When does Slab climbing become Face climbing?

Struggling to understand the difference between Slab climbing and Face climbing, particularly when the latter gets mostly vertical. Or is it more about the rock type?

What's the distinction? Friction vs Edging?

A route can be both

Depends on who you ask - I've heard sport climbers and boulders call walls that overhang consistently by a few degrees "Slabs", and I've heard trad dads call 70 degree walls where you're on your feet the entire time "face climbs".

When I start smiling, THEN its face climbing

Moves without jams are face moves; slab moves are a subset of face moves. Face moves where the holds are tiny relative to the angle of the rock--thus putting a premium on friction instead of crimping or edging--are slab moves. Low angle and baby's butt smooth--it's a slab. Higher angle with dime edges--also a slab. If the holds take tips or provide solid edging, its likely not a slab (or at least is not a very difficult slab).

When you go from smearing to edging...

Nathan Doyle wrote:

Struggling to understand the difference between Slab climbing and Face climbing, particularly when the latter gets mostly vertical. Or is it more about the rock type?

What's the distinction? Friction vs Edging?

When you cheese grate on the way down it's slab. A clean fall and it's face. When you can't back on it's overhung

I purt-near smedge everything.

Mark Frumkin wrote:

I purt-near smedge everything.

We all do brother, we all do. Except what we fudge...

Questions backwards.

Should be asking when does face climbing become slab.

Slab climbing is always face climbing. Face climbing is not always slab.

PNW Choss wrote:

Questions backwards.

Should be asking when does face climbing become slab.

Slab climbing is always face climbing. Face climbing is not always slab.

You’ve never climbed a crack at a less than vert (ie slab) angle???

5.samadhi Süñyātá wrote:

You’ve never climbed a crack at a less than vert (ie slab) angle???

Was gonna say the same thing. Slab feet, Crack hands.

I guess I would summarize face climbing as the stuff in between major features like cracks, flakes, dihedrals, aretes, etc....?

I think you can have slab face climbing, and would even posture most slab is face climbing(IMO).

Mr Rogers wrote:

Was gonna say the same thing. Slab feet, Crack hands.

I guess I would summarize face climbing as the stuff in between major features like cracks, flakes, dihedrals, aretes, etc....?

I think you can have slab face climbing, and would even posture most slab is face climbing(IMO).

I always contrasted face climbing vs crack climbing as climbing “strengths” of the cliff (face) or “weaknesses” of the cliff (crack systems). This way of looking at it you can see slab could be either face or crack, which it often is (sometimes in the same pitch as when a crack system either starts or stops mid pitch)

Slab would then be contrasted with vert and overhanging...again all of which could be either face or crack depending on the holds (or even both depending on when/if crack systems start or run out).

/thread?

5.samadhi Süñyātá wrote:

You’ve never climbed a crack at a less than vert (ie slab) angle???

This is called crack climbing. Seemed pretty obvious..... didn't think id need to point that out.

I think slab is a type of face climbing, but I usually distinguish it based on how much weight you have on your arms. If your arms are mostly just for balance/helping to stand up but you’re not really hanging/resting on them, it’s slab. If you’re hanging and resting on your arms a lot, it’s probably not slab.

Friends don't let friends climb slab  ;)   Its like roofing but you don't get paid. 

If it is mostly friction with few or no holds it is slab. If there are holds even if they are tiny its face. At a certain point slab gets to steep to stick to , especially. If its warm. Slab isn't that bad if its adequately bolted, its the old school stuff, bolted  with a hand drill on the sharp end thats horrifing.  Ie stone mt NC  with two bolts on a pitch.