Some informing and cool climbing shit

So if you don't want to end up falling like this guy...

...you better get to learn some climbing basics! (Also - WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!)

First off - holds! There's several different types which require different kinds of technique.

This one is a crimper. The area to put your fingers on is tiny so you have to put your fingers in a "closed" position to get pressure on. Really hard on the joints and tendons - don't try without warming up first!

Slopers

These are pretty much just big slabs without any clear structure/edges to hold onto (pretty much the opposite of crimps). Holding onto those requires LOTS of lower-arm-strength because you have to flex your whole hand. When getting started with climbing, these are reaaaally weird because you don't want to hold them at all.

Jugs

Pretty much everybodys favourite hold, cause these are the easiest to hold onto. Whenever you do a hard route and there's a jug in there, you will use it for resting, just because they require very little strength. When making progress in climbing and getting better, your definition of "jug" will change though, and you'll find yourself referring to pretty small holds as "jugs" at some point.

Pinchers

I love these, although they can be nasty. They come in many shapes and sizes and require alot of actual grip strength (imagine trying to squish an apple in your hand - that's the kind of strength you need for these). They can be awesome, but the more overhanging the climb gets, the harder they will feel.

Finger pockets

My absolute favourite hold! Very hard on the finger tendons, but once your tendons are strong enough, holding these is SO awesome. Don't try to hold small pockets like this one right away - your tendons need LOTS of time to getting used to the stress, way longer than muscles. That's why beginners tend to get inflammed tendons all the time. If you get into climbing - cool, but take it easy with overexerting yourself (I've been there. ALOT).

Alright, so much for holds, lets enjoy some awesome climbing gifs!

That's called a heel-hook. Usually you don't put them THAT high up though...jeez he might as well bend it behind his head.

BAM! Stuck the dyno!

Dynamic moves like this one are called "dynos", duh. They are all about explosive strength and precision.

Getting sweaty fingers yet?

I sure as hell do.

Messed up the dyno.

To be fair, that move looks hard!

Pinching the tufa ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Tufas are actually typical rock structures, mostly found on limestone.

Crack climbing

That shit is INTENSE. Cracks usually don't have any defined structure to hold onto (just like slopers), you stay on by jamming body parts into parallel openings ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and then relying on friction alone. Very, very uncomfortable. But once you learned the technique, it's supposed to be awesome (after 6 years of climbing I still don't want to learn it properly).

No-hand-rest with knee-bar!

No hand rests are great, meaning that you can take both hands off the wall to rest and still not fall. Usually this is possible by kneebars (meaning that you jam your knee into some narrow structure). Doing it overhanging is pretty much the awesomest and scariest thing you can do.

Yup, that guy got balls of steel. He's leading here.

Leadclimbing means that you're the first guy to go up the rock, so there's no rope keeping you safe from above. Of course, you take a rope tied onto your harness with you. While making your way up, you occasionally clip it into carabines which you put into either bolts that are in the rock, or mobile safety gear that you put in place first. That means that in case of a fall you will only fall as far as twice the distance to the last safety-point you put your rope into. That can be dangerous in low heights, but you always consider that risk. And the higher up you get, the safer it is (depends on bolt distances too though).
It's the generally understood prime form of climbing.

More -ings! Bouldering!

Dyno-ing!

uh...Cave-ing?

Hanging-around...ing....? I don't even know.

Thanks for reading through though!

FP Edit: Wow, my first climbing post to actually make it to Front Page. Neat *click*.
So, if I were to do another post about climbing, what should it be about? Rock types, how to get started with climbing, basic movement technique, gear, belaying basics, climbing etiquette? Or maybe just more cool gifs?

Edit 2: This guy did a great info post about getting into the sport: http://imgur.com/gallery/Ft6Ro
I'll probably make one myself, based on his post.