Anti-hydral and Other Handy Things, Part 1

I thought I was going to be diving deep into all the arguments about whether Antihydral works. I'll save some time by saying it does. Plain and simple. I found myself instead wondering more how to use it, and what that involved. I recently prepped for a Bishop trip by applying small coatings to my tips 3 times, each at night, over the course of 2 weeks. Then used it 3 times, every other day or so, while on my trip. The results surprised me.

(Disclaimer: I have been a window cleaner for several years now and work with my hands on side projects, car repair, and home hobbies, on top of climbing. I also sand them down several times a week, so I might not be the best test subject since my skin is already pretty damn tough).

I had heard of antihydral for years, but had never committed to giving it a shot, mostly because I do not suffer from overly sweaty hands (and $30 is hefty for something you're not sure works). Yet I came across some anecdotal accounts that claimed it also hardened tips.  I didn't want to risk shredding my fingers to the bone, which Bishop is notorious for, and antihydral seemed like the knowledge for this trip.

Josh Mueller's nice flapper from Evilution, ~2010

Instructions for applying anti-hydral:

1. Wait till bedtime.
2. Clean and dry tips.
3. Either a. Put a small dollop on one finger and use it to apply to all the other tips/desired areas or b. apply about 5 pinhead drops to each tip/desired area
4. Rub around desired area; just covering the surface is enough without needing to use a lot. 
5. Let air dry for several minutes. 
6. Wipe off any excess with paper towel. Do not wash your hands!
7. Go to sleep. (As long as excess is wiped off, there will be no staining in bed; do NOT touch your junk, guys or girls!)
8. Carry on living. 
9. Repeat as needed, though this may take some time to figure out. Prepare well ahead of a trip.

I had planned on taking a rest day after the first 2 or 3 into the trip. I ended up taking 0 and climbing for 8 days straight! Every morning I would wake up and realize I had plenty of skin, and never really felt too sore to climb, nor more sore than I had been the previous day. This could have been due to the antihydral prep, or just me having bullet-proof skin, so take that for what it's worth.

Everyone else in my group had shredded tips by the third day, but none of them prepped with antihydral, though some of them used it while there. I was the only one who climbed all 8 days.

Interview with Friction Labs/Review of "Secret Stuff"

The boys at Friction Labs have been getting bored making the best chalk on earth. So they upped their game and came up with a new cream even more mystical than my precious Unicorn Dust. The ingredients are so super secret they wouldn't even tell me what it was called. The label even says, "Secret Stuff." Maybe they don't even know! Gasp.

What I like about secret stuff:

1. It is VERY sticky (it's Friction Labs. Duh).
2. It lasts. In the video I do 3 problems and show my hands after each burn. They look the same after every climb.
3. It doesn't take a lot. Just a dime size to coat your hands.
4. It comes in a reusable jar (or recyclable at the very least).
5. Cuts down on chalk usage (I hang at home a lot).
6. One more thing to make myself look ultra cool when I pull out my chalk bucket.

To pre-order and find other great chalk products, go to Friction Labs.

If you're a very serious climber, the next 5 minutes will be fascinating to you. If not, carry on, nothing to see here.

Handy Things, Part 3

On our third morning of the Bishop trip I saw, through my groggy pre-morning-tea eyes, in the kitchen, a shaggy-ish climber, hunched over, anxiously mumbling something about "hoofing it." He popped up, briefly looked at me, then walked away saying, "Yep, time to start hoofing!"

"Hoofing?" I mumbled.

"Yeah dude!" he came back into the room holding a tub with a pump dispenser on top. It might have been a Costco-sized jar of mayo, or your grandma's perfume lotion. "Mane 'n Tale Hoofmaker," it said. "The Original," it said. He pumped a small dollop into his palm and began vigorously rubbing his hands together in every which way. Wow, I thought, this guy is serious. He pumped some more and kept rubbing. Then he explained how it adds an extra layer of skin if you do it enough times.

Instructions for "hoofing it," (if you look at the instructions on the back, scroll your eyes down to "Instructions for humans." Wow. Right? Ok, don't follow those):

1. Pump small dollop onto your hand and rub in every which way all over. 
2. Repeat x15. 
3. Yes, 15.
4. Do the, "rub off." That is, rub your palms together like you're doing a play-doh snake, until you get a bunch of baby hoofmaker/skin snakes and wipe off with a paper towel briefly.
5. Pump small dollop onto your hand and rub...
6. Repeat x15. 
7. Do the rub off.
8. Wash hands with a little soap briefly.
9. Towel dry.
10. Chalk up, climb. The first time might feel slippery.

I hoofed for a couple days, and honestly didn't notice too much of a difference. This guy swore by it.
Turns out he was climbing author and photog, Dan Brayack. Whoa. Then he sent High Plains Drifter that day. Double whoa.

He also had a hygrometer and was telling us the humidity. This guy was for reals. We all felt guilty for not having a hygrometer. Of course! This is the perfect excuse maker! "I was inches away, but the humidity was like, 68 percent. I took a photo of my hygrometer if you don't believe me."

I thought hoofing might be nice to do at night to facilitate healing, or maybe as an extra layer over antihydral. Then seal it off with some Benzoin Tincture! The possibilities were endless.

I ended the trip by hopping on Surf Safari with a friend (his project), which cut me up more than anything in Bishop. I left the wall bleeding and psyched.

Handy Things, Part 2

2nd day of climbing in Bishop.

Another handy factor coming into play on this Bishop trip was a little tincture I'd never heard of before, called Benzoin. "Maybe this is the way!" I thought. This liquid comes out quick and stains your hands brown anywhere it touches, like chocolate. Or baby poo. It also has an interesting aroma (not like baby poo); pleasant I thought. Turns out this stuff has been around for hundreds of years in one form or another. Currently it's used mostly for bandaging wounds by creating a tacky surface, while also acting as an antiseptic and sealant for the skin.

Instructions for using Benzoin Tincture at the crag:

1. Clean and dry tips.
2. Spray on tincture (or lightly dab if you have a different bottle; watch out, it comes out quick!)
3. For best results, air dry for 20 minutes. If you don't want to wait you can merely chalk your hands up, or spray some alcohol on them and then chalk up. It didn't seem to be quite as thick if done this way, though it could have been my imagination
4. Climb.
5. Repeat as necessary.

Using benzoin felt like actually creating an extra layer of skin. Being that Bishop was surprisingly warm for the 2nd week in February, we found ourselves seeking shade and fighting the sweat in near 70 degree temps. "Using," as we jokingly called it, was especially helpful prior to a send go. It certainly didn't hinder my skin, and I could definitely tell a positive difference at the end of the day when the clock struck "crush-o'clock."

And it did. And I crushed. And I was psyched.