Welcome back to the Setter’s Archive, where we explore the foundations of modern routesetting through classic wisdom. Here you’ll find setter essays originally published in The Art of Coursesetting and Fundamentals of Routesetting. We’re revisiting these stories in their original form because, while much has changed in the routesetting world in the last two decades, many core concepts remain the same. We hope these excerpts help you keep reflecting, learning, and growing professionally.
For more routesetting content, be sure to check out The Impact Driver podcast, Ask a Setter series, Truth Behind the Trade chapters, Behind the Wrench interviews and other routesetting-related articles on CBJ.
Intro by Holly Yu Tung Chen
Kenny Matys is the founder and president of Atomik Climbing Holds, a company he launched in 2002 after more than a decade of experience as a professional climber and nationally certified routesetter. His climbing career began in the late 1980s and quickly rose to the elite level, where he competed in IFSC World Cups, the X Games, and other top-tier events across North America. He trained in many storied gyms, such as Joe Rockhead’s and Gravity Vault in Canada, as well as Utah’s Rock Garden, The Quarry and Momentum. Over the years, he set routes for more than 110 competitions and helped shape the early days of indoor climbing in North America.
Before routesetting became professionalized, certified, and endlessly Instagrammed, it was passed hand-to-hand like a craft—learned on ladders, refined through failure, and shaped by observation. Kenny Matys’ essay, originally titled “Personal Insights,” is a window into that bygone era. While some references may feel dated (hello, 30-foot ladder), many of the lessons here are timeless: setting with intention, respecting all bodies, and always double-checking your backup.
It reminds us that setting is more than placing holds in a pattern; it’s about reading bodies, understanding movement and setting with intention. The author shares not only practical advice but a philosophy: routes should challenge and teach, but they should also welcome and inspire. It’s a belief in balance—between fun and function, art and craft, safety and spontaneity. Some details (like the 30-foot ladder on painted concrete) may feel like a relic, but the values endure. In republishing this piece, we hope to honor the roots of our practice—and reconnect with the creativity and care at its core.
Today, Matys remains a hands-on leader at Atomik who is actively involved in wall builds, hold design, and production. As the company’s current Production Manager, he ensures every product meets the standard he wished for as a young climber—back when the dream of a climbing life was just beginning.
Personal Insights
By Kenny Matys
Routesetting is not just bolting on holds in some random pattern. Also, being a great climber does not necessarily mean that you will be able to set quality routes. A routesetter is an artist. Their skills include being well-rounded in terms of footwork, movement and, most important, creativity.
At one point in my career, onsighting was a weakness. I saw routesetting as the vehicle to educate myself on being able to judge distances and figure out sequences from the ground. Every good routesetter can usually see the secrets of a route from the ground.
Though I was certified by Tony Yaniro via the American League of Forerunners in the early 90’s, my indirect mentors were the climbers in our sport. It never mattered how good the climber was in order to learn from them. A five-year-old beginner can teach you just as much as a professional climber can. Routesetters work for the general public most of the time, so I feel they should watch them equally as much as the higher-end climbers. It is important to have an understanding of the reaching capabilities of all heights, sizes and abilities.
In my opinion, a route should achieve three things: It should teach a lesson or test a skill, have flow in between moves and be fair for all heights. Above all, it should be fun.
The lesson on a particular route should teach or test a wide range of things: foot or hand switching, cross-overs, flagging, dynos, or even power and endurance. The list is long. I try to never saturate the route with the “lesson” to teach. Few climbers want to get beaten down by the same move over and over. For instance, I always get a climber off the ground and into their own rhythm before integrating a particular lesson. The length of your problem or route will determine where it should be. If you break the space available into fifths, the lesson will appear in section two, three or four. Not many climbers like to have a difficult move right off the ground or at the very end.
Flow in a route can be achieved several ways. I feel flow can only be understood and achieved by knowing how far your target group can reach. For example, it is unfair to put a small left-hand crimper with the next hold, a right-hand crimper, outside of a smaller climber’s reach. Instead, I recommend putting a very small intermediate hold part way through the move and bringing the far right hold within the climber’s extended reach. Sure, it will be a little harder for the climber with a shorter reach, but it will be possible. Being short is a fact of life. Super long, unreachable distances in routesetting should not be. Having fun on a route is of paramount importance. Even in a stressful competition environment, why not put a smile on the crowd’s face as well as the competitor’s? Short moves, long moves, flagging…mix it up!
When learning how to routeset, I recommend the following steps: First, set your route with some sense of intention. Choose your holds because of their purpose, not because they were on top of the hold bin. It’s difficult to set with holds that offer multiple ways to grab. Choose holds that can be rotated to make a move easier or harder.
Now that your route is set, climb it without hold buckets or haul bags (a set of wrenches and a few footholds in a small bag on your harness is a good idea). When you feel like there is some flow missing, add a foothold. A foothold is a hold small enough to not be used as a handhold appropriate for the grade. If you make changes like a turn of a hold or an added foot, reclimb the route. Once satisfied, put different sized climbers on your route. Just watch. Don’t yell out beta; see what they do. Observe, take note and listen to what the climbers say about your route. Don’t rationalize your actions. Lots of the comments you will hear will be negative because your route may have exploited the climber’s weakness. Often I go back up and add a foot or an intermediate because it is needed, not because someone can’t do the move. Over time, you will have enough “engrams,” or movement memories, in your routesetting library that you will automatically set with that extra foothold or intermediate before you ever climb the route yourself. Routesetting is a creative art. Take pride in what you are creating.
There are a few last points I would like to add. Twice in my career I have had potential accidents while routesetting. I am grateful that I was trained properly to prepare myself for both. One time, I was on the very top of a 30-foot ladder and it slipped out on me. (The feet were on painted concrete floor and it was a humid day. If you have ever been on a 30-foot ladder, you know how much they bounce on the way up as well). I was attached to the wall with two separate points of protection and aside from making an awesome crashing sound, all was well. I strongly recommend having a buddy keep their feet at the base of the ladder until you are clipped in.
The second time was while I was setting on very steep terrain. I was clipped into one bolt using a long sling and two oval carabiners. My back-up protection was a locking carabiner on my harness and an oval on the top of a daisy chain. As I was inverted and bolting on a jug, my twisting position unclipped my primary. I fell to my back-up protection, collected myself and then checked my shorts. These two separate occurrences have refined safety rules that I never wander from, nor do my team. Always use locking carabiners on your harness and always use two points of protection while routesetting.
Good luck, have fun, be creative and always be safe.
