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Erik of Oakland
Gym climber
Oakland
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Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 13, 2007 - 01:10am PT
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after avoiding the cracks at the gym completely, this weekend I got on some of the cracks at mission cliffs in SF and failed utterly. I found it really painful/difficult. Any tips?
oh, and if you want to bump this thread by posting "take it to rockclimbing.com" or "stfu noob", that's totally cool with me -- have at it.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:16am PT
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finger locks:
"put it in, lock it and don't move it"
Dale Bard
wrist/elbow low, stable.
practice.
"if you do it right, it hurts"
Dale Bard
Edit: the BEST way to learn how to climb cracks is to go to Woodson where you can really watch how it's done.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:25am PT
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He's right - real all around shoes like the Acopa JB sized with a thin sock and a nice snug but not tight toe pack will really help.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:31am PT
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Which cracks at Mission Cliff? I remember suffering mightly on the thin one.. the hand crack was pretty good, I thought, but a bit too artificial... it goes straight up... overhangs a bit, but has good width variation.
You can also go to Planet Granite in Sunnyvale, which has a huge number of cracks, and it looked like some people actually climbing them.
Even though Russ has stated that climbing crack with taped hand is aid, taping helps prevent too much gobi production at the begining of your wrestling with cracks. Getting scratched up can limit what you are willing to do in terms of practice.
Three pieces of advice: feet, feet, feet. You gotta get your foot work down well. You are working to transfer weight there rather than holding yourself in with just your hand jams. You need good core strength, and you need to develop excellent technique. In time you do, but you got to practice, pay your dues and you'll get it.
what do I know... only what I got from the rock (and plastic and wood...)
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Jello
Social climber
No Ut
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:37am PT
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Never seen an artificial crack in a "modern" climbing wall that could train you for the real thing. Most are too shallow, and best liebacked. Get on the rock, for cracks.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:40am PT
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Eric of Oakland - the post above is your best advice from one of the most experienced and accomplished climbers in the world - say thanks - and get out there.
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Standing Strong
Trad climber
super keen love song
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Mar 13, 2007 - 02:13am PT
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crack climbin's hard. i don't really know how either but i'm keen on it and need to learn technique. late in the afternoon today we were toproping this route and there was this weird move where you like, you needed to get your ELBOW in the thingie. i did it but i'm still working on the move after that, cuz it's like then you need to throw your knee in or something. my shoes were being sucky too, i'm going to try the weird velcro ones again next time. my partner did a good job tho. we had a super nice evening. it was fun :)
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 02:32am PT
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You need Acopa JB's, a big chalk bag and pair of long pants.
This will help you express the necessary "body English".
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Standing Strong
Trad climber
super keen love song
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Mar 13, 2007 - 02:34am PT
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english??? but the language of the body is international, baby!
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Mar 13, 2007 - 03:20am PT
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Tape your hands to do the cracks in the gym until you know you won't get a gobi. Those cracks have been there for nearly a decade, and they never get a rain. Whiff your hands next time you try them for a little evidence of just how much gnar lurks w/in. It's a matter of hygeine really...espeically if you think you might add your own blood to the mix.
Also...gym cracks are pretty hard. Easiest one at MC is solid 5.9. The others are more like 5.11. Great for getting a decent workout on them year after year, but tricky for learning to jam in the first place.
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426
Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Mar 13, 2007 - 09:32am PT
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Thumbs up=longer reach
Thumbs down=more torque
YMMV
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AllezAllez510
Trad climber
PDX, OR
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Mar 13, 2007 - 09:42am PT
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Dude, welcome to crack climbing. So rewarding. If you live in Toakland, go the golden gate wall. There is (for me) thin hand crack about 25' tall. Great training. You can finish yourself off on the 200' 5.9 traverse.
GO TO THE GROTTO IN SONORA! It is like a gym for crack climbing, everything from 5.9 hands to 11- thin cracks. They all protect super well.
I love crack climbing. Once you master the technique, you will never be too out of shape.
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Kupandamingi
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Mar 13, 2007 - 10:18am PT
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Eric - if you really are 'of Oakland' go check out golden gate wall. Artificial for sure, but still outside (albeit under a freeway). Good short bouldery finger and off finger cracks to practice on aloing the main traverse wall with plenty of feet until you start eliminating them. Then up the road 50 or so feet is the perfect small hands crack (.75 camalot size) - an uncomfortable size that prepares you well for things like lunatic fringe. Mortals top rope this, though I hear tell some solo it.
Edit - I should have read prior post!
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Mar 13, 2007 - 10:26am PT
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Though I have big chalk bag, I don't have acopas, and don't like to wear long pants ... I'll never learn to climb cracks. Please advise.
"tips?" all kinds of good ones, but it's better to get hands down first.
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Mar 13, 2007 - 10:27am PT
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Think of crack climbing as a:
Kenesthetic mechanical aptitude test.
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creetur
climber
CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 11:03am PT
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for other low-stakes practice you could go to the
beaver street wall in san francisco (15th and castro)...i've never been but i hear there are some featureless "splitters" at this little urban crag that would force you to work your feet and everything can be TR'd. anybody ever been there?
