Tipz & Trix

Holds greasy or sandy? One tip in addition to brushing is to use a 'beat rag'. Get a piece of pure cotton cloth (an old bed sheet or dish towel works well) and tie a knot in one end. Give the hold a fair whack with the knotted end and the grease and or sand is lifted off - direct hit sounds cool too!

You may have been taught to always climb with straight arms but success on steep, powerful boulder problems will require the breaking of this age-old rule: remember three points of contact? After a dyno or deadpoint, try to catch the hold with a bent arm. If there is no way you can keep your feet on, go with it, and latch the next holds with bent arms and bent legs. This should cut down on the amount of swing when you cut loose (making it easier to hold), and allow you to use the momentum of the previous move to do the next move.

You've bought the latest shoes with the 'new generation' of rubber, 'the stickiest ever'. You use a square of carpet to clean your feet before trying a problem. Can you get any more out of your shoes? Sure can, with a bit of good old spit and polish. Just before trying a problem, spit on the key part of your shoe and then scrub it dry with your beat rag. To really finish the job, firmly rub your thumb in one direction across the rubber until, as the Bleausards say, your shoes will 'sing'.

Crash mats can sometimes pose a dilemma. While they provide a much safer landing than the naked ground, on occasion they can actually mask some ankle-twisting nasties such as rocks, ditches or tree roots. It's your call what the best course of action is - your options are either to leave the obstacle visible and hope to avoid it or you can draw the outline of the anklebreaker on your crash mat, a simple X. If you're feeling creative a skull and crossbones should do the trick.

One of the keys to successful bouldering is to keep the momentum going. At the basic level, this means avoiding the classic beginner mistake of pulling up, stopping and then attempting to reach the next hold - pulling up and reaching for the next hold should almost always be part of the one continuous and flowing movement. On steep rock a snatchy style can be very effective for bouldering. As soon as it is possible, snatch for the next hold. Upon catching the hold you will feel your body move away form the rock as you try to control the swing. When you start to feel your body swing back towards the hold, use this momentum to go for the next hold. This pendulum-like technique can be repeated over and over again until you are on top - using your own momentum even makes a big difference on mantels.