Preparing skin/hands for trips to crags with harsh rock

[jetjackson]

Can anyone share tips, experience or cite any references for prepping hands and skin for intense periods of abuse?

Over Christmas I was on a road trip and we came back through West TX, and we took the opportunity to spend a day at Hueco Tanks. We took a tour at East Mountain, and I jumped on a few V4/V5/V6's - was really just having fun, and didn't approach it with any level of strategy to send a specific route. I put in about 12-15 serious burns on V5/V6's throughout the day. The next day my fingers were trashed - no skin damage, but the kind of pain you get from crimping on sharp, jagged rock. There is no way I could have backed it up with serious effort on day 2.

My callouses are lacking at the moment due to a lack in major milage over the past 2 months, but given that I am training for bouldering, I'm skipping most of ARC, just hang boarding and power cycles before we head out to Hueco again. Does anyone do anything that really helps build callouses and prep hands for a serious beating at places where the rock is harsh on the skin/hands? Should I just be expecting to do less burns each day at Hueco? Should I try to get a couple of outdoor limit bouldering sessions in during the power phase?

[MarkAnderson]

I'm going to assume you've read the tips in chapter 9. Personally at this point all I do is sand my pads (sometimes including the 2nd and 3rd pads and sides if I think I will encounter sharp pockets) on the day after each climbing/training session.

For a place like Hueco (or Bishop, Smith, VRG, etc), the key is to pace yourself. Realize that if you go really hard/long on day 1, you may be out of commission for several days after. You really need to constantly evaluate your skin condition during the climbing day and know when to call it a day. It can help to pre-emptively apply tape as well.

[jetjackson]

I had read Chapter 9, but re-read it again just now and paid extra attention to the skin section. Last year during the humid Houston summer I ended up with a fair few flappers, so had read through it with that in mind in the past. I began sanding callouses etc. to prevent them.

After the session at Hueco I had more of an issue with the very tips of my fingers. It's like I end up with these tiny little blood blisters under the very tips - they look almost like tiny brown spots (like you would get from a love bite) - so small I can't get them to show up on a photo taken with my iPhone. I've had them a couple of times after really hard out sessions, or at places with tough rock - like Enchanted Rock here in Houston, which is this granite with really large particle sizes, almost like aggregate in cement.

It could have just been the 2 week break from climbing, I'll be sure to get some non-plastic training in before Hueco and see if it toughens up those tips, and I'll pace things a bit better.

[MarkAnderson]

Ya, I know what you're talking about. I think those spots are the result of burst capillaries due to the extreme pressure inside your finger tips while crimping. I don't know what to do about it. Perhaps thicker skin helps distribute the force at the subdermal level, or maybe it just makes it harder to see the spots

[antihydral]

Antihydral may be one solution. If you're curious, google "Antihydral climbing" and read up on what people are saying.