Google+ Followers
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
A foothold is a point on a cliff face where a climber places his foot, which allows him upward progress. There are three basic types of footholds: smears (also called friction holds) where a rock shoe smears against the rock surface for purchase; edges where a rock shoe is placed on a protruding edge or shelf, which is usually a positive hold; and toe holds, which is when aclimber sticks the toe of his rock shoe into a pocket or places the toe on a foothold.
How to yous your hand holds in Rockclimbing
How to yous your hand holds in Rockclimbing
Every rock face that you climb offers a variety of handholds or grips.
Handholds are usually used for pulling yourself up the rock, rather than
pushing, which is what you do with your legs; although you push
yourself upward if you use a palming move. The use of handholds is
somewhat intuitive; your hands and arms usually know what to do when you
grab a handhold to stay in balance and to pull.
Learn and Practice Using Different Handholds
While handholds are key to rock climbing movement, how you use those
handholds ranks below your footwork and body position for successful
climbing. Still, you need to learn how to grip various kinds of
handholds that you will encounter in the vertical world. Most indoor
climbing gyms set routes with a wide variety of manmade handholds, which
allow you to learn and practice the different grips. Practice using
every type of handhold to gain the best hand techniques and to build
hand and forearm strength. Read Six Basic Finger Grips to learn how to
grab handholds.
3 Basic Ways to Use Handholds
When you encounter
and then choose a handhold to use on a cliff, you have to decide how
you are going to use that hold. There are three basic ways to grab
handholds: pull down, pull sideways, and pull up. Most handholds that
you use require pulling down. You grab an edge and pull down like you
are climbing a ladder. For the other holds, you will learn how to use
them through practice.
Here are the basic types of handholds and how to use each one with specific hand positions:
Brent Winebrenner/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images
1. Edges
Edges are the most common type of handholds that you encounter on rock
surfaces. An edge is usually a horizontal hold with a somewhat positive
outside edge, although it can also be rounded. Edges are often flat but
sometimes have a lip so that you can also pull out on it. Edges can be
as thin as a quarter or as wide as your whole hand. A big edge is
sometimes called a bucket or a jug. Most edges are between an 1/8-inch
and 1½ inches in width.
There are two basic ways to use your hands
on an edge—crimp grip and open hand grip. Crimping is grabbing the edge
with your fingertips flat on it and your fingers arched above the tips.
This hand position is usually solid but there is the danger of possible
damage to your finger tendons if you crimp too hard. The open hand grip,
while not a power hand move like the crimp, works best on sloping edges
where you get lots of skin-to-rock friction. The open grip is often
used on sloping holds. Use chalk on your fingers to increase friction
and practice open hand grips
2. Slopers
Slopers are
simply that—sloping handholds. Slopers are handholds that are usually
rounded and without a positive edge or lip for your fingers to grip. You
will often encounter slopers on slab climbs. Slopers are used with the
open hand grip, requiring the friction of your skin against the rock
surface. It takes practice to effectively use sloper handholds. Slopers
are easiest to use if they are above you rather than to the side so that
you can keep your arms straight for maximum leverage when gripping
them. Slopers are easiest to use in cool dry conditions, rather than in
hot sweaty weather when you can grease off them. Remember to chalk up
good.
If you’re climbing and encounter a sloper, feel around with
your fingers to find the best part of the hold. Sometimes you will find a
slight ridge or bump that allows a better grip. Now warp your hand onto
the hold with your fingers close together. Feel around with your thumb
to see if there is a bump that you can press it against.
3. Pinches
A pinch is a handhold that is gripped by pinching it with your fingers
on one side and your thumb opposed on the other. Pinches are usually
edges that protrude from the rock surface like a book, although
sometimes pinches are small knobs and crystals or two side-by-side
pockets, which are gripped as you would the finger holes in a bowling
ball. Pinches are often small, requiring your fingers and thumb to be
close together. These small pinches are usually strenuous. Pinch these
small holds with your thumb opposed to either your index finger or your
index and middle fingers, which when stacked on each other are much
stronger than just the index finger. Wide pinches that are the width of
your hand are usually the easiest to grip and hold onto. On these big
pinches, oppose your thumb with all your fingers.
!
4. Pockets
Pockets are literally various-sized holes in the rock surface, which a
climber uses as a handhold by putting anywhere from one finger to all
four fingers inside the hole. Pockets come in all shapes from ovals to
oblongs and in various depths. Shallow pockets are more difficult to use
than deep pockets. Pockets are commonly found on limestone cliffs like
Ceuse in France and Shelf Road in Colorado.
Usually you will insert
as many fingers as you can comfortably fit into a pocket. Feel inside
the pocket’s floor with your finger tips to find dimples and lips that
your fingers can pull against. Some pockets, especially ones that have a
sloped floor, are also utilized as sidepulls, with the fingers pulling
against the side of the pocket rather than the bottom.
