Climbing Notes
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How to read a route before climbing it

A minute spent reading the route from the ground saves pump on the wall. Find the sequence, the rests, the clips and the crux before you leave the ground.

2 min read 5 sections

In plain words

Before you climb, stand back and look at the whole route. Work out which hand goes on which hold, where your feet go, where you can rest, where you clip, and where the hardest part is. Then climb it once in your head. On the wall you'll hesitate less, hang around less on bad holds, and have fewer "wrong hand" moments. Hanging around and fixing mistakes are exactly what drain the forearms.

Memory hook

Holds, hands, feet, rests, clips, crux: read it, then climb it in your head.

A route read in six passes

Reading a route from the ground (coaching practice)
  1. The whole lineWhole

    Where does it go? Where does it steepen, traverse or change style?

  2. The cruxCrux

    Which section looks hardest? How will you arrive there: fresh or pumped?

  3. The restsRests

    Which holds or positions could be rests? Big holds, corners for a stem, features for a knee-bar.

  4. The clipsClips

    For each quickdraw, which hold will you clip from? Aim for waist-to-chest height from a good hold.

  5. The hand sequenceHands

    Trace it with your finger: left, right, match, cross. Look for holds that need a specific hand.

  6. The feetFeet

    The footholds for each hard move, and where a flag or twist is needed.

Rehearse it

Climb it in your head

at real speed, including the clips and rests.

Plan the time on a timed route

count holds and decide rest lengths (see pacing).

Pick a back-up

for the move you're least sure of: where you could reverse to, or the alternative sequence.

The evidence

  • Coaching practice Route reading and mental rehearsal are standard coaching practice. We found no study in the research pack that measured them.
  • Measured Time on the wall is costly: forearm blood flow is cut off at roughly 45–75 % of maximum grip (Barnes 1980, cited by MacLeod et al. 2007; adults), so every hesitation on a hard hold spends oxygen.
  • Measured At the top level a lead route took 220 s (men) and 356 s (women) in the 2012 World Championship final (Arbulu et al. 2015, 8 + 8 ascents), so there's time to rest, but only if it's planned.

Try it

Drill

Route preview: read, rehearse, compare.

Scenario

Misread sequence: reverse or commit.

Next read

How to read this site: evidence labels explained.

Common mistakes

Reading only the first few moves

the crux and the rests matter most.

Ignoring the feet

most misreads are about feet, not hands.

No plan for clips

unplanned clips happen on the worst holds.

No back-up plan

decide in advance where you'd reverse to.