Cobra Crack
Looking up the crack from the ground
Map showing the location of Cobra Crack
Map showing the location of Cobra Crack
LocationSquamish, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates49°41′05″N 123°08′12″W / 49.68476°N 123.13656°W / 49.68476; -123.13656[1]
Climbing AreaCirque of the Uncrackables, backside of Stawamus Chief.[1]
Route TypeTraditional climbing
Vertical Gain45 metres (148 ft)[1]
Pitches1
Grade5.14b (8c)[1][2][3]
First ascentPeter Croft, Tami Knight, 1981.[1]
First free ascentSonnie Trotter, 2006.[1]

Cobra Crack is a 45-metre (148 ft) long traditional climbing route on a thin crack up an overhanging granite rock face on Stawamus Chief, in Squamish, British Columbia. The route was first ascended by Peter Croft and Tami Knight in 1981 as an aid climb. After rebuffing many attempts by leading climbers – most notably by Swiss crack climber Didier Berthod in 2005 – Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter made the first free ascent in 2006. With subsequent ascents, the consensus grade has settled at 5.14b (8c) which ranked Cobra Crack as one of the hardest crack climbs in the world, and almost two decades later, it is still considered one of the world's hardest traditional climbing routes.

History

In 1981, Canadian climbers and Squamish regulars, Peter Croft and Tami Knight, made the first ascent of Cobra Crack,[4] as an A2-graded aid climbing route.[5] The route was named after the distinctive Cobra silhouette of the groove that leads into the main crack.[6] By the 2000s, the route had become an open project with the leading traditional climbers vying for the first free ascent.[7]

In 2005, Swiss traditional climbing and crack specialist, Didier Berthod, attempted to free the route but failed due to a serious knee injury.[8] Berthod's efforts were recorded as part of an award-winning climbing documentary film, First Ascent, at the end of which he says to the camera (in crutches), "I came here to feed my ego and my vanity – to be the first".[9] Berthod immediately quit climbing, and his struggles on the "world's hardest crack-climb" were covered by the international media.[9][6]

In June 2006, Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter made the first free ascent after 40 attempts spread over 3 years,[10][11] placing all of his climbing protection as he was lead climbing on the route.[12] Trotter felt it was a "solid 5.14" route,[11][13] and with subsequent repeats, the consensus grade has settled on 5.14b (8c).[14][15][2][3] A tradition was also started of successful repeaters signing their name on a wooden fingerboard (called the "Earlmarker") that hangs near the base of the route.[16][17]

In 2023, Berthod, who had returned to climbing after more than a decade's absence, visited Squamish for the first time since 2005, and made the first free ascent of the long-standing open project, The Crack of Destiny, which he graded as being harder than 5.14a (8b+).[18][19][20]

Route

Cobra Crack is a crack climb, with a narrow crack that barely accommodates individual fingers.[6][16] The route has an abrasive surface causing many to limit their attempts to once or twice per day to avoid excessive skin wear.[6][21] It, therefore, requires a higher pain threshold, with Trotter saying in 2006: "pain is ever-present, and the mental crux is overlooking the pain move after move".[7]

While the entire route is over 45 metres (148 ft) long, the main crack is circa 30 metres (98 ft). Halfway up the main crack, it begins to sharply overhang at circa 45 degrees, and entering this section requires an extremely difficult (and painful) move where the climber inserts their middle finger vertically upwards into an "undercut mono pocket" in the 45-degree wall above them.[22]

The technical crux is getting over the lip at the top of the overhang and then immediately making a critical move upwards.[16] In 2006, Trotter said: "The redpoint crux comes over the lip on a slippery side pull; the feet are next to nothing, and it takes momentum and a huge throw to latch the final edge, at which point you're about 15 to 20 feet about your last piece of gear—it's really exciting".[7] Contemporary climbers use route beta that employs a dramatic inverted heel hook (i.e. the climber's legs are above their body) to get through this lip.[15]

Legacy

After its first free ascent in 2006, Cobra Crack was considered the hardest traditional crack climbing route in the world.[10][11][23] Reporting on Didier Berthod's failed 2005 attempt, El Pais called Cobra Crack "the most difficult fissure on the planet",[9] while Desnivel said that Favresse's 2008 repeat had: "sealed Cobra Crack's candidacy for the hardest crack on the planet".[11] Almost two decades after the first free ascent, Cobra Crack still ranks amongst the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world, and only one to two notches below the hardest, which are at 8c+ (5.14c) to potentially 9a (5.14d).[2][3]

Cobra Crack remains an important route in traditional climbing history and repeats are covered in the climbing media.[4][15] In 2017, after Mason Earle made the 11th ascent, PlanetMountain wrote: "Cobra Crack immediately struck a cord, in part due the heinous finger-locks required to power through the crux, in part due to its innate beauty. Over the years some of the best crack specialists in the world have been drawn to the line and while it may have lost some of its original fearsome reputation, the climb is just as beautiful as ever".[23] In 2021, Gripped Magazine said: "Over the past decade and a half, it’s become one of the world’s most sought-after single-pitch gear [traditional] climbs".[7] In 2023, Climbing called the route "famous" and "iconic".[15]

Ascents

Climber standing at the distinctive 'Cobra' silhouette groove at the start of the route

Cobra Crack has been climbed by:[4][7]

Filmography

  • Documentary with Didier Berthold: Peter Mortimer (Director) (2005). First Ascent (Motion picture). Sender Films. ASIN B000IWPP4G.

