[BD]

it's all a mind thing. i managed to climb my f7c(+) vertical/slab project (on a south facing limestone wall) this sunday around noon in tropical conditions (felt more like a summer holiday). guess what i used... resoled galileos. i don't even know what type of rubber they used but it's good enough apparently.

BD
on the other hand i also prefer 5.10's everytime i need a new pair.

[Stubbs]

[Fiend]

Did Party Animal at Rivelin recently, after backing off it (in slightly claggy conditions) before when it seemed very tenuous to me. Obviously this is a very easy slab.....the difference being this time it felt very easy to ME! Raced up the first bit - it's covered in holds, the ripples and pockets are massive compared to what I've been bouldering on. Hardest bit was placing the cams. I was chuffed with an unusually confident ascent - guess the practise is working

I'm liking it, learning a new "feel".



Need to work a bit more on edgy slabs too (quarried grit styleee). Have been revising the section in Fawcett On Rock. Any other pointers??

[GCW]

Well done Fiend!  Keep practising.  If you're at the plantation the slabby side of the pebble may be your cup of tea.  A couple of slabs and traverses.  And of course lots of slabby eliminates at Brownstones 

[Johnny Brown]

Need to work a bit more on edgy slabs too (quarried grit styleee). Have been revising the section in Fawcett On Rock. Any other pointers??

For edgy slabs, go to Millstone with a few pads and do Sex Dwarves etc. You might need to ditch the baggy galileos though. After that any other holds will seem massive.

Keep reading Fawcett on rock until you can recite most of it. Get the wife to give you caption tests on the photos.

[Houdini]

Sex Dwarves!  Class name - don't care if it's good, just have to do it!  What am I saying?!  With a name like Sex Dwarves it has to be ace.

[Fiend]

For edgy slabs, go to Millstone with a few pads and do Sex Dwarves etc. You might need to ditch the baggy galileos though. After that any other holds will seem massive.

Hmmm, good plan.

Any ideas for specific technical awareness, like what was recommended for smeary stuff? I think I'm alright on crimpy slabs....but still....always stuff to learn.

Don't worry, despite cubanallstar's eye-rolling dismissimal of my bumbly trad footwear, the real shite is reserved for indoor walls...
 

Keep reading Fawcett on rock until you can recite most of it. Get the wife to give you caption tests on the photos.

LOL, was just showing her the photos in there, and she insisted on reading the captions instead of listening . All I can remember is Don't stand on the snow...

[Johnny Brown]

I think edging is more straightforward than smearing. Just be precise, use the side of your boot rather than right on the toe, practice feeling solid on your outside edge as well - you can step much higher off an outside edge.

[Fiend]

And remembering that edging moves are designer moves, sharp tight and aggressive...

[Johnny Brown]

Don't get too obsessed with the numbers though. I wouldn't want you losing sleep through nightmares about multiplying errors.

[r-man]

It just occured to me that a physio exercise might be quite good at developing balance and leg strength.

The exercise involves standing on one leg with your eyes closed for as long as you can - ideally over a minute. Easy enough if you have a fully working leg. But try doing it whilst standing on your toes...

I'm sure practicing this must have slab climbing benefits. Obviously balance is partly a knack, but having stronger legs has got to make it much easier...

[dontfollowme]

How often do you climb with your eyes closed? I am not trying to be smart here but the eyes play a major part in balance. I agree that having strong legs helps with high steps etc.

[r-man]

I am not trying to be smart here but the eyes play a major part in balance.

Yes, which is why doing this exercise with your eyes closed strengthens the muscles needed to balance...because they have to work harder.

I agree that having strong legs helps with high steps etc.

Yes, and it helps with balance too. The point is that if you can do this with your eyes closed, it's going to be much easier with your eyes open.

I'm sure that as well as muscular improvements, this also helps with body awareness - you have to concentrate very carefully on your body to keep in balance. Seems reasonable to me that this mastering this skill would have benefits for slab climbing.

Don't really understand what you are having issues with..?

