#How to crack your thumb full

The feet are very small, but just wedge your fingers in, pull down to your waist, and do the best you can with high feet, trying to wedge the pinky toe edge of your shoe against the thin crack. This size is just plain hard (for you big-fingered people, itвЂ™s probably more like the red Metolius or orange Alien size), and is really fun when you start to figure out the techniqueвЂ¦вЂ¦ No matter what, itвЂ™s always strenuous, and never easy, but pretty satisfying when it works.ДЄfter all this technical jamming, real finger locks feel great. In this size crack, I try hard to find any little pods or flared edges of the crack for my feet, because even that extra bit will help for the feet. But itвЂ™s the same drillвЂ“stick the fingers in as far as they will go, twist them while pulling the thumb up inside the crack to meet them, and work the feet as much as possible. The crack is much thinner for the feet, and my knuckles donвЂ™t catch inside the crack. This is the hardest size for me to climb, usually orange Metolius or red Alien gear size. The next size down from that is rattly fingers. This is where the ankles really donвЂ™t like it. The feet are even harder to use, as less shoe is going in, but I get in as much as I can, starting from the pinky side of the shoe, and twist hard. I stick my fingers in as far as they will go, thumbs down, and twist hard, with my thumb inside the crack, pulling elbows straight down towards the side of my body. DonвЂ™t get all frazzled and forget about your feetвЂ“if the crack is vertical, you should be essentially standing on your feet the whole way.ДЇor the next size down from thin hands, I ratchet my hands. Thin hands are a lot more pumpy than good hands, but you climb them the same way. Feet should jam just the same, though you will get a little less shoe in. The jams will vary on different sizes, but the basic idea is exactly the same.ДЇor thin hands, pretend you are getting real hand jams, and shove in as much of your hand as possible, and flex it as hard as you can. Once you understand the movement and body position of straight-in hand cracks, you can apply the same thing to thinner or wider sizes. I like to stand on one foot, and step the other one up at calf to knee level, then do it over and over and overвЂ¦вЂ¦ Your hands are just keeping you balanced, organized and stable, while you step your feet up like stairs. So in a basic handcrack, the rule is to concentrate on the movement of your feet and legs. This puts a lot of torque on the ankle in that bad sprain position (which may be why I have bad ankles).

If you have bad ankles, like me, you might need to tape your ankle.

#How to crack your thumb full

Once you get the hang of handjams, they are the most solid, least strenuous hand hold imaginable, and they come along with giant, solid footjams, what could be better! I feel that I am just hanging on my bones even when I am in a steep handcrack, and it requires very little muscle strength.ДЇor your feet, slide your foot in sideways (wear a big pair of Moccasyms, in your street shoe size, or one size smaller, to make crack climbing a full number grade easier!) as far as the shoe will slide in, and then pull your knee up to center, to cam your foot in there. I always say, if I fall out of a handjam, I deserve it :), so I tend to run it out if IвЂ™m in solid handjams. If you have never done a handjam, it will feel alien and bizarre at first, but just slide your hand straight into the crack, and flex it, especially the meaty area under your thumb. Hand cracks are the nicest, easiest thing you can climb, so you can focus on body position and movement technique, rather than the more precise jamming. I like to start from the basics, which with cracks, is the hand crack. The key to pure crack climbing, as with every type of climbing, is the feet. Maybe itвЂ™s time for a little online review course :), especially since IвЂ™m all about desert climbing at the momentвЂ¦. I still meet people who tell me that they learned a lot about crack technique from it, or wanted a copy and couldnвЂ™t find it anymore. That article was called вЂњThin To Win,вЂќ and it was in Climbing Magazine, June 15, 1998.

I love your website and blog, thanks for all the great stories and pictures. You wrote a crack climbing article a long time ago, and I canвЂ™t find a copy of it. Handjams Are Your Friends: Crack Technique