Read the below Hill Climbing thread-- but another question...(actually 2)

So if I stand when I'm climbing, I tend to "spin out" the back wheel on steep climbs, causing me to lose balance and momentum. Should I be in a lower gear? The earlier posted thread on climbing seems to go both ways on sitting vs. standing, but no one mentioned this. Is there a way for me to reposition myself on the bike so as to avoid this and be more efficient in my climb?

And with respect to going over obstacles while going up hill-- i guess the most simple question is "help?!?" I can't ever seem to muster the courage to tackle anything over a few inches tall when climbing--don't have the same momentum i guess.

 

Instead of standing or sitting, try to hover your butt over the saddle so that you are still keeping your weight over the back tire while using your legs as rear suspension. Over technical terrain you never want to have your butt planted on the saddle as you give up a lot of shock absorbsion and control. Lower your chest by pushing your elbows out if the front wheel starts to come up. You can control the weight distribution and traction to the rear tire by shifting your body fore and aft, and also by raising and lowering your chest.
If you are spinning out, either try to spin more smoothly in the gear you are in, or shift UP to help smooth out the torque to the rear wheel. Down shifting increases the amount of torque delivered to the rear wheel and will increase the likely-hood of a spinout.

The basic technique is to pull back on the bars to get the front wheel over the obstacle, then once the front wheel has cleared pitch your weight forward and pull the back tire up with your pedals using a scraping motion to get the back tire over the obstacle. It should all happen in one fluid motion. You can practice this in the city by riding up curbs and ledges. Keep practicing until you can smoothly lift the rear tire up on the curb without it bumping the edge.
And of course on the climbs momentum is your friend.

 

The basic technique is to pull back on the bars to get the front wheel over the obstacle, then once the front wheel has cleared pitch your weight forward and pull the back tire up with your pedals using a scraping motion to get the back tire over the obstacle. It should all happen in one fluid motion. You can practice this in the city by riding up curbs and ledges. Keep practicing until you can smoothly lift the rear tire up on the curb without it bumping the edge.
And of course on the climbs momentum is your friend.

Thanks Strader-- appreciate the help. Should I be physically lifting up with my knees to get the rear of the bike up? I feel like I try to do that and the bike wants to endo, even with my fork fully maxed out on psi. I guess it's just a case of practice... I'll keep trying!

 

The key is to unweight the rear wheel so that is gets over the obstacle easier. You can do this by shifting your entire body forward so your weight transfers to the front wheel, or by pulling up on the pedals as you suggest. Unless you are riding up a big 1ft+ ledge the motion can be pretty subtle. If you are riding uphill the only way you are going to endo is if you seriously overdo the motion of shifting your wieght forward.