My Problems

Previous Problems

Who Do I Support?


  • Facebook icon link
  • Instagram icon link
  • Twitter icon link
  • Pinterest icon link

Meet the Meathook

It recently has been bought to my attention that I had missed a useful arm technique for my Holding On: How to Stay on Handholds article. So, I am going to remedy what I forgot to add to the post.

That’s a Big Hold

I attempt to meathook with both arms on the sloper.

The technique a friend kindly pointed out is called the meathook. Meathooks are when a climber wraps most of his/her arm around a large sloper and must do so to hold on. Sometimes both arms are used. Eventually the climber either pushes down or pulls up (depending on the positioning) on it to gain leverage and move upward. This can be done on slopers with or without any crevasses.

Wrapping My Head Around It

These require upper body strength to complete. Plus, one might need to maneuver quickly around them or lose energy trying to hold on. In addition, it can be difficult to do so at first. I haven’t had to do this technique recently.

In the past, it was and still is hard for me to do this move. What I could do is make sure first I was mostly stable on my feet. Then wrap my arm around the sloper and try to press down on top of it with my other hand.

Somehow, I would pull myself up and hopefully reposition so I was able to push more onto the hold. If I haven’t fallen off yet from slipping, I get my feet up so I can be on top and let go from my other arm. From there, I can push off and reach for the next holds.

Good Riddance

If you recall from previous articles, I really don’t like slopers. When there’s one in a problem, I try to avoid it if possible. However, even though I dislike them, I will use it when needing to complete a problem. I am glad that there’s the meathook technique to use on larger slopers so I can get an arm around and possibly stick to it. Or least not fall off so soon.