Cruising the perfect hand crack is a joyous feeling. But when it narrows to fingers, the real battle begins—even hand-crack wizards might take the ride. The secret to floating up finger fissures is still in the feet, but you’ve got less to work with. Unless your feet are freakishly small, you’ll have to jam just your tippy toes, smear on the edges of the crack, or look for holds on the face. Then there’s the seemingly infinite ways to use your digits. Whether you’re seeking out pods and pin scars in Yosemite or tackling the blissful parallels of Indian Creek, we’ve compiled tricks of the trade that will open up a whole new world of crack climbing.

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Hands

Easy: Fingerlocks

The cake of finger cracks; put your fingers straight in and drop them down, slotting them in the crack so they sink in to the second or third knuckles. Your knuckles act like nuts, wedging into constrictions. It takes very little muscle engagement, and you feel like you could hang on forever. Pin scars and pods provide wider spots directly above constrictions, which are excellent. Try thumb-up and thumb-down fingerlocks because your pinky and ring fingers might slot perfectly where your pointer and middle fingers are too large.

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Hard: Ratchet

For cracks too wide for a fingerlock, stick as much of your hand as possible in the crack with pinky up, elbow out, and thumb tucked under your fingers. Pull your elbow down and in toward your ribs. This ratcheting motion will create torque that cams your fingers into the crack. These are useless if your hands are too low, so keep them face level or higher.

Hardest : Ringlocks

Fissures that are slightly small for a ratchet should fit a ringlock well. Place your pointer and middle fingers on the top portion of your thumb and insert that into the crack, pinky up and elbow out. Bring your elbow down and in, which will cam your fingers in place. Similar to the ratchet, these need to be at your face or higher to be effective. Good idea: Tape your fingers or your whole hand because these can be quite painful.

Feet

Easy: Face Holds

Look for bumps, edges, or dishes on the face outside the crack. Scout for them at all times, as they are the easiest to use. It’s like sport climbing, so remember your fancy footwork: step-throughs, back-stepping, etc. Finger-crack master Jean-Pierre Ouellet says, “The tiniest bumps will be good enough to get to the next jam.”

Hard: Toe Jams

This is the same idea as foot jamming in a hand crack: With your knee sticking out to the side, raise your foot almost level with the knee you’re standing on, stick as much of your toes/foot in the crack as you can. Then cam your toes in by bringing your leg back in line with your body. You’ll probably only get the tip of your toe in, so really twisting and trusting will help it. Don’t keep your feet too low, which will make it difficult to make the next move.

Hardest: Crack Smears

Point your foot straight at the crack, so your big toe lines up with the middle of the fissure. Bend your toes upward. You’re essentially smearing on the edges of the crack. Any flared spots or irregularities in the crack will make the best footholds. Soft, sensitive shoes that fit tightly are best, like thin-toed slippers.

Fine-tune Your crack technique

With Jean-Pierre “Peewee” Ouellet