What Route Setting actually involves?

At Oasis Climbing, route setting is far more than putting holds on a wall. It’s a thoughtful, structured process designed to create climbs that are fun, safe, challenging, and educational.

David Barretto is our Head Setter, with over 14 years' experience in working in a gym, setting and coaching climbing, he has the perfect knowledge and skillset to plan and guide setting.

Having fun setting

Yep, we have fun! Music, jokes, picking the perfect colour holds, testing the climbs, helping each other lift and moving heavy holds trays... searching for dropped bolts. Well maybe not everything is fun, but we always try!

What’s Involved in Route Setting?

Before setting, the team talks to the coaches to understand what is working, what can be improved, what schools and classes are working on this term - and creates a plan for the day.

We set on Tuesdays and Thursday's, and every new set follows a clear process:

1. Daily Planning - The setters review the plan, select the holds to match colours and grades required and agree their routes.

2. Equipment Setup - The rigging is setup by each setter, safety checks are performed, the areas are sectioned off.

3. Stripping - Old routes and holds are removed, walls are cleaned, and surfaces checked for safety and maintenance.

4. Foundation Setting - Core moves are designed first. This defines the purpose of the climb and the main skill focus.

5. Building & Tweaking - With testing, additional holds are added to shape flow, difficulty, and intended movement.

6. Cleanup & Finishing - Final adjustments are made to spacing, orientation, and safety before the route is ready for final testing and grading.

This structured approach ensures consistency and quality across the gym.

Planning Routes to Teach Skills

Routes at Oasis Climbing are intentionally planned to develop specific climbing skills, not just difficulty. The team talks to the coaches to understand what is working, what can be improved, what schools and classes are working on this term.

The Head Route Setter creates the plan and choose routes ahead of the day and has a neeting on the morning with all the setters to agree:

• Target grades and who the route is for

• Skill focus such as balance, footwork, body positioning, coordination, or grip types

• Endurance routes vs short-power problems

• Route intensity for example balanced, easy start - hard finish, comp climbs, etc

Routes must allows climbers and students to apply what they learn in coaching sessions directly onto the wall.

Testing Routes and Making Adjustments

Testing is a critical step before a route goes live:

• The setter tests their own route to confirm intent, appropriatness and safety

• Other setters test the route to provide feedback to the routes obectives and structure

• Feedback leads to final tweaks to improve flow, clarity, or grade consistency

• A final sign-off confirms the route is ready for public climbing

  
  

This collaborative process helps ensure routes feel fairly graded, engaging, and true to their purpose. We seek feedback from climbers on route grading, as this is a complex task unto itself - so much so, that it could hold it's own blog!

Why Grading Routes Is Complex

Grading isn’t an exact science. A route can feel easy to one climber and challenging to another depending on height, strength, technique, and experience. Failing to understand a route will make it feel harder. Sometimes a person cannot do a move and feels it is too difficult, yet smaller climber could find routes harder than tall... but sometimes all this is opposite.

Our grading considers:

• Movement difficulty, not just individual holds

• Number of moves and/or physical demand

• Required technique for the path and hold types

• Knowledge of route reading to make the appropriate moves

• A route grade will be within a range for certain sizes of height and reach

Because of these factors, grades are best used as a guide, not a guarantee, and we regularly review and adjust them as climbers interact with the routes and provide us with feedback.

When it gets tough

Sometimes, it gets tough and we need to pull-out all stops to get some routes set. This is ahead of Sunset Sends competition. The only way to get the competition done in time, with staff working through the nights to clear old holds and mount new routes before opening.

Route Setting is a Craft

At Oasis Climbing, route setting is a craft that our setters learn and hone with each set.

We create our walls based on planning, testing, and continuous improvement. Every climb is set with intention, we challenge, teach, and inspire climbers at every stage of their journey.

See you climbing these walls soon.