Sunday, August 22, 2010

Spotting in Bouldering: Some Do's and Dont's







A good spot on Tommy's Arete V7 RMNP


Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Spotting and Bouldering: A Changed Paradigm

Although the advent of crashpads has significantly altered the nature of spotting in bouldering there is no question of its importance. In this post I want to discuss briefly the nature of spotting back in the day and how it has changed.

When bouldering in America was initially practiced seriously, in the late 50s through the mid 70s, it was a ground-up affair. Even if topropes were occasionally used, the attitude was that falling was a sign that the climber needed to start over. Rarely did climbers hang in place anywhere and pre-inspection was almost unheard-of. This, along with the absence of prepared landing surfaces such as pads, meant that even low problems could be very serious indeed. Although mats were used in gymnastics, which is where much of the idea of bouldering came from, they did not find wide acceptance in climbing until the mid-1990s. Even today, I will encounter older climbers who refuse the offer of a pad, even though their body language on the problem says they could really use it. Spotting was so important then because the ground was so hard and irregular on even the most level and clear landings that an unbroken fall of even just a few feet could twist an ankle or break a heel.

My theory is that spotting, also typical of gymnastics, was acceptable at that time because it mirrored in some sense the climber-belayer relationship typical of roped climbing and preserved a sense of ground-up adventure. This view might explain why pads were slow in being adopted. Certainly, the technology involved in pad manufacture or use is trivial and climbers could have been using them much earlier. Spotting in the pre-pad era consisted, much as it does now, primarily of stabilizing a climber's landing or directing the climber to a safer landing. However without a pad the consequences of a poor spot were potentially much more severe. This is perhaps why many classic problems from this era were rarely dynamic, steep compression affairs but instead more typically vertical or slightly overhung face climbs, problems that usually allowed a certain amount of time to climb down if possible or at least fall with some advance notice. Thus spotting was done in the manner typical of highball spots today, providing moral support as much as anything else.

Today, the situation is quite different on many problems. The crashpad has rendered spotting in many situations irrelevant as the climber moves above a sea of pads a few inches below her back. Indeed, on many steep problems, there is no room for a spotter anyway. A plethora of pads removes the need to direct the climber as he can land anywhere safely, even in a talus field, if the pads are placed well. Spotting has become for most a kind of lost art, rendered obsolete by new approaches and equipment.

That said, spotting remains a valuable skill in a number of situations. The ability to keep a climber upright and reasonably stable during impact can make you a valuable companion and bouldering partner and the ability to communicate this skill to others may save your own skin in a bad situation. More on how to fall and how to spot in the next post.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Gripping Positions: Which is Best?

One of the most important but overlooked aspects of climbing is the position of the hands on the holds. Typically beginning climbers do whatever comes naturally when they get started and unfortunately this often means crimping.

Crimping is by far the most mechanically strong grip to use in climbing but it is also the most injury-prone hand position. The raised knuckles exert far more force on the tendons in your fingers, making the likelihood of strain or tearing much greater. Therefore, it's advisable to work on consciously adopting the safer open-hand position.

I find myself inclined to use the open-hand position most of the time. In this position, the fingers are extended, allowing a more passive gripping of the hold,as seen here.
This is the first move of a V11/12 called Clear Blue Skies. I am using a crimp position for my right hand and snagging the first hold in an open-hand position. However, the next move involves a powerful and somewhat awkward cross to another edge for my right hand. The open-hand position's primary weakness is gaining height in a static position. Its passive attitude makes it hard to easily bend and lock off the pulling arm. Therefore, for the next move to work, I have to shift from an open-hand to a crimping position, building up enough body tension to make the next move. I find I often will make this transition in the course of a move, starting open-handed and then crimping to gain height. A good example is seen in these two photos of Jimmy Webb on the notoriously crimpy European Human Being V12 at RMNP. A powerful reach to a crimp is begun in the open-hand position with the tips of three fingers grabbing the hold.

After getting good contact,Jimmy sets up for the last move in a full crimp. A full crimp helps gain the necessary distance to the obvious left hold he is aiming for. It also helps resist the "barn-door" effect that this move produces as the climber's center of gravity shifts to the left.

Another option is an intermediate position between the two extremes. This can be seen in this photo of my setting up the last move on Clear Blue Skies.
The last move on this problem is a fairly powerful dyno off a poor left edge. The right hand is better but stays low. And, in order to set up for the move, I will first need to move my right foot up. An intermediate position allows me to minimize effort while hanging on to reset my feet and also allows a quick transition to the full crimp position for the final throw.

Sometimes part of the difficulty in a problem is mastering the exact position of your hand on a given hold and potentially needing to transition through different grip positions as you move. Often you will find yourself doing unlikely things such as crimping a sloper or openhanding a severely incut small edge. Find what works best for you and don't hesitate to try all alternatives. Even just an inch of height gain can mean success so find the grip that lets you get it. However don't forget the dangers of intense full crimping. The power it offers can come with a high cost. Be careful.