The best
pockets to use are either three-finger pockets or two-finger pockets,
while the hardest and most strenuous pockets are one-finger or monodoigt
pockets. Be careful using one-finger pockets since you can severely
stress and injure your finger tendons if you pull our whole weight on
the hold. Whenever you use one- and two-finger pockets, always use your
strongest fingers—the middle finger for monodoigts and the middle and
ring fingers for two finger pockets.
5. Sidepulls
A
sidepull handhold is usually an edge that is vertically or diagonally
oriented and is located to your side rather than above you when you’re
climbing. Sidepulls are holds that you pull sideways on instead of
straight down. Sidepulls, sometimes called layaways, work because you
oppose the pulling force that your hand and arm exert on the hold with
your feet or opposite hand.
Usually you will pull outward on the
sidepull hold, while pushing a foot in the opposite direction with the
opposing forces keeping you in place. For example, if the sidepull is to
your left, then lean right to maximize the opposition with your body’s
weight. Use a sidepull with your fingers and palm facing toward the hold
and your thumb facing upward. Sidepulls also work great by turning your
hip toward the wall and standing on the outside edge of your climbing
shoe. This position often allows you to make a high reach with your free
hand.
6. Gastons
A Gaston (pronounced gas-tone),
named for the stylish French climber Gaston Rebuffat, is a handhold that
is similar to a sidepull. Like a sidepull, a Gaston is a hold that is
oriented either vertically or diagonally and is usually in front of your
torso or face. To use a Gaston, grab the hold with your fingers and
palm facing into the rock and your thumb pointing downward. Bend your
elbow at a sharp angle and point it away from your body. Now crimp your
fingers on the edge and pull outward like you’re trying to open a
sliding door. Again, like a sidepull, a Gaston requires opposition with
your feet to make it work best. Gastons can be strenuous but it’s worth
practicing the move because you will find it on lots of routes.
Ian uses an undercling with his left hand on a hard route at Penitente Canyon
7. Undercling
An undercling is exactly that—a hold that is gripped on its underside
with your fingers clinging to the outside edge of it. Underclings come
in all shapes and sizes, including diagonal and horizontal cracks,
inverted edges, pockets, and flakes. Underclings, like sidepulls and
Gastons, require body tension and opposition to work best.
To make
an undercling move, grip the upside-down hold with your palm facing up
and your thumb pointing outward. Now move up on the hold by pulling out
on the undercling and pasting your feet against the wall below in
opposition. Sometimes you can make an undercling move with only your
thumb beneath the hold and your fingers pinching above. Underclings work
best if the hold is near your mid-section. The higher the undercling
move, the more off-balance you will feel until you move up on the hold.
Underclings can be strenuous, so use straight arms whenever possible to
lessen muscle fatigue in your arms.
8. Palming
If no
handhold exists, then you have to palm the rock surface with an open
hand, relying on hand-to-rock friction and pushing into the rock with
the heel of your palm to keep your hand in place. Palming works great on
slab climbs where no clearly defined handholds exist and they also help
save lots of arm strength because you push with your palm rather than
pull with your hand and arm.
To use a palming handhold, find a
dimple in the rock surface and turn your hand so your palm faces toward
the rock. Next, press down on the rock with the heel of your hand below
your wrist. Palming allows you to move a foot up to another foothold
while your body weight is concentrated on the palm. Sometimes you can
also use a palm on the vertical walls of a corner or dihedral, pressing
your palms against the walls and opposing your arms and legs on either
side of the sidewalls.
Zach matches hands on a big handhold at Red Rock Canyon in Colorado. Photograph © Stewart M. Green
9. Matching Hands
Matching is when you match your hands on a large handhold, often a wide
edge or rail of rock, next to each other. Matching allows you to change
hands on a particular hold so that you can reach up to the next one
more easily. It’s easy to match hands and fingers on big holds since
they will be side by side.
It’s more difficult to match on small
edges. If it looks like you have to match on a small hold, keep your
first hand to the side of the hold with maybe only a couple fingers on
it. Then bring your other hand up and grip the hold again with only a
couple fingers. Shuffle the first hand off so that you can grip the hold
better with the second hand before reaching for the next hold above. In
some instances on hard routes, you may have to match by lifting one
finger at a time off the hold and then replacing it with your other
finger.
How to imp row your climbing 6 Tips to Climb
How
to imp row your climbing
6 Tips to Climb Outside
While indoor gym climbing is a great place to start, to learn basic
movement techniques, and to get stronger, it is not rock climbing—it is
training for the real thing. If you start climbing in an indoor gym, use
these six tips to make a smooth transition to climbing outside.
