Taping Beta For Vedauwoo

Heading to Vedauwoo for the first time next month. And I'm looking for some beta on the taping methods that work for the area. T-Wall is my home crag, and I very rarely find the need to tape up on the smooth southern sandstone, but, I know that Vedauwoo is a night and day difference. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated so I can save my skin at least somewhat for full the two weeks I'm there.

Try this

If you buy metolius tape, they give you another method that seems to work well for me, granted I've only climbed granite once, and that was on Lumpy Ridge, not in Vedauwoo.

Metolius's way of taping is also on their site

brenta wrote:Try this

+1 for this method. Don't forget that you can reuse the gloves, I've had pairs last the span of several different trips. It is kinda cool picking up your old tape gloves and remembering the routes you have already climbed with them.

I've had nothing but grief with the bunching (eg metolius) approach. Catches on crystals going in way more than any other method. I'd say start with as minimal a tape glove as possible, and work up to the glove that minimizes gobies. I do a really complicated glove that works great for me, but its hard to explain, and really only works well for me. The critical difference is that I'll run a strips from my wrist up the first knuckle of the finger I'm trying to surround, then wrap a thin strip around the first finger bone to secure it in place. Much smaller, less bunchy, doesn't separate the fingers as much.

Metolius, Johnson & Johnson, and Mueller all have lousy adhesive, so you have to layer it on much thicker to get a secure tape glove, doubly so if you habitually reuse your tape gloves. I prefer Kendall Curity tape (available at all climbing shops in Laramie) because it sticks so much better, and is thinner, so I can feel the jam better and don't cut off as much circulation making it stay in one place. Sliding tape gloves, like floppy shoes, make it harder to climb. The design on brenta's link uses a lot of extra tape because it presupposes that you're being sloppy and your tape doesn't stick to your hand. The tape's part of your PPE and a major part of you sticking to the rock. Be as careful in putting on your tape gloves as you are trying on shoes. Wash your hands, make sure that everything is staying down, and wrap outside (not inside) to secure everything down. With good tape, plan for about half a roll for a pair. With bad tape, plan for about double, and a similar amount to secure reused gloves if you need them to not slip.

I encounter a lot of tape glove designs that don't cover the thumb. If you don't need to protect the thumb while jamming, you really don't need tape gloves at all. Keep in mind that the jamming surface of your thumb is especially wide, so a single strip won't cut it. Start with a more minimalist glove and learn from your gobies where you need protection.

As you're making the glove, be sure to both spread your fingers out as wide as possible (think jazz hands) AND make tight fists. If you feel constricted in either position, your tape glove will interfere with your climbing. If you wrap (boxer style), make sure that you're pulling 18" (or longer) strips away from the roll before you begin the wrap, otherwise you risk making it too tight. You don't want to force your hand into a cupped hands jam before you even touch the rock.

Those methods are a good start, but be generous in coverage for your thumb and the heel of your hand if you are going to be climbing fist sized stuff.

Kendall tape is the best!

+ 1 to everything Brian just wrote

willeslinger wrote:Heading to Vedauwoo for the first time next month. And I'm looking for some beta on the taping methods that work for the area. T-Wall is my home crag, and I very rarely find the need to tape up on the smooth southern sandstone, but, I know that Vedauwoo is a night and day difference. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated so I can save my skin at least somewhat for full the two weeks I'm there.

If we end up riding out there together I'll show you how to tape ;)

Don't forget to tape your ankles! The Voo always leaves me ragged and bloody if I don't use the proper precautions. One thing I've started doing is cutting the ankles off of old socks and using them as the starting point for a monster ankle tape job. Another tip, wear pants, and stiff ones at that, like carharts or jeans, none of them prana yoga/sport climbing pants. As long as you don't get torn up the first day you should be fine. Have fun!

The thumb. It's important like Brian said.

You also don't have to tape for every Woo route but I find stuff that needs fists important for me to tape or if I'm thrutching (yea I suck, harhar)

willeslinger wrote:Heading to Vedauwoo for the first time next month. And I'm looking for some beta on the taping methods that work for the area. T-Wall is my home crag, and I very rarely find the need to tape up on the smooth southern sandstone, but, I know that Vedauwoo is a night and day difference. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated so I can save my skin at least somewhat for full the two weeks I'm there.

Lots, if your crack technique is poor. Less if its good. Some for the ankles too if you don't have high top shoes.

Don't bunch tape between your fingers. Tape over your knuckles with two layers of tape, cover your thumb knuckle, the back of your hands, and your wrist. Use Kendall. You will figure out what works well after a few shitty gloves.

The Metolius method works pretty well for me, but beware when reusing the gloves. I find that if I use them more than twice, the loops around the fingers on the inside of the hand tend to stretch. Then, when you're in the middle of a crux...BAM! You catch a loop in the carabiner when clipping. Now your hand is clipped right into your pro!

Edit: +1 for Dustin. Focus on good technique, i.e. don't slide your hands around in the crack, and you won't need tape. Get desperate and sloppy and you'll tear your hands up.

David Appelhans wrote: It is kinda cool picking up your old tape gloves and remembering the routes you have already climbed with them.

I look at the scars and gobies on my hands and think of the same thing.

colin tuck wrote:Don't bunch tape between your fingers. Tape over your knuckles with two layers of tape, cover your thumb knuckle, the back of your hands, and your wrist. Use Kendall. You will figure out what works well after a few shitty gloves.

Old Kendall is gone! They were bought out by Covidien, and their new tape is shit. I managed to find some old Kendall, and stocked up, but the supply won't last.