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Robb
Social climber
Under a Big Sky
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Mar 13, 2007 - 11:18am PT
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Eric
If I might chime in here. Work out your forearms w/the "roll up a weight tied to a large dowel" method.I think Russ posted up on this work out a while ago. It will get your forearms in shape to handle extended jammin' w/out getting too pumped.
"Hey, how do I get to the top of Reed's?"
Practice, Practice,Practice
Robb
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 11:22am PT
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Yes, not to mention wrist curls are a good way to help prevent tendonitis - I always do lots of wrist curls.
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Matt
Trad climber
places you shouldn't talk about in polite company
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Mar 13, 2007 - 11:34am PT
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dood- here's how it works:
1st you take your belay card off your harness
then you drive to yosemite for the weekend
start with the multi-star climbs at the easiest grades, climb them all
drive home
drive back
start with the next grade
repeat
funny thing about gym climbing and crack climbing: they tend do be different
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Mar 13, 2007 - 11:42am PT
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The internet is an amazing thing.
I wrote up an article about 10 years ago on rec.climbing on how to build a crack machine, the best way to learn how to jam, IMHO.
Lo, I found the old article here:
http://www.tradgirl.com/climbing_faq/home_walls.htm#crack
Basically, you create a hand crack that you can do pull-ups from. The crack is horizontal, like in a roof. But since it's perfect hands, you should be able to hang and do pulls. Using wood to simulate the crack walls, you will at first have a hard time getting your jams to stick. But soon you'll get the hang of it and after you do sets of pulls for a few days, your hand jams will have more holding power than a #2.5 Friend.
You'll need:
1 6 foot 2X8" wood board (a 2X6 or 2X10 will work alright, too)
4 8" bolts with nuts on the ends
1 drill
A saw
Some spare sling
A place to hang your bar
Now:
1) Cut the 2X8 board in in half (you'll have two 3' long boards, not two 1X8 boards or two 2X4 boards, OK?).
2) Cut 1.75" to 2" off the end of each board (same size is best). 1 7/8" is perfect hands for most. These are used as spacers between the long boards, at the ends.
3) Drill 2 holes at the ends of each piece of wood and two holes through each of the spacers.
4) Assemble the crack.
5) Drill holes at the top for the slings and hang the thing.
Landscape view. o's represent the holes for the bolts...
__
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| o o |
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| o o |
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[OK, the HTML collapses the spaces so the drawings look real
funky. Go to the link above and scroll down to see what
these ASCII arts should really look like...]
Turn the thing on its side, this is how you'd see it
if you're looking up at it after you hang it:
_b_b__
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b b
OK, this looks pretty bad, but it's as good as I'm going to get it. In the bottom 'drawing', you have two 2x8 boards, you're looking at the 2" side. They are separated by 2", the spacers are poorly drawn at the ends. The b's are the bolts that hold the contraption together. The 'hands" shows where you put your hands to jam.
I swear by these. One time, we made an outdoor gym and made a pull-up bar that had 4 different size pull-up cracks, thin hands, tight-hands, hands, and cupping. There is Nothing like this for improving your jamming techniques, other than actually going out and doing laps on Reeds.
The first one I made, I made the mistake of using two sets of 1"x8" boards. I doubled the boards on each side to get them stiff enough to jam. But the boards flexed like crazy. What a great torture device! you had to jam extra hard just to stick, then when you did pulls, Whoa!
--
Joe Bob sez Check It Out!
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 12:21pm PT
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Matt has posted some solid advice.
Not only will using the YDS as prescription stepping stones get you the technique you need at a pace your body will have a better chance of adjusting to, but you will have the opportunity to develop the safety skills required for your survival.
This method also has the merit of being the most fun!
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Peter
climber
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Mar 13, 2007 - 12:32pm PT
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I think the cracks at MC are pretty good for developing some jamming skills before hitting the valley. Of course they're not exactly like the real thing - for a start there's no friction outside the crack- but for a lot of us crack is a total mystery at first.
Start with the left crack and try getting a decent hand jam that won't move when you weight it - right hand goes in first, thumb up and cupped into your palm. Don't bother tying in until you can move up on the first couple of jams comfortably. Give it a shot at the end of each workout.
Once you get solid jams work on walking your feet up with small steps until you can reach high enough to get the next good lock.
The right crack feels like sustained 5.9 hands, the left feels like easy 5.10 to hard 5.10 fingers to a couple of 5.11 moves at the top. The new crack in the back of the gym is too hard for me - nasty off-fingers all the way up.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 12:38pm PT
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I started on Monday Morning Slab, Harry Daley Route, 1975. We had a set of stoppers, some slings and 'biners. Seemed safe.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:08pm PT
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I believe there are a few old crack machine threads hereabout with decent pictures and discussion...
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 01:29pm PT
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I found crack machine training useful for devloping real power and endurance on
inch and an eighth
and
inch and a quarter
sizes: thumb up squeezers.
