Two Vital Steep Wall Techniques to Climb and Boulder Harder!

Learn two vital techniques for effective climbing on steep routes and boulders.

This video breakdown of a short 5.14 power-endurance route in Wyoming highlights two essential techniques for climbing steep, powerful terrain—both outdoors and in the gym: the foot flag and the drop knee.

1. The Flag

Flagging your free foot behind your supporting leg improves stability by shifting your center of gravity laterally, closer to the supporting hand and foot. This is especially useful when your strongest handhold and foothold are on the same side of your body.

For example: if your left hand and foot are supporting most of your weight, flagging your right foot behind your left often makes the move smoother and less pumpy (see 00:15).

2. The Drop Knee

A drop knee involves twisting your torso and rotating one hip toward the wall while dropping the same-side knee toward the ground (see 1:01). This does two things:

Draws your center of gravity closer to the wall, improving grip force on small or sloping holds.
Extends your reach, since the torso twist naturally raises the shoulder of your reaching arm.

Look to use a drop knee when:

You’re engaged hand is gripping a sloper, diagonal, or vertical hold.
There’s a side-pull or undercling that benefits from a hip turn.
You can press against an inward-facing foothold on the opposite side of the gripping hand—creating a very stable position for a long reach.

Many steep sport routes feature back-to-back drop knees, as demonstrated toward the end of this video.

Bottom line: Both flagging and drop knees help you climb more efficiently on steep terrain by saving energy, improving grip, and extending your reach. Master these techniques, and you’ll feel more stable and less pumped when the climbing gets steep.

Practice using the Flag and Dropknee moves in a wide range of climbing situations, and you will become a more effective steep-wall boulderer and sport climber!

Subscribe to the Training For Climbing You Tube channel.

Climber: Jonathan Hörst
Route: Monkey Gone to Heaven (5.14b/8c), Sinks Canyon, WY.

Sponsored Ad