We’re continuing with hand holds this week. We’re covering a hold you’ll need to become well acquainted with if you plan to climb in the Peak District on grit stone crags such as Stanage Edge.

• What is a sloper? Slopers are sloping holds with no discernible edge to grip onto. You rely almost entirely on the friction of the skin of your hands bearing down on the hold.
• Where will I find slopers? Apart from climbing walls, you’ll mostly find slopers on grit stone crags. Grit stone is a particularly grippy rock which will help to inspire confidence when you try to climb using slopers.
• How do I use them? Watch the video. You’ll notice how Glenn really gets his weight as far under the hold as possible. The aim is to try to get as much friction as you can by placing your weight under the hold. The higher up your weight, the less friction you’ll have. This can make it difficult when you want to move upwards to the next hold as you can slip off as you move up. In this case try to keep your forearm as close to the wall as you can. Stay as low as you can until you have reached the next hold.

Watching videos or reading climbing techniques is not a substitute for proper instruction. Climbing can be a dangerous activity. We would always recommend that you seek out professional instruction before attempting any of the techniques that we demonstrate.

Rock City, Hull provide lead climbing courses. You can contact them on: +44 (0)1482 223030

Check out the Rock City Facebook page for prices.

Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds ‘Slopers’ is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Basic climbing techniques: Hand holds, the ‘jug’
2. Climbing techniques – sloped holds (slopers)
3. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 8 – Core techniques

I personally have a bit of a problem with slopers. I have tried to rationalise this by blaming my small hands. I found this really helpful video on Youtube; Steven Jeffery delivers a masterclass in how to climb on sloped holds.

I’ll be practicing this technique, this week at my local climbing wall, but I’m most looking forward to trying it out at Stanage in the Peak District.

Climbing techniques – sloped holds (slopers) is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

1. Climbing cracks – finger and hand jamming techniques
2. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 8 – Core techniques
3. Climbing techniques – a plan to raise your game: Week 9 – Guest post from Ignacio Romero