See also

  • Indian Face, British E9-graded traditional climbing route from 1986
  • Separate Reality, American 5.12a-graded traditional climbing route from 1978
  • Prinzip Hoffnung, Austrian 8b/+ graded traditional climbing route from 2009

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cobra Crack 5.14b". theCrag. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "The World's Hardest Trad Routes by Winter 2021". Gripped Magazine. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Kuelthau, Willis (24 September 2019). "The Hardest Trad Climbs in the World". 99 boulders. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Cobra Crack 5.14 Trad Repeated in 2023". Gripped Magazine. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Sonnie Trotter frees Cobra Crack 5.14 b/c". PlanetMountain. June 2006. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Berg, Emmet (4 October 2005). "DIDIER BERTHOD: True grit and grip on the Cobra". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cobra Crack is Canada's Famous Hard Gear Route, Here's Who's Climbed it". Gripped Magazine. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Moix, Fred (17 May 2021). "Listen to Crack-Climbing Legend Didier Berthod Give One of His First Interviews in 13 Years". Climbing. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Gogorza, Oscar (15 November 2022). "Didier Berthod, from rock-climbing star to monk and back again". El Pais. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 "Sonnie Trotter climbing Cobra Crack at Squamish in Canada". PlanetMountain. June 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Favresse repeats Cobra crack" [es]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 30 July 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2023. Sealing Cobra Crack's candidacy for the hardest crack on the planet
  12. 1 2 McDonald, Dougald (29 June 2006). "Trotter Climbs 5.14 Cobra Crack". Climbing. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  13. 1 2 Ryan, Mick (17 August 2008). "Pringle Succeeds on Cobra Crack: 3rd ascent". UKClimbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 "Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker repeat 'Cobra Crack' in Squamish" [es]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 26 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Bailey, Nat (17 August 2023). "Connor Herson Just Hiked 'Cobra Crack' and 5 Other Squamish Testpieces". Climbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Logan Barber Makes 12th Ascent of Cobra Crack". Gripped Magazine. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  17. 1 2 Schaufele, Tim (3 July 2019). "Tristan Bails makes ascent of Cobra Crack (5.14a)". Squamish Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "Didier Berthod Redpoints New 5.14 Trad in Squamish". Gripped Magazine. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Bailey, Nat (10 July 2023). "Didier Berthod Returns to Climbing Limelight With FA of 5.14 Crack". Climbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  20. ↑ Zeidler, Maryse (18 July 2023). "Legendary free climber conquers the 'Crack of Destiny' in Squamish, B.C." CBC News. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  21. 1 2 McDonald, Dougald (15 June 2012). "Cobra Crack: Nico's Story, Ethan's Near Miss". Climbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  22. ↑ Whittaker, Pete (January 2020). "Chapter 2: Finger Cracks". Crack Climbing - Mastering the skills & techniques (1st ed.). Vertebrate Publishing. p. 2.1.7 Donut Jams. ISBN 978-1911342762. It was made famous by Didier Berthod in the film First Ascent. Didier is seen attempting the first ascent of Cobra Crack in Squamish, with a sequence that involves him inserting his middle finger upwards into an undercut mono into the crack in the 45-degree wall above him.
  23. 1 2 3 "Cobra Crack at Squamish climbed by Mason Earle". PlanetMountain. October 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  24. ↑ "Watch the Second Ascent of Cobra Crack". Gripped Magazine. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  25. ↑ "Nicolas Favresse repeats Cobra Crack, Squamish, Canada". PlanetMountain. July 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  26. ↑ Corrigan, Kevin (20 February 2021). "Interview: Matt Segal on His Life as a Pro Climber and Entrepreneur". Climbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Yuji Hirayama, Cobra Crack and back to his roots". PlanetMountain. September 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker repeat Cobra Crack at Squamish". PlanetMountain. September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Ben Harnden Sends Cobra Crack 5.14". Gripped Magazine. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  30. ↑ Berry, Nathalie (27 September 2017). "Logan Barber on Cobra Crack Interview". UKClimbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  31. ↑ "Said Belhaj Gets Lucky 13th on Cobra Crack 5.14". Gripped Magazine. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  32. ↑ "Ryan Sklenica Sends Cobra Crack 5.