Want to learn better climbing techniques for out on the cliffs or at your local gym? Follow this 8 part series to explore helpful rock climbing movement tips and techniques, reasons for performing the climbing movement, and how to practice them for added rock climbing fun. We will even include recommended Devil’s Lake State Park climbs to try your new found skills on.
You walk into a deli in New York and ask for a schmear of cream cheese on your bagel. No one thinks twice, that’s what it is. But did you know that several languages actually use the word schmear and it means smear. So if you want, you can call this move a smear or a schmear. You might get sideways glances by hoighty toighty climbers for the latter, but climbing is just about having fun right, so who cares!
Smearing is a pretty odd movement. One that takes some time to trust and one that is hardly ever done at Devil’s Lake State Park. You can read more about the Devil’s Lake Rock first if you missed that post… it might help inform you about what is about to happen next.
So back to smearing. First thing’s first, you need a bit of friction or else you’ll never trust this move. I just got back from a trip where we got the privilege of climbing highly textured granite. I came back without fingertips, but I also got to practice this great movement.
So once you’ve found some friction, you are going to place the ball of your foot onto said friction. From there, press down and your foot will stick. The odd thing about this movement is that you create a foot chip without the chip part. Thank back to putting a schmear on our bagel. The cream cheese glides (with some effort) onto the bagel and it sticks to the bread part and comes off of your spreading utensil. It’s friction, people! And it is weird! I’m not very scientific, so I can’t get too far into it beyond making the comparison and saying it is weird.
The wall is your bagel and your shoe is the cream cheese. If you trust in friction, the cream cheese is going to stick just find to your bagel.
Recommended Devil’s Lake Smearing Climbs: ????? Maybe something at Old Sandstone. Head on a trip to practice this skill. Red River Gorge, Arizona, Colorado…
