Slab Climbing: Is it Sexy? And How The Best Do it Better.
How often is the slab the least popular climb at the crag? Or the quietest part of the gym? There is still a misconception amongst climbers that slab has very little transfer to steeper forms of climbing. I have found this to be demonstrably untrue, in that some of the best climbers I know, all excel on a slab. But why? What skills that they have honed on slab, translate to steeper climbing? Let’s try and step into it…
Skillset
The first big skill is trust in bad feet. Some of the best climbers I have climbed with, have an ability to make tiny footholds look big. They don’t look at them like small footholds, or stand on them like small footholds, they simply use them like any other foot. This comes from years of standing on progressively worse feet, of all shapes and sizes. Smears, edges, pushing with the foot, pulling with the foot, standing on crystals or uneven holds, they’ve done it all. This skill translates to everything. Some of the hardest boulders out there ultimately have worse feet. You’re not often just standing on the handholds you just used. And if you are, if the climb is hard the hands probably are too! Secondly, balance. The best climbers understand how to find balance so much more quickly than everyone else. They sink into a position, and it becomes engrained, almost instantly. They don’t have to learn the move and repeat it a million times, they just have to feel it out a handful of times, and they have it. This is gained through hours and hours of movement, of all varieties and all rock types. Movement with purpose and challenge, not just repeating easy boulders for hours. They find that sweet spot of challenge, and they hammer it. Lastly, the precision and consistency that the best climbers have with their feet, is a level above what most are doing. They can look at a foot, place it and look away in a fraction of the time most can. They can also do it every time, and rarely have to look back, or readjust that foot again. So with all of these skills acknowledged, how do we acquire them without the 10,000 hours the pro’s have to put in!? Well the reality is, we can’t. But we can get pretty damn close, with some awareness and focus.
Focus
Now you’re aware of the skills the best use, you can more easily go off and work on them! Simply starting at the slab at your local gym and serving your time will help. Move through as many poor footholds as you can on the set boulders. If you’ve run dry there, find yourself as many awful footholds as you can, and set problems using them. Test yourself in linking hard slab boulders together. Try climbing completely hands free, eliminating the itch to pull on tiny handholds. Try visiting the gym and only climbing on the slab once in a while, or setting aside 30 minutes to prioritise it. The balance can be obtained by trying to fully weight one leg, and unweighting the other. Let yourself move from one stable position, to another, and hold either side of the movement to demonstrate the balance. This can have a huge effect on just being comfortable in uncomfortable positions on the wall. The precision and consistency can be gained through purposefully placing every foot cleanly, with pinpoint accuracy and having confidence in it. But do it slowly! DO NOT rush to speed this up, as you risk going back to adjusting and replacing feet.
All of these skills translate directly to physical and steep climbing, it’s just not always easy to see! But next time you’re around an elite level climber, watch how they move on vertical and slabby terrain. You may be surprised! We’ll touch more on slab and vert technique in future, but until then…
Slab it up,
Eliot.