I trained with one for about 2 years. really helped.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Mar 13, 2007 - 02:03pm PT
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Erik,
Yosemite is a long way from Oakland. Don't wait until you get there. Do the cracks at MC and Ironworks everytime you go there. Tape at first. It won't take long until you've got it down. The hand crack at Ironworks is 5.8+ so it's a good one to start on if you can. The hand crack at Golden Gate Wall is hard if you have big hands and feet. Do the chimney at MC as well. You need to have that wired. All this will make a big diference when you go to the valley.
This info brought to you from the noob corner of the Taco.
Zander
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Phil_B
Social climber
Hercules, CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 02:12pm PT
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You guys have me psyched now.
I've got my old shoes today and I'll be punishing myself at the gym tonight. Yikes, it hurts, but it's just bad technique, right?
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Mar 13, 2007 - 02:34pm PT
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I led the first pitch of Outer Limits many years back and my partner declined to follow for some reason. This German guy at the base says he will come up. He was probably a good face climber but didn't know the first thing about jamming.
He laybacked the long 5.8 crack to the belay, making it look like 5.10 (which it probably was if you use that technique).
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Prod
Social climber
Charlevoix, MI
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Mar 13, 2007 - 03:04pm PT
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Hi Erik,
I am no where the climber a lot of these guys are, but here is how it worked for me.
Find a selfish bastard who is good/ great at climbing and is relatively new to your area. He is looking for someone who will grovel up anything as a second so he can work on his over zealous tick list. He’ll lie to you about grade if necessary, he’ll laugh when you puke in an O.W. (without falling I might add), he’ll make you carry the heavy pack on the approach while opting to carry the rope, and he’ll unload the heavy big gear on you for pitches where it is not necessary. It worked for me thanks to Tarbuster, gotta love that skinny little prick. It might sound extreme, but it made me a better lead climber pretty fast as I was getting more confidence on stuff that I and guys that climbed in my grade wouldn’t ever think of climbing.
Good luck, you’ll love it once you blast up a splitter crack committing hands and feet effortlessly.
Prod.
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ryanb
climber
Seattle, WA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 03:11pm PT
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It will hurt less once you learn to feel around for a comfortable bit and not move your hand or foot once it is in there. Best way to do this is to start on some cracks that are low angle enough you can take your time with them and then and climb without tape.
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nutjob
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 03:43pm PT
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Here's what worked for me:
1) Want it badly enough to endure the pain of doing it wrong in the beginning.
2) Want it badly enough to endure the pain, even when doing right, when it gets harder
3) Practice A LOT... reading a book for a few minutes gives you the principles, the rest you discover by doing it, without substitute or short-cut.
4) I never used tape in the beginning, and still don't outside. But something about gym cracks makes me get bloody more often. At times I was into the self-punishment aspect of destroying the back of my hands... but if you want to stay healthy and maintain your ability to practice consistently, without looking like you were a "Fight Club" contestant, tape up until you're good enough to know you don't need it. And taping does reduce the objective difficulty of a climb in my experience.... it gives you more friction you can hang on with less hand pressure exerted, and sweat doesn't make you slip out as much.
Technique-wise for hand-jams: let go of the urge to treat the crack like a "crimp" hold or pulling on your fingers, and embrace the tripod pressing of your fingers and palm on one side, and back of hand on the other. Rely on the pressure on the back of your hand. And look for subtle positioning changes that make the pain on the back of your hand more tolerable. After a while it becomes automatic, or the nerves in the back of your hand get crushed and you're relieved of feeling the pain.
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rhyang
Ice climber
SJC
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Mar 13, 2007 - 05:36pm PT
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I learned hand and foot jamming technique on the cracks at Planet Granite.
I started with the lower-angled hand crack on the slab wall in Belmont. Then moved to the vertical crack on the far opposite wall. They are a perfect hand size for most people. There are some nice practice cracks in Sunnyvale, but nothing low-angled.
I was taught how to tape up, and I sometimes do so outside. But in the gym I like to use hand jammies (tm). It took me probably 1-2 months to get the muscles in my hand used to jamming and refine my technique (such as it is) to the point where I could climb them decently outside.
At first my feet really hurt. Then someone taught me how to use constrictions and to try to jam up and down with the wider part of my foot instead of cramming toes in.
Once Tuolumne is accessible, there is also Puppy Crack on Puppy Dome. Uncle Fanny in Church Bowl was fun - have to actually lead that one sometime. I really enjoyed leading Chouinard Crack (5.7) over on the Glacier Point Apron, though I had to follow someone up the first pitch of Harry Daley (5.8) first. Leading that whole climb is a goal of mine this year.
I still need to work on finger cracks, like that 5.9 route at Cosumnes.
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Apocalypsenow
Trad climber
Cali
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Mar 13, 2007 - 05:40pm PT
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Climb cracks, not in a gym.
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder
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Mar 13, 2007 - 05:47pm PT
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RE:
"Think of crack climbing as a:
Kinesthetic mechanical aptitude test."
This is exactly right.
Thanks TGT
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Rankin
climber
Bishop, CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 05:48pm PT
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Erik, sorry you've gotten so many unhelpful, dismissivel answers from people who seem more interested in sticking their chests out than actually saying anything helpful. Climbers are notoriously full of sh*t. I will have to say that I think you would be most helped by some type of crack machine, as recommended by k-man.
