Tech Tip - Bouldering - Spot On!

Eight turbo tips from a master spotter

When 6’4” Corey Dwan first plucked me from the sky, I’d just pitched from a Grampians, Australia, highball — he quickly earned a place on my all-time spotting dream team. Dwan’s masterful bodycatching technique is even a matter of public record, as seen in the 1998 climbing flick Free Hueco.

Dwan, 38, who works in real estate in Colorado, has refined his spotting technique over the past two decades. Last summer, he taught me the essentials. First and foremost, he stressed, you must take the spotter’s role as seriously as belay duty. Conversely, as a climber, you should pick a spotter whom you trust so you don’t expend more energy worrying than sending. As Dwan points out, “When you have a good spotter, you can try your hardest.”

Still, Dwan, for all his wisdom, knows the safest boulderer is one who takes pains not to fall. “I spotted my friend from England,” Dwan recalls, “and I made him do the problem: I burned him on the leg with my cigarette — it gave him that extra oomph.” It’s a “good” spotting technique Dwan claims he hasn’t used since.

Here, six insider tips for Dwan-tough spotting, with two advanced ninja techniques for more technical scenarios:

The Basics

1. Communication.

Before anyone leaves the ground, both the climber and spotter need clarity. As a climber, never assume you’re spotted — check before you start up. As a spotter, it’s critical to talk with your climber about likely falls and even what to do in case of a planned dismount versus an unexpected fall. (Even if the climber says he’ll jump, you should be ready to keep him in balance — just beware flying elbows and any rebound action off the pads.)

2. Pad Arrangement.

Boulderers can roll ankles on poorly placed pads, so watch for gaps, tangle-prone straps, sharp objects, and uneven landing zones (LZs). You’ll sometimes need to move pads on the fly to match your climber’s fall, but plan first, to avoid any disastrous last-minute shuffles.