Never Climb or Boulder on Wet Sandstone
Wet sandstone loses up to 75 per cent of its strength, so avoid climbing it until things dry up
Over the past few weeks, several videos have made the rounds on social media showing climbers bouldering on wet sandstone. While climbing wet rock is possible in many areas, doing so on sandstone should always be avoided.
About climbing on wet sandstone, the Access Fund says, “As a porous rock type that can absorb a lot of water, western sandstone from Utah to California can lose up to 75% of its strength while wet, making it easy to snap off holds and irreparably damage classic climbs. The bottom line for climbers: Don’t climb on wet sandstone, full stop.”
And the Southern Nevada Climbers Coalition says, “Avoid sandstone after heavy rains. Instead, climb granite, limestone, and metamorphic rock! These are hard, erosion-resistant, and generally impermeable to water, so rain runs off and the surface dries quickly, even on cloudy days.”
Wet sandstone is very soft and fragile and can be prone to breaking or eroding away. One of the world’s best technical climbers, Steve McClure, shared these tips about climbing on U.K. sandstone a few years ago. While sandstone differs from place to place, these are great tips for climbing sandstone at any climbing area.
Sandstone Climbing Tips
1. Clean your shoes before stepping on to the rock and focus on your footwork to improve your climbing and reduce wear to footholds. Even if you’re trad climbing, a bouldering mat is a good idea to protect the base of routes from erosion and keep your feet clean.
2. Given the soft nature of the rock, think carefully about gear and where to place it. Gear placements have been known to break here. Avoid obviously weak features like thin flakes and remember that nuts exert less force on placements than cams and are more likely to be trustworthy.
3. Wet sandstone is weak sandstone. Don’t climb damp or wet rock. Doing so accelerates rock erosion and can cause holds or gear placements to break.
4. Sandstone is not the best medium for working problems or routes at your limit and repeated working will accelerate hold erosion. Set yourself a realistic number of attempts of a line and leave it for another day if you aren’t able to top out relatively quickly.
5. Minimise chalk use and brushing. Brushing can erode the rock so use really soft brushes and take a gentle and minimalist approach. ‘Ragging’ or whacking the holds with a towel can be very effective at removing chalk and is less abrasive than brushing.
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