If you are new to sport climbing and leading in general, then the act of clipping the rope through the quickdraws can seem difficult and sometimes even overwhelming.  However, learning some clipping basics and spending some time practicing will quickly make getting the rope into the draws seem far less daunting and will let you enjoy sport climbing to its fullest.

To help, here’s an article from Climbing Magazine that covers the clipping basics by outlining the common mistakes climbers make and then showing you the proper techniques to both avoid these errors and clip more smoothly.

“Observe experienced leaders at the gym and you’ll see a variety of clipping methods, some similar to this and others completely different. All will get the job done, but the following procedures are easy to learn and master, in addition to being great starting points for refining your techniques in the future.” – Max Ritter

Common Clipping Mistakes:

For those new to sport climbing, the two most common mistakes made when clipping are:

• Back-clipping
• z-clipping

While both of these mistakes are easily avoidable, they can be hard to understand at first.  The article does a great job of describing exactly what each mistake is and how to go about avoiding them.

Two Clipping Techniques:

Beyond just covering the mistakes many beginner leaders make when clipping, the article also covers two basic clipping techniques that will help make your clipping much smoother.  The two techniques they cover are:

• Same side: Left Hand With Left-Facing Gate, Right Hand With Right-facing gate
• Opposite side: Left Hand With Right-Facing Gate, Right Hand With Left-Facing Gate

As the article say, these are not the only ways to clip.  However, if you commit to learning and practicing these techniques, they will become second nature and you will no longer find yourself with an arm full of slack stressing about how you are going to get the rope through the draw.  

Click through below for the complete article.  If you are newer to sport climbing and leading definitely give this a read.  Sport climbing and leading gets a lot more fun when you are able to focus on the climbing and not the clipping.

Full Article: Clipping Basics for Sport Climbing

(photo courtesy of Edwin Teran|@edwinteran; climber: Lani Gordon)

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