Blog

How To Tape For Crack Climbing: Video

• March 2013
• Climb

One of the first things we do in my Indian Creek Crack Clinic is get our hands taped up. As I always say, you can tape before you get gobies, or you can tape after you get gobies. If you tape after you get gobies, the tape sticks to your oozing open wounds and it is pretty disgusting. When you pull the tape off, you pull off the new skin layer that is trying to grow, and then it’s pretty much a vicious cycle from there until you leave the desert. And crack climbing is a LOT more enjoyable when you do not rip all your skin off. So I highly recommend taking the necessary precautions to make sure you avoid those gobies as much as possible.

Four years ago, I made a post on how to tape, and just now I shot a how-to-tape instructional video with Backcountry.com to go a little more in depth with taping fingers for normal finger cracks as well as rattly finger cracks. Remember, you want to get Eurotape if possible because it is the most sticky. Mueller stickum spray is also extremely helpful for finger taping and also helps keep your hand tape adhered without rolling if it’s hot or you are an extra sweaty person.

Desert season is now: I hope this will help you avoid the gobes!