Off season trad training advice

 Hey I am a teenager from provo area Utah I’ve been sport climbing for a year and am getting into trad but need some advice. I have struggled with cracks and am worried all progress I’ve gained will be lost this winter so I was wondering what advice people had to train cracks and placement when I can’t be on rocks. Is it smart to get some boards and make my own crack to practice? I need any advice on how to train over the winter so I can come out swinging in the spring. Also if any of you are close by I would absolutely love to go trad climbing with someone that knows what they’re doing. 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Half a century ago I was a teenager learning to crack climb, based in Berkeley, and massively motivated to get good at all types of 5.10 Yosemite crack climbing. Winters with school and all made it feel tough. I bouldered at Indian Rock. There were a few "buildering " cracks on the UC Berkeley campus. And winter in Yosemite Valley isn't that long. Went something like this: spring '74 leading 5.8, 5.9 by fall, started leading real deal lower 5.10's spring 1975, 5.10d's by fall that year. 1976 was off to the races, and out of school!

You have great winter crack climbing just a few hours to the south. You gotta put the miles in. If you do, it won't take that long. 

All progress will not be lost. Eventually, it’s like riding a bike- you’re not going to forget how to do it. Meanwhile, take heart in knowing that the body knowledge and fitness of winter in the gym will actually translate usefully to the crack world. To everything there is a season, y’know.

Also, sunny winter days down low in Little are pretty nice for lapping splitters and refining technique. 

Eric Craig wrote:

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Half a century ago I was a teenager learning to crack climb, based in Berkeley, and massively motivated to get good at all types of 5.10 Yosemite crack climbing. Winters with school and all made it feel tough. I bouldered at Indian Rock. There were a few "buildering " cracks on the UC Berkeley campus. And winter in Yosemite Valley isn't that long. Went something like this: spring '74 leading 5.8, 5.9 by fall, started leading real deal lower 5.10's spring 1975, 5.10d's by fall that year. 1976 was off to the races, and out of school!

You have great winter crack climbing just a few hours to the south. You gotta put the miles in. If you do, it won't take that long. 

Thanks I appreciate that and there is great the only problem is my parents are very against rock climbing but soon I’ll be out of school and working hard in Indian creek and Yosemite. 

Rob Dillon wrote:

All progress will not be lost. Eventually, it’s like riding a bike- you’re not going to forget how to do it. Meanwhile, take heart in knowing that the body knowledge and fitness of winter in the gym will actually translate usefully to the crack world. To everything there is a season, y’know.

Also, sunny winter days down low in Little are pretty nice for lapping splitters and refining technique. 

Great advice. Thank you I will keep working. I have to find trad partners too because nobody I know does it

Just boulder in a gym during the winter, keep your core strong, maybe some Yoga if it is easily available. Being in good cardio shape, from biking etc. helps lots with trad climbing too. In the spring, it won't take but a few solid days out to get back where your were or better.

There are loads of places near you that you can still climb in winter. I’m always at least getting 8 days of pleasant rock climbing a month through December-March. Up in Idaho and down there in  Utah. And I’m not a masochist it’s very pleasant actually some of my best climbing days have been in the winter due to the decreased hours of sunlight I don’t run myself ragged like I do during the summer and it’s dead quiet in places normally swarming with people so a excellent time to work on your new skill set, and not feel rushed. Only go to the gym if it’s storming plus you have some of the best gyms at your disposal ,(a lot of them have cracks) but I feel having access to such nice facilities also hinders your desire to pursue winter climbing. Because as winter climbing is pleasant winter camping can be unpleasant if you’re cold intolerant, and our cozy bed and heated gym are  never unpleasant.

Don’t worry about it. Use the off season to get strong bouldering, then when season comes closer, shift to climbing on angles closer to what you want to get on outside.

Can you hang bodyweight off a pair of jams from fists down to tight hands?

If so, your technique is sufficient and you don't need to bother with homemade crack trainers. Just session the cracks at Mo Sandy occasionally to keep the muscle memory current, and then ramp up the rigor as you approach your outdoor objectives.

F r i t z wrote:

Can you hang bodyweight off a pair of jams from fists down to tight hands?

If so, your technique is sufficient and you don't need to bother with homemade crack trainers. Just session the cracks at Mo Sandy occasionally to keep the muscle memory current, and then ramp up the rigor as you approach your outdoor objectives.

No I can’t but that’s why I was thinking about making home Things. 

For me, everything in moderation and variety is the key to maintaining progress. All in all, you want your fitness/body to be balanced in order to sustain long term steady gains (in anything) and stay injury free (very important!). Too much training for one specific thing can result in neglect of other things - it’s those things that will get you by surprise and potentially take you out of the game. I would also not forget to train your mind! Read books and practice safety systems, learn about multiple ways to do the same things.

Drive up to Momentum and run laps on the cracks there. Get good at jamming so you have time to futz around with placements when you get back on real rock.

Lars Edmunds wrote:

No I can’t but that’s why I was thinking about making home Things. 

In that case, Home Depot is your friend! If you don't have the space for a full crack simulator like this one from 2012, crack blocks for no-hangs (picking up weights from the ground) are a good way to go as well.

I made a small hand crack trainer I can hang from my pull up bar when I was looking to train for crack climbing and I can safely say it did not help me very much. While it did maybe make me a bit stronger with jams there has been no scenario where I’ve needed to do hand jam pull ups, personally I’ve been better suited by just climbing, if you have proper jamming technique the strength transfers fairly well for me at least.  

F r i t z wrote:

In that case, Home Depot is your friend! If you don't have the space for a full crack simulator like this one from 2012, crack blocks for no-hangs (picking up weights from the ground) are a good way to go as well.

This looks sick. Any tips on how to build one?

Lars Edmunds wrote:

This looks sick. Any tips on how to build one?

There are a couple of good MP threads about building an adjustable crack machine. The search function within the forum is pretty clunky, so I always do a Google site search (as pictured) when I want to find something specific here.

I'd say don't bother building perfect hands, even if it's steep. Go cupped or thin. Or if you want to practice thumbstacks and ringlocks, get some screw-on foot jibs for the side of the crack so you can take some weight off your fingers.

To paraphrase the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Moon, Esq.: "No one ever got strong from pulling on good jams."

If you ever want to chat about training and trad progression, shoot me a PM. I'm no expert but I love talking about this kind of stuff, and I appreciate seeing smart, motivated climbers get into trad.