Know What Your Grabbing

Hey guys! This week I would like to share some types of rock/holds you could possible encounter while climbing both indoors and outdoors. Every person who has been climbing for some time or even beginners will learn to love and struggle with some types of holds. When in a climbing gym there are most likely going to be every type of hold but when outdoors you are never sure what you may run into unless you have previously climbed that spot. Starting with biggest to smallest;

1. Jugs- The easiest hold to grab, generally with a large pocket or something to wrap a hand around
2. Slopers- These often large but that does not make the easy by any means, these are very hard when learning to climb, generally they have a positive edge or small lip to place the hand on but no always. They are as the name implies sloping, it is very hard to grab or get a hand around these, the most effective way to handle slopers is with pressure and friction from your hand.
3. Pinches- These are my favorite type of hold and can range in size from small to large, one essentially pinches with thumb on one side and remaining four fingers on the other side of the hold. They provide a unique sensation of comfort grabbing it but also give a good challenge to my grip strength.
4. Crimps- These little buggers are a tough challenge for many climbers as they have a very small area to hold onto. Sometimes you can only fit 2 or 3 fingers on it making it greatly difficult to climb. When climbing routes with many crimps body control and balance are crucial. For some reason these tend to be very sharp as well and can hurt ones fingers quite a bit. Building up callus on the fingers helps to prevent this pain.
5. Pockets- These can also range in size from big to small, the majority of the time they are small and sometimes one can only fit one finger in the hole at a time. Often the fingers can be split by two pockets also creating a strange sensation when climbing attempting to distribute pressure evenly to the different fingers.
Hope you guys get a chance to get out a climb and see which hold you find to be your favorite!