Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Crack Climbing & Sport Leading Instruction #9





This month marks one year that I started on my journey of learning to crack climb. While vacationing in Joshua Tree National Park a year ago, I hired Seth Peitit of Mojave Guides for two days to teach me to crack climb. Not only do I love crack climbing, but I enjoy the process of learning the techniques of crack climbing. Since returning from Joshua Tree NP, I wanted to continue my crack climbing lessons. So every month I drive 70 miles north to Salt Pump Climbing Company in Scarborough, Maine for my lesson with Tino. Tino, the head routesetter, is a "movement guru" and I'm fortunate to take lessons from him. And today I had another super day of lessons with Tino! 

Several months ago I added sport leading to my crack climbing lessons. I find my lessons on sport leading to be really helpful and enjoyable to learn! The lessons give me an understanding and help me get accustomed to the technique necessary in the movement of sport climbing. It includes leading in the 5.6 to 5.8 range and the technique training I come away with has been most invaluable! 

I got my indoor lead cert from a New Hampshire climbing gym several years ago. In order to do so, I had to demonstrate lead and lead belay on a 5.9 route. I lead up to a 5.10 but most times I felt like I was thrashing my way up a route and didn't see any point in continuing. Discouraged, I stopped climbing indoors for a while and that caused me to lose my mindset and an overall interest in sport leading. Learning climbing techniques with Tino has renewed my interest in sport leading/climbing. 

For the crack climbing portion of my lesson, I worked on using and alternating tension in my body in order to climb through the pain and pressure. It was nearing the end of my lesson and I was tired, but super stoked to get up part ways of the overhanging section of the crack! On my next lesson, I'll push through the pain and pressure to climb through that overhanging section and to the top! The one factor that I keep in mind in all my lessons is that technique is uber important in crack climbing as in another other style of climbing. This is what keeps my interest piqued. 

At the end of my lessons, Tino gave me exercises to do to increase my mobility and strength. He also suggested that I keep a climbing journal. So I downloaded the Journey Diary and Journal App, and use that to list all my "light bulb" moments and lesson details to reflect back on. 

Friday, July 20, 2018

Crack Climbing Instruction #6





Fantastic crack climbing lesson with Tino today!! After warmup worked on “Pressure Garden” the green route (right) to practice, what else, cross-body tension - and it was so fun!! The route is a dihedral and is supposed to mimic the 5.11, 5th pitch of The Prow on Cathedral Ledge - "Stemming" used to ascend. Climbing on vertical cracks is super strenuous but I have to admit, it makes the low-angle cracks outdoors easy. #crackclimbinggoals

Friday, April 27, 2018

Crack Climbing - Instruction #3


crack climbing, hand jam, foot jam, hand twist, thumb rotation, salt pump climbing gym
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!

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Crack Climbing - Instruction #2



vertical, hand jam, foot jam, salt pump climbing

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 shoes

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Crack Climbing - Instruction #1


vertical crack, hand jam

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!





crack climbing
Ocun Crack Climbing Gloves
Convenient, easy and fast on/off

Monday, November 6, 2017

Joshua Tree National Park 2017, California - Day 7



Rappelling off the top of The Bong


Another amazing day with Seth Pettit of Mojave Guides at Joshua Tree National Park. I spent the day climbing 8 pitches using the crack climbing techniques I learned during my first day with Seth. I was pretty stoked to climb crack so I can practice jamming. Like my first day with Seth, I took every opportunity I could to jam my hands, fingers or feet! Enjoy some photos taken of our day.




Our first stop was the Reggie Dome West Face. We parked in the (Wonderland North) parking lot of the Boy Scout trailhead and followed the climbers trail to Reggie Dome. I'm really impressed with the climber's trail signs throughout the JTree park!




This climber's trail was once a road used to access Keys Ranch many years ago.












Reggie Dome West Face




Right: The Chief
I followed Seth up the The Chief (5.5)
then top roped the fun slab climbs 
Speed Bump (5.6) and Fender Bender (5.8).
We were the only climbers here at
the Reggie Dome West Face.














We headed over to Bear Island for lunch and more climbing.
Like the Reggie Dome, we were the only ones at Bear Island.


I followed Seth on Shardik (5.3)
Just look at that crack! 


Then top roped 3 routes on the northwest side;
Kodiak (5.3) - super fun start with crack near the top
Polar Bears in Bondage (5.7) - fun layback crack at start with reachy mid section
Ursa Major (5.7) - my fave! 

Right: Ursa Major (5.7The crux is right at the start but 
that crack was a super relief! It was sweet to slot my fingers
in the crack for a solid rest right off the cruxy start! #fingercracklove





For my last climb we headed over to The Blob
and I followed Seth up The Bong. But not after
we watched two solo climbers go up it first.

The Bong (5.4) - jam time! Now this is a super fun route
with lots of places to jam. The crux is a small roof but beyond
that the angle lessened and I got to practice "shuffling" my jammed
hands while smearing the sides of the crack with my feet.


Seth and I at the top of The Bong

Pano from the top of The Bong
Another beautiful day for climbing in Joshua Tree NP! 
It was a bit windy (at the tops) but still a great day for practicing newly learned skill sets. 
I never thought I'd learn how to crack climb, or if I would even like it. Learning the 
basics was fun and I'm totally in love with it! I love the technicality and the mental
aspect of this style of climbing. There is a lot of satisfaction of being able to obtain a 
good hold when you have your fingers, hands, toes and/or feet jammed into a crack.
Thanks so much Seth and Mojave Guides for a memorable time learning in JTree!






Friday, November 3, 2017

Joshua Tree National Park 2017, California - Day 4



Shaka from the top of Intersection Rock, Joshua Tree National Park


Amazing first day with Seth Pettit of Mojave Guides!!  My climbing goals for this trip is to learn how to climb Crack using hand, finger and toe jamming! Today I got to learn all this and, I have to admit, it was very intimidating. But I slowly got the hang of jamming hands and/or fingers and stepping my feet up. I got to climb and practice these new skills on 7 pitches. Oh, the rock friction here is beautiful - just so, so sticky! Enjoy a some photos taken of my day.

I met up with Seth at the Joshua Tree NP Visitor Center in the morning and after a quick check of gear, we headed to the Trashcan Rock at Quail Springs. His girlfriend Simone (Education Tech with JTNP) dropped by with Bernadette, the only climbing ranger at JTNP. We chatted for a bit and Bernadette said she used to live in NH and had climbed at Whitehorse and Cathedral Ledges!





Seth taught me how to wrap my hands in climbers tape, and then showed me some  hand and finger jams.

In addition, Seth taught me to lead belay using the "pistol grip" of the Grigri 2 and he also showed me how to set up the Grigri 2 in "guide mode" for top belaying.









He also pointed out some different features on the rock. Like these "dishes".









On the West face, I followed Seth up B-3 (5.3), jamming my hands and feet whenever I had the opportunity. Top rope was set up on B-1 (5.1) so I could get 2 laps in, again jamming my hands and feet whenever I could. 










Then I got to finish off with climbing Tip Toe (5.7) on top rope, a really nice face climb up a thin dike between B-1 and B-2. 

We took a break for lunch in the picnic area of Hidden Valley. After lunch, I followed Seth up Easy Day (5.4) on the east face of Turtle Rock. This is the route that has that little crack that I jammed my fingers and then my toes into. And that little crack has really good constriction...I ain't gonna lie, it was painful until I climbed up past that little crack.











Across the street, I followed Seth up Upper Right Ski Track (5.3)  on the North Face of Intersection Rock. That was a super fun, super easy climb! I just followed the curving crack up and around. And again, I jammed my hands whenever I had the chance. 

The start of URST

Cleaning URST

At the top of Intersection Rock

The Old Woman from Intersection Rock




From the top, we rappelled 2 pitches down the south side and I climbed the first pitch of Mike's Books (5.6). I started on the Direct Start and it was tough. I had a tough time getting my hands and feet to stay jammed in the crack. The sides of the crack flared and made it awkward to get my shoulders and hips into it as much as I could. At one point I had my left knee jammed into the crack but it slipped out. I ended up pulling on a piece to get up to the ledge. Later Seth explained what I could have done to make it less awkward for my shoulders and hips.














From the ledge up was easy. The climb on this section is pretty sweet! 

Overall, the weather was just beautiful, it was such a fun day of learning new climbing skills and it was such a great experience to climb in Joshua Tree NP! Thanks so much Seth and Mojave Guides! Looking forward to Day 2!















YouTube Channel - Hawaii Girl Adventures

Check out my YouTube channel at:  Hawaii Girl Adventures I will eventually be phasing out blog posts and be posting videos of my climbing, h...