Jul/Aug 21

JAM
There are many facets in climbing, whether it’s slabs, walls, roofs or arêtes, all have their moments. However, I personally fi nd it most satisfying when I climb a crack. There’s nothing better than standing beneath one anticipating what’s ahead and the thought of sinking in a perfect jam, often with an abundance of protection possibilities only limited by what’s on your rack.

Don’t get me wrong, there are very few facets of climbing I don’t like but cracks are in my DNA having learnt the art of jamming on gritstone crags. The moment you squeeze your hand in a crack with just enough pressure to gently bite on the sides but not too much that it will cut your skin or too little that the jam will fail. A jam is also a great way of gaining a rest for tired fi ngers, plus long reaches don’t often come into the equation given that a crack is just one long hold. If you’re not convinced, you can find inspiration for crack climbing in this issue where we concentrate onsome of the best cracks in the UK, techniques on how to climb them and we review the best protection to do it safely.
One area of crack climbing I have a typical love/hate relationship with is offwidths. If I fi t, I love them, if not, the language can get a little fruity, if you know what I mean. I remember jumping on Elbow Vices – a route at the Mecca of crack climbing, Indian Creek in the USA – thinking how bad can it be? You wiggled up a slot and if you were skinny, no problem, but my chest was simply too big to fi t. I’d breathe in, shuffl e an inch or so and breathe out again to stick in the slot. This continued for far too long and got to a point where I couldn’t move either way. Suffice to say I somehow managed to slither down and walk away from the route.
Until next time, be safe.
David