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A climbing framework for sport climbing

Climbing Framework
, Rock & Sun

A climbing framework for sport climbing

This is a practical step-by-step checklist of how to approach the assessing and climbing of a sport route safely and efficiently. Everything else you do when climbing should come after and be structured around this. 

Let’s first assume that we are able to determine that the route looks safe in terms of loose rock and that the bolts are well placed and in good condition. 

Climbing is a navigation exercise

We should see the route as a navigation exercise from the ground to the anchor, clipping each bolt in turn. It can be helpful to read the route from the ground. It is important to remember that things look very different close up, so we also need to practise reading the rock from the perspective we have when climbing. From the ground we need to identify where the bolts are, and where the climbing may be around them.

  1. In order to navigate accurately it is necessary to have a destination. The destination is where your feet need to be to clip the next bolt. It is therefore important to develop the ability to judge the distance from your feet plus your reach to determine where your feet will need to be so you can clip the bolt. An average reach is 2 metres. So, unless the bolts appear to be further apart than this, the previous bolt might give a useful indication as to where your feet need to be. It is however not as simple as just always aiming for the bolts with your feet.
  2. Remember that when you set off you are only ever heading to the next clip. Once there, you can assess the climbing to the next bolt. Breaking it down this way might also make the route feel less intimidating.
  3. If you find yourself having negative thoughts when assessing the route, try to give two positive thoughts to every one negative. An example of this could be; ‘That looks steep’! Your response could be: 
    1. ‘Well, at least any falls would be clean’. 
    2. ‘The route looks well bolted’
    3. ‘Good job I’m feeling strong’!

Once you’ve decided that this is the route that you’re going to crush, you should take as much route-finding information as you can from the ground. It is important though to remember that the further up the route you are looking the harder it becomes to accurately assess the route (this does not mean however that it is not a useful exercise).

How to navigate?

When navigating, the journey starts from your feet, therefore it is best to navigate from the feet up. You will first need to identify your destination. As mentioned previously, this is where you think your feet will need to be to clip the next bolt – or to clip the quickdraw if it’s already in place. Over time you will get better at judging the space between your feet and your reach. 

As the journey always begins with your feet, look up to see where you are going, then down at our feet to see how you are going to get there.

From your toes you will usually have three obvious options to start your journey. 

  1. Straight up
  2. Left 
  3. Right

Occasionally, it might be down before going left or right. This will happen if you need to stray from the line of the climbing to more safely clip the bolt before navigating to the next. 

Your chosen route should be the least steep overall, not just least steep to begin with. And certainly not just “oh it’s not steep there, let’s go”. It is important to carefully consider all three (or four) options carefully before committing to one. 

Now, and this is probably the most important part of the process: We think climbing is in essence about navigating your way up a particular route as safely and as efficiently as possible. 

Any chosen route from one bolt to the next absolutely must be risk assessed before setting off!!!

You need to allow the bolts to keep you safe. It is important to be aware that the bolts are generally placed in as straight a line as possible, allowing the rope to run and stretch freely during a fall. Therefore, bolts cannot always be used to determine exactly where the climbing will be. But we have noticed that when we give people the navigation formula, they do tend to stray off route into the no fall zone if they fail to pay enough attention to the final part of the formula which is assessing the risk of the chosen route. 

NOTE: It is not always safest to just stay close to the bolt. On many occasions it can be less safe to be directly above or close to the bolt. It is necessary to be aware of the terrain below you as you move and not just assume that staying close to the bolt will be enough to keep you safe.

 

Summary

The steps of the climbing framework are: 

  • What is my destination; where do my feet need to be to clip the next bolt?
  • What is the least steep route for your feet to get to that destination?
  • Is the chosen route within what is an acceptable risk for you?

To accompany this article, please watch the Climbing Framework Video on the Rock & Sun YouTube channel.

This climbing framework has been developed by Rock and Sun (Trevor Massiah, MCI & Desiree Massiah-Verbeek, RCI) and was published in The Professional Mountaineer, December 2024.