The route never changes. Master it.
"Beta" is the exact sequence you use to climb: which holds to grab, in what order, with which hands and feet. In every other discipline, beta is route-specific and temporary. The speed route is the only climb on earth that never changes, so the beta is permanent and universal. Master it once and it transfers to every certified speed wall in the world.
The standardized route, hold by hold.
Every certified speed wall on earth is this exact route: 20 hand holds and 11 foot holds in fixed official positions. Step through it one hold at a time and see exactly where the race is won. Holds are numbered from the ground up, so Hold 6 becomes H6 and footchip 4 becomes F4.
The Ladder and The Dyno stay lit whichever beta you pick. Every line runs them.
H1 · The start
Hands on H1: left hand in the jug, right hand pinching the top left corner, or match the jug with both hands if you are shorter. The clock starts on the tone: react. The ground is the best hold on the route, so use it.
Feet: F1
Tap any hold on the wall, or use the arrow keys.
The real route, built from the official hold coordinates. Hold positions and artwork match the certified World Climbing wall.
Where the seconds live.
This is what makes speed climbing so coachable: there is a known, optimized way up the wall, and the best climbers in the world have converged on remarkably similar sequences. The map is two straight lines. The Start and The Ladder form the first line, The Dyno is the transition, and The Top section is the second line. The sections overlap on purpose: holds behave differently for hands than for feet, and one hold can close a section while opening the next.
The Start
H1 through H6, from the ground, which is treated as the largest and best hold on the entire route. Beginners can detour out to H4, one of two sanctioned detours on the route. The Tomoa skip exists to remove that detour, jumping from H3 straight to H5 and H6 for a straighter line. The opening moves should feel like a single explosion, not a series of separate pulls.
The Ladder
H5 through H8 plus the touch of H10, with H9 never used at all. On paper it is the simplest section of the route. In practice it is where the most issues happen, and the fine details here separate elite athletes from the field. Clean right-to-left acceleration is the goal.
The Dyno
H7, H8, H10 and H11. Variations differ, but every one of them uses H7 and H8, and H8 is the hold most in charge of generating power. Some variations match H8. Some jump to H10 with one hand, some with two. The moves change but the holds do not. The jump crosses from the right line to the left, and the job is shifting your momentum left and delivering as much of it as possible onto H10 and H11. That speed is what you spend up top.
The Top section
H10 through H20, a straight sprint at the buzzer. Before 2022 a single World Cup could show up to 8 variations up here. The consensus now is the left line, the Chinese top, and the women's field is adopting it in real time. The classic top through H19 is the way in, and it is not a ceiling: it is enough for sub 6 in the women's and sub 5 in the men's. No variation uses the far out H17.
The Tomoa skip.
Popularized by Japanese climber Tomoa Narasaki around 2018. At the time almost everyone went left to H4, adding extra movement. Narasaki stepped up onto H3 with his left foot and jumped to H5 and H6, preserving a straighter line through the bottom of the route. It comes in two variations: the match tomoa, matching both hands on H5, and the 5/6 tomoa, one hand to H5 and one to H6. Learn the match first and move to 5/6 as your power grows. The move in climbing terms is only around V3, and most beginner to intermediate speed climbers can learn it with deliberate practice.
Foot first
Speed climbing is foot-forward. Every move is driven by a foot move first, followed or accompanied by a hand pulling movement.
Eyes up
Look up at the next hold on every move and wean yourself off looking down at footchips. The long-term goal is quick eye darts and climbing through your peripherals.
Arms slightly bent
Operate around a 120 degree arm bend and climb through your triceps. Straight arms wobble; over-bent arms feel cramped.
Smearing feet
Stepping on the wall itself, not a hold. Toes point upward, the big toe takes the most pressure, and turning the toes to the 2 to 3 o'clock position keeps stability.
From watching runs to running it yourself.
1 · Find a wall
Betas are taught on the regulation wall, find one near you on the directory. If you don't have one, check out our article around training without a wall.
2 · Learn it in sections
Break the route into segments and master each transition before linking them.
3 · Film and review
Compare your runs to elite climbers and to your own past attempts.
4 · Make it automatic
Pair beta work with structured off-the-wall training to build the power the sequence demands.
5 · Share and refine
Trade beta and feedback with other climbers in the community.