1. Sweaty Hands Can Make You Slip
To achieve a better grip, many climbers use climbing chalk, which absorbs the sweat on their fingertips. When your fingers are sweaty, you can't firmly grasp the rock without slipping. When you find yourself in this situation, dip your fingers in your climbing chalk bag to grab a small amount of chalk. If you are using a chalk ball, rub your fingers on it briefly.
2. Watch Your Feet
Chalk works great for improving your hand grip. It has the opposite effect on your feet. Chalk causes the soles of your shoes to become very slippery. If loose chalk falls on the rock you will need to place your feet elsewhere or you won't have traction. Only use climbing chalk when necessary, such as difficult climbs, to minimize the chances of this occurring.
3. Defacing the Rock
Loose climbing chalk is very messy and detrimental to the environment. Calcium carbonate, the primary ingredient in chalk, causes erosion. Loose climbing chalk can build up on the handholds of the rock causing slime to develop when moisture is present. This makes it dangerously slippery. Chalk also leaves a trail on the rock face, which takes away the challenge of finding a new route from the next climber. A chalk block helps prevent this problem because it doesn't leave loose powder blowing around. The climber dips his fingers into the chalk bag and rubs them on the chalk block. He only uses what is necessary and there isn't any chalk residue blowing around.
4. Play Ball
Climbing chalk is available in a ball that prevents loose chalk from blowing around. The climber puts the ball in her chalk bag, and she is able to leave it open when ascending. When the time comes to chalk up, she can either rub the chalk ball between her hands or pat her on it. This is often the only chalk allowed in climbing centers, because it doesn't leave chalk residue on the hand and footholds.
5. Keep it in the Bag
If you must use powdered climbing chalk, make sure to keep your bag closed when you aren't using it. Bring just enough chalk for your excursion to avoid overfilling your bag. This will prevent the chalk dust from blowing around in the atmosphere causing erosion. Loose chalk dust can blow on the rock face when you leave your chalk bag open. To prevent this, look for a chalk climbing bag with a zipper. When you need to chalk up, pry the bag open only slightly and dip your fingers in.
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