UKC

Hiya, to keep it brief I've been taking my partner (romantic not climbing) on his first outdoor climbs recently and he hasn't had the best time. He tends to suffer from poor circulation in his fingers. Even on gritstone at around 10 degrees he'll be half way up a route and his fingers will go completely numb and painful making climbing even Vdiffs a very difficult endevour.

The obvious solutions are to boulder more until it gets warmer but I was wondering if there are any exercises or solutions to help him climb routes easier at this time of year. I've suggested warming his hands in his pockets whilst I build my anchor but that doesn't help too much.

Thank you!

Wrist gaiters. 

Not a complete solution but a big help. 

That's a really good shout, how are they to climb in?

Disposable hand warmers in his chalkbag and/or pockets?

Wrist gaiters with hand warmers in them. Or the new thing "sleeves" (I realise this, being UKC, will probably be taken as sarcastic but detached fleece sleeves for the cold are a real thing).

Or more environmentally friendly, a reusable one? Zippo (and countless others no doubt) do a lighter fluid fuelled one which is great.

In recent years I've started to suffer similar symptoms. As already suggested by others, wrist gaiters and hand warmers in pocket/chalk bag will likely help a lot. As well as this, I've found that keeping a check on my general temperature key to minimising the problem. Wrap up warm and it will likely take longer for the fingers to start to loose it. Try to recognise it's happening and put an extra layer on, put hands in pockets / under armpits / on neck.

Also consider wearing fingerless (via ferrata style) gloves.

Hope this is helpful

I think he's suffering from reinards. I find vigorously shaking (I mean REALLY vigorously) your blood into your hands, then use hand warmers in your chalk bag, should get him through a boulder problem. Only blood flow will keep his hands warm(er). When we do mixed climbing in -20 holding metal axes I have to shake blood into my hand for a good 5mins before hand to actually be able to climb. for winter rock more like 1min. 

The obvious solution is an apology for dragging him out in the freezing cold followed by a swift exit from the crag and a visit to the nearest café for a mug of hot tea with a slice of cake. 

I have suffered with this and found that the biggest factors are core temperature and circulation.

It is easy for your core temp to drop over the course of a cold climbing day without noticing. This results in the body restricting blood (and thus heat) flow to the periphery (fingers, toes, skin). My solution is to always put on a warm hat and belay jacket between climbs, even if I feel warm. The aim is to get properly stuffy but ideally not sweaty.

Even with a warm core I will still get cold hands rather quickly, but a burst of vigorous exercise before each pitch makes a huge difference. Generally there is enough time between the leader calling 'safe' and completing the anchor to run around a bit and do some star jumps. You look pretty silly, and it doesn't work if you do it halfheartedly, but properly raising your heart-rate will result in warmth being pushed to your fingers for the duration of a climb. This is hard to do in climbing shoes so I recommend getting in the habit of always changing back into boots, then warming up and finally switching back to climbing shoes (stored inside your belay jacket) as soon as possible before climbing.

Don't black diamond actually produce a heated chalkbag now? 

I have Raynauds, and get white fingers even in cool conditions if I go from warmish to cool/cold (especially starting a bike ride, gloves on or not), but the best solution I've found is to put my hands in hot water (as hot as you can stand) for a few minutes, until your hands are 'glowing' red. I can then go into 'very cold' and have no Raynauds effects, even after 2-3 hours on the bike. I think that once the capillaries are open fully the vasospasm constriction in the hand/wrist vessels that are supposed to be a cause of Reynauds are avoided. I guess at the crag it might be possible to have a Thermos full of hot water and do this just before climbing?

I suffer from Raynaud's but have managed to cope with ice climbing by wearing skin-tight nitrile gloves with a 'tea bag' hand warmer stuck down the bag. I then wear climbing gloves or belay mittens over the top. I guess your partner could do this when belaying to keep hands warm until the last minute. For winter rock climbing and bouldering I can get away with handwarners in my pockets/chalkbag. For this I use rechargeable Hot Rox. 

I too have Reynaulds' but it seems more pronounced when there is a transition from warm to cool rather than being really cold  - or maybe, sine they go numb anyway if too cold (and no activity) I jst don't notice.

Running etcin the cold seems to keep it at bay presumably by stimulating circulation? 

My partner suffers similarly (from Raynaud's, as mentioned by others). There is a drug called Nifedipine you can take to increase blood flow to your extremities. It does give her some pretty horrible headaches sometimes but it's the only thing that really helps her get out in colder conditions. Might be worth considering if the other options mentioned here don't help enough. Not everyone gets headaches. You would need to get a prescription for it.

I was prescribed Nifedipine for high BP. It nearly made all my teeth fall out due to swollen gums. 

I used to get numb fingers when setting off on routes on cool days. Redpoints often failed due to fingers numbing as I climbed. At roadside crags a miles jogging before the redpoint was very helpful. Once at Kilnsey I set off to redpoint Tragedy at about 8.00 p.m in cold windy conditions. I sprinted to the belay as my fingers numbed just winning the race. Dalvinder said she had never seen anyone climb so fast. 

I get white fingers and suppose it’s reinards. If it’s coming on there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

But there do seem to be some triggers; stress, I’m more likely to go cold if I’m not relaxed - it seems like an adrenaline reaction.

