Climbing Notes
Movement and body position

Clipping: positions, timing, common errors

A clip is a short stop on the route. It costs grip, and while you're pulling up rope there's extra slack in the system. Clipping from a good hold, at the right height, keeps both the cost and the risk down.

2 min read 5 sections

In plain words

Every time you clip, you hang on one hand while the other pulls up rope. If you clip from a good hold with the quickdraw between your waist and chest, you pull up less rope and it's over quickly. If you clip at full reach from a poor hold, you hang longer on a bad grip and have more slack out while you clip. Plan your clips like you plan your rests. Learn to clip, and to check that the rope runs through the quickdraw correctly, from a qualified instructor.

Memory hook

Good hold, waist to chest, quick and clean.

Where to clip from

Clip at waist to chest height
Clip at waist to chest heightShort pull of rope, less slack out
Clip at full reach
Clip at full reachArm-length of slack out while clipping
Left: quickdraw at waist to chest height, a short pull of rope. Right: quickdraw at full reach, an arm-length of rope pulled up while clipping.
Choose the hold

Clip from the best hold near the quickdraw, even if that means one move more or less.

Height

Quickdraw between waist and chest: less rope to pull up and a shorter time on one hand.

Timing

Plan clips as part of your route read: where each clip happens and from which hold.

Don't climb past

Once the last clip is below your feet, a fall is longer: at least twice the distance to it, plus slack and rope stretch.

Common clip problems

Fumbling

practise the clipping motion for both hands and both gate directions on the ground and on top rope.

Back-clipping or z-clipping

rope through the quickdraw the wrong way, or clipping a lower piece of rope. Both are safety errors; learn to spot and fix them with an instructor.

Over-reaching

pulling up a long loop at full reach adds slack at the worst moment.

The evidence

  • Coaching practice Clipping height, hold choice and the errors above are standard instruction. We found no study in the research pack that measured them.
  • Measured Clipping takes time on the route. Time-motion studies of elite lead finals counted clipping actions alongside hand contacts and rests. Arbulu et al. 2015 (2012 World Championship final, 8 men and 8 women), Int J Perf Anal Sport 15(3):924–934, doi:10.1080/24748668.2015.11868841.
  • Measured Holding one hand on a hard hold while clipping costs forearm oxygen: blood flow is cut off at roughly 45–75 % of maximum grip (Barnes 1980, cited by MacLeod et al. 2007; adults).

Try it

Scenario

An awkward clip.

Drill

Clip positions on top rope.

Next read

How to read a route before climbing it. Plan the clips there.

Common mistakes

Clipping at full reach from a poor hold

move to the good hold first.

Skipping a clip to save energy

the potential fall gets much longer.

Not planning clips in the route read

unplanned clips happen on the worst holds.

Learning clipping from a web page

get taught and checked by a qualified instructor.