[Paz]

That sounds like what I do at the bottom of the crag when I try to put my rock boots on without standing them in mud, and without falling over off any cliffs, so you must be on to a winner.

[r-man]

Indeed. Though I can't see any benefit in doing that with your eyes closed...     

[Paz]

That'd be taking the `to onsight you need to be led blind folded to the bottom of your climb' joke too far.

[cider nut]

Main thing though is that the rubber is fantastic - I've never owned new shoes with either C4 or Onyx and it's been a revelation (I had always been a bit sceptical).  Not sure whether the frictional properties are strictly any better but it just feels somehow more trustworthy.  There seems to be less "creep" before it gives which encourages a positive approach and hence better slab skills (was very useful in Ariege). 

Somebody (and I can't remember who, so I don't know how true this is) once told me the 'creep' is called the 'shear coefficient'.  5.10's have a different shear coefficient, so once they go they go.  Other makes creep gradually until you slip off.  This same person pointed out that if the 5.10 rubber was just sticker simple as that, everybody would be wearing them.  The truth is that some people suit different types of rubber.  I suit 5.10's, as if my feet start to slip I think they're never going to stop - that's why I'm crap at walking down hills quickly, I have to make sure each foot is stable before I put any weight on it.

How many people who love and stand by 5.10 have tried anything else in the last 5 years?

My confidence in my feet (and hence my footwork) took a giant lead forwards when I bought some 5.10's.  (I'd forgotten my shoes once, and borrowed a pair of Ascents that were 2 sizes too big, and I could stick with those way better than what I was wearing).  I was a convert and said I'd always buy 5.10's.  My first pair lasted forever (well, well a year, about 4 times as long as my bumbly RC Spirits), testament to the improvement they gave me.  When I needed a new pair the shop didn't have any 5.10's, and I was talked into buying a pair of Montail Wasabi's.  They fit like a dream, and the triple velcro straps helped, but I found them so slippy I had very little confidence in my feet again.  So I've tried other stuff, and never again! 

I've just graduated from Ascents to Sirens, as even though Ascents feel great in terms of stick, they don't fit me well and make my feet ache big style, and if I try to heel hook they slide off.  I've only had the Sirens two weeks (my first experience of Onyx), but they seem pretty darn good so far.

It just occured to me that a physio exercise might be quite good at developing balance and leg strength.
The exercise involves standing on one leg with your eyes closed for as long as you can - ideally over a minute. Easy enough if you have a fully working leg. But try doing it whilst standing on your toes...
I'm sure practicing this must have slab climbing benefits. Obviously balance is partly a knack, but having stronger legs has got to make it much easier...

That makes sense to me.  I'm no expert at all, but it seems logical that to work a skill, you could break it down into its component parts - feet along, then eyes, try poorer/better boots etc.

[RopeBoy]

Hi Fiend,

Sounds like you're doing pretty well on the slabs already.

There's a little slab at Burb N to the left and up near the top of the crag of the Ash Tree Wall area that is good to do with no hands. Whenever we're in the area I tend to try and do it, first with minimal hand contact as I remember to trust in my feet and then with no hands. It's good because it oddly feels bold despite being tiny so is really good to make you trust your feet.

J :-)

[Fiend]

The hold out right on Shock Horror, yeah I saw one, a shallow pocket thing. I just thought since the guide was clear about no boulder, that one was supposed to start very direct. That hold could have helped...

Threadomancy alert!

Does Shock Horror use the arete to pull off the ground? If not, then, errr, how?

[Johnny Brown]

Shock horror has lost several pebbles in the last few years. You can start very direct via a very thin pull on bad slopey edges, using a good foothold under the roof. I can't do this unless it's very good nick. Otherwise there is a good pocket high right, or of course you can bridge or use the arete.

[Fiend]

Okay, that's useful info. That "good" pocket (the one next to a diagonal hold), I can't reach until I'm off the ground with my feet in the break. I did manage to get off the ground using the arete and a high sloping pebble for me left, even that was about a 30% move (in good nick no less). It then got too dark to do another move!