UKC

I learned to climb on hard sandstone and granite - both of which are high-friction rock types. Yesterday, I was on a properly polished limestone route and realised that, after three years of limestone climbing, I have finally learned how to hold polished hand-grips but I still cannot use polished feet at all - I felt like I was ice-skating!

Is there some cunning trick to it or must one just throw feet (and style) out the window, when the route is extremely polished?

(On this route, even the tiny edges were polished so simply getting more "hard-core" and using less obvious, less popular features was not going to cut it.)

In reply to Xharlie:

Stand on them, dont ice skate on them. Put as much weight on as is necessary, dont move your foot.

In reply to Xharlie:

Use crampons.

In reply to Xharlie:
Clean your shoes to an exceptionally high standard. Spit shine (spit on your shoes, rub with hands, dry shoes on trousers until you hear the rubber squeaking, then spit shine hands [to get rid of shoe gunk] and dry on shirt), and stand on the ropes or a pack until on the route. This will make a massive difference to your friction co-efficient.
If need be and it's possible (e.g. if you stepped on a muddy ledge) - do more spit shines en route as well.

Secondly, you need to lean back a bit more than on good friction rock, and you have to really trust the holds, and not change the angle very much (a bit like ice climbing) - if you lean into the rock, your feet are much more likely skate off. "A weighted foot never slips" is a good mantra, and is definitely true for polished rock.

Wipe any smears that seem dodgy with your fingers or a sleeve. Sometimes (but not always) there's a thin coating of water or dust that would make the smear poorer than if you didn't clean it.

In reply to Xharlie:

Definitely don't throw style out of the window - if anything the opposite. Precision to make the best of what is available and familiarity and practice will help you recalibrate how much pressure to apply.

Sometimes pressing down harder works better if your foot is in the right position and this is sometimes to do with a type of applied core strength.

Tight well fitting and newish shoes help and certain models like the old Anasazi Whites can be a huge advantage.

HTH

In reply to SenzuBean:


I go with the "weighted foot never slips" mantra for small and delicate feet - the type that you doubt and, once standing on them, trust completely. It makes sense that you won't pop off AFTER you've successfully transitioned your weight onto the grip, unless you bounce about or do something sudden - both bad practice.

... but I've always tried to keep my weight as close to the rock as possible. I thought it was good style, particularly on faces that are on-balance, to have your hips into the rock so that the minimum exertion in your arms is required and your legs do all the work.

Are you suggesting that I should be hanging out a bit more so that the force on my feet is angled towards the face?

In reply to Xharlie:

Cautiously

In reply to Xharlie:



Only slightly further out, but yes. It's just physics that the reaction force is maximized on slippery rock when you are pressing at 90 degrees to the rock. The more you lower the angle, the less normal force you get and the more you rely on friction. With a very low co-efficient of friction, this means you're trading good amounts of normal force (which are coming via your arms pulling harder to lean out further), for poor amounts of frictional force.

But the best way is to just experiment. Find something really polished that you can barely stand on, and hold your weight out as far as you can, then slowly lean inwards, and if you've chosen a dodgy enough smear - you'll slip off. You can wet the rock for the little experiment as well to see that makes it even worse.

In reply to Xharlie:

I had this explained to me by a Bleausard and it works - load your feet at 90 degrees to the polished hold i.e. only push against rock...don't push against friction if you see what I mean

In reply to Xharlie:

If it's just the odd or crucial hold dampen it slightly. This might sound like a wind up but it does work. An American climber gave me the tip 36 years ago when I was repeatedly slipping off a very polished hold on Glacier Point Apron Slab in Yosemite. Worked first time and I've used it often many times since.

Cheers

In reply to Graham Hoey:



I've done this indoors on slimy footholds...

In reply to Xharlie:
Good quality and fairly tight fitting shoes
Focus on your feet
Precision
Maintain pressure through the whole range of movement

In reply to Xharlie:

The stronger your core the better

In reply to silo:


Yep. In fact good tension from your fingertips to your toes will often keep you on the worst footholds. Maintaining that tension whilst making moves is what the best climbers have mastered. IMO.

In reply to SenzuBean:

and stand on the ropes?Hmm

In reply to Xharlie:

Body tension.

In reply to PATTISON Bill:

If your shoes are totally clean (you’ve just spit shined them), why not?
Or bring a mat if you want.

In reply to SenzuBean:

Oh dear .What is your rope lying on?One of the basic rules of climbing is that you never stand on a rope no matter what surface it is on,you grind dust etc into the rope which can shorten the life of your rope considerably .,but if you have money to burn be my guest.

In reply to PATTISON Bill:


I've done far more damage to my rope from lowering or catching the occasional gripped second than I have by lightly stepping onto it with clean shoes.

In reply to SenzuBean:

Its your rope not mine thank goodness.