Prior to the 2000s climbing boom there was little research extant other that a handful of studies that mainly focused on climbing injuries and anthropometry. Fortunately, an increasing number of academics now view rock climbing as a worthy subject of research.

The past decade has brought an increasing number of excellent papers from researchers on five continents. Fortunately, we now have the International Rock Climbing Researchers Association bringing researchers together every two years for a major international symposium. I presented a keynote talk at the most recent IRCRA conference in Chamonix, France (July 2018)…and the next meeting is scheduled for 2020 in Tokyo. Good things are happening!

With new studies being published almost monthly—and a growing number of researchers and coaches engaging in data collection and unpublished research—it’s become difficult to stay on top of the latest developments. Thankfully, we have my friend Taylor Reed and his impassioned efforts to cull and catalog the latest climbing research. I’m happy to announce a partnership between TrainingForClimbing.com and BetaAngel.com, in which we will feature the fine work of Beta Angel here on the T4C site! Additionally, we’ll provide links to Taylor’s latest research, posts, and observations both here and on the TrainingForClimbing Facebook page.

Taylor Reed

Coach Taylor Reed with one of his athletes, Arabella Jariel (USA).

beta Angel