climbing techniques for thin cracks

9/29/2014 Thin Jamming

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Is that a thumbs-down or an OK sign? Steph Davis jamming Johnny Cat (5.11d), Indian Creek, Utah.

By Steph Davis (from Climbing Magazine, Issue #177, June 1998)

The crack above you runs forever. You reach and sink your hand up to the wrist, again and again, plugging cams at will.You're a hero. You're laughing. You couldn't fall if you tried. Suddenly the crack gets tigheter. You can't get a hand jam;your feet won't go in. You grope desperately, losing skin. Two hours later you've dogged to the anchors, almost as exhaustedas your belayer. The scars are mostly emotional, but there is a lot of blood.

Unfortunately, offwidth doesn't only mean wide cracks. Several brutal sizes lurkfrom thin hands down. But wait- don't sell your cams to buy more quickdraws.Offwidth thin cracks don't have to be awful. In fact, they're fun, once you acquirethe know-how. And technical jams can save you from strenuously laybacking or



The basic foot jam is the building block forclimbing thin cracks

tenuously face climbing around awkward crack sections almost anywhere.

But before we get into that mysterious sizes, let's talk about sinker hand cracksagain. They're so perfect, so delightful, and they're the building blocks for tightersizes. When you climb a hand crack, you insert one foot parallel to the crack atabout knee level. Your pinky toe should point straight down, and your knee shouldstick out sideways like a Russian dancer. Now, torque your foot by pulling yourknee in toward the crack. Stand on that foot, then repeat the process with the other.Do this, and you'll barely need to pull on those perfect hand jams. This foot-torquetechnique is the key to climbing thin hands to fingers; it just becomes more refinedas the crack gets smaller and less of your shoe goes in.

Thin Hands A thin-hand jam is one thin which your handswon't go in deeply enough to get that perfect thumb-in-palmlock. Instead, gain purchase by flexing your thumbs as thoughyou were getting perfect jams, and by putting your top handin thumbs down and your bottom hand thumbs up. Yourhands will catch about an inch behind your knuckles.Shuffling your hands instead of crossing saves energy, asdoes applying just the right amount of squeeze, a skill youwill develop through milage.

In a typical splitter crack I lead with my left hand because that feels comfortable to me, but you mightdo the opposite. I jam my left hand high and keep my right hand at chest level. The right hand acts as alever and a stabilizing point. The left hand keeps me moving up. If, however, the crack diagonals right,I lead with my right hand thumbs down, and follow with my left thumbs up. In corners I lead with thehand that would naturally go on top for laybacking.

The true stabilizers in a thin-hand crack are your feet. This size crack (which, but the way, variesdepending on your hand size), is wide enough for good foot jams. Make sure your shoes are largeenough to let your toes lie flat. For hard boulder problems, I wear a size five slipper, but for hard thincracks I wear a size six and a half, which is the same as my street-shoe size. It might sound painful tocrack climb in slippers, but for thin cracks, the thin toe profile of a slipper is better. Like your handjams, these foot jams are tight but bomber once you learn to trust them. Torque your first foot, and putyour other foor in at knee level immediately. This takes weight off your hands and helps you get inbalance. The hand jams mainly hold you in place while you push up with your legs. With practice,you'll find that even in a vertical thin-hands crack, you're barely pulling with your arms.

Ratchets Ratchets are the size down from thin hands, and the next step up in difficulty. A crack ofthis size may fool you. At first, you might believe you can get by with thin-hand jams. A ratchet-sizedcrack, however, is often just tight enough that trying to jam it will get you incredibly pumped,frustrated, or both.

To climb pure ratchets, put both hands in thumbs down. Insert your handparallel to the crack with your thumb folded under your fingers and yourelbow sticking straight out. Now pull your elbow down to your ribcage.You should get a camming action between the spot just behind yourindex finger's first joint and the point just below your thumb joint. Makesure to tape. Like slopers, ratchets become useless when your hands aretoo low, usually below neck level. For this reason, crossing your handsinstead of shuffling them can be helpful, as it keeps you reaching high.But in some cases, a ratchet/thin-hand-jam combo and shuffle can workeven better; pull with your leading hand in a high ratchet and anchor withyour lower hand in a thin-hand jam and chest level.

Again, the key to success is in your feet. This size is still big enough toaccept a decent amount of toe, as long as your shoe is thin and your toes



Jamming thin hands,with the top handthumbs down andbottom thumbs up.

A ratchet.

Taping saves skin, and lets you climb better.

A ringlock.

Adopt the frogposition for a

ringlock-size crack.

are curled. Ratchets are pumpy, so don't ever look past a subtle wideningor discontinuity in the crack. A locker jam or foot edge might be justwhat you need to reorganize, place a piece, and depump before youplunge back into Ratchetland.

Ringlocks The size down from a ratchet is the dreaded ringlock. This isa perfect occasion to tape your index, middle, and ring fingers. Wrap thetape from the base of each finger. Make sure you cover both joints, anddon't tape too thick.

To climb rings, make an "OK" sign with your fingers. Now, tuck yourthumb under your index and middle fingers so the tips are pressing on it.This is a refined form of the ratchet. The cam will be on the first jointsand knuckles of your index, middle finger, and thumb, just above yourhand (hence the finger tape). Shuffling and crossing can be equallyeffective on this size. IF you feel powerful, but you had difficulty fiddlingin the right jam, try crossing, If you're feeling sapped, but confident you

can ringlock quickly, try shuffling. As with ratchets, rings work best when your hands are high. Try

not to let the locks come below your chin or they will want to pop out.

