Skills

Or ... should your fingers be soft for the best stickage?

The why, when, and how to shaking off the pump.

A true story that could have ended any number of ways.

Pull-ups are a great way to stay fit at home, on the road, or in the gym. When the movement gets repetitive, try these variations.

Three things I wish I'd known when I started the sport. Had I known them, I would have enjoyed climbing earlier, and I would have climbed harder faster.

You know that building climbing strength requires specific training, but what you eat also helps determine whether you get stronger .... or weaker.

At 5'1," the author, a leading American climber, took time to study and work hard on the best ways to jump.

Trying to turn that Grade VI into a mere 12-hour climb? Or just looking to make a 6-pitcher a feasible after-work feat? Proper strategy and preparation are crucial.

Some of the "healthier" alternatives actually aren't any better for fueling your climbing than a grab bag of foods you have been avoiding.

Heel hooking is a critical skill that you must master to realize your ultimate potential on the rock. Pro climbing coach Neil Gresham's nine tips will get you there.

If you've got young ones, that doesn't mean your climbing days are behind you.

How do top climbers stay so relaxed, precise, and controlled in their movements, right up to the point where they fall? Here's where to start.

This sketchy dude took the leader off belay and left to chat up a couple of girls.

Get the safest method and helpful tips for giving the best toprope belay, whether you're using an ATC or a grigri.

Whether you’re seeking out pods and pin scars in Yosemite, tackling the blissful parallels of Indian Creek, or just trying not to blow your chances in your next bouldering comp, we’ve compiled tricks of the trade that will open up a whole new world of crack climbing.

Climbing your best and most efficiently isn't just about using your hands and feet.

Whether you are stuck at 5.9+ or .13d, these proven techniques will help you achieve that next level.

Directly linked to mental composure (hence technique) under duress, physical fitness, and your ability to recover, your heart rate is the engine driving your rock climbing. No surprise, then, that training with a heart-rate monitor (HRM) can be hugely beneficial.

Being up high in bad weather is both dangerous and... well... kind of inevitable. Here's what to do when it happens to you.

How do you train specifically for your route? There are tactics to employ both on and off route.

Check out Dr. Jared Vagy's author page.

Your body begins to decline sooner than you like, and by age 50 your dietary requirements are quite different than they were when you were younger. But you can beat back aging to some extent by following this advice.

The versatile clove hitch has a myriad uses. Here's yet another one.

The best climbers aren't always the strongest, they have the best technique. In this first installment of our new Quick Hits series, pro coach Neil Gresham teaches maximizing footholds.

Flash pump is real and terrible and can ruin your climbing day. And while the best way to get around flash pump is to avoid it (i.e. warm up), there are tricks to salvaging your post-flash-pump climbing day.

Internationally certified mountain guide Marc Chauvin gives a simple solution for addressing tangles and chaos during leader switches on multi-pitch climbs.

Indoor training has its perks, but jumping from plastic to natural rock may shock the system. Train your brain to adapt.

Send more routes first go with savvy planning and execution.

How long, how much, how often — everyone has an opinion. Here's how to get the most out of your training.

Studies have shown that the common technique of wrapping fingers to support the tendons doesn't work. Here's a better way.

Want to increase your maximum strength and power? Would you like to feel stronger on small handholds and increase your prowess on dynamic moves? Are you stuck in a performance plateau and need a boost to surmount it?

Everything you need to know about this faster version of climbing.

Sleep hard, climb harder with these handy camping snoozing tips.

Prevent injuries bouldering by learning to fall, place pads, spot, and customize landing zones.

So how does that pink V5 in the gym’s corner stack up against outdoor boulders?

What you think you need for training and nutrition could be wrong.

Check out Rich Crowder's author page.

The balancing act of choosing home wall holds, according to one rain-soaked Oregon climber.

Check out Rich Crowder's author page.

Struggling to nab tricky heel hooks? Or feeling like you can’t toe-in on steep climbs? These exercises, from Favia Dubyk, will help.

"Not only will your warm-up help safeguard you from injury, it’s the single biggest factor in determining how well you climb on any given day."

