Rock Climbing Skills
By Stewart Green, About.com Guide
- Face Climbing: The Essence of Climbing Movement
- Crack Climbing: The Art of Jamming Cracks
- How to Belay: An Essential Climbing Skill
- How to Rappel: Learn to Descend from Cliffs
- Climbing Anchors: Tie Yourself onto the Cliff
- Top-Rope Climbing: Safest Way to Go Climbing
- Sport Climbing: Push Your Limits Safely
- Climbing Commands: Learn Climbing Language
- Speed Climbing: Climb Fast and Climb More
Face Climbing: The Essence of Climbing Movement
Face climbing is moving up a cliff face using your hands and feet on the rock. Learn all about face climbing, how to move over rock, how to use your hands and feet effectively, and how to have more fun through efficient climbing techniques.
- Moving Over Stone: Learn Climbing Techniques
- 3 Types of Rock Faces for Climbing
- Free Climbing and Aid Climbing
- Six Basic Finger Grips
- Half Crimp Grip
- Full Crimp Grip
- Use Your Feet to Face Climb Better
- Learn How to Slab Climb
- Learn to Read the Rock & Climb Better
Crack Climbing: The Art of Jamming Cracks
Climbers climb cracks, natural weaknesses in cliffs, by jamming or wedging their hands, fingers, bodies, and feet in the cracks. Learn all about crack climbing, how to climb different sizes of cracks, all the techniques to climb cracks, how to protect cracks, and how cracks are rated for difficulty. Now, let's get jamming!
- The Art of Jamming Cracks
- Cracks Form Natural Routes
- Practice Jamming to Climb Better
- Learn to Hand Jam
How to Belay: An Essential Climbing Skill
Belaying is an essential climbing skill that you need to know to become a competent and safe climber. Every time you go climbing, both your partner and yourself rely on each other to give a safe and secure belay to mitigate the effects of falling. Learn how to belay, what a belayer does, about belaying safety, belay anchors, and belay devices. On Belay!
- All About Belaying
- Two Important Belaying Rules
- Learn to Belay in a Gym
- Sling-Shot Belay: Best for Top-Roping
How to Rappel: Learn to Descend from Cliffs
Rappelling is a technique that allows you to do a controlled descent by sliding down a rope on a cliff face. Rappelling is an essential climbing skill that every climber needs to know how to do safely and efficiently. Learn all about rappelling and the important climbing skills you need to know to rappel safely.
- All About Rappelling: Important Climbing Skill
- 6 Essential Rappelling Skills to Know
- What Can Go Wrong Rappelling
- Never Let Go With Your Brake Hand!
- Use Stopper Knots: Rappelling Accident Analysis
- Never Trust a Single Rappel Anchor
- Essential Rappelling Equipment
- The Carabiner Brake Rappel Method
- How to Rig a Carabiner Brake Rappel
- 4 Knots to Tie Rappel Ropes
- All About Stopper Knots
- How to Tie and Use an Autoblock Knot
Climbing Anchors: Tie Yourself onto the Cliff
An anchor is a place that secures a climber to a cliff face with a piece of gear like a cam or nut, a bolt or fixed piton, or a natural point like a tree or rock spike. Anchors are essential for safe climbing, belay stations, and rappels. Learn here about different kinds of climbing anchors; gear for anchors; how to choose anchor placements; and how to construct safe and secure anchors.
- 3 Skills to Build a Strong Anchor
- Choosing a Top-Rope Anchor Site
- Top-Rope Anchors and the Belayer
- Natural Anchors: How to Use Trees and Rock
- Never Trust a Single Anchor
- Don't Top-Rope Through Bolt Anchors
- Use SECURE to Evaluate Anchors
- Use Quickdraws on Sport Anchors
Top-Rope Climbing: Safest Way to Go Climbing
Top-rope climbing is a great way to get out climbing since it's safe and the rope is always above the climber so any fall is usually small. Learn all the skills you need to know to go top-roping, including what climbing equipment you need, how to make safe top-rope anchors, and how to belay top-rope routes.
- Basic Top-Rope Climbing Skills
- Essential Top-Rope Climbing Equipment
- How to Build a Safe Top-Rope Anchor
- How to Choose Top-Rope Anchor Sites
- Top-Rope Anchors and the Belayer
- Use SECURE to Evaluate Your Top-Rope Anchor
- Don't Top-Rope Through Bolt Anchors
- Your Top-Rope Chain of Safety
- Do a Buddy Check Before Climbing
- Best Knot Tie into the Rope
Sport Climbing: Push Your Limits Safely
Sport climbing is a safe and convenient way to go rock climbing. Find out here about sport climbing; what equipment you need; and about all the climbing and technical skills you need to know to have safe and enjoyable climbing days.
- Sport Climbing Skills: What to Know
- Essential Sport Climbing Equipment
- Sport Climbing Safety Tips
- The Art of Falling: How to Fall!
- Use Quickdraws on Sport Anchors
- Don't Top-Rope Through Bolts
- 5 Safety Tips Before Sport Climbing
- 6 Tips to Improve Your Performance
- The 6 Basic Finger Grips
- Hard Sport Climbing is About Footwork
Climbing Commands: Learn Climbing Language
Climbing voice commands are basic verbal commands that climbers use to communicate with each other when they're climbing. Learn why climbers use voice commands and what the basic voice commands are. Climb on!
Speed Climbing: Climb Fast and Climb More
Speed climbing makes you a better climber. You improve your technique and climb more efficiently. Your rope management skills improve. You get stronger and have more endurance. You learn to evaluate gear and create anchors faster. And you do more climbing in every day. Learn here about learning to climb fast with lots of speed climbing tips.