It often happens straight after I eat. That’s my body switching to digestion mode and blood/stuff going to my stomach, thus depriving my extremities. This reaction is very predictable.

Vigorous exercise fixes it eventually. It takes an enormous amount of insulated clothing to prevent it (pretty much more than I ever wear or could even carry).

My solution is to eat a lot an hour at least before I go out and not stop. Of course that’s impossible if you’re stood around belaying, so some sort of heated device seems like a good idea for that.

It's not sounding like a lot of fun to me.   You could consider leaving outdoor climbing until the summer.  If he is a fairly new to it you don't want to put him off.  I'm with Jon, it's tea and cake time.

Just to clarify for the OP, I take it you mean when they are already warm, as prevention? Doing this when your hands are cold will cause damage.

The best way I find of warming my hands up is sticking them under my armpits. Putting your gloves down your shirt while you do this will be appreciated when you come to put them on again.

But if he's suffering that badly I can't help thinking that bouldering is the only way to go in cooler conditions, and keep trad for warmer weather.

Try some gloves from the heat company.com.

Lots of different options, but they include a layering system, inbuilt pouches for warming pads and a “flip top” design which means you can expose your fingers whilst keeping the rest of your hand toasty.

Not cheap, but may fit the bill.

What about fingerless mitts? They used to be de rigeur when people climbed in bad weather, I still have a pair somewhere along with my hemp waistlines, sou' wester and cycling cape, iron karabiners, cord breeches, Dachstein mitts and a very long wood-shafted ice axe.

I think they are good sometimes for those with decent circulation who want to climb in cold conditions. Personally I find that if the rock is cold, my fingers get cold regardless. And the OP's partner sounds much worse than me.

I have been known to use a rubber hot water bottle, if you don't have one just fill a plastic pop bottle with hot water to hold. Only works on short routes and bouldering obvs. I think most people will suffer  to lesser or greater extent as muscle contractions in the forearms will restrict blood flow, in addition to the body already not wanting to send warm blood to the extremities in response to the cold.   

Well judging by the weather today maybe it's time to climb indoors now.

There's no doubt quite a few ways to overcome the problem. One commonly used method is simply running about with all your warm clothes and hats and gloves on. If there's a steep incline you can run up so much the better. People do this for hard redpoints when you tend to rest a long time between tries. Might tire your legs a bit but for climbing it's your arms and fingers that are important.

Another method I've found is having a fire at the bottom of the crag. Whether this is possible will depend on where you are. I did this in the Red River Gorge when it was sub zero and snowing. My whole body got warm and when I pulled on the rock the friction was brilliant.

I know someone who suffered from Raynauds. She cured herself using cold water immersion, aka the Wim Hoff method. I was impressed as I didn't even know it was curable. She would find some cold water like a lake and get in breathing steadily the whole time - ie no sharp inhalations. Stay in for 45s to begin with and build up to 2 mins. Do that about 3 times a week. She said it was strangely addictive. You get a high like taking drugs apparently.

Final method is simply choosing the right place at the right time. Some crags can be very warm in winter if they're in the sun and out of the wind. I climbed at Swanage one Xmas and it was so warm one day I ended having to wear shorts and a vest.

Haha yeah. Announced on April 1st and so many people dismissed it. Great concept but a high price point for something that can be home remedied.

Thank you for the in depth reply! Will try these out on the crag.

I've made sure this is an option and that he really does want to come out with me. Not just looking for a belay slave on my projects

I gave up rock climbing in winter for this reason a while back. That’s fine as I go winter climbing and dry tooling instead, where you can wear gloves and finger dexterity is less important. It simply wasn’t nice or safe to climb with numb fingers.

Seeking out suntrap locations on sunny days with light winds is another option. South facing, low lying crags such as Beeston Tor, the Avon Gorge and Brean. Even the grit can be ok if it’s sunny and not windy. 

Climbing outside in poor weather with Reynauds is a miserable and frustrating experience.  My fingers go numb with slight breezes at reasonable temperatures.  Some of the most horrible times of my life have involved the obligation to climb, whilst everything below the  elbows is numb. 

So far as practical advice is concerned, I find that the disposable shake-bag hand warmers in my chalk-bag help, purchased in bulk - boxes of 80 from amazon.  A  dip in warm chalk at a shakeout has got me through lots of hard red-points.  If those fail, I'd stick to roadside crags and be prepared for your belayer to spend the odd 20 minutes with their fingers rammed into the heating vents of  the car.... personally, unless it's sunny, I'll probably be going indoors.

Thanks for all the responses!

We had a good time at Hobson Moor (sunny and sheltered) last week and no issues whatsoever! Heading to Froggatt on Friday hoping for a similar experience.

Check the wind direction, winter days on Froggatt when it's in the sun and out of the wind can be lovely. If the conditions are wrong, consider somewhere like Ravensdale or Beeston.

How many people saying theybhave raynauds have actually been diagnosed with it, rather than just getting cold hands? It's quite different I belive. 

Warm core temperature is the key for me. Your hands won't be warm if the rest of you isn't slightly too warm. Run around with a big jacket on until you feel a bit too hot.  Then start climbing