This weekend is the U.S. Youth Boulder Championships in Bend, Oregon. Basically, it will be a weekend of maniacally strong wee ones mashing their bodies into odd positions in order to creep skyward through conglomerations of plastic holds fixed to the walls in ways specifically designed to vex them. Leif (12yo) and Kess (10yo) both qualified for Nationals this year and will be among those fretting and sweating. In addition to strong fingers, they will need strong minds — not only to withstand the pressure of televised competition, but to imagine the best paths through the 3D maze of holds. Here’s some practice.
The grid far below shows a pattern of climbing holds, starting from the “VV” in the bottom row and extending to the “><” in the top row. The symbols represent directions the holds face. For example “<” is hold that you can grab with your right hand — for the purpose of this puzzle, ONLY with your right hand. Likewise, “>” is a hold that can be grabbed only with the left hand. A “V” is a bucket that can be grabbed with one or the other hand and a “^” is an undercling that can be also be grabbed with one or the other hand. When there is more than one symbol in a box, both or either can be used. Now, from these holds you can reach only certain directions and so the trick, like a maze, is to piece together the sequence of moves that will get you from the bottom to the top using only legal moves. The four following grids show the “next” boxes to which each kind of hold allows access. (So when you grab a > with your left hand, you can then reach to another hold out right two boxes in the same row or up a row.)
There are a couple extra rules:
• You may not reach up to grab an undercling (^), and instead may only grab one once you have already reached a hold in the same row. Think about it: you can’t reach far above your head to grab something that points down.
• If you have grabbed a hold, you must reach for the next hold with your opposite hand — no going from an < to another <, or reaching from < to V with your right hand! (Only the cells with double symbols allow you to then continue with either hand.)
• You have two “dynos” available — dynamic moves in which you leap from the wall to the next hold. A dyno allows you access to one additional cell in any direction, but otherwise follows the rules of handedness and direction. Use your dynos wisely because they’re vicious on the forearms.
• Note that from the first hold (VV), you could conceivable move your right hand up and left to the next V. This is called a crossover and while it’s a counterintuitive way to move, it’s perfectly possible in life and legal in this puzzle.
And no, without further ado, to the wall!
by 
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