OW practice

Recommendations of where a beginner-ish type would go in Yosemite/Sierra area to do one's first off width and be mildly successful? Toprope or well protected would be a plus. 

Mel Higgswrote:

Recommendations of where a beginner-ish type would go in Yosemite/Sierra area to do one's first off width and be mildly successful? Toprope or well protected would be a plus. 

Hair Shirt at Donner Pass is a good one. Can walk to the top, or protects well with two #4 and one #5 C4s.  Requires actual off-width technique but isn't too brutal.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105735518/hair-shirt

If you want to sneak up on some off-widths, these climbs have some wide sections woven into their otherwise gentle demeanor:

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105835705/southeast-buttress

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106110296/west-pillar

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106014323/holdless-horror

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106510747/bull-dozier

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105859422/west-crack 

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/111001043/left-north-book (never crowded...)

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/112090745/right-north-book (never crowded...)

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106032393/northwest-books (5.9 variation--maybe not off width, but practice struggling helps with off-widths)

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105836052/hermaphrodite-flake (maybe not off-width, but confinement struggling is a transferable skill)

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105979094/alimony-cracks (the top-out; much easier than the climb's crux)

I know, neither top-ropable or well protected, but still should be on the to-do list:

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105835754/great-white-book

These are impossible, but can be set up as topropes:

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/107676024/galens-crack

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106259916/death-crack 

P1 of Pharaoh’s Beard protects well with a #6. Rap station at the top of the pitch. 

Set up a toprope on generator crack in Yosemite. Kind of hard offwidth but still it’s right off the road and a fun way to end your day. 

What do you mean by successful? Be able to do all of the moves? Or effectively learn some technique even if other parts of the climb are too hard?

Climbs that haven't been mentioned:

Sacherer Cracker: The first 50' of 5.7 are standard slightly awkward Yosemite wide climbing. The finish is classic 6+" offwidth that rewards technique with it's lack of cheater holds.

Moby Dick: Good for learning the size (assuming it's not just fists for you), although the technique isn't that commonly used on other climbs.

Some thoughts on climbs people have mentioned:

Generator Crack is steep and hard. You would have to be a pretty strong climber to effectively learn beginner technique on it. But the sustained #6 section is great if you're up for it. The top 15' of squeeze is pretty good for learning, too.

Hair Shirt is good for learning inside leg technique and body coordination. I feel it's not great for learning outside foot heel-toe (too many face feet + a slight awkward lean).

Top half of Galen's Crack is great if you try to ignore the jugs.

A large chunk of dave custer's list is actually face climbing next to an offwidth (e.g. only a true offwidth sadist would jam West Crack).

Not sure what the best hand-stacking offwidth for learning is. I would probably say the Rostrum, but it's a pretty inaccessible pitch.

I guess this is just turning into a list of sierra ow, but in response to the above q on hand stacking pitches, the lower half of Chingando is a pretty classy hand stacking offwidth.

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105874700/uncle-fanny

A nice resource for all valley wide climbing. I forget where I discovered it originally...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TtUdYcX6Rnjq69rjKrXdQoLuR4shwG4VbFCpsyYL7WA/edit#gid=0

Make a copy in your own google drive in case the original goes down for whatever reason.

Get Pete Whittaker's book and then browse Wide Fetish (safe for work)for route descriptions. Trial by fire is a good start.

The Crystal Offwidth on the Crystal Bay Boulder is a splitter line with a fairly stunning view of Lake Tahoe. Easily top-ropeable, goes from hands to #5 burl. 

Amazing suggestions, everyone, keep them coming, love the resources! @Austin D, by "mildly successful", I mean I'm able to get off the ground, lol. So far, my foray into the category has been scratching myself into the Cathedral Peak chimney when face climbing the chimney didn't work and staring at Ivory Tower left which MP calls "easy" and not understanding how to get inside it. I'M INTRIGUED.

Mel Higgswrote:

I'M INTRIGUED.

Uh oh, someone's got the O-DUB bug :)

I've found an experimental, even playful approach works best. There's pretty much one way to do a proper hand jam, but all kinds of madness may ensue when the cracks get wider.

If you ever make it down south, Mt Woodson is a wide climbing paradise. Many many boulder-size cracks accessible by quick top rope.

P.S. Thanks Ben for posting that doc!

Thanks for starting this thread!

Mel Higgswrote:

Amazing suggestions, everyone, keep them coming, love the resources! @Austin D, by "mildly successful", I mean I'm able to get off the ground, lol. So far, my foray into the category has been scratching myself into the Cathedral Peak chimney when face climbing the chimney didn't work and staring at Ivory Tower left which MP calls "easy" and not understanding how to get inside it. I'M INTRIGUED.

I thought Ivory Tower Left was harder than 5.8, especially if you have small feet. But maybe I just was missing something.

Scheister is a great beginner wide climb that's nobody has mentioned yet.

I remember having a bit of religious experience on Ivory Tower Left... I came in with a fair bit of experience on more "stacking" types of off-width and but got completely shut down on Ivory Tower Left the first time I tried it. The second time there I managed to thrash my way up it, came down, had a deep meditative session and "cruised" it the third time.

For Ivory Tower Left, the technique that clicked for me was the following; left side in, left arm chicken wing, right arm point down to palm the outside of the crack, left foot a very pointed heel-toe cam inside the crack, right foot smearing on the outside/bridging over the outside. To move upwards I would release the heel toe (basically point it more downward) push with my right arm (kinda like a mantle) and/or pushed up ward with my right foot if there was a little edge or something to use. The heel-toe and the chicken wing were primarily there for stabilizing/reseting at the end of the movement. The key throughout all of this is to remain calm, keep your heart rate low, and clear your mind; once you start to get frustrated/angry/tired your technique will fail and you'll have not chance. Each movement cycle will only give you an inch or two of progress, but it is progress none-the-less... Lots of fun! :)

It is also quite similar to Pratts Crack, although on Pratts you have more face features to use. I think Ivory Tower Left demands better technique than Pratts...

Regular left side in chicken wing heel toe worked well for me on Ivory Tower Left. Could span the first few moves with a heel toe with my small feet, though just barely (outside right foot, inside foot was doing a heel toe next to it and eventually hooking with whole leg when it got narrower). And that was in size 36 TC pros.