I have been climbing in the Red River Gorge for the last few days and have been noticing the humidity rising with the warmer temps. This equates to slimy holds, slick feet, and well… not sending. The solution: La Sportiva Solutions. Though marketed as a bouldering shoe, the Solution’s sticky rubber wants to hold you onto the wall whether you are 10 feet off the ground or 50. I had worked a few 5.12s and was not having any luck fighting the pump on the steep overhaning sandstone that the Red so readily throws in your face. So I threw on a pair of Solutions and onsited the very next climb.
Today I was back in North Carolina at a new area developed by Eric Singleton known as Cathy’s Creek Crag. The climbing area offers great sport climbing on steep granite with crystalline quartzite edges. I used the La Sportiva Solutions again, and again with warm, humid air and thunderstorms rumbling in the mountains not far off. Lindsay and I ran laps for a few hours, and I had her try them out. Of course she loved them and is now looking at picking a pair up for herself! So I am going to stick with this shoe for a bit on the harder overhung routes and see if they are the “Solution” to the next climb.