Once, when I lived in NC, I thought 5.9 was way below me, because I was climbing 5.11 'trad' routes and 5.12 sport routes, unntil I got on 'New Yosemite' at the New River Gorge. It was perfect 5.9 hands. I got spanked and humiliated in that way that only rock climbing can provide.
Completly disturbed, I tried practicing hands on my buddies woodie. Now, his wasn't a crack machine, as k-man describes, just some 2x8s permanently spaced, for jamming purposes, in the middle of his wall. They wall was steep, steeper than 45 degrees, and so you really had to get the jams in order to pull up. It was pretty cool, because the first couple moves were just a bit bigger than perfect hands for me, then it was cupped hands in the middle, and finally perfect hands at the end. It was probably about 8-10 feet of moves.
My first session resulted in zero progress, but I did manage some horrendous gobies. So, I started using TAPE ( which I recommend as a beginner), and with a little practice was able to get up the thing with some effort. Fairly soon I could climb the wooden crack with different sequences and downclimb it. I could even run laps on it comfortably. One of the things I learned on this steep wooden crack, was that THUMBS UP is usually a more powerful jam, though it didn't feel this way at first. I found that reaching high over my head with a thumbs up jam, I could lock the jam down much furter without any feeling of insecurity. I still remember the enjoyment I had when I first began to experience that bomber feeling of a a good jam. Bomber!
Shortly after mastering this wooden crack I returned to 'New Yosemite' at the NRG, and got so psyched up for the new technique that I soloed the route, without having been on it again since getting spanked on it. From then on, the route became a part of my morning coffee circuit at the New. Hand jamming is like that, when you got it, you're lovin' it. This technique is the cornerstone of all crack climbing, and you should start there. Good luck.
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Matt
Trad climber
places you shouldn't talk about in polite company
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Mar 13, 2007 - 05:53pm PT
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WTF are you talking about?!?!?!?
he wants to learn to climb cracks!
he doesn't need an apparattus!
he needs to go crack climbing!!!!
and no- there is no chest puffing or useless info there, it's a very simple answer to a simple question.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 06:11pm PT
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Don't bother building a crack machine. You'll get bored before you get any good. Also, like Jell-o said, don't guage your progress/skill by the gym crack. Unless they're really deep and really uniform it's like a whole 'nother form of climbing.
You'll probably never find it, but the best ever article about crack climbing was one by Dale Bard in an OLD Chouinard catalog. Gold mine. Some basis pointers though, some of which has already been said.
If hand jamming, thumbs up if it's a good fit. Place your hand, don't cram it. Drop your thumb into your palm to gradually expand the width of your hand to fit to size. Take the time to find a good jam and park it there until you find your next jam. I've never understood guys who jam thumbs down. It's too painful and you can't pull the jam past your chest, whereas with a thumbs up you can crank it all the way down to your waist. If it's not a parallel crack, look for your next placement, just like placing a chock. If it's a wider hand jam, hook your thumb over your index finger. If it's wider than that but too narrow for fists, anything you do will be painful. If you hand jam well, you don't need to tape up. I've always believed that people who tape are just sloppy crack climbers (unless you climb at Veedavoo).
For fists, I always tuck my thumb between my ring and pinky finger because it seems to help the bone structure as I clench my fist. Same advice re placing vs. cramming. I've also found that I'm more comfortable shuffling than crossing over, with my bottom hand palms out rather than palms in. Once that size gets rattly, I place my thumb next to my fist for an extra half inch of width.
If you can't figure out finger jams, there's no hope for you. A big key though is learning to smear the outside edge of your shoe, just below your pinky toe. Flexible ankles help.
Good outside and climb something real. At least your hard work and learning curve will be rewarded with some scenery. Isn't that why we do this?
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Robb
Social climber
Under a Big Sky
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Mar 13, 2007 - 06:56pm PT
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Rankin
"Completely disturbed,I tried practicing hands on my buddies woodie."
Can we please keep this post on the topic of climbing?
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Burns
Trad climber
Nowhere special
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Mar 13, 2007 - 07:58pm PT
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How to climb a crack:
1) Insert as much of your feet and hands as will fit
2) Suffer
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 slightly higher.
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Brutus of Wyde
climber
Old Climbers' Home, Oakland CA
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Mar 13, 2007 - 08:03pm PT
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Erik --
You're welcome to join Nurse Ratchet and I for a gym workout sometime.
e-mail me with a climbing-relevant subject line so I know its not spam...
Brutus
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Omot
Trad climber
The here and now
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Mar 14, 2007 - 08:37pm PT
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Hey Erik,
A lot of good info here already. Here's my experience.
I moved out to the bay area after learning to climb at the Gunks and CT traprock. Didn't have crack technique, so I made a crack machine with 2 2x10s stacked together to make 16' of crack, with carriage bolts to vary the crack width. Mounted on a tree in my backyard, slightly overhung, started with hands then on to thin hands once the hands technique was solid. Together with many weekends in the Valley doing classics, I was quickly up to speed on cracks up to 5.10. Good enough for me!
