Whether learning how to jam cracks or cruising 5.13 testpieces, tape gloves will prevent the back of your hands from turning into hamburger. Not only will this help you avoid needless suffering, it will allow you to climb exponentially more than the haughty non-taper who is sidelined by shredded skin.

The post How to Make a Tape Glove first appeared on All Climbing.

The key to pure crack climbing, as with every type of climbing, is the feet. I like to start from the basics, which with cracks, is the hand crack. 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. 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. It will stick, and thatâ??s a handjam. I always say, if I fall out of a handjam, I deserve it :), so I tend to run it out if Iâ??m in solid handjams.

Photo by Dru!

The post Crack climbing technique first appeared on All Climbing.