shotwell wrote:
cracklover wrote:
Sounds like the general consensus is: suck it up Nancy. That's fine, if that's all there is. Not what I'd hoped to hear, of course, but so be it. lol
One last question - anyone think one type of shoe is much better on these super-polished holds? More downturned better? More sensitive better?
GO
I like to do a couple things to mitigate the difficulties of polish. This works for me on very polished tuff, limestone, and dense sandstone (think Font or South East US.)
1) Clean your shoes. Use a little water and rub them till your hand chatters. Sand them if you're really obsessive.
2) Wear slightly softer shoes than you normally would for the same move. Surface area seems to make a difference on polish contact. Stiffer shoes seem to skate a little, whereas the softer shoes 'melt.' You'll probably need to learn to think and move faster while in control to keep the 'melt' from affecting you.
3) Push harder than you think you need to. The note to focus on keeping a very tight core is critical. There is typically a very small window of 'right' body positions on polish.
4) Most importantly, climb a lot of polished stone. It is really the only way to get used to it. You'll climb smarter and faster.
5) The tips to step on the wrong holds work, sometimes. Sometimes you have to use the polish. If you always try to get around it you'll just short circuit the learning process.