Once you get the hand jamming down it is pure heaven...and feels so secure. And it's like riding a bike, you'll never forget it. In fact, once you become an old fart like me, it will be the only thing you can climb (besides slabs).
I've always preferred not taping to get the best feel of the rock while climbing. I would gobie at climbs at or beyond my limit, which has taken its toll over the years. Scar tissue rips easier than original skin. So beware as you start out and definitely tape at the gym. Those surfaces are pretty grainy, much more than most Yosemite granite.
Finally, a thought on technique. Others have stated this already, but thumbs up is easier to move off of, while thumbs down is more secure. Sometimes using the upper hand thumbs down and the lower hand thumbs up works well, especially if the crack is leaning left or right a bit. You can crank to your waist with the lower hand and get good extension through your chest for the upper jam.
A previous thread had a link to a video of Dean Potter soloing the nose. Check it out to see nice thumbs up, hand over hand jamming technique (soloing the Stovelegs -- very cool!).
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WBraun
climber
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Mar 14, 2007 - 09:17pm PT
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Hey
Stick your hands in the crack and jam.
Don't listen to all this bullshit here, it will only fill your head with useless chatter.
Keep jamming until you figure it out. It's just like riding a bike.
You gonna learn how to ride a bike by reading about it?
Now git up there and quit f'ckin around .....
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland: what's not to love?
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Mar 15, 2007 - 02:16am PT
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Somebody with time on their hands and knowledge in the brain could help Erik and all of us aspiring crack virtuosos out by making an equivalent one of these for the Valley: The (JT based) Crack Workshop.
Me and a partner worked the hell out of this list; things started getting fuzzy right around Fisticuffs. It was like 'Nam after that.
From: http://www.rockclimbing.org/tripreports/crackworkshop.htm
(skip to the end for a nice list of progressively harder climbs at JT)
The Crack Workshop - An SCMA Original
by SCMA Member Alois Smrz
This article was inspired by questions from Steve Cole and Michael Gordon. Gerry's fun stories and remembrance helped too. But most of all, this article was written for the great NTC class of 2000 graduates, particularly Greg Tuzinski, Lori McKenzie, Ellen Nordberg, Sam Pierson, Laurie Carr, Liz Morelli, Shauna Hermes, Carrie Thau, and David Heenan. I hope to see all of you climbing with the club, and for you I'm recounting an important means for developing your strength and technique, homegrown here by the SCMA.
It seems I have been asked over and over about the SCMA Crack Climbing Workshop-the climbs, the workshop, and the people who pioneered it as a means to get better at crack climbing. The workshop was the brainchild of longtime RCS/SCMA members Jim Erb and Theresa Rutherford. In the early 80’s they worked hard on developing their crack climbing skills by methodically ascending series of harder and harder cracks in Joshua Tree. Only the best cracks were selected for their training. The climbs were divided into four levels, based not only on rating but also level of commitment, length and protection possibilities. Jim and Theresa's hunch, that ordinary climbers could get much better by progressing through more and more difficult ascents, proved correct. First by toproping, then preplacing pro, and later cleanly leading the climbs, the workshop graduated 13 climbers and gave our club its first group of competent leaders at the 5 11 level. Pat Orris, Jim Mathews, Ben Chapman, and Tom Brogan are among those still with our club.
These climbers credit Jim and Theresa with showing them how to get better through discipline, hard work and the use of progression from toprope to red point. The original crack workshop list included 48 climbs rated 5.9 to 5.l0d in four difficulty groups. Having completed the original list, Tom Brogan in 1990 added levels 5 and 6, with 24 climbs up to the 5.11d. Tom's extensive article dealing with the levels 5 and 6 can be found in Cliff Notes #40. Additional information can be found in Jim Erb's articles in the Mugelnoos (Cliff Notes predecessor) #651, 655, 656, 659, 660, 661, and 673. Pat Orris's excellent article on mental and physical preparation can be found in Mugelnoos #660.
The crack list proved extremely popular. I know of several club members, who spent years trying to bag it. It is as valid (and hard) today as it was then. The trick, discovered by Jim early into the workshop, is that only when one masters a level cleanly would he/she be allowed to progress to the next. You were allowed to toprope, preplace protection, and work a given line, but only after you placed protection on lead and completed all the climbs without flailing would you go to the next. Sticking with this rigid structure assured that skills would keep improving. The 1986 workshop was, to this day, one of the most exciting and innovative ways for our members to progress in climbing. The Commitment was huge every weekend for several months-and the climbing was unrelenting, but those who graduated are yet even today some of the best in the club.
