Elena has discovered this other side of climbing, which was unknown to her, and you can see her big smile while she goes up the wall. I believe she also mentioned how much she like it a few times.

Crack climbing requires a variety of different movements, which are very different from the typical face climbing or juggy holds you find at indoor gyms.

Nowadays, many gyms offer a limited selection of cracks,  but they don’t represent well the variety of features you’ll find outside. The uniformity and complex features of outdoor-cracks makes them much easier to climb.

Way back when, and even today, most people like to use athletic tape to protect their knuckles. Although, there are newer and more convenient ways to protect your hands such as – crack climbing gloves, which are made with leather and rubber and take seconds to put on.

If you haven’t given crack-climbing a chance, come join us outdoors sometime and give it a shot. You may hate it or love it, there no way of knowing until you experience the fist jams, hand jams, toe-jams, finger locks, and all the fun varieties of wedging your body parts into a crack!

Climb On!

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We asked her to give us some feedback on the route and she said, “The route is fun. Is definitely one of the hardest 5.9’s I have ever climbed. There is too much chalk in places that don’t serve well as holds, so a leader needs to focus on making the moves that feel natural, rather than following chalk marks.”

We asked about beta and she said, “There is a combination of hand jams, stemming, drop knees, laybacks, face climbing and high steps – the combination of everything makes this climb a truly fun classic. I didn’t use the crack on the right side very much, if at all but to stem. Route protects very well, making it safer than most leads in Joshua Tree . . .”

Touch and Go Route Info

Touch and Go is a trad route rated 5.9, it can be done with a standard rack, and is located on the Echo Cove Back Side area. Its first ascent was made by Matt Cox, Bobby Kessinger and Dan Ahlborn in 1976.

Photography by: Chris Rodriguez

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The backdrop alone, makes this a stunning photo. Many tourists hike around this area to walk up the back of this formation and see the breathtaking view from the top.

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As founders of Rock Climb Every Day, these husband and wife enjoy the great outdoors and having each other as partners in life.

Climb on!

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What is Traditional Climbing?

Traditional climbing is a style of rock climbing in which a climber or group of climbers place all gear required to protect against falls, and removes it when a passage is complete. 

What is the best way to learn traditional climbing?

If you want to become a traditional climbing leader, the best thing you can do is follow a leader and clean their pieces.

Get a beginner rack with cams, nuts and even some hexes and practice placing them in different cracks. Place and remove all the pieces on your rack, and continue to do that in diferent places 50 or more times. 

As a trad novice, chances are high that you will be mostly climbing with other trad novice who are probably only slightly more experienced than you are.

It’s rare to find truly experienced traditional climbing leader who will want to sacrifice their day to climb easy routes with you.

Therefore, it’s more than worth your money and time to hire an experienced, certified climbing guide to teach you how to trad climb. Traditional climbing classes provide an optimal way to learn skills set required to send safely. Learn to manage your rope, route finding tricks, solid gear placement and removal, lead belay and communication.

Lead your first route. Make sure your pick a route that is well bellow your most comfortable climbing level, two to three grades lower. Practice while on top rope and have your partner check your pieces. 

No matter how many routes you follow, how many books your read, or how many videos you watch – there is no substitute for experience. At some point you will feel ready to take on the real lead and when that moment comes, you will know.

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Climbers from all over the world come to Joshua Tree National Park to experience world class climbing and often wait in line for this awesome route to become available. 

White Lighning offers a variety of moves from stemming, to friction, crack climbing, face climbing, you name it this route has it. 

If you are giving it a shot, make sure to bring a 70m rope to rappel from the top. A 60m rope won’t make it to the ground.

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Trad climbing practice time with my favorite rock climbing instructor. #joshuatree #jtree #rockclimbing #rockclimbeveryday #climbing #climbon #goclimbarock #tradclimbing

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Watch out world! The Dynamic Duo is coming soon, to a crag near you . . . 

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