WHY YOU NEED PROJECT ROUTES TOO

If you spend any time at all paying attention to climbing media, no doubt you've heard all about the latest projects the pro-bro climbers are working on. Sure this can be inspiring, but for most of us reading about the cruxes of 5.14 routes (or now 5.15!) is so far removed from our climbing it goes right over our heads. But the rest of us should have project routes too, even if our "projs" are 5.10s! There are many benefits of projecting routes, most importantly making you a better overall climber.

PROPER LEAD BELAYING

In this post I want to offer some thoughts on what I think a proper lead belay is. I'm going to assume you already know how to lead belay, so this is not meant to be basic instruction. But just because you can lead belay doesn't mean that you can't improve, or even that you are doing it properly. Think about it: how many times have you been in the gym or at a crag and have seen some pretty sketchy belaying? Well, all those people "know how" to belay, but yet they aren't doing it correctly. Is there a chance you may not be doing everything as best as you can?

HANGING QUICKDRAWS

Probably most everyone reading this knows that when climbing outside you need to hang your draws while you are leading. This is one aspect where gym and outdoor climbing really differ. Despite this big difference it seems not many people spend time thinking about how to do it best, or even if there is a correct way to do it. As it turns out, how you hang your draws may actually make a difference in how safe your climb is. The other morning I made a quick video to demonstrate this. So, watch the video below to see how something as seemingly basic actually requires a bit of thought. As always, please click "Comments" below and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

HANGBOARD TRAINING FOR AVERAGE CLIMBERS

I suspect there are two common types of climbers that use hangboards: elite climbers that use them correctly, and average climbers who use them incorrectly. Obviously, these elite climbers see tremendous gains from hangboarding, while these average climbers do not. This probably explains why the internet is rife with arguments over hangboarding's effectiveness, potential for injury, and so on. But average climbers certainly can benefit from hangboards if the training is done appropriately. So, if you are generally familiar with and are thinking about starting a hangboard workout, here are some thoughts on a correct approach to hangboarding that will benefit average climbers:

CLIMBTECH QUICKDRAW REVIEW

I've known about ClimbTech for a few years now as the "Perma Draw" company. If you've ever climbed at any steep crag around the country then you've no doubt seen the Permas hanging. Their quality and reputation could not be any higher. Nonetheless, when Chris Vinson (ClimbTech's marketing and sales manager) told me about their new line of quickdraws I was skeptical. I mean, how could ClimbTech possibly compete against the quality and reputation of Petzl or Black Diamond, or against the price of Omega Pacific? What were they going to do, reinvent the wheel? Despite my hesitation, Chris sent me a some samples and asked me to give them a try. What I found is that the ClimbTech draws are just as good if not better, and priced similarly if not lower, than their competition.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CLIMBING

"How Can I Get Better at Climbing?"

Since the point of this blog is to share realistic information to normal, every-day climbers, I thought I would start things off by addressing probably the most frequently asked question I get around the gym: how can I get better at climbing? My answer is always more general than specific, and is based on the following three principles: