We present our ongoing work to create realistic climbing animations for articulated 3D characters. Our goal is to automatically synthesize physically plausible motions for highly detailed models. Specifically, for characters with attached hands, giving them true grasping capabilities. Currently, our method chooses limb configurations that are suitable for climbing by favoring postures with the ability to effectively exchange forces between the character and its environment. Grasping postures for the hand are selected which support the character as it climbs, and a linear feedback controller is used to modulate the grip strength in order to accommodate force variations at the wrist.