Training for Climbing, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series)

different from the skills outlined above, and therefore you need to develop completely novel motor programs and schema-rules. I advise novice climbers to consult John Long’s How to Rock Climb! for more comprehensive instruction than I offer here.
FINGER- AND HAND-JAMMING TECHNIQUES
     
    Just how your hands engage a crack depends on the size of the fissure. The narrowest cracks will accept little more than the tips of your fingers. Most often you’ll place this jam with your index finger on the bottom and your elbow out to the side. This way, when you pull on that arm, the elbow will rotate downward and produce a twisting of the fingers that further anchors them into the crack. One thing you will notice in larger finger cracks (around an inch wide) is that your fingers tend to slide down instead of jamming solidly. In these situations it’s vital to look for constrictions or bottlenecks along the crack and attempt to place your jams in or just above these narrower spots.
    Cracks ranging from 1 to 3 inches wide are the domain of hand jams. You can execute a hand jam in the thumb-up or thumb-down position. Vertical cracks are often better climbed thumb-down, whereas cracks that slant to the side may be more easily climbed with the lower hand jamming thumb-up and the high hand jamming thumb-down. As in finger jamming, scan hand cracks for constrictions or bottlenecks that will provide the most bombproof jams imaginable. Cracks with little variance are more challenging, as they require a bit more effort to create a solid jam. The key is to cup your hand inside the crack to generate outward pressure and friction on the inside of the crack. Furthermore, jamming thumb-down exerts a twisting force on the jammed hand as you pull down, and this tends to increase the security of the jam.
    Fist jamming is the optimal technique for cracks about 4 inches wide. The technique here is simply to insert your hand with the palm facing into the crack and then make a fist. In closing your hand tightly, the width of your fist increases, making it stick like an oversize cork stuck in the top of a wine bottle. Cracks larger than 4 inches require a difficult off-width technique in which your arm and leg are jammed to gain purchase.
FOOT TECHNIQUES
     

     
    Crack climbing is vastly different from face climbing, yet one fundamental remains the same: Let the leg do most of the work. ERIC McCALLISTER
     

    There are two primary foot techniques used in crack climbing: feet inside the crack and feet on the rock face. In climbing thin finger cracks, you have little choice but to search for edges on the rock surface on which you can edge or smear (as in face climbing). The exceptions are offset cracks (where one edge of the crack is set out from the opposite edge of the crack) and larger finger cracks, which occasionally afford a foot smear on the exposed edge of the crack. Look for stems, high steps, outside edges, and even backsteps in attempting to use your feet optimally. Cracks wider than about 1 inch provide exceedingly solid foot placements by means of foot jamming. The simple technique involves turning your foot side-ways—so that the sole of the shoe is facing inward and your knee is bent outward—and inserting as much of your foot as possible into the crack. Depending on the crack’s size, you may be limited to jamming just the toe portion of the shoe (narrow hand cracks) or its entire front half (fist cracks). Once you’re secured in the crack, your knee will naturally rotate back to center as you stand up on the foot. In climbing a continuous hand or fist crack, you will simply need to leapfrog one foot above the other in a series of foot jams about 1 foot apart.

     
    Finger- and hand-jamming skills are subtle and require practice to perfect. Here crack master John Bachar pumps laps on his “crack machine,” circa 1985. PHIL BARD
     

LIEBACK TECHNIQUE
     
    Finally, there’s liebacking, a unique method of climbing cracks that are located in the vertex of a dihedral or corner. The lieback technique is fairly strenuous since it places your body in a sort of rowing position with your arms pulling and your legs pushing in a powerful opposition. Feet smear on one wall of the corner while your fingers cling to the edge of the crack and arms remain as straight as possible. Move upward by simply walking your feet up the wall and sliding (or leapfrogging) your hands up the crack. With practice you’ll learn to position your hands and