, and if it faces to the left, you'll put your left hand on it. As routes progress in difficulty you might have to think more creatively about how you use things, however!
3. Body position: Holds can be more or less useful to you based on how you position your body when you use them. For example, using a hold intended as a side-pull while standing directly hips-on to the wall will feel far more strenuous and awkward than if you allow your body to lean against the direction of the hold, with one hip turned sideways towards the wall.
4. Rests: Is there anywhere on the climb that you can rest? This could mean being able to take one or both hands off to shake, or just a being comfortable enough to stand and catch your breath before making the next move.
5. The 'crux': Where on the route do you see difficulty? This could be in the form of a dynamic movement, something requiring extra balance or tension, cutting loose or smaller, trickier holds. How do you think you can move through it?

Putting your plan into action

You've done some hypothesising, now it's time to put your plan to the test...

As you climb, try to think about what you had in mind when you read the route. Is it working out like you planned? What have you done differently? If you're new to route reading, don't be disheartened if you've got all or some of it wrong! It's a skill that develops over time and with practise. Once you've come back down, take another look at the climb and identify the things you predicted correctly as well as anything you didn't quite get right, then have another go!

The next step

If a particular route or move is still feeling impossible, have a think about how you could do it differently. Indoor climbs are generally designed to be completed with a specific 'beta' (the sequence and method), but there's no reason you can't find your own way! Height and arm span can play a big part in how an individual climbs a particular problem, so don't be afraid to get creative and adapt the moves to suit your body.

Watching how other climbers do things can also help you to unlock a certain movement and is a perfectly acceptable way of learning. If you feel comfortable, you could even ask for advice from another climber or staff at the wall.

The more time you put into observing and planning your climb, the greater chance you have of successfully topping it. Mastering the art of route reading may not be easy, but it'll pay you back in sends!