Progressing from knees to elbows

I’ve just started regularly climbing again with a good friend and its taken the last 7 weeks for me to regain my confidence to really start to push my grade. It doesn’t help that Cath is fitter, more agile and braver than me but she’s a great confidence booster so good to climb with. I’m not the type who like climbing with cocky alpha males, I don’t like the competitiveness. I climb for fun and as a personal challenge. I’m not interested in egos.

Tonight with confidence a-plenty I’ve really pushed myself which has certainly identified what I’m lacking to get my grade higher- technique.

I reach, grip and haul my way up walls – occasionally I get it right pushing up with my feet. Sometimes I even manage to push up without quite having a hold in reach.

I have however found new ways to get around lack of technique. I’m not just whacking my knees as I smear my feet up the walls, I’ve now taking to using my elbows as a lever to shifting my weight to get up routes. I think the principle it right, learning how to move my weight to reach the holds more efficiently, but I’m sure the execution is wrong!

I’m lucky where I live having two great walls within half hours drive, Rokt in Brighouse and the new climbing wall in Huddersfield new sports centre which may be compact but has plenty of good routes and grippy.

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