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Ask the Expert
Big-Wall Warrior Mark Synnott Answers
Your Climbing Queries
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I have just started rock climbing. Could you please tell me a basic
work out to improve strength?
—Juan Felipe Gutierrez, San Salvador, El Salvador (E-mail: dingogutierrez@whale-mail.com)
Juan,
By the way, I like your email address. Is your nickname Dingo? I actually
used to have a dog named Chia that was half dingo, half pit bull. The thing
was insane. No joke, it could climb 5.5 rock routes, and when I took it on
climbing trips I did not have to bring its food. It would just kill birds and
rats and stuff. Dingos are awesome creatures.
The type of strength you need for rock climbing is mainly in the fingers.
The best way to train for this is to get out and spend a lot of time on the
rock, especially toproping routes that are above your ability. This should
tax your fingers plenty. In addition, I like to climb on my indoor wall and
also workout on my finger board. I gave up doing pull up type exercises
because it just thrashed my elbow. I got tendonitis really bad. Now I just
do hangs on small edges, and when I get in good shape I wear a fanny
pack filled with rocks.
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About Our Expert
"A lot of people don't realize it, but the only thing you really need to climb
big walls, or any big route, is determination," says Mark Synnott. OK. But
what else does it take to best a big wall?
E-mail Mark and he'll give you the skinny on everything from grub to
gear to getting started. And he should know.
Mark has bagged more than 50 big walls, including Argentina's Cerro
Torre and first ascents on Canada's Baffin Island and southern Asia's
Karakoram Range. And when he's not climbing, he's helping design new
North Face equipment or contributing to magazines like National
Geographic, Outside, and Climbing.
E-mail Mark
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Climber Mark Synnott
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National Geographic Atlas of the World