By the way, the workshop was never repeated in its original form, most likely due to its extreme commitment. I have always felt that the original list should be expanded downward as well. There are many who may want the structure of progressively difficult crack climbs, but would appreciate starting at a more relaxed level. By this I don't want to dilute Jim and Theresa's philosophy-that serious climbing starts at 5.9. But there are those who need to acquire crack climbing skills to get to that level first. My intent here is not to try to improve on the original list, but to compliment it with some classic J Tree crack climbs at 5.7 and 5.8. I used several sources for these. I have led or followed all of them. I also climbed 38 of the 48 original climbs (Miguel Carmona-thanks for the memories), Roger Linfield’s written evaluations were great, and Randy Vogel's star ratings helped too. I realize that this Selection is NOT definitive-there are many great climbs out there-but after you complete this list, I'll bet you'll agree that these are some of the best easy crack climbs at J Tree.
So here you have it-the 1986 original list Tom Brogan’s additions, and my 32 prep climbs. Combined, they are arguably 104 of the BEST J Tree cracks, ranging from 5.7 to 5.11d. Do you want to know what it took to go from easy fifth to 5.11? Would you like to know more about the workshop method? Ask one of the graduates still with our club. It could change your climbing life forever.
(page numbers in Randy Vogel’s Climber's Guide to Joshua Tree, 1992).
32 Prep Climbs
PREP CLIMBS A (5.7) Bighorn Hand Crack p. 60, Smooth as Silk p. 95, Double Dog Leg p.98, Classic Corner p. 109, Bush Crack p. 120, White Lighting p.125, Scrumdillishus p. 131, Frosty Cone p. 131, Mr. Misty Kiss p.131, Double Cross p. 189, Nereltne p. 223, Life’s a Bitch and Then You Marry One p. 279, Mental Physics p.298, Wisest Crack p. 379, Dolphin p.463, Crackup p. 482, Gargoyle p.483.
PREP CLIMBS B (5.8) Right Sawdust Crack p.32, Baby Roof p.53, Dinky Doinks p.97, Sail Away p.157, The Flake p.187, Dog Leg p.189, Hands Off p.197, Tennis Shoe Crack p.210, Right Peyote Crack p.224, Small World p.394, Music Box p.473, Where 2 Deserts Meet p.477, Crank Queenie p.529, Taken for Granite p.550, At Your Pleasure p.553.
The Original List
LEVEL 1 (5.8-.9) Cake Walk p. 96, Dummy's Delight p. 178, Looney Toons p. 223, Middle Peyote Crack p. 224, Pope's Crack p. 245, Room to Shroom p. 278, Touch and Go p. 241, Nurn's Romp p. 384, Gem p. 445, , Colorado Crack p. 445, Continuum p. 459, Invisibility Lessons p. 459.
LEVEL 2 (5.9-.10c) Right Baskerville Crack p. 35, Tossed Green p. 36, Aftermath p. 52, Left Mel Crack p. 90, Right Mel Crack p. 90, Sphincter Quits p. 154, North Overhang p. 187, Orphan p. 189, Watanobe Wall p. 208, Effigy Too (TR) p. 239, Spiderman (TR) p. 445, Bird of Fire p. 463.
LEVEL 3 (5.9-10b) Tinker Toys p. 97, Friendly Hands p. 111, Tax Man p. 130, Illusion Dweller p. 169, Lower Ski Track p. 183, Super Roof p. 210, A Woman's Work is Never Done p. 214, Bruiser (TR) p. 214, Roller Ball p. 219, Halfway to Paradise (TR) p. 239, Dangling Wo Li Master p. 316, Exorcist p. 384.
LEVEL 4 (5.10b-.10d) Foreign Legion p. 52, The Importance of Being Ernest p. 127, What's It To You (TR) p. 154, Clean and Jerk (TR) p. 155, Fisticuffs p. 1 70, Bearded Cabbage p. 188, O'Kelly's Crack p. 229, Book of Changes p. 316, Caught Inside on a Big Set p. 316, Morning Thunder p. 316, Perpetual Motion p. 414, Rubicon p. 462.
Brogan's Additions
LEVEL 5 (5.10c-.11c) Butterfly Crack .p 32, Psychokenesis p. 63, The Lemon Slicer p 70, Papaya Creek .p 124, Pat Adams Dihedral p. 131, Coarse and Buggy p. 136, Left Ski Track p. 183, Jumping Jack Crack p. 212, Hot Rocks p. 223, Swept Away p. 245, Heart of Darkness p. 373, Grit Root p. 382.
LEVEL 6 (5.11a-.11d) Erotic City p. 41, Hyperion p. 73, Scary Monsters p.104, Right Banana Crack p. 124, Where Eagles Dare p. 168, Hidden Arch p. 178, Spider Line p. 188, Wangerbanger p. 229, More Monkey than Funky p. 257, Zen and the art of Placement p. 406, Human Sacrifice p. 413, The Woodshed p. 461.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Mar 15, 2007 - 10:02am PT
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I'm surprised that noone's mentioned the but buy, beg or steal a copy of Parallelojams, Montrails movie about climbing the splitters at the Creek. There are lots of good descriptives here but nothing beats good visuals. The move has to be one of the most entertaining climbing that's ever been made and it has lots if great crack climbing instructions.
Mal
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Erik of Oakland
Gym climber
Oakland
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 16, 2007 - 02:14am PT
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someone suggested posting a Valley Crack Progress List, and I'm seconding that.
btw, could someone comment on how representative the first pitch of After Six is of Valley cracks, both in terms of feel and protectability?