Ringlocks are primarily difficult because you can't get much shoeinto this size crack. Use essentially the same foot torque as in aperfect hand crack, but make it very precise. Imagine that you aredelicately inserting your pinky toe and your other small toes into thecrack. Now twist the hell out of them as you pull your knee in. Inthis size, your feet must stay closer together, and, like your hands,they must stay high to stick. Your body position is that of a ballerinadoing a plie, or a frog. Again, be smart and look sharp. One littlefoothold beside the crack can save you.

Rattly Fingers If you thought feet were a problem with rings,rattly fingers will have you longing for those pinky-toe torques. Youwill get rattly fingers in cracks that are small enough to keep youfrom getting your thumb in, and big enough so your fingers slidedown instead of catching in a nice, secure finger lock. Don't makean "OK" sign this time. It's not OK.

If you won't be needing your hand in the future, put it thumbs down into the crack as far as it will go. Asusual, your elbow will be sticking straight out. Now pull your elbow in. Imagine that your fingers areplaydough, and you're trying to twist them until they come off. Flex your thum up, as though you're trying



Ahh...Bomber fingers. Tips locks.

to ringlock. Sometimes, particularly if the crack is offset, you can use your thumb in opposition, pushing it against the crack.The foot torque becomes more of a rand smear in this size; only the rubber on the outside edge of your shoe fits into thecrack. Twist hard. Keep your feet and hands really high to get purchase. Climb fast.

Rattly fingers. Opposing the thumb can help withrattly fingers. A rand smear.

Bomber Fingers It will be a relief when you finally get some good old finger locks. Thumbs down can be good, putpinkies down can be good, too. Try both and see which feels better. These locks are incredibly secure, so make big movesinstead of wasting energy on many small ones. Keep your feet high, and reach for the sky.

Tips locks If thecrack tightens so yourfingers catch just belowor above the last joint,it's time for tips locks. Ifratchets are like slopers,tips locks are likecrimpers; usuallysecure, but strenuous.Again, experiment withthumbs or pinkiesdown. The thinner thecrack, the more lieklyoyu are to need yourpinkies down. Stuff inas much finger bone asyou can, torque, andpull hard. Before youstart climbing, scope outpotential rest stances soyou'll have the

confidence to punch it through the thinnest sections.While climbing, look around the crack for footholds; in this size they are crucial. For tiny tips cracks, I use a tight slipper,which lets me smear on the outside walls and edge more precisely.

The final word on all of these jamming techniques is to do what works for you. If you're feeling fast and strong, you maywant to layback a 15-foot seciton of ratchets in a corner and be done with it. Or you may feel more solid jamming and

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getting on your feet while you place gear. Don't rule out any possibilities. Perfecting these techniques will give you moreoptions to work with.

Knowledge is power. Now that you're armed with "book" knowledge, go practice. Build an adjustable crack machine (two2x6's bolted together) and work through the sizes. Get on a lot of topropes. The beauty of crack climbing is that it's not aboutdoing the same move over and over. It's about knowing when and how to apply different techniques. A technical jam cancome in just as handy on a sport climb as a kneedrop can on a multi-pitch gear route. The more tricks you have up yoursleeve, the less likely you are to fall when it matters. So, stock up on tape, lube your cams, and jam.

Steph Davis, 25, has learned these techniques through much loss of skin near her home in Moab, Utah.

Classic Cracks Get in GearTesty Canyonlands splitters Placing pro is half the battle

With perhaps the most unrelenting and purecracks anywhere, Indian Creek offers an endlessselection of splitters and corners, from thinhands to thin fingers. Sizes given are for anaverage male hand.

Chocolate Corner(5.9+), Donnelly Canyon, thin hands

Gorilla Crack(5.10b), Supercrack Buttress, wide atbottom then thin hands to hands.

Crack Attack(5.10), Battle of the Bulge Buttress,variety with some thin hands and fingers.

Hole in the Wall(5.11a), Battle of the Bulge Buttress, offfingers to hands.

Rock Lobster(5.11a), Broken Tooth Wall, fingers tohands.

Cave Route(5.11a), Battle of the Bulge Buttress, thinhands in a corner.

Jane Fonda's Workout(5.11b), Battle of the Bulge Buttress, thinhands.

Battle of the Bulge(5.11b), Battle of the Bulge Buttress, thinhands.

Lighting Bolt Cracks(5.11b, first pitch), North Sixshooter Peak,fingers to hands.

Scarface(5.11c), Scarface Buttress, wide fingers tothin hands.

Sicilian(5.11c), Scarface Buttress, thin to widefingers.

Mad Dog(5.11c), Cat Wall, fingers to thin hands.

Knowing how to climb thin cracks is one thing.Figuring out how to let go with one hand longenough to place a piece and clip it is another.Conveniently, you can use your hands to gaugewhich piece will fit best in the crack. You'llsoon learn which cam or nut size is associatedwith your ratchets, rings, or thin-hand jams.How you organize the gear on your rack canmake or break you. It's individual; just makesure you are organized and can get the rightpiece off your rack quickly. Think ahead, and, atleast for the initial section you can see, try pre-racking the first few pieces.

In the best-case scenarios, the off-size will let upat some point and you'll find a great hand jam orfinger lock to place gear from. Don't hang out ina ringlock crux when there's a good jam threefeet above you. Go for it and place from thebetter stance. If there is no good stance, make dowith one that's just all right. Get in balance onyour feet and resist the temptation to place toohigh. Place the piece at nose or waist level- it'llbe easier to clip the rope quickly and you'll beless likely to fall with a big loop out. Onceyou've got a piece, climb quickly to a betterstance for the next one. Above all, make sureyour cams are in good shape. There's nothingworse than a sticky trigger when you'redesperate.