Hive System – Trapezoid #03

“Use them as blockers. Use them to stack. Use them to make holds touch, to make beautiful patterns, to set comp style blocs, to create custom crack features, to make a mirrored copy of a climb, or easily recreate a climb that was set and then stripped long ago. The Hive System is an idea I had brewing in my head for a long time. When Elevation showed me their innovative manufacturing process for large durable macros with perfect texture and asked me to come on board, I saw the perfect opportunity to bring Hive to life.  The fundamental idea is based on a form of mathematical art called tessellation.  Tessellation, or tiling, is where you cover a flat surface using one or more geometric shapes.  You see this at work all the time in things like ancient Roman or Islamic decorative tiles, quilting, the art of M.C. Escher, and now in route setting.  All 24 of the initial Hive shapes share one of 3 equally sized base shapes (called prototiles), triangle, diamond, or trapezoid.  Use them together systematically to create thousands of different patterns and climbing styles, or use them alone because they’re just frickin’ awesome single-directional comfortable banger shapes.”

— Ty Foose