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Rocky5000
Trad climber
Falls Church, VA
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Mar 16, 2007 - 11:42pm PT
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If you ever visit Seattle be sure to check out the concrete boulder/slabs behind the UW stadium, if it is still there. I learned taping and jamming there to a high level commensurate with my physical strength in just a few months on that remarkable facility.
Take my word - as you gain skill the pain will diminish and the blood disappear. Or at least you'll pay the price willingly, for the privilege of doing the Central Pillar, or a thousand others equally beautiful.
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Mar 16, 2007 - 11:53pm PT
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Here's the Dale Bard essay on crack climbing someone was referencing.
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Watusi
Social climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Mar 17, 2007 - 01:08am PT
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Crack climbing is cool!
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 21, 2007 - 03:01pm PT
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Fisticuffs.
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Jul 21, 2007 - 06:09pm PT
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Although many denigrate taping up I highly recommend learning to do it well. Also, if you have fragile skin,as I myself do, taping will allow you to climb on repeated days without the backs of your hands turning into a carpet of festering sores. I dont recommend the wrapping tape around your hand method, it is very difficult to get the fit right, too tight and your hand is useless in mere moments, too loose and the tape falls off right away. Instead apply tincture of benzoin to the back of your hand and apply strips of tape lengthwise, wrist to knuckle. Secure it at the wrist with a wrap around, this is hard to get right, but not as critical as wrapping it around your hand. At the knuckles, wrap from the back of your hand around your fingers. You can bunch the tape so it is just a thin strip where it goes under and between your fingers. You should do most of the tape job while flexing your hand, making a fist kinda, so that the tape job does not constrict your hand. If you make it too tight your hand will be useless in very short order. Flex your wrist as far as you can when wrapping it. Learning this skill will really make your skin last a lot longer and add greatly to your learning curve. Also, I agree with all the other posters who said to go outdoors on real rock. I have never been a climbing gym guy, but the artificial cracks I have seen have all been very difficult and shallow. Not really conducive to learning. I have used a crack machine made from 2x12 lumber that you could fully insert your hand into that was pretty good. It was also adjustable in width so you could practice different sizes. If you are really motivated and have space for such a thing they can be a good training aid, but still not like real crack climbing. Just remember, crack climbing rules! Why? Because you can always place pro! Good luck brother!
Michael
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Jul 21, 2007 - 11:39pm PT
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Way back when, on my best day, I could lead easy 5.10 cracks, so my advice is suspect, at best.
Taping up is kinda cool, especially when the sweat kills the adhesive, and you can pull off the offwidth mitts and use them the next day. Sorta like a custom-fit glove. You can tape the fingers and discard that, but keep the fist/OW part for later.
Thumb-down for a typical fingerlock seems the way to go.
Campus-boarding on the door frame trim in your house (pull-ups on 1/2" wide wooden ledges) seems to be a cheap/easy way to find out if your forearms are in shape.
Get some Altia high-tops if you are going to climb wide cracks. You'll appreciate the protection of the maleoli.
Now, that's a five dollar word you don't see very often. . . ..
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 22, 2007 - 12:01pm PT
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Australia (ACT maybe?)
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 22, 2007 - 12:07pm PT
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Boney Fingers. Whitney Portal, Ca.
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 22, 2007 - 12:12pm PT
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Australia. This crack climb (5.10d) was on-sight free-soloed by Tobin Sorenson; at the time, it was one of Australia's hardest crack climbs. (That's the story I heard anyways;....anyone else heard different?),,,...
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 23, 2007 - 09:20pm PT
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Jul 23, 2007 - 10:02pm PT
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Bony Fingers
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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Hand Slams. Blue Mountains, Australia.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Here's something I posted a long time ago on Rc.Com. Hope it helps
I frequently teach or climb with folks who want to focus on crack climbing, Here are some of my observations:
1. The majority of beginning crack climbers don't "really" have a clear grasp of the mechanics of a hand jam. This is hard to convey in words, and needs practice until you "get it" but...the main hand muscle for hand jamming is the fleshy area at the base of the thumb. For a thumbs up jam, this fleshy base of the thumb flexes and applies pressure against the back of the hand, particularly against an area on the bone just less than an inch below the index finger's third knuckle. The fingers play no role in most hand jams and you should be able to hang all your weight on a bomber hand jam and still wiggle all four fingers.
2. It can't be overemphasized that the arms are mainly to keep you from falling backwards. It helps to keep your arms straight when possible or locked off (when placing pro or reaching up for the next jam)
3. Folks complain about foot pain but it hurts feet less for feet to be clamped into the crack front to back rather than side to side. Get used to standing on your feet with your ankle twisted. I'm used to it but it might help to try walking around bowlegged on the sides of your feet. Just like you can stand on a dime edge, you can stand on a jam that merely consists of the end of your big toe twisted into a pin scar, particularly if you hold your body in such a way that pastes the toe into the crack.
