[Climbing] Directional Loading and Hold Quality

All climbing holds have directions. For the hold below, the arrow's direction is the most ideal hold position. We should always match our hold to the ideal loading direction, in order to climb efficiently.

Holds can be categorized according to their directions. We have holds that point towards the body:

And also the ones that point away from the body:

A hold that points towards us is generally better than its counterpart which points away from us.

To improve hold quality, it's always good to keep the body as close to the wall as possible. We talked about this in foot positioning. However, when it comes to foot holds, this rule doesn't always hold true.

When the foot holds are big and clear cut, it's always ideal to keep the body close to the wall, in order to transfer more body weight to the feet. But when the foot holds are flat and slippery, or there are no foot holds at all, the quality of foot holds largely depends on friction. And there's a trade off between the hold qualities of hand and foot.

As we can see from the picture, as the climber moves his body away from the wall, his legs can push harder against the wall. His foot holds' quality thus increases, but his hand holds' quality is not as good as if he stand closer to the wall. This is a trade off that every climber must decide when he or she encounters a slippery foot hold.