How to stop barn-dooring on boulders without muscling through it
Short answer
You barn-door when the hand you're holding and the foot you're standing on are on the same side, so your body swings open around the line between them. Stop it by getting off that line: press your free leg against the wall in a flag, put the foot on your reaching side on a hold and turn that hip in with a backstep or drop knee, or swap feet so you stand diagonally from your hand. Practise them on easy steep boulders for 20 minutes once a week until you pick the right one without thinking.
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You're holding a left hand and standing on your left foot, and you go for a hold out to the right. As your right hand lets go, your right side swings away from the wall and you're off. That's a barn door. The line from your left hand down to your left foot is the hinge, and nothing on the other side of it is holding you in.
Pulling harder on the left hand only delays it. To stop the door you need a second point of contact away from that line, or your hips moved so the line is diagonal.
Four ways to stop the door
- Flag. Press your free leg against the wall as a counterweight, out to the side you're swinging towards or crossed behind your standing leg. Use it when there's no foothold where you need one. Point the toe or press the side of the shoe into the wall so the leg does some work.
- Backstep. Put the outside edge of the foot on your reaching side on a hold and turn that hip into the wall. Your weight now runs diagonally from hand to foot, and your reach gets longer.
- Drop knee. On steep ground with two footholds, push them apart and roll the knee on your reaching side down and in. It does what a backstep does, with more power for a long reach.
- Swap feet. Bring your other foot onto the hold and stand on that one instead. It's the slowest fix and the safest when the footholds are good.
A heel or toe hook on the swinging side does the same job by pulling, which is what you often see on steep boards.
Which one, on a real boulder
| What you see | Try |
|---|---|
| Blank wall on the swinging side | A flag |
| A foothold on your reaching side, low or behind you | A backstep |
| Steep wall, two footholds near hip height, a long reach | A drop knee |
| Good footholds and time to rearrange | A foot swap |
| A hold or edge out to the side at hip height or higher | A heel or toe hook |
If two of them work, take the one that keeps your arm straighter. Turning a hip in is also what makes a lock-off easier, so it's worth learning even on moves that don't barn-door.
How to practise it
Once a week, give 20 minutes of a session to one of these, after your warm-up and before anything hard. Climb easy steep boulders twice each: once the way you'd normally climb them, once using the technique on every move where it helps. Flagging isolation, the backstep drill and drop knees each do exactly that. Twist-lock moves put a backstep or drop knee together with a bent arm and a long reach.
If turning on your feet feels clumsy, pivoting on one foothold trains it on a vertical wall with big holds, and foot swaps make you quick at changing feet.
Where it goes wrong
- Practising on your project. Near your limit you'll fall back on what you already do. Learn it two or three grades below.
- A floppy flag. A leg hanging in the air helps a little. A leg pressing into the wall helps a lot.
- Forcing a drop knee on vertical walls. It needs steep ground to work, and on a vertical wall a backstep is usually better.
- Fixing it with your arms. You get the move, but you'll be pumped by the third one like it.
Who this isn't for
On slabs and vertical walls you rarely barn-door; there, slipping feet and poor balance are the usual problems. Start with precise feet and keeping your weight over them, and come back to this when the walls get steeper.
The exercises
Flagging isolation
4-5 moderate boulders flagging wherever it helps, then again with different flags.
Backstep drill
5-6 easy steep boulders, 2-3 times each, backstepping wherever it helps.
Drop knees
Find 5-6 moves on easy steep boulders where a drop knee helps, 3 tries per side.
Foot swaps
6-8 very easy boulders with a foot swap on every foothold.
Build twist-lock moves
Build 3-4 moves where you turn your hip into the wall and lock off to reach. 3-5 tries per side.
Pivoting on one foothold
3 rounds: 10 slow hip turns each way on one foothold, then the other foot. Hands light.
Questions
What is a barn door in climbing?
It's when your body swings away from the wall as you let go with one hand, usually because the hand that's still on and the foot you're standing on are on the same side. Everything hinges around the line between them, and the side that's free opens like a door.
What's the difference between a backstep and a drop knee?
Both turn the hip on your reaching side into the wall. In a backstep you stand on the outside edge of your shoe, often on a foothold low or behind you. In a drop knee you push between two footholds and roll that knee down, which works best on steep walls with footholds close to hip height.
Should I flag out to the side or cross my leg behind?
Either works, because both put a second point of contact on the wall away from your hinge. Out to the side is easier to learn. Crossing behind your standing leg, a back flag, helps when you need your weight further over your standing foot. Flagging isolation has you climb each boulder both ways.
Are drop knees bad for your knees?
A deep drop knee twists the knee while it's loaded, so keep it shallow until you're used to it and use it on moves you can control. If your knee hurts, use a backstep on that move instead, and see a physio if it doesn't settle.
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