4. Hold your body in such a way that your weight stays over your feet. This might involve creative body position.
5. Some cracks suggest that you keep one foot in the crack while the other smears the face while you quickly hike the crack foot up to the next jam. Sometimes you keep both feet in the crack and leapfrog one foot over the other. Sometimes it is less awkward to shuffle the feet up the crack, with one foot staying low and the other high. The same goes for the hand jams, it could be one hand over the other, or one staying low and the other high.
6. Choose the jam that feels most solid. Thumbs up is preferable to thumbs down since those jams are most solid when you bring them down to chest level or lower.
7. For finger jams, try to have the constriction bind on the area between the knuckles not on them. The strongest finger jam stacks the middle finger over the index finger with the arm/elbow oriented straight down, not pulling to the side.
8. It's a good idea to place your hand jam so you don't have to move it while your using it.
9. When it gets too big for bomber hands, use "cupped hands" by rotating the thumb further from the index finger, if wider go to fists, if wider, complain, then pull on the edge of the crack with one hand while you press on the far edge of the crack with the bone of the forearm of the other.
10. When it gets too small for bomber hands, first try to get away with thin hands, thinner? ..look for constrictions in the crack and wrap your index and middle fingers around the constriction from the top and thumb up around the constriction from the bottom. This is called a ring jam. It's hard to hold your whole weight on this kind of jam so pay attention to standing on you feet. Softer shoes, like slippers, work better in thin hand and finger cracks than Kaukulaters, Aces, or other stiff shoes.
11. When the crack gets too wide for bomber feet. cam one side your foot against one side of the crack while the other side of your shoe presses on the other side. As it gets wider, move towards Heel/toe jamming.
12. I hate tape because it's hard to keep it from constricting the muscles used in jamming. You wind up wasting power fighting the tape. Tape gloves are usually less offensive. A client gave me a pair of hand jammies (thanks) which I find useful for walls and rough fist cracks, but in general, it's way easier for me to climb with naked hands, so it's hard to consider tape or jammies to be cheating.
13. If you want to learn crack climbing, stop resorting to standing on face holds and/or liebacking. These crutches just hold you back and will only take you so far.
Peace
Karl
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This wide crack post, from Petsfed, was well done. I’m pasting it in to complete the beta:
Off-widths require a vaguely similar technique. If you try to hang off just your arms, you will make it about 12 feet before pumping out, no matter how strong you are.
The first thing to remember is that you have to use you appendages like tube chocks. That is, try to put your weight soley on your bones. Arm bars, knee bars and heel & toe jams are good examples of this. If you can put your hand low and your elbow high and holds, its bombproof. More often than not though, that's squeeze chimney territory.
If it truly is an off-width climb, you have several options. If you can lie your back flat against one face of the crack, you'll have to use the chicken wing, or reversed chicken wing. I can never keep the two separate so here's a brief description of both. Put your thumb in your armpit. Now imagine cramming your elbow to your shoulder into a crack then straightening your arm until you have a jam. There's one. Now point your arm straight out from you. Imagine bending your arm until you get a solid jam from that. That can and will work in some situations. Use your other arm to push or pull (whichever works) on the side of the crack, or use any face holds in the area.
For smaller offwidths, you have to start stacking body parts. Handstacks are obvious. Basically hand and fist jams as depicted above, but as opposed to jamming between two opposing faces of rock, each hand is touching only one face (presumably the opposite face from what the other is touching) and jamming between the rock and the other hand. Sounds scary huh? You can also hand-forearm stack, hand-torso stack, and my personal favorite, hand-head stack.
This begs the question though, how do you move your hands without falling out? If its narrow enough, you can simply use foot jams and stand up while barely touching the crack as you move your hands up. That's difficult. What works better is to jam your knees in and then flex the surrounding muscles. With both knees in, you remove your hands entirely, place pro perhaps, then reset your hand stack higher. You don't fall because you have mega-ripped abs . The entire process (hand stack, knee jam) is called levitation. In larger offwidths however, levitation simply doesn't work. You must use a heel and toe with one foot and flag with the other. Sometimes the crack is too big for that. Then you use a knee and heel, or better still a knee and toe. In such a situation, there is no way to look truly graceful. Indeed, you can only pick out a skilled off-width climber by the sheer lack of profanity. Alas, I sound like a sailor when I climb off-widths.
Resting in an off-width is an exercise in creativity. Arm bars work well as do knee bars. If you're skinny or nearly in a squeeze chimney, you can place an arm across your chest and breathe in. My god, you're resting! If possible, swap out hand stacks for arm stacks. The idea is to get you muscled relaxed without falling. Of course, in an off-width or squeeze chimney, falling is often more akin to a horrifically obese person going through a child's tube slide lined with sand paper. You don't free fall per se , you simply slide.
Knee pads are recommended, but only thin ones. My girlfriend gets bruises covering her entire knee after off-widthing such that she cannot wear shorts for several weeks (from pain and from the sheer nausea that those around her get from looking at said bruises).
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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"Handstacking is a lower body technique," The Bob.
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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F A of Ganado, N. Wonderland
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Raydog
Trad climber
Boulder Colorado
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RE:
" english??? but the language of the body is international, baby!"
true - I stand corrected :)
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