First aid experience- questions

I aided (clean) a finger crack yesterday. It was my first experience with anything aid and I learned from youtube. My setup is two regular daisies/two yates speed wall ladders. It took me about 40 minutes to go 50', with placements every 3'-4' on average. I don't have a fifi hook so I was using a quickdraw. I still found it a bit difficult to get above the 3rd step. Any tips or advice?

Check out Ron Olevsky's T-Step method, he kind of shows it on the "Clean Walls" DVD, maybe you can find a clip on YouTube?

Anyways, it basically goes like this: Left foot in higher step, hold on to crab of the aider with your hand for balance as you stand up tall and then you shove your right foot heel in between the aider that you are standing in and the wall. Your feet kind of look like a T with the left foot being the vertical piece and your right the horizontal piece.

This allows you to stabilize yourself and reach tall; kind of an alternative to traditional top-stepping with a fifi or quickdraw.

My other suggestion would be to search this website and Rockclimbing.com for stuff from Pass the Piton Pete (PTPP, or Pete Zabrok). He's not exactly known for his speed climbing and some people can't stand him, but I haven't found any better source for the kind of info and diagrams he provides. Great way to learn some of the tips and tricks of aid climbing (or big wall camping if you go Pete's route). I would especially recommend searching his stuff if you will be soloing.

Nick Mardirosian wrote:found it a bit difficult to get above the 3rd step. Any tips or advice?

Practice more. Abs of steel help too.

If you're just starting out I wouldn't worry too much about top stepping. It'll come with time and mileage.

If you feel you must get into the top step you can always place another piece to use as a handhold and then clean it after you've placed the piece you plan on getting on. Not always possible but if you're practicing on clean lines this can be quick, easy and safe way to learn top stepping.

On that note...don't forget to use the rock. You're still climbing and it is aid after all so anything and everything is fair game. Step out of the aiders with one foot and use that edge and don't be afraid to grab that jug or jam the crack! Use the rock features and try not to get aiders tunnel vision. Top stepping on any terrain that is past vertical is just plain hard so remember that the angle of the wall will have alot to do with the difficulty of getting in that step. Lower angle cracks can teach you the technique without scaring the shit out of you.

Go slow at first focusing on the system you're using and your placements. Speed will come relatively quickly but it takes a dozen routes or so before you'll start to get it dialed in. Big distances between placements is good but not if it takes a half hour of screwing around to get that distance. It's often faster to just throw in another piece and don't be afraid to back clean if you place lots of gear. You are hanging your ladders directly on the piece and not on the biner right? That extra couple inches is a very easy way to add height to every placement as well.

Oh...and if you're not using adjustable daisies I'd suggest trying them. They allow you to get the tension "just right" when you're top stepping and counter balancing off a piece.

Of course all of this advice is just what I've found works for me. I'm sure someone on this site will come along and tell you I'm a complete dumbass and that you should disregard all of it.

Learning to manage the aid clusterfuck is the single hardest thing for most new aid climbers. Stay focused on your system, stay safe and have fun!

Hi Nick. In my planning of C1 aid pitches, I typically budget 2 feet per minute. I bet you can reasonably knock off 15 minutes off your time of 40 minutes with more practice, trust in gear and equipment (a fifi hook is worth it!).

Totally agree with Yarp that most of your gains in efficiency will come from your ability to better manage the clusterfuck. Little things matter when repeated a million times over so constantly thinking about ways you can improve your technique will pay dividends. For example, I noticed I had a problem finding my aider when clipped to my harness so I bought two biners that were a different brand and color from the rest of my rack so I could find them faster. Problem solved... climbing faster.

As for high stepping, for me... it was learning that there's very little elegance in achieving that high step. It usually requires a pretty stiff pull on the loop of your aider and a ton of core strength. Little holds and "footwork" in your aider help keep your balance. Also, when I say high stepping, I'm not talking about getting the top step. This I only do a small minority of the time.

Its great that you started with a simple aid line but be sure to also practice aiding corner features (less room to maneuver, more cluster), overhangs/roofs and traversing terrain.

First aid is simple, just remember the ABC's

Ascend a few feet at a painfully slow pace
Bitch
Cry

I'm glad you are trying it out. It really is masochistic but addicting.

Anyway, high stepping takes practice to work out the technique that works for you. Go get a cheap eye bolt and screw it into a stud in you garage. Then, try to high step on it. It will take the sketchy factor away and let you get comfortable. Do it to the point where you can hang out and drink a beer while high stepping.

Evan

On less than vertical terrain, get used to not using your fifi/quickdraw. Walk up the ladder, use the wall to help with balance. Clip your rope into your low piece when you do this though so it's there if you lose your balance and fall off/ keep your daisy at max length.
Alternately, if you're close to your belayer, you can have them keep the rope taught in order to use it for opposing forces as you top step.

Common practice says not to clip your rope into a piece until you're moving to your next piece because of the added rope length this creates, but since you're knot would be above the piece in this situation, the extra rope length is moot.