Climbing Cracks

Lots of advice from Steph Davis on climbing off-width cracks, including this:

“For hands/fists and offwidths, you should get a bigger shoe–I use Moccasyms or Super Moccs, very comfortably sized. For a lot of offwidths at Indian Creek, I actually wear Five Tennies, which makes them significantly easier!…

One issue with wider cracks (including fists), is the rack. It’s very awkward and cumbersome to carry even a rack of 5 3.5″ pieces, and it just gets bigger and heavier as the cams get larger. Usually I plan to push up gear when the crack is wider, to save me carrying so much large gear. In a crack where I might need the equivalent of 6 3.5″ pieces, I bring 3 and plan to slide some of them for a long way. Be aware that this can put you in a very run-out situation, and if you blow it somehow, it could be a very dangerous fall. So I’m not recommending this as a basic technique for new climbers, but it is something I do commonly myself at Indian Creek, with caution.

This is a small tip, but it is something that I have to catch myself on every time during the colder months….it’s great to wear a long sleeved shirt for offwidths…”