• Rock Climbing Walls
• Climbing
• Bouldering
• Metolius
• Indoor Climbing Gym
Tip #1: Look, Think, Then Move
Climbing is not just physical, but also mental. Before you begin
climbing, study the rock surface and the cliff face. Look for handholds
and footholds. Look for places to rest. Look for chalk marks or foot
scuff marks that other climbers have used. Visualize your route and pick
out the best and most efficient line to the anchors. Then move up the
rock. Try not to waste effort and energy. Try to follow your route. If
you get off-route or find that the way you chose just doesn’t work, then
find another path. Stay calm and centered and solve the problem.
Tip #2: Don’t Hug the Rock
One of the basic mistakes that beginners make is to hug the rock. It’s
great to love rock, but you don’t have to get that close. When you lean
into the rock surface, or what climbers call “hugging” the rock, it
takes weight off your feet and makes you feel out of balance. Climbing
is all about being in balance so keep your body perpendicular or roughly
90 degrees to the earth’s surface. Keep your hips centered over your
feet for more stability. Every hand or foot movement you make should
keep you in balance.
Tip #3: Stand on Your Feet
While upper-body
strength is important, especially on vertical and overhanging routes,
climbing is more about balance and finding equilibrium. To be a good
climber doesn’t require muscling up cliffs using biceps, abdominals, and
shoulder strength, but requires using your legs and feet. A lot of the
power needed to climb is in your legs, which push you up the rock. Your
legs, particularly your quadriceps, are extremely powerful. As you
climb, concentrate on pushing with your legs on footholds and pulling
with your arms and hands. Use your upper body to help you find balance.
Practice pushing with legs and pulling with arms and finding harmony in
their opposition.
Tip #4: Use Basic Foot Positions
Besides using
your legs, you have to use your feet. Practice and use the three basic
foot positions—toeing, edging, and smearing. Toeing is exactly
that—using the toe of your shoe to stand on a foothold. Edging is using
the inner and outer edges of the shoe to stand on footholds, using sharp
flakes or ripples. Smearing is placing as much of the foot and shoe
rubber on the rock, as in slab climbing, and relying on friction to keep
the foot in place. Smearing uses both the toes and bal ls of your feet
to support weight. Use both your outdoor and indoor climbing sessions to
practice the three foot positions.
Tip #5: Hands Keep You On
While your legs push and propel, your arms and hands pull on various
kinds of handholds. Use your hands to your advantage with lots of
different grips, including crimps and open-hand grips. As you climb,
continually assess the rock surface to find the best handholds. Look for
both horizontal and vertical edges, big holds or jugs, edges that you
can layback against or climb in opposition, and cracks where you can jam
or wedge your fingers and hands for support. Remember that there are
almost no perfect handholds. Make do with what you find. Grab and grip
the hold and move upward. Don’t over-grip or hang on too tightly. You
will use valuable strength, weaken, and fall off. Grab the holds with a
loose hand. Learn more about handholds by reading Six Basic Finger
Grips.
Tip #6: Flow with the Rock
Climbing is about flow and
movement. Don’t climb with a jerky manner. Instead strive for
gracefulness and equilibrium. Climbing is not a series of isolated
movements but instead like a vertical dance with one movement leading to
the next one. Some moves are hard because the holds are small, while
others are easier with big holds. Climb fluidly and try to stay in
motion. Don’t stand around on holds and over-think the route. Reach and
grab, step up and push. Stay relaxed and breathe as you climb. If you
have to shift your weight to keep in balance, make sure that you
transition the change smoothly. When you reach a big foothold or
handhold, stop and rest. Shake out your hands and arms to increase blood
flow. Study the route above and figure where you’ll rest next. Let your
climbing movements ebb and flow. Be one with the rock.
Rock climbing
Rock
climbing is an activity in which participants climb up, down or across
natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach
the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route
without falling. To successfully complete a climb, one must return to
the base of the route safely. Due to the length and extended endurance
required, accidents are more likely to happen
on descent than ascent, especially on the larger multiple pitches
(class III- IV and /or multi-day grades IV-VI climbs). Rock climbing
competitions have the objectives of either completing the route in the
quickest possible time or attaining the farthest point on an
increasingly difficult route. Scrambling, another activity involving the
scaling of hills and similar formations, is similar to rock climbing.
However, rock climbing is generally differentiated by its sustained use
of hands to support the climber's weight as well as to provide balance.
Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that
often tests a climber's strength, endurance, agility and balance along
with mental control. It can be a dangerous activity and knowledge of
proper climbing techniques and usage of specialised climbing equipment
is crucial for the safe completion of routes. Because of the wide range
and variety of rock formations around the world, rock climbing has been
separated into several different styles and sub-disciplines.[1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)