Crack Training Beginner

Ted Pinson wrote:Whoa, that's massive! How tall is it?

18 ft

Optimistic wrote:Do you guys have an issue with the wood flexing? I ran into that with a "crack hangboard" I made and also an adjustable crack that some folks made in a gym I used to go to...

It's reinforced with spacers, There is minimal flex. Not an issue.

mountainhick wrote: It's reinforced with spacers, There is minimal flex. Not an issue.

OK great. What do you use for the spacers, and how close together are they? Looks in the photo like just some wood blocks?

Optimistic wrote: Looks in the photo like just some wood blocks?

Yes. About every 3 ft. and recessed from the front. In wider cracks you do have to pass the spacers, but they are not in the way too much. In narrower cracks it doesn't matter, you can't go that deep anyway. The center OW crack is supported by the left and right blocks of cracks on each side so is free of spacers.

BTW there are no easy hand jams on this. I rebuilt it a couple times it is the third version, second revision. I found that I wasn't getting the training I needed where the cracks went to perfect hands. Better training to be sustained in the off sizes.

Jake Jones wrote:Texture your crack, as others have said. Use tape at first if you're going to do laps. Once you learn what a really good jam is, and this applies for hands, fists, and tight fingers, you won't need to tape. If your jam never moves, then there will be very little if any abrasion. And that's really what you should be aiming for anyway- solid jams that don't budge. If I'm climbing off sizes in which I'm weak, I'll tape. If I'm climbing coarse granite, I'll tape. For everything else, solid jams on chalked up hands is hard to beat.

^^^^This + 1,000

I was teaching a friend of mine to hand jam yesterday in fact, and told her something very similar. Basically, wiggle your hand around delicately until you find a COMFORTABLE jam, then crank down suu
uuuper hard on that as you repeat the process with the other hand. Footwork is the key ingredient though, and I'll echo everyone else's sentiment about aggressive shoes not being ideal.

Crank down super hard? Are you describing how to climb a crack, or how to climb on crack?

Ted Pinson wrote:Crank down super hard? Are you describing how to climb a crack, or how to climb on crack?

ooooh, the OP wanted to climb a crack? Totally misread that. Good catch.

I guess the view is alright! I'm in telluride. I was seriously considering doing that system of just having a few different sizes but I think it's nice to tweak it like 1/8" sometimes. I put threaded rods every two feet which keep it pretty rigid and make for easy adjustments