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texplorer
Feb 4, 2003, 5:54 AM
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Which do you think is more difficult?
5.10 Offwidths or 5.11 fingercracks
Both have unique techniques and styles but which is more difficult?
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philbox
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Feb 4, 2003, 7:00 AM
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It depends (tm), I think I would rather launch up the offwidth than the finger crack as I`m not particularly good at fingercracks. Hands, now that`s a different story.
...Phil...
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pbjosh
Feb 4, 2003, 7:02 AM
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In general .11 fingers are more difficult than .10 OW. Example:
Woodson:
California Night, .11b fingers is WAY WAY harder than Crucible, .10b OW/squeeze.
However, I think that Jaws (11a fingers) is easier than Bat Flake (10d fists/ow). But that's 'cause I have small hands which makes Bat Flake even harder than it already f*cking is!
josh
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gawd
Feb 4, 2003, 8:10 AM
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josh, aren't all those "routes" actually bolder problems?
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mountainmonkey
Feb 4, 2003, 4:28 PM
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Finger cracks tend to be more delicate, whereas OW tend to be more physical wrestling. Many factors tend to come into play: steepness, crack size compared to your body's sizes, what you have trained for, other features around the crack, dihedral/straight in ...
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aaron4peace
Feb 4, 2003, 4:33 PM
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have a go on mother superior, thats a good beginner offwidth. wear clothing
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crackwhore
Feb 4, 2003, 4:39 PM
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5.10 Ow takes alot more PHYSICAL effort, although .11 finger cracks may be more tenuous ( smaller pro and all ).
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bandycoot
Feb 4, 2003, 4:43 PM
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Hey gawd, I'd LOVE to see you boulder those problems! Most "boulder problems" don't have bolts at the top...
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aaron4peace
Feb 4, 2003, 4:47 PM
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I believe he said "bolder", not "boulder"
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uncle_big_green
Feb 4, 2003, 4:58 PM
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I'm going to agree with Crackwhore. I'll add that many people don't develop OW technique, so OW seems impossible. It's kind of like when you take an 11 face climber and put them on a 9 hand crack for the first time.
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rprp
Feb 4, 2003, 7:24 PM
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Having climbed more of them, I'm better at the 5.11 fingers. But last year I started working at getting better at the wide cracks. At first they seemed very hard for the grade, but finally I decided that it takes about as long to develop the strength and technique for OW as it took for fingers. So since we use a single scale to rate all climbs (which is weird), the ratings on OW are about the same as other cracks.
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pancaketom
Feb 4, 2003, 7:30 PM
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The gear sure us lighter, cheaper, and easier on the fingers. You are also less likely to kick it out as you worm past it.
Generally offwidths are secure but hard to move, easier to move on fingers, but depending on the size I am alwasy scared if my feet pop, then my fingers will get ripped off.
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phugganut
Feb 4, 2003, 7:37 PM
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IMO...It depends on how high the climb is. A short off-width is easier than a short finger crack, but a long offwidth is very hard on the muscles, and I'm more likely to get burnt out than on a long finger crack.
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pbjosh
Feb 4, 2003, 7:46 PM
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While a lot of stuff at Woodson is boulder-able most people will take a rope for most problems as they're anywhere from a bit to very highball and tend to feature bad landings. I've bouldered out a lot of stuff out there, and a lot of people do without a rope on California Night or Jaws but not many people skip the rope on Crucible.
Mother Superior is my freaking nemisis. The technical crux may be the finger crack and face climbing but the OW is still 5.11 OW and is gnarly. My knee is about 3/4" too small for the start so I've been working on thighbars and leg stacks and getting completely upside down, but I'm not making a lot of progress!
josh
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mreardon
Feb 4, 2003, 10:29 PM
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I do much better on fingercracks than handjams or anything else crack wise so I'm a bit biased. [SPRAY] I'm starting to work "Equinox" at Josh and feel comfortable that it will go within a couple of weekends of work, whereas I still have yet to recover mentally from my epic on "Gorilla Warfare" (OW 10+++) at the Needles. Finger cracks for me are:
1. Find the groove;
2. insert tips;
3. twist until painful;
4. pull while screaming several profanities about God, climbing, the family, and giraffes;
5. repeat steps 1-4 until climb is complete.
Offwidths are:
1. Do 3,000 sit-ups;
2. move 2 inches;
3. lose several layers of skin, and two liters of blood by wedging the body, until you can't move;
4. pretend to rest;
5. cry like a 12 year old girl;
6. do 6,000 sit-ups;
7. move 4 inches;
8. lose remaining skin, and two additional liters of blood by wedging the body until you can't move;
9. pretend to rest, but instead fly out of the wedge and land in any nearby tree or on belayer - whichever is closest;
10. cry like a 12 year old girl;
11. sell gear.
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moeman
Feb 4, 2003, 10:48 PM
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Um. Lets see. The .11 fingers are .11 because they are harder than a .10. If the .10 OW was harder than an .11, then it would be an .11. Why don't we compare .11 fingers to .11 OW?
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