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General Climbing Discussion

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The Dark Side 13-Sep-2010 At 5:36:45 PM rod

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Might not have said this two years ago but I'm sold on crack climbing as another element in the game. Having gone through the sport slab, winter gym, harder face climbing progression before getting into some harder trad crack routes I'm definitely of the opinion its like starting out all over again. Once you've done a few and give it a bit of a think as to why you keep peeling in the end they're just rock, featured, steep or otherwise and its simply about giving it a lash. Overall, almost 50% of the lines that inspired me the most have demanded the ability to climb granite or sandstone cracks. You've got to have the skill set in your arsenal.

The HUGE advantage for me is that they offer a lot more capacity to put fairly wide palette of appendages into it hence taking some weight off the fingers/forearms. More than anything they give me the opportunity to deploy my greatest climbing asset, the shoulders and lats.

Another plus is gear - you can place friends and nuts wherever you need (crack permitting of course) rather than whatever bolt pattern some equipper decided to impose and I happen to find that quite liberating. It also helped bring some routes down to my level in that I could dog/aid your way to glory and practise the things over and over again as a consequence.

So my advice is ignore all "avoid them like the plague" attitude toward them, ignore a any current grade PB attachment you might have and get out there to have a crack at 'em. The Parallelograms section of "Sender Films "Return to Sender" will really help you make faster progress, tonnes of technique tips and some very inspiring Indian Creek lines that will have you so stoked you'll be just itchin' to try grovelling up that extra metre before taking the inevitable spill onto gear.