Re: Better crack climber than face climber?
Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 1:07 amWastral wrote:Reason more 'can' slab/face climb over crack climbing is that crack climbing requires a higher degree of upper body fitness and frankly a higher tolerance of pain. The initiate newbie A) doesn't generally have the upper body fitness level, and B) probably isn't expecting a little pain and flinches releasing their hand from the crack when in reality they need to squeeze their thumb "down-in" locking fist in instead. So, the newbie climbs what they can and builds strength and confidence.
Add very few practice crack walls in gyms or at parks. So newbies have been practicing face climbing and VERY little crack climbing. Face climbing walls are cheap and easy to make. Crack climbing walls are hard to make.
The indoor wall I climb at in the winter has cracks ranging from thin fingers to wide hands, both vertical and pulling through roofs. Very natural feeling surface......I love it. At 44ft high, it's good work when it's really blowing or the roads are closed to the black hills or cody.