Descending at maximum efficiency on long routes should include lowering techniques as well as rappelling. Here's how to make it work.

A comprehensive guide to skin care for rock climbing.

Should climbers strength train for hypertrophy? This is Part II of a science-based series on how to train smarter to climb better.

Use a long cordelette or sling to create a fast, safe, and self-equalizing quad anchor

Staying healthy and fit as you age needn't be a mystery. Here's how to do it.

Straps and rings aren't just for gymnasts. These six simple drills require no added weight and will bump your redpoint grade in just months.

Injuring your digital nerves through climbing can create numbness. The real question is when (or whether) it will go away.

The main thing that scientists have learned in the last decade is that we can use nutrition to trigger the release of the specific enzymes or hormones that play vital roles in the processes of getting strong or improving endurance.

Want to enhance your rappelling skillset? Build better anchors? Perfect your gear placements? Crush your first multi-pitch?

Slopers may be harder to use than edges, but a climber can learn and practice how to use them, and the knowledge is part of being versatile and able to climb anywhere. Sooner or later, you will encounter them.

Climbing gyms are great. But you can also train for climbing by climbing outside. Here are eight tips from veteran crusher Chris Schulte.

Training produces harmful free radicals. Counter them with antioxidants.

Check out Emily Ipsen BS CHN CNTP & MNT's author page.

Hangboard training is one of the most efficient, effective ways to improve finger strength. Here's how to get started, safely and in good style.

We all seem to have some notion, likely passed on by a mentor or seen in a climbing video, of how long to rest between boulder problems or pitches, especially at max effort. But do these “tried and true” rules really hold up? And could we be resting smarter?

Most climbers think that being good at onsighting means being good at improvising beta and hanging on for the ride. But the world's best don't just rely solely on improvisation: they map the route beforehand, from the ground.

Upper-body work is the backbone of climbing training, but an inobvious key to success could be stronger legs.

These all-too-common climbing mistakes could kill you, hurt you, beat you down, delay your send, or ruin your reputation.

Becoming a pescatarian, or replacing much of a red-meat diet with fish, has numerous benefits for climbers.

Solid on 5.9 gear routes? Ready for the greatest adventure of your life? From hauling to lower-outs and poop tubes, our step-by-step guide will show you the way.

Went too hard on your Saturday redpoint burn? Feeling too sore for another attempt on Sunday? Turn the second-day-on blues into pain-free sending prowess with a few minutes of yoga.

Rappelling in alpine terrain can be the crux of big routes. Stuck ropes, high winds, leaving gear... a lot can go wrong. Here are five tips to stack your odds.

Campusing has clear benefits for improved contact strength and explosive arm power. Here's how to get started.

Climb and stay injury free by following the doctor's advice.

At a glance, you’d think that these guys and girls might climb on a different planet than you do, yet a closer inspection may surprise you.

The double bowline gets a bad rap—here's how to use it correctly

Author Alison Osius, a senior editor at Climbing, has been climbing hard and writing about it for decades. Here are five crucial things she's learned.

Visualization techniques for improving recovery and pushing limits.

Step-by-step tutorials and uses cases for the figure-8, prusik, clove hitch, munter hitch, and more

We may think that because we participate in a physically difficult sport that vitamins will help make up for high output. Think again.

The causes of climbing injuries often fall into predictable patterns, and are preventable by taking a few simple precautions.

If you can do a one-arm (or ten) but only boulder V7, it's time to train the technical side of climbing.

Check out The Editors's author page.

A comprehensive analysis of 30 years worth of data of climbing accidents recorded in Accidents in North American Climbing.

“There is no avalanche danger unless a human is there,” said Dick Jackson of Aspen Expeditions at the start of a Level 1 avalanche course.

Expert instruction on how to get started on the rock—in the gym.

When we're in a flow state we not only climb our best but also feel our best—it doesn’t matter if we fail because we know we could not have done any better.

Training can get boring, or you're on the road and don't have access to your usual workout. These exercises can keep you fresh and you can do them just about anywhere.

Staying in balance-neutral (and in control) on your return to Earth is mission critical to walking away.