The best way to improve your climbing ability is to climb! Riding up hills regularly will help you improve your strength and fitness. Build up gradually and push yourself to ride just a bit further or faster each time you climb your regular hills. Climbing hills on your bike is all about choosing a low enough gear, finding a good balance between your effort and your pace, and having the patience to keep going through the discomfort.
Make sure your bike is equipped with the right range of gears for the climbing you expect to do, and learn to shift smoothly on hills. It helps to anticipate the gear you will need and shift to it ahead of time. Try to ease up slightly as you shift. A lot of pressure on the pedals creates friction that can make shifting gears much harder.
Read on for more cycling tips and techniques for climbing.