Newsletter Archive

Find all our past newsletters with crack climbing knowledge, insights and stories, all in one place

Technique Hack from Offwidthing in Australia

Hey Cracksters, Listen to the podcast version of this newsletter here I’ve recently been out in Australia climbing and filming with Tom and Domen Škofic (World Cup champion). We’ve been introducing Domen to some crack and trad climbing challenges—more on that very soon! But today, I want to t...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

5.5 to 5.14: A beginners guide to Elite Cracks

1. How to get from 5.5 to 5.10 (UK: Diff to E1) At this stage, the main things holding people back aren't physical strength—they are gear management and getting your basic hand jamming technique dialed in. Gear Strategy & Efficiency so much energy can be wasted on gear placing Speed up placement...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

A New FA in Kristiansund and the Golden Takeaway

Hey Cracksters, Listen to the podcast version of the newsletter here I recently made the first ascent of a new crack climb with Mari in Kristiansund. It was a big roof climb taking in many different crack sizes, all the way from finger jams to chicken winging. Climbing it together reminded me...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

Important Reminders From Lofoten and Stetind

Hey Cracksters, Listen to the podcast version of the newsletter here I’ve been climbing in northern Norway on Stetind and in Lofoten, so I’ve got something a little different for you today. Rather than direct crack climbing techniques, here are a few important reminders that came flooding bac...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

4 easy fixes to solve foot pain in cracks

Hey Cracksters, Listen to the podcast version of the newsletter here When I’m teaching crack school classes, the single biggest pain issue people ask me to solve isn't hand pain—it's foot pain. So today, I’m going to give you 4 straightforward rules to make foot jamming comfortable and painle...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

#1 mistake EVERYONE makes when jamming (+ the easy fix)

Hey Cracksters, Click to listen to the podcast version of this newsletter I’ve been teaching some more crack climbing recently at a number of different events, and I got asked a lot not about what to do, but what not to do. And it got me thinking: what is the most common mistake I see when teachi...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

The #1 reason you’re thrutching on offwidths

Hey Cracksters, I’ve just come back from the Bohuslan Festival in Sweden, where I was teaching a Crack School class. Today, I want to go over one of the main offwidth techniques we worked on and the biggest takeaway that everyone learned. This is crucial for leveling up your offwidth game! The ...

by Pete Whittaker — Oct 03, 2026

80% of crack strength comes from one thing

Hey Cracksters, Tom and I have just got back from the Rack N Roll series, where we taught crack climbing at 3 different gyms to over 300 people! Today, I’ll answer a few of the most frequently asked questions from those sessions. Crack training? Managing fear? Jamming in a crack too big? ...

by Pete Whittaker — Jul 30, 2026

800m solo on Kjerag: My biggest technique takeaway

My crack tip this week comes from my recent rope solo on Kjerag, where I managed a first free ascent of a route on its north wall—an 800m wall of fantastic rock, rivers, grass, and slime. Lovely! Climbing routes like this (especially when rope soloing) can often be quite demanding, and you ha...

by Pete Whittaker — Jul 30, 2026

Why Tom taped the crux cam to his chest?

Hey Cracksters, In last week’s newsletter, we looked at racking up and some tips to make your life easier. However, that was purely a racking system for when you’re onsighting a climb. Things can drastically change when you are redpointing—so much so that on one route, Tom actually taped the ...

by Pete Whittaker — Jul 30, 2026

Are you racking your cams the wrong way?

Hey Cracksters, I was recently on a climbing trip to Nissedal with Mari, and the topic of racking came up. She’d been climbing with some other people recently and noticed how they and I racked up totally differently. So today, let's look at racking up— I’m going to give you 10 racking up tips...

by Pete Whittaker — Jul 07, 2026

The Secret To Making Offset Cracks Work

Hey Cracksters, In today’s newsletter, I’m going to give you some tips on how to read offsets when crack climbing, depending on the size of the jam you are using. An offset is when one side of the crack protrudes further than the other. Offsets can work in your favour if you use them correctl...

by Pete Whittaker — Jul 07, 2026

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