LAyBACKING - Quickdraw Publications

Laybacking
Laybacking (AKA liebacking) is a technique
for climbing continuous vertical features
(such as cracks, flakes or aretes). Pulling with
the hands and pushing with the feet create
opposing forces that hold the body in place.
Generally speaking laybacking up cracks/
corners/flakes is strenuous while laybacking
aretes is more about balance.
C r ack/ C orner/Fl ake
When laybacking a crack, corner or flake the
feet press on the far lip (or the opposite wall if
the crack is in a corner) while the hands pull
on the near side of the feature (see facing
page).
The higher the feet relative to the hands the
more secure the position will be. However it
will also be more strenuous, so move quickly,
especially when there aren’t any good foot
holds.
Are te
between your hands, which are pulling the
arete, and your feet, which are pushing. It’s
vital to get your centre of gravity as close to
the rock as possible, to prevent barndooring
(see page 45), especially on slopey aretes.
Heel or toe hooking with the foot closet to the
arete is an ideal way to maintain balance while
moving a hand or chalking up, they work best
if the other foot outside edges.
As when traversing, you have a choice
between shuffling or crossing your hands.
However, on delicate aretes crossing usually
isn’t an option.
Once you have started up an arete it’s difficult
to locate holds on the other side so make a
mental note of them before you start climbing.
Look out for small hand holds on the face
as they can be very helpful for balance (see
right).
Facing page Chris Tartaglia on Year of the Dragon, Flock
Hill, New Zealand. Photo by Tom Hoyle.
LEFT Michele Caminati on Ulysses, Stange, UK. Photo by
Paul Bennett.
Right Jeff Gardner on Solidarity, Wicklow, Ireland. Photo by
Diarmuid Smyth.
Arete laybacking (see left) is all about
footwork and body position. Your body must
lean away from the arete to create opposition
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Bouldering ESSENTIALS
Movement
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