Can I Get Tougher Skin From Crack Climbing

Hey Cracksters,

I'm tackling a question today that I get asked all the time: "Does the skin on the back of my hand eventually toughen up when I go crack climbing?"

The short answer, and the harsh truth, is: No, it doesn't. And trying to make it toughen up will only make it thinner.

There's a fundamental difference between the skin on the back of your hand and the skin on your palm that means they respond to the abrasion of the rock in completely opposite ways. It's a lesson I wish I'd understood earlier.

The Science of Skin: Palm vs. Dorsum

The key difference lies in the type of skin you have.

1. The Palm (The Callus Builder)

The skin on your palm (and the sole of your foot) is thick, highly structured, and designed to manage plenty of abrasion

• How it reacts to abrasion: When you repeatedly stress your palm (say from hand jamming), your body responds by increasing the thickness of the layers. As climbers we end up with a lot of this thick skin on the palm and fingers, which essentially form calluses.

2. The Back of the Hand (The Abrasion Zone)

The skin on the back of your hand (the dorsum) is different. It is thinner, more flexible, and contains hair follicles. It's designed for flexibility and sensation, not sustained abrasion.

• How it reacts to abrasion: When you rub it repeatedly against rock like when jamming it doesn't respond by building a callus; it simply gets damaged. Repeated damage to this skin structure results in scar tissue and a progressively thinner, more delicate layer of skin over time. The thinner the skin the more prone it is to ripping in the future.

If you don't protect the back of your hand, you are essentially training your skin to be weaker, not tougher.

My Biggest Regret (And Why You Need Gloves)

I truly wish I had protected my hands better from the very beginning of my crack climbing journey. My nonchalant (or lazy) approach to protecting the backs of my hands, has certainly left me with thinner skin and more scar tissue.

Your palm is built to take a beating, but your dorsum is not. Don't damage your hands for years only to realize you've been working against your own anatomy.

Happy jamming,