BEHIND THE HOLDS: AN INTERVIEW WITH OUR HEAD ROUTESETTER

Angus Meredith, Head Routesetter

Routesetting is the magic behind the experience at a climbing gym. Both an art and a science, it requires skill and expertise from our setters, who work hard to create excellent climbs for a diverse group of climbers. How do they do it? We interviewed Angus Meredith, our Head Routesetter at Coeur Climbing Company, for a peek behind the scenes. Keep reading to learn what he had to say!

Background and Experience

How did you get started in routesetting?

I got into setting at Wild Walls a few years after I started climbing. I became friends with the setter and worked my way into it from there. I feel like a good knowledge of construction and hand tools gave me a great starting point, because then all I had to do was focus on making movement and learn how to fasten holds to the wall. 

What inspired you to become a routesetter?

Being able to create movement and an experience to share with others is pretty rad. 

Planning and Design

Can you walk us through the process of designing a new route?

Routes usually start off with an idea or move that seems interesting and different… or sometimes familiar. I’ll usually set the main point of my boulder first, then add the beginning and end to fit it.

How do you determine the difficulty level of a route?

Usually we aim for a grade, and hopefully hit that grade. Sometimes you’re allowed to just set whatever and hope for the best. The actual difficulty is a matter of how many moving parts there are. Does it require strength? Flexibility? Technique? Power? Coordinating? Maybe all of it at once? How big are the holds? These are all factors to consider. 

What do you consider when creating routes for different skill levels? 

You have to think like a beginner. How are they going to move on the wall? What techniques will they use? How strong are they? Can we keep the super-strong beginners and the more technical beginners climbing the same grades? Knowing what movements show up at different grades helps. For example, I don’t like to incorporate dynamic movement until V3. Worse slopers and crimps start around V4, and a combination of bad holds and harder movement starts around V5.  

How do you balance the tension between wanting to create challenging, exciting routes for experienced climbers, and also wanting to create more accessible routes for new climbers?

For the V0, very beginner climber, I try to create something that requires thought and movement and has some variety besides just being a ladder. I also love setting easy climbs that are super cool looking, and a good-looking climb usually climbs well too. My favorite thing is to create a climb that someone who climbs V4 can work on, and someone who climbs V8 will also have trouble on. I do this by having harder movement but better holds, where the holds are at harder angles. If you know how to move, you can get through it, but if you only use strength you’re gonna have a hard time. 

Creativity and Innovation

Where do you find inspiration for your routes?

I find inspiration in the holds, outdoor climbs, competition boulders, and past experience. Sometimes I’ll try a move on a climb and realize if something was moved just a bit, it would create a wildly different movement, so I’ll try it when I set again. Music also affects how the boulders are going to be. Faster music for me equals bigger and more powerful movement, slower music is going to be more thoughtful. 

How do you keep your routes fresh and exciting for regular climbers?

The biggest thing is flow. If the movement is flowing and makes sense, they should enjoy it. But you don’t want it to be a giveaway either, gotta have some thought to the movement. It’s great to focus on changing up style, so you aren’t setting the same movement all the time. 

Technical Aspects

What tools and equipment are essential for routesetting?

Impact driver, bits, headphones, approach shoes, safety glasses.

How do you ensure the safety of your routes?

Making sure fall zones are clear, and limiting moves that will send the climbing wildly soaring through the air at odd angles. Making sure the climber doesn’t land on other holds is important too. In the climbing industry, using the word 'safe' is frowned upon because climbing has inherent risks associated with the sport. 

What are the biggest challenges you face during the routesetting process? Inspiration, and keeping enough climbs for all grades that people don’t get bored. 

Collaboration and Feedback

As the head routesetter, how do you and the other routesetters collaborate?

We give each other challenges to set, try to force a move, etc. Sometimes we will bring in a front desk staff to help out or give feedback. 

How do you incorporate feedback from climbers into your routesetting?

We like to watch climbers on the new sets after we’ve finished. They enjoy it and we like the feedback. 

Personal Insights

What do you enjoy most about routesetting? 

Creating movement for people to enjoy is amazing, and when someone does a climb just like you imagined it, without seeing the beta, it’s so sick. 

What are some of the most memorable moments you've had as a routesetter? FlailFest finals were epic. Spending so much effort on a few boulders and then seeing super strong climbers on them and having to figure them out was awesome. Also having a whole crowd watching is great. 

How do you see the future of routesetting evolving?

It’s getting a little wild with the more “parkour” style. But I think it’s coming back around to real climbing again. You can see it in competitions– the boulders are less dynamic now and focus more on harder, smaller movements. 

Tips for Aspiring Routesetters

What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a routesetter?

Lots of research, and lots of climbing. Be willing to learn. 

Are there any resources or training programs you recommend for learning routesetting?

The CWA (Climbing Wall Association) is working on a whole program for training up setters and having real schooling and qualifications. Stoked about that. 

We’re grateful to Angus for giving us a look at the art of setting and all that it involves! Angus and the rest of the team post weekly updates of their brand new sets on social media. Be sure to follow us so you can be the first to know when they’re ready to climb! And as Angus mentioned, we love getting feedback from our climbers, so feel free to comment and let us know how it went for you!