Monkey tries to hold on

"So is this a side-pull or what?"

If you're a regular indoor climber, this should be a familiar scenario.

You're making the plunge, trying your hands on that route a grade higher than your current comfort zone. You psyche yourself up, even though on the back of your mind you know you're probably not going to make it. You start making your ascent thinking "This is not so bad", and then it hits you.

"I'm supposed to touch this with my HAND?"

Disclaimer: This post focuses on indoor holds mainly.

Monkey goes Hands Free

Just to contradict the muggles out there who think climbing is all about the arms, today, I'm going to talk about hands free climbing.

"Are you kidding me?" is the general response I get when I suggest it for the first time to any of my fellow climbers. "Oh no, not again." would be the other common response when I reminded them the idea during our next session.

Some people think I'm obsessed with the idea, but then I've only done it about 3 or 4 times over the past 6 months. Though I sure as hell suggested it a lot.

So what's the dealio then?