Heel hooks, like a reverse flag, can be useful on lower angle terrain. However, they become a mandatory tool for roofs and roof exits.
The basics of a heel hook are quite simple.
You put your heel on a hold and pull your weight toward it. That’s it. The trick to this move is knowing when to use it, and how to keep your heel on. We will start with the latter.
Think of Your Feet as Hands
Heel hooks are an advanced climbing move. Keeping your heel on requires understanding that, when switching from a normal foothold approach to a heel hook, you will, in general, be unable to fully get your hips over your heel.
As such, heel hooks have more in common with how you typically use your hands as a climber, than how you typically use your feet.
The Mechanics of Heel Hooks
Heel hooking is typically (though not always) a pulling motion, similar to pulling on a handhold.
As such, the trick to keeping your heel on is similar to the trick to keeping your hand on with the least amount of effort. You pull against the major axis of the hold you are using.
A Common Error
The most common error in heel hooking is that climbers ignore the fact just mentioned. They simply slap their heel anywhere on a hold and crank in with their knee.
This approach, frequently leads to the same issues as a naïve approach to slopers. Climbers are pulling out along the major axis of a hold, rather than at right angles to it. This pops the heel.
Proper Technique
Climbers need to ensure that their heel and their knee are both oriented properly. This is so that they can pull into and maintain pressure at a 90-degree angle (or as close as possible) to the major axis of the hold they are using. Just as they would with a handhold.
Climbers need to be able to shift their angle of attack to maintain this pressure as their body position changes throughout the move.
2 Types of Heel Hooks
Heel hooks come in two distinct, but not necessarily exclusive, varieties.
The first variety heel hooks as motion points, are typically specialized versions of high steps. They are used on large footholds that are chest height or higher.
The process of using them is similar to a high step. You place your heel on the hold, pull in with the heel and lift your hips up and over the hold so that you can then press up.
The trick to such moves is to pay close attention to your angle of attack and maintain good pressure on the major axis of the hold throughout the move.
Developing a feel for this takes a great deal of practice. Unlike a typical high step, maintaining the proper angle of attack often requires changing the orientation of the entire leg throughout the move.
Every heel hook is slightly different. The best approach is to focus on keeping the angle of attack constant throughout the move, even as the orientation of your hips, knee, and even the heel itself, may change.
The second variety of heel hook is used to control potential swings. These are, in general, less complex than the first variety of heel.
Using Your Toes with a Heel-Toe Cam
Heel-toe cams are one of the best tricks in a climber’s bag.
They not only create leverage for pulling, but they also help stop swings, and in some circumstances can turn a poor rest into a full recovery. They are generally found in similar situations where a heel hook would be useful.
The position is a fairly simple one: place your heel as you would for a heel hook, then wedge your toe behind another hold. Done!
When executed properly, a heel-toe cam locks your heel in place on its hold, while simultaneously providing leverage on the toe (see also toe kooks below). This is so you can use to pull against and get much greater levering force.
Using Your Toes with Toe Hooks
Toe hooks are a deceptively simple skill to understand, but are actually quite difficult to master on real problems.
The purpose of nearly all toe-hooks is to control swing, primarily because they simply cannot be used to take weight.
To execute one, simply place your toe behind an incut hold with your leg nearly fully extended and try and suspend your lower body from that toe.
The trick to such moves is to maintain good tension and angle of attack on the toe hold for the duration of the move.
Now that you understand mechanics, techniques, varieties, and circumstances of heel hooks, go forth and use that heel as an extra hand. Happy climbing!
All material is reprinted with the permission of the author. Copyright 2022 David H. Rowland. All rights reserved.
