[dunnyg]

I have been once beofore, but have about 3 weeks there after a yosemite trip. I think i have got the nose training down (volume of mid grade trad, jumaring and cracks) but not sure about the creek. Realisticly looking at 5.10 5.11 maybe 5.12 if im on the form of my life. Currently boulder 7a/7b but havent tied in since winter came so stamina is crap. Looking to cruise classic hand cracks and get try some harder 5.11 wide and fingers.

Asside from lapping any crack i can, im guessing all the usual sport climbing training is pretty applicable? Ie i ahould be ob the 4x4s at the wall when the weather ia shit. Have a basement crack but is horizontal and only hand size, but dont know which to prioritise.

Any route recomendations welcome!

[Footwork]

Come to Brimham with meeeeee

[Paul B]

Asside from lapping any crack i can, im guessing all the usual sport climbing training is pretty applicable?

I'd be interested in the response to this. Personally, I found the pump from crack climbing to be very different to that which I experience on Euro-lime (and my shoulders burnt out quickly too)*.

*This may be down to terrible crack technique.

[SA Chris]

Malibu, Oak, Clear, Trout, Heart, Indian?

[jwi]

Do you want to know why US old school climbers (the ones who actually could climb, like Lynn Hill, Tony Yaniro, Todd Skinner, etc) were obsessed with physical conditioning? Crack climbing, that's why. Tons of pull ups help for the

The modern sport climber will off course piss on every pitch they can layback and bump gear, as it is vertical climbing with good holds, on a top rope. However there are not too many of those in Indian Creek, and they will not give you any street cred anyway.

Doing laps on any crack you could find is not a bad strategy. Staying front on, with feet in crack etc. Training on a vertical/slightly slabby adjustable crack made out off two 2x6 is perhaps the most efficient way to learn the subtleties of thin hands/ringlocks/rattly fingers. Ad some bad jibs for feet, unless you want to train for totally desperate pegboarding.

[Fultonius]

I think i have got the nose training down (volume of mid grade trad, jumaring and cracks

Don't underestimate the difficulty of switching between fast-free and fast-A0. This slowed us down loads on routes like the RNWF of Half Dome and our mates on the nose (why they bailed). Practise climbing VS-E1 in a decent pair of trainers (Guide Tennies, Sportiva Ganda etc), aiding when necessary.

No idea about the creeek - move into to Tom Randall's cellar??

[Will Hunt]

Malibu, Oak, Clear, Trout, Heart, Indian?

Shit. Without a paddle.

[ashtond6]

It's a more solid forearm burn in Indian creek than standard sport. I'd focus on technique and moving efficiently, as well as having a solid forearm endurance (holds not too big, not too small)

You didn't ask about the nose but fultons point earlier is so true. Also practise aiding relatively easy cracks then doing single moves in trainers.... believe me the cracks up high will be aided unless you are an animal!

My biggest recommendations to anyone going to yosemite would be to practise multi pitch hauling before you go and get it second nature... I.e. aid great North Road to the ledge, then belay and haul, then again below the top. These change overs take up the most time if not efficient

[Tommy]

Sport climbing for creek cracks is almost entirely useless (unless your sport standard is very low i.e. you just need more general climbing fitness) or if you lack confidence in leading and it's good to get some mileage on real rock. The sport climbing thing also often serves as a distraction for people and then they fail to put in the specific work. My best experiences with this stuff have been:

1. LOTS of endurance on climbing climbing. LOTS. Be fitter rather than strong.
2. NEVER layback. It's for french people and sport climbers. And fit people. A strong people.
3. When you do the mileage outside / or on wooden cracks never allow yourself little footholds outside of the crack. I just makes you crap at jamming feet and lulls you into the false sense of security that crack climbing is enjoyable.
4. Take more than a UK double rack of friends 

Oh and buy some soft shoes! And tape up all the time.

[webbo]

Back in the day training for cracks was climb either one of those fat gym ropes or a climbing doubled with knots in it footless.
Do laps up and down.

[ghisino]

If you can't build a full scale crackl machine, build a crack hangboard.

My experience with the concept is that it makes you very strong on any lock/jam you train consistently, but does nothing for your stamina or your overall movement efficiency (as logically expected).

Probably better for short roofs and boulder problems than for vertical stamina fests...

Yet much better than nothing!.

[Tommy]

If you can't build a full scale crackl machine, build a crack hangboard.

I've not tried that. How does the set up work?? Just do deadhangs? I mean deadjams 

[dunnyg]

Cheers for the tips. Will re read and respond tomorrow.

