Crack Climbing - Instruction #3

Tired, sore and bruised

Sore and bruised finger knuckles - but happy to have a crack climbing lesson with Tino this morning! Worked on getting my thumbs rotated into my palms and then twisting my hand in the crack. Made for a solid hold but I have to remember to keep that all locked as I have a habit of loosening as I move up. As for my foot jam technique, I experienced only one good foot jam today. It was solid as I moved up and there was pressure on my foot but absolutely no pain. Learning on vertical cracks is definitely more challenging than learning on low-angle cracks. But I get so much out of learning to crack climb! It's difficult, but helps me focus and brings me great joy, especially the learning aspect. The rewards far outweigh the pain! 2i - Ice and Ibuprofen!

Crack Climbing - Instruction #2

Another great lesson with Tino! For today's lesson I climbed the vertical crack using both hand and foot jams! Warmed up by climbing a couple of easy routes and practicing "locking off" on each hold and climbing squarely. At first it was awkward but once I got onto the crack, it made sense. As for my feet, it felt insecure. I want to trust my feet like I do ice/rock climbing. But I'm such a newbie crack climber that I'm still trying to figure out the feel of a correct foot jam. Today's lesson reminded me of what it felt like when I first started learning to rock/ice climb. I guess with more time and practice I'll get the hang of it! :) Woot! Woot! Love crack climbing!

Sore but happy feet

Crack Climbing Skills Seminar

Salt Pump Climbing Gym in Scarborough, Maine has several climbing seminars that are held each month. I signed up for their crack climbing seminar which is limited to 6 climbers. Janet Wilkerson taught the seminar and we learned hand jamming and finger locking. We met upstairs and introduced ourselves, then climbed and down-climbed 5 bouldering routes for warm up. There are 3 floor-to-ceiling crack routes and each is a different size, offering practice for jams, from fingers to fist, depending on hand size. We moved downstairs to the crack routes and broke up into two groups. Janet offered beta to everyone and we got to practice hand, foot and finger locking jamming techniques. In addition to the instruction, I really enjoyed the opportunity to practice techniques with other climbers who are motivated to climb crack! If you want to give crack climbing a try, sign up for the 2-hour seminar. You'll learn essential techniques to get you started, and have fun climbing crack routes! 

**Janet Wilkerson is the Marketing Director of Salt Pump Climbing. She is also an AMGA guide with Cathedral Mountain Guides.

Janet Wilkerson teaching us how to tape up

Crack Climbing - Instruction #1

While out at Joshua Tree National Park last month I did some hiking and worked on goals on learning to crack climb. Hired Seth Pettit of Mojave Guides to teach me basic crack climbing skills. Climbed for 2 full days (Day 1 and Day 2) and got on 15 pitches! Now I'm hooked. I come back to the east coast and of course it's cold and all my climbing buddies are salivating for ice to climb on. Meanwhile I'm like, "dudes, I'm still in rock mode here!" So I started looking for a climbing gym in my area that has vertical crack climbing routes plus instruction. Found one 77 miles north of me at Salt Pump Climbing in Scarborough, Maine with Tino Fiumara. Tino is the Head Routesetter and Assistant Program Director at Salt Pump. I spoke to Tino about my vertical crack climbing goals before I left for Las Vegas and scheduled my first lesson with him for when I return from my Las Vegas golfing/climbing trip.

Fast forward to today.....
I had my first lesson with Tino today and it was fantastic! Where I mostly worked on low-angled crack routes in Joshua Tree, the route I worked on today is a 30 foot vertical hand crack with the last 15 feet slightly overhung. It is the easiest of 3 crack routes at Salt Pump Climbing. My lesson was for 2 hours and it started off with warming up and assessment on 3 types of easy routes. This was so that Tino could see my movement, route reading, balance, strategy and strength skills. Then we moved over to the crack route. Before I climbed we covered jams, locks, rattly/insecure jams, lateral pressure and body positions. I climbed the vertical crack using hand jams in the crack while using my feet on the holds up the sides of the crack. It was fun, challenging and scary all rolled into one and I got to the top on my second try. And not gonna lie....it was work, but the constant body tension of crack climbing is addicting! Can't wait for my next lesson for feet jamming, but for now, I need to practice what I just learned!

Ocun Crack Climbing Gloves

Convenient, easy and fast on/off