Climbing lab

A figure trying to climb a random wall by search, with the rules of climbing switched on one at a time. Turn them all on and watch it run out of moves — or press T and teach it yourself.

Anatomy

Within reach A limb cannot be longer than it is. Feet do not cross A left foot right of the right foot is a stance nobody stands in. Hands do not cross Climbers do cross hands, so this one is genuinely optional. Feet below hips A high step tops out at hip height. Knees point outward Refuses footholds whose knee would turn in. Expensive.

Technique

Three points of contact One limb off the wall at a time. Switch it off and a second may leave before the first has landed. The stability principle in the literature. Diagonality A hand, then the opposite foot — one hand and its contralateral leg carry the load. Weight over the feet Centre of mass must stay between the two footholds. Never move downward Every move gains height. No going back A limb will not return to a hold it just left.

What it is doing

moves a minute–

height a minute–

climbed in total–

stuck for–

holds in reach–

survive every rule–

Why holds were refused

On the wall

hold

legal for the limb about to move

in reach, refused by a rule

being held

While teaching

a hold it can reach

a stretch — only by moving its body there

a dyno, once you press Space

Colours

Palette

Teaching

modewatching

learned fromnothing yet

Drive it yourself and it learns what you went for. Each move you make is a preference — the hold you took should have beaten the ones you passed over — and the weights below shift that way. Eight features and twenty demonstrations is a toy, not a climber; it will pick up a leaning, not a technique.

T: take over
Esc: hand it back, climbing on what it learned
1–4: left hand, right hand, left foot, right foot
' / ;: next limb clockwise / anticlockwise
] [ Shift: the same, if those sit better
a–z: send that limb to the lettered hold
arrows: move between holds in reach
Enter: go to the one you are on
?: this list