[TobyD]

Sport climbing for creek cracks is almost entirely useless (unless your sport standard is very low i.e. you just need more general climbing fitness) or if you lack confidence in leading and it's good to get some mileage on real rock. The sport climbing thing also often serves as a distraction for people and then they fail to put in the specific work. My best experiences with this stuff have been:
1. LOTS of endurance on climbing climbing. LOTS. Be fitter rather than strong.
2. NEVER layback. It's for french people and sport climbers. And fit people. A strong people.
3. When you do the mileage outside / or on wooden cracks never allow yourself little footholds outside of the crack. I just makes you crap at jamming feet and lulls you into the false sense of security that crack climbing is enjoyable.
4. Take more than a UK double rack of friends 

Oh and buy some soft shoes! And tape up all the time.

I agree with most of what Tom says, although I don't think sport is totally useless. This will depend on what crack sizes you are on though. Definitely buy some cheap slippers in which your feet lie totally flat for the cracks. The most apt comment i ever heard about the creek is that it turns you into an animal, but a really stupid animal.

[Ged]

Agree with the comments about doing lots of conditioning type training.  If (when) I go back, I'd d tons of sit ups, press ups, and pull ups. Probably in some sort of vomit inducing super sets.  I'd also build some kind of crack machine of purple camelot size, green camelot size, and red camelot size, and figure out a way of doing 4 x 4 or something on it.  I wouldnt bother trying to find cracks to practice on in this country, as there aren't any really.  Just do days of mileage on steep pumpy routes (pembroke), and save the learning to crack climbing until you get there.  You'll learn way more in a day at the creek than weekends spent driving around the country trying to find a crack to practice on.

Enjoy it.  Best place I've ever been rock climbing.

[duncan]

Some training for The Nose ideas here. Otherwise what Ged said (except Indian Creek is not as good as Pembroke). I tried to persuade one of the London walls to build a crack machine. Since it didn't involve leaping between volumes I didn't get very far.

[SA Chris]

Surely some climbing walls having a crack machine shouldn't be too difficult. Would take up almost no space and be pretty popular I reckon.

[Coops_13]

Redpoint in Birmingham had/has a hand/fist crack (easy) and a finger crack (hard)


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[dunnyg]

Cheers for the nose beta, I have plenty to do on that front! I figure the physical training will have some useful cross over with massive days needed to get generic big wall fitness. Have trained for alpine stuff so figure a similar more rock based approach should work for that.

So classic conditioning (i understand to mean pull ups, press ups, simple free weights (?) and core) mixed in with any (foot in the crack!) crack machine work is key by the sounds of things. I think gaining a bit of stamina would be useful for me to start with, for wall stuff. Guessing its all about medium-low weights and a shit ton of reps...

I am going to struggle to make a vertical crack machine, but might be able to make a 45degree (ish) crack though this is unlikely to be long enough to be useful, other than to hold static positions like the wide crack Tom R has(d?) in his cellar for chicken winging. Out of interest how "deep " is the chicken wing crack and what width ish is it?

Perhaps a crack hangboard would be just as useful, I have seen a few examples around the net. Would be quite good for getting strong at awkward thinner than hand cracks, though obviously would do nothing for foot technique side of these. Tommy - I have seen people just doing pull ups on grim looking ring locks etc.., not seen too much more about them but will post up if I see any more info on them.


Never laybacking is something I find easy, i dislike it massively (et, je ne suis pas francais, pal). I assume you meant to type lots of endurance climbing cracks rather than climbing climbing Tommy? I'm not sure the commute from toms cellar would allow me max training time....


I heard leeds wall has a finger crack up one of the lead walls at the moment, and the Lab has a (short) crack, but has a few of those WC crack volumes to set stuff. Hoping on the next set, a rattley finger crack is produced...

[dunnyg]

If anyone is in to that stuff i went to leeds wall. Theres a finger crack on the rhs of main wall. Itd hard work (for an unfit punter) and painful on the fingers. Not splitter but a good pump!

[ghisino]

If you can't build a full scale crackl machine, build a crack hangboard.

I've not tried that. How does the set up work?? Just do deadhangs? I mean deadjams 

Basically a mini crack machine, hanging from a pullup bar or a tree. 2 pièces of wood, 4 long screws and 16 nuts. Sandpaper if jams are weaker then skin.
https://ggrimpe.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/entre-un-canyon-et-lautre/

Sort of rock ring thing.

I mainly deadhang from mine though it is long enough to campus one big move and match.