An inside look on foot work for rock climbing.
This past weekend I got to go to my favorite local crag found on the backside of Wintergreen resort. It has some of the stickiest granite in Virginia, and yet the crag is still almost empty every-time we go. I think my trip coincidentally coincides perfectly with my blog for this week. The granite at wintergreen really forces you to look to find nearly impossible footholds. The is the greatest test for your ability to focus on your feet. The most important thing in climbing is climbing with your feet. Your hands are only there to help keep you against the wall as you move your feet up. Today I want to dissect the importance of your legs and feet and how to really get the most out of them.
It took me quite some time to realize what exactly a foothold was. I would always look for large pockets, or even rails to get a majority of my toes onto. However, once I started to really dial my attention on my feet, I begun to experiment with everything I could touch my foot on. As well I begun to learn how to move my hips around to get me to reach places I need.
To begin, we should take a look at our shoes. If we look at the bottoms we notice that around the toe area it is really stiff, this is called the toe box. It is meant to squeeze all of your toes in one big toe. Besides the toe box the shoe is very narrow. This is because we are not supposed to climb flat footed. You will also probably notice that the heel seems as if it is also built to stand on, but for the most part that is not the case. I’ll talk more about the heel in a post down the road.
As silly as it sounds, when you go to stand on a foothold you want to look at your foot till it is secure. Go into the hold using the front of the toe box. This will allow you to be able to pivot around your foot to help you move your hips to make the next move.
Also keep in mind you want to make as small steps as possible. I was once told to climb like a ballerina. Take the shortest step possible, and try to be quiet while you do it as well. If you’re stomping around you’re probably not doing it right. This means you're cranking down on your arms and jumping through moves.
When there isn’t anything for your toebox to fit on, we use a technique called smearing. I smear almost all of the time climbing Virginia’s Granite, and is still very stressful on vertical and exposed walls. However, they are super easy, and the only thing you need is trust and the power to press down hard onto the wall.
To smear have your toe pointed up the wall. This will allow your weight to be dispersed properly through your foot to create the most friction. To have friction you need force. So press down through the balls of your feet. Play around with how much pressure you need because too much can cause your foot to slip off the wall. As you press on the smear have your knee above your foot as you raise your heal. This will allow for your foot to get the most surface tension.
Swing by next week. Im going to talk about how to find the best shoe for the style of climbing you might be getting into. See you then!