Top 10 Tips for Outdoor Bouldering

Espresso Notes

Read Time - 4 minutes

Making the leap to bouldering outdoors can be daunting. Make sure you’re on the right track with these 10 top tips not to be forgotten.

1. Pace Yourself

Just because you’re sending V5/f6C indoors doesn’t mean you’ll seamlessly transition to sending hard outside. Instead, start slowly. Pick an area with a large volume of problems across a good spread of grades. Seek out areas with easy access and good landings. Work your way through the grades, get a feel for real rock, how it climbs and how to move. Volume of total moves, is the way to go. This time will lend you an invaluable base to build from. Even if you send a climb on your first try, consider repeating it, trying to perfect the moves, before moving to the next.

2. Learn to Spot Well

Spotting is easy, but it is hard to spot well. Remember, you’re trying to protect the climbers head, not catch them! Poor spotting can lead to day ending injury for the climber and spotter, or worse.

3. Practice Downclimbing

Downclimbing has become a lost art in recent years with the 1m thick pads under most modern walls. However, downclimbing is a valuable skill. It may be mandatory to safely descend a boulder. And, may just save your skin on tall problems, when you suddenly realise you’re no longer comfortable being so far off the deck and can’t top out.

4. Friction

The best friction is during cold, dry conditions. Friction is make or break on many problems especially those using small or sloping holds. Take note of how the rock feels in different conditions, and this will stand you in good stead to take advantage of good conditions when they come along.

5. Don’t Have Projects

Given the steady diet of climbing media many of us consume these days, this might seem like an odd suggestion. However, remember professional climbers have been climbing on real rock for 15+ years; you haven’t. Volume of new moves is the best way to develop technique and general climbing strength. A good rule of thumb is to give a problem five tries, and if no send, move on.

Read more about the importance of volume, and how to get more mileage out of your sessions here.

6. Develop your Smearing Technique

The process of learning to smear will teach you invaluable lessons about foot position, pressure, balance and body weight, and cannot be learnt indoors in the same way as it can outdoors. The benefits will pay dividends, not just on smears, but on all footholds. Climbing slab problems is the best way to lock your smearing skills in.

7. Respect the Rock

The rock is a fragile resource, and our ability to climb it is a privilege not a right. Always ensure you comply with the wishes of the land owner. Leave the rock in the same state you found it. Avoid excessively chalking holds and repeated tries in vain. Always brush your tick marks, wipe your shoes before climbing, and only brush vegetation on the rock when necessary. Never climb sandstones and other fragile rock type after rain.

8. Skincare

Outdoor bouldering will fast wear through your skin when you’re new to real rock. The answer to this is growing better skin! Don’t worry time spent on the rock will do this for you. Avoid climbing right down to when your tips are pink and raw, not only may this put you out for days at a time, but also inhibits your ability to hang small and sloping holds. Use balms such as Climb On and Rhino Skin’s Repair. Drying agents such as Antihydral are not advisable for new climbers, they are aggressive chemicals products which should only be used when necessary.

9. Learn to Mantel

Mantels are often the only way you’ll top out an outdoor boulder. Although rarely the indented crux of the problem, they can often feel like it. Many boulders have very rounded tops, which will really punish you if your mantel technique is lacking. Like any skill, the only way to get better is practice. A good start is specific mantel problems, many of which are naturally lowballs, so you can practice in safety.

10. Visit a World Class Bouldering Area

Make a trip to a world class bouldering area. Experience the sheer please of linking high quality sequences over perfect rock in a spectacular setting, problem after problem, day in, day out.

This article is an extract from our eBook ‘Bouldering Basics: A Handbook for Beginners’.

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