New and Experienced Climbers over 50

rgold wrote: Some pain is unavoidable, but much of it can be alleviated or eliminated by minor readjustments of the depth of the foot jam,  Moving your foot in a little or out a little changes the pressure points and sometimes that's all it takes.  Once you've done that a bunch of times, you'l naturally put your foot in the right position to minimize discomfort.

You gotta have shoes fitted with toes flat and it helps to wear socks inside them.

There is some bad news.  As you get older, you lose some of the padding that used to lie between skin and bone, and jamming just plain hurts more than when you were young.  You don't have the prior experience to compare to, but are still experiencing the effect.

Rgold is right, as usual. Jamming your feet into cracks and torqueing your knee is not natural and it hurts. But it is just pain, and believe it or not you will get used to it.  I have found that after practicing crack climbing for a while, you will trust your foot jams more and not place them as deeply, which will alleviate some of the pain. Also, using features on the face is key to get some respite for your feet. Even the most splitter cracks usually have SOME face holds you can milk a rest out of.

PS get some board lasted shoes (or at least a midsole) for hand size and up cracks. Boreal makes some (Aces), and I have used a Teneya shoe called the Masai that worked well. They usually edge really well too. I found this helps out due to having arthritic toes.

Thinner cracks are usually at a higher grade level and by the time you are climbing those, you'll know what shoes to get (the old Moccasym sized so toes are flat).

Lori Milas wrote:

Lovey, are these the Altura's you spoke of?  They look great! 

Thanks Lori,

Yes, these are the Altura’s. 

Gosh, what a wealth of information!  
I felt pretty defeated after climbing Double Cross a few times...it just felt too wrong. Painful, awkward. And I was done, no energy left after that.
Even as I was being coached to take tiny steps, each one was OUCH!  And then trying to coordinate with hand jams that just wouldn’t hold. 
I really appreciate knowing this is an acquired skill and that appropriate shoes might help.  It was an amazing sight to look at the tall sheer wall with the beautiful line up the middle and realize “I climbed that!” But maybe some practice over the summer is in order. Love hearing your stories and seeing your pictures...please! PS. OH! And there were plenty of face holds on that climb but for some reason I thought it would be cheating! I guess they call that rigid thinking.   

​Nelson coaching Double Cross.   

Lori Milas wrote: Gosh, what a wealth of information!  
I felt pretty defeated after climbing Double Cross a few times...it just felt too wrong. Painful, awkward. And I was done, no energy left after that.
Even as I was being coached to take tiny steps, each one was OUCH!  And then trying to coordinate with hand jams that just wouldn’t hold. 
I really appreciate knowing this is an acquired skill and that appropriate shoes might help.  It was an amazing sight to look at the tall sheer wall with the beautiful line up the middle and realize “I climbed that!” But maybe some practice over the summer is in order. Love hearing your stories and seeing your pictures...please! PS. OH! And there were plenty of face holds on that climb but for some reason I thought it would be cheating! I guess they call that rigid thinking.   

Lori, I felt defeated when I first started learning how to crack climb the vertical stuffs. While at Joshua Tree my guide had me climbing all the low angle cracks. I did a couple that were vertical but the crack sizes were perfect for me to slot 4 fingers for a solid hold and there were good foot holds on the outside of the cracks for me to use. When I got back home, in order to continue my lessons indoors I looked for a gym with crack walls. Starting to learn on the vertical stuff at first it was so tough and so frustrating. But I just kept at it. And once I started placing my jams so it wasn't (as) painful, finding my balance points got easier. Also, beta is not the same for everyone. I have really small hands and what will feel like a good hand jam for some, will be a bit wide of a crack for my small hands.

You're not rigid thinking at all! Sometimes I will purposefully avoid using a really good hold on the outside of the crack if the crack itself is good for a hand/foot jam.

I just on-sighted my first crack over the past memorial day weekend. It was at a 60 degree angle (I not confident to lead the vertical stuffs yet) and when I first saw it and all its features, I had a very strong urge to lead it. My point; I know exactly how you feel about looking up a tall wall and seeing a beautiful line - the stoke is high!

Lori Milas wrote: Nelson coaching Double Cross.   

Wow, I really appreciate you posting this video, so helpful as I'm still learning as well. I see that he's wearing crack climbing gloves, do you wear them too? 

Larry Cote 62 years young sending a short 5.12.

\Guy Keesse still going at 60+

Lovena Harwood wrote:

Wow, I really appreciate you posting this video, so helpful as I'm still learning as well. I see that he's wearing crack climbing gloves, do you wear them too? 

I do!  They are called Splitter Gloves, and they work great!  I believe the other option is a lot of taping.  

Or just use nothing on your hands.

Was admiring some gorgeous pictures of dihedrals in Utah.  Has anyone climbed these, or climbs similar to these?  Looks like a lot of fun.

Lori Milas wrote:

I do!  They are called Splitter Gloves, and they work great!  I believe the other option is a lot of taping.  

Nah, the other option is just having really thick callus's on the back of your hand. I found both tape and especially hand jammies to be annoying, and just stopped using them. I think there is a split amongst people that like them and others, like me that find them to be mostly unneeded.  

Lovena Harwood wrote:

Wow, I really appreciate you posting this video, so helpful as I'm still learning as well. I see that he's wearing crack climbing gloves, do you wear them too? 

It's funny, Lovena.... as I re-watch this video I'm saying "Ouch, ouch, OUCH!..." just watching every step.  My feet still hurt!   
Like you, I got a little spoiled with low angle perfect cracks... and I thought I had it all dialed in.  I was not prepared for this one!    So glad to hear from everyone else who says in time you learn, and it gets more intuitive.  And the shoes help.  

Jeffrey Constine wrote:

\Guy Keesse still going at 60+

Normally I would say something like...."Nice headband Jeff, where'd you get it? Ja-pan?" But you probably did........... ;)

Yup! from Japan Im back!

Climbing Mt Izu 7 pitch rig! 

Lori Milas wrote:

I do!  They are called Splitter Gloves, and they work great!  I believe the other option is a lot of taping.  

I wear the Ocun brand ones. I love that "aha!" look on other climbers faces when I tell that the gloves are made of rubber similar to the bottom of their climbing shoes. *LOL* Learned how to tape but the slip-on ones so much convenient and I usually wear mine for when I'm having lessons.

Lori Milas wrote:

It's funny, Lovena.... as I re-watch this video I'm saying "Ouch, ouch, OUCH!..." just watching every step.  My feet still hurt!  
Like you, I got a little spoiled with low angle perfect cracks... and I thought I had it all dialed in.  I was not prepared for this one!    So glad to hear from everyone else who says in time you learn, and it gets more intuitive.  And the shoes help.  

I really like how he takes small steps....I'm gonna try that out too. You're on the west coast? I'm on the east coast! Wished we were closer, it would super cool to climb with another climber who loves to climb crack!

Lovena Harwood wrote:

I really like how he takes small steps....I'm gonna try that out too. You're on the west coast? I'm on the east coast! Wished we were closer, it would super cool to climb with another climber who loves to climb crack!

I was thinking the same thing, Lovena!  And yes, Nelson takes tiny steps and kept coaching me to do the same.  Except every step was so painful!  Very excited to see if shoes and technique change that! 

Jeffrey Constine wrote:

Climbing Mt Izu 7 pitch rig! 

What's up with the meteor II? You normally roll without a brain bucket. I love that helmet, it's so light you don't know you have it on. The selfie stick probably weighs more..... ;)