Ideal crack angle for training volume

Hoping to hit the Creek in the spring so I’m looking to get into crack shape.  Will be my first trip so probably focusing on 10s but the length of the climbs is what concerns me.  Normally I’d just do laps on the cracks at the gym but well...Covid.  So I’m looking at home options and my main limitation is ceiling height.  Also, both of my current cracks are textured, so I’m thinking of going bare wood as this will be harder and more forgiving for putting in some serious mileage.  One is an adjustable which I currently have set to #2s which is OK but does tend to get abrasive (even through the gloves!) and I hit the top pretty quick since it’s dead vertical.  The second is a fixed roof crack which is fun and good to build up strength but I accidentally built it a touch too wide (cupped hands) so it’s too hard for endurance training and I’m not sure how well it will transfer to off-vertical splitters.

SO I’m looking to build something steep to maximize the climbable area and get a solid thumb pump going, but not so steep where it won’t transfer to climbing 200’ off vertical splitters.  What do you guys think?  Would 45 deg be too extreme?

If your roof crack is too hard give yourself better feet. Put some screw ins on the edge of the outside of the board and heel hook them. 

Just repeatedly climb up and down your vertical crack without stepping off. Boring as hell but way more specific to what you'll be climbing than any roof crack.

If that's too easy set it to #1 size and you'll be a 5.11 Creek climber in no time.

Haha yeah I’ve done that and they’re a bitch for my 6’3 hands.  I think it’s foot pain more than anything that is a limiting factor at that size though.

Austin Donisanwrote:

Just repeatedly climb up and down your vertical crack without stepping off. Boring as hell but way more specific to what you'll be climbing than any roof crack.

If that's too easy set it to #1 size and you'll be a 5.11 Creek climber in no time.

This. 

Most of the cracks at IC are vertical-ish. At the 5.10-5.11 level, there are some climbs with a particular crux and extra strength or a long reach may help, but more often endurance and technique will help you more than strength.

My crack wall is 18 ft. I trained just doing lots of laps, and while it is good to train for longer moves as well, it really helps to work on longer training intervals even on a short crack. I got a lot more endurance by turning that 18' into effectively a much longer height by not reaching, rather making each hand position barely above the other, So jamming about every 6 inches up the crack.  Then you can also increase the time you keep a stance before moving. I did so by counting seconds, and increased the interval over time so I'd establish the jam settle into it, pause and count for say 10 or 20 seconds before moving to the next. In training it is not about getting through the moves fast, but building endurance to be comfy staying on longer.

Also, get your gear on, The extra weight that you start with for a lead is significant for long splitter pitches, and the rope weight becomes an issue the further out you are. Trail a rope and practice placing and clipping pro around chest to below harness height. Trust me, placing high and having to pull the weight of the rope above your head when you are pulling a lot of rope can wear you out pronto on the long pitches at the creek. You also can start learning how to manage the rope incessantly trying to get stuck between your feet and the crack and how to prevent it from getting it behind feet and legs before you get to Utah.

if you have a fairly short vertical wall i would do stance training.  set your feet and one hand for 15 seconds, then switch up your feet and set your other hand for 15 seconds, repeat without stepping down for 2 or 3 20 minute sets.  you can set a clock and some music to do this.

the reason i recommend this, is that the actual climbing probably won't give you a hard time - it's when you stop and place gear that you start really feeling it.  this training simulates the strenuousness, but also gives you a chance to practice being as relaxed as possible while placing gear. you also don't need a very tall setup for it.

Auden Alsop wrote:

This is tricky... obviously the best training for Indian Creek is climbing cracks outside, or better yet climbing at IC... it’s hard to replicate the long pitches you get there anywhere else. 

I strongly agree with this statement.

A 45 could work but I would say go for a roof crack and give yourself good feet. You can get stupid pumped really quickly, which is good! Ideally in your position I would probably want a perfect hands crack and a cupped hands crack, anything else is going to be really hard in a pure roof.

You mention above that your feet are a limiting factor.  This will be true in IC, too.  One thing is to learn to relax your feet... hard to learn since you need to stretch your ligaments and tendons!  ;-)  

The second is to get the right shoe, or shoes.  At 6'3" you probably have large hands and you'll want to climb routes of that size.  So get some *stiff* shoes that will prevent your feet from being crushed in a handcrack. Slippers are only for thin cracks which, on your first trip, you'll probably have trouble with. Take both shoes, but I bet you'll stay on the handcracks.

Thanks!  20 min intervals sound brutal but also fairly realistic to a decent paced long pitch.  I have been climbing with a few cams and basically place on the way up, clean on the way down...this definitely generates a lot more pump than just cruising up and down.  Foot pain is pretty much the limiting factor right now...but I suppose building that tolerance back up is important as well.  I’ve done a fair amount of cracks in other areas including granite that was notoriously crystalline and painful but nothing outdoors ever hurts as much as the trainer.

John Byrneswrote:

I strongly agree with this statement.

You mention above that your feet are a limiting factor.  This will be true in IC, too.  One thing is to learn to relax your feet... hard to learn since you need to stretch your ligaments and tendons!  ;-)  

The second is to get the right shoe, or shoes.  At 6'3" you probably have large hands and you'll want to climb routes of that size.  So get some *stiff* shoes that will prevent your feet from being crushed in a handcrack. Slippers are only for thin cracks which, on your first trip, you'll probably have trouble with. Take both shoes, but I bet you'll stay on the handcracks.

Yeah I’ve got a comfy pair of TC’s (twice resoled) that I’m betting will get the most use.

mountainhickwrote:

My crack wall is 18 ft. 

pictures?

Yeah that sounds amazing lol.  Pretty sure I’d be fine doing laps on that...think I’ve seen it before. Maybe after the winter I could convince the wife to let me build a longer one in the backyard lol.

Cosmic Charliewrote:

pictures?

Look at my profile, contributions, photos.

https://www.mountainproject.com/user/106380331/mountainhick/photos

Where is that thing located?  How did you have so much vertical space?

Ted Pinsonwrote:

Where is that thing located?  How did you have so much vertical space?

It is in my house. When we built the place, I left a space for a climbing wall 3 stories high. Back then it was just holds on vertical surface. Then I ended taking many years off from climbing, and put in a floor between first and second stories for the extra floor space. The upper space remained open. When I got spanked at the creek, I decided to build the cracks. I've rebuilt them 2-3 times to maximize the off size range, as training on perfect hands, fists and locker fingers doesn't help that much.