Three things are important to remember. Firstly, and above all, the chess rule: look and plan ahead – where will you go after you’ve pulled yourself up onto that rock? And then where will you go after that? Secondly, the cat rule: never go up anything that you wouldn’t be comfortable about coming down. And, finally, the ask-the-audience rule: learn to respect the common consensus. The chances are that the route most used is the easiest and most obvious way up. This means finding your inner bloodhound – you need to be able to read the rock for signs of many feet. So look out for possible footholds that are polished and shiny, and find those ledges sprinkled with a litter of disturbed gravel.