SportsThe StorytellerIntermediate
Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing, a free sports course on Tomo

Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing

Master the unique ethics and technical skills of Elbe Sandstone climbing, where metal protection is banned and knots are your only lifeline.

Like Duolingo, but for Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

A deep dive: 30 levels across 5 sections, about 60 minutes end to end, roughly 12 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Sandstone Transition, The Physics of Soft Rock, The Art of the Knot, Anchors and Belays, and Leading and Ethics. It assumes you already know the basics.

30 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Sandy the Salamander, the guide who teaches the Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing course
Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing
with Sandy the Salamander
30
Levels
5
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing

  • Saxon sandstone is highly friable and easily damaged by the pressure of metal gear
  • The UFO uses a camming principle but is constructed entirely of textile and rubber
  • Local ethics prioritize rock preservation over the convenience of modern metal protection
  • Why metal protection is banned in Saxon Switzerland
  • UFOs are the only mechanical-style devices allowed as an alternative to traditional knots
  • The unique role of the UFO in a Saxon rack
  • Sling thickness must match the crack width to ensure the knot jams securely
  • Using a sling that is too thin for a wide crack will cause it to pull through under load
  • Accessory cords are used for the tightest constrictions
  • Selecting sling diameters based on crack width
  • Kinderköpfe (child heads) are large, fist-sized knotted slings for wide gaps
  • The essential progression of a Saxon rack from small to large
  • Grouping slings by knot volume allows for faster selection based on the crack size you see
  • Color-coding or distinct racking carabiners help differentiate between cord diameters
  • Organizing a rack for quick identification on lead
  • A true Sanduhr consists of two connected holes with a solid rock pillar between them
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Preserving the Elbe Sandstone

You reach for a UFO to protect a parallel crack. What materials allow this device to mimic a cam's expansion without using metal?

Get it right to open this lesson and 29 more in the app.

Course map

Where Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing takes you

  1. 1

    The Sandstone Transition

    • Your First Saxon Rack
    • Basic Slings and Threads
  2. 2

    The Physics of Soft Rock

    • Material Strength and Friction
    • Force Distribution in Cracks
  3. 3

    The Art of the Knot

    • The Geometry of the Placement
    • Advanced Textile Protection
  4. 4

    Anchors and Belays

    • The Ring and the Sling
    • Belaying in the Labyrinth
  5. 5

    Leading and Ethics

    • The Mental Game of Runouts
    • Preservation and Community

5 sections · 10 units · 30 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

New

Tomo is in ChatGPT

Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.

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How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
The Storyteller

Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing is taught in the Storyteller style: every lesson is a story. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

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Start Saxon Sandstone Trad Climbing today.

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