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General Climbing Discussion

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crack


howzithanging?

13-Nov-2011
7:49:52 PM

if you wanted to learn how to climb cracks what would be the next step after squeakeasy??

citationx

13-Nov-2011
7:59:52 PM

squeakeasy? crack?
starting crack climbing at 22?
there's always the rack, christian crack, hyaena, electric warrior, mari, charity buttress, scorpion, tarantula....that..grade... 20? on uncle charlie's nostril, lots of them up pharos gully in one form or another...
they're cracks and/or corner cracks. i don't know any of higher grades.... and obviously, that's limited to araps.


pezz

13-Nov-2011
8:00:33 PM

My first experiance with jamming was seconding 'the rack'
was a great little climb. Now to head back and lead it.


Eduardo Slabofvic

13-Nov-2011
8:04:18 PM

Go on a climbing trip to Frog or Yosemite


benjenga

13-Nov-2011
8:05:11 PM

Travel to frog.


Grunt Master

13-Nov-2011
8:10:41 PM

And once you have done with Frog... come to Ben Lomond to really learn crack climbing. It can be a very humbling experience for those not used to more "pure" crack climbing. But very worthwhile.

I guess Indian Creek would be next...

ithomas

13-Nov-2011
8:29:22 PM

I have a little experience with what would now be judged moderately graded cracks at both the Ben and Frog. There is no doubt in my mind that although smaller, less spectacular, less complex, etc etc --- yawn ---, Frog Buttress offers crack climbing which is technically harder, more difficult to protect and more sustained - yes - more sustained - than similarly graded climbs at the Ben.


nmonteith

13-Nov-2011
9:10:36 PM

I agree itomas, for starters the friction is much worse at Frog - so you end up using a lot more toe jams and sketchy hand/finger jams that feel like they are about to slip out, whilst at the Ben the friction is incredible and there are many little foot options. Obviously the Ben has the pure enduro crack routes though. Frog also offers conveniance with hundreds of cracks right next to each other within a few minutes of the car.

A crag closer to Arapiles that has some great crack routes is Black Ians Rocks. The routes are quite short (15m) but usually very sustained and involve a lot of pure jamming (compared to 99% of Araps routes).


The good Dr

13-Nov-2011
9:43:09 PM

On 13/11/2011 howzithanging? wrote:
>if you wanted to learn how to climb cracks what would be the next step
>after squeakeasy??

After Squeekeasy do these In the following order.

Kryptonite crack
Karma Sutra
Die Loaded
Paladin
Uncle Charlie's Right Nostril
Picking Winners
Wizard of Ice

That should see you learning a lesson or two.

Wendy

14-Nov-2011
8:16:23 AM

You forgot Marbuck. Of course, no budding crack climber should miss Marbuck.

There is actually a long list of crack climbs at Araps on here somewhere, buried in one of the many former posts about learning to climb cracks. Try the search engine.

crankdown

14-Nov-2011
11:00:13 AM

"The Great White Hope" on the back of Mitre has a short crack section but IMHO was stellar

ithomas

14-Nov-2011
12:50:04 PM

I'm with Citationx here: if you have already climbed Squeekeasy - you can already climb cracks. You don't need any more information - just more jamb-scars!


howzithanging?

14-Nov-2011
8:27:47 PM

yep scars are what im after


Macciza

14-Nov-2011
8:37:30 PM

On 14/11/2011 howzithanging? wrote:
>yep scars are what im after

Maybe try 'The Great Shark Hunt' then . . .

ithomas

15-Nov-2011
10:56:37 AM

Yes - Buffalo for scars. DO NOT TAPE UP AND DO NOT USE CAMS! Using this traditional strategy will ensure that you hang around long enough for quartz crystals to really grind their way into your flesh. Try High Voltage on the South Side; no way as hard as the Shark - but may involve more blood. It demands fists not hands - resulting in an overall scar pattern that is quite symmetrical. The next step is to ease off on the grades but retain sport climbing's musclebound shirtless fashion. By carefully selecting routes first climbed by ancient chimney masters such as Bill Andrews or Bangladesh you will have scars that may even impress Chopper Read. The important thing is to balance both physical and mental scars. This is the final step in crack technique, but I sense that you are not yet ready. You have so much to learn.


howzithanging?

21-Nov-2011
10:41:52 PM

Got spanked on paladin on the weekend : )

Wendy

22-Nov-2011
7:08:59 AM

Here we go, I dragged that list out of the archives for you. My general cynical theory is if you can't climb cracks, you probably barely did a move that counts as crack climbing on Squeakeasy. And I imagine that you tried desperately to layback the slopey nonsense that is the right side of the crack of Paladin? Pretty much everyone I see trying to learn to climb cracks on stuff that is not option free cracky spends most of their time doing anything they can bar using the crack. It is way easier to learn on a nice easy crack, so just bung on some blinkers and pretend the crack is it. Or go to Black Ians. Or Frog. Or Ben Lomond. Make some tape gloves. Don't listen to people who tell you it's cheating (unless they are soloing barefoot, naked and chalk free). They will make the whole process a lot nicer.

The Keyhole (10)
Hope Variant Start (10)
Harlequin Cracks (10)
Eagle Cleft (11)
Red Parrot Chasm (11)
Salami (11)
Clymenstra Chimney (12)
Watchtower Chimney (12)
Ivan (12)
Kestrel (13)
Nero (14)
Necrophilliac (14)
Megalomaniac (14)
Siamese Crack (15)
Lennox (15)
Bulger (15)
Watchtower Crack (16)
French Crack (16) – desperate!
Happy Ending (17)
Moby Dick (17)
Today (17)
St Peter (17)
Spellbinder (17)
Mari (17)
Scorpion Direct Start (17) – desperate!
Aardvark (18)
Driftwood (18)
Beau Brummel (18)
Hyaena (18)
Gilt Edged (18)
Fang (18)
King Rat (18)
Claw (18)
Virginia (18)
Scorpion (18)
Cerebus (18)
The Rack (18)
Telemachus (19)
Morfydd (19)
Quo Vadis (19)
Cul De Sac (20)
Electric Warrior (20)
Thundercrack (20)
Christian Crack (20)
Five Fingered Mary (20)
Kingdom Come (20)
Wizard of Ice (20) – if you can climb this – then no point continuing with this list! You are a crack God.
Braindrops (21)
Trojan Top Pitch (21)
Straw Dogs (22)
Hellspite (22)
Glory Rodent (22)
Reaper (22)
Milk Blood (23)
Thansgiving Sunday (23)
Kryptonite Krack (23)
Kama Sutra (23)
Orestes (24) – probably easier than all the 23’s
Horrorscope (24)
Warmonger (24)
Die Loaded (24) – trench lovers delight
Life in the Fast Lane (24)
Paladin (24) – desperate!
Uncle Charlie’s Right (25)
Sonic Boom (25) (OK – so not a true crack)
I Can’t Breath (25)
Trojan (25)
The Undertaker (25)
Great Temptation (26)
Procul Harem (26)
Yesterday (26)
Denium (26)
Picking Winners (27) (you might have to do a bit of gardening first)
Fox On a Hot Thin Roof (27) - probably best to wear a gumboot for the finish
Slime Time (28) (seam)
Cobwebs (28) (only in because of the initial crack)
Project right of Cobwebs (33) – if you’ve done this list, then why not – it should be a piece of piss!

simey

22-Nov-2011
8:24:05 AM

You have left out a few obvious ones...

The Baptism 13
Bites in the Pie 13
Jackal 18
Tarantula 19
Electra 19
Pearls Before Swine 20

And I think the crack climbing skills required on Orestes are even less than those required on Squeakeasy. And Sonic Boom??

kieranl

22-Nov-2011
10:46:35 AM

And a couple of others don't really qualify as crack-climbing :
Aardvark
Electric Warrior (OK a couple of jam moves near the top)

Another couple to the list :

Winterset 18
Light-fingered 21 (The crack isn't the crux but only if you can crack-climb)

simey

22-Nov-2011
11:44:11 AM

Light Fingered (21). How could I have forgotten that? It is a beauty.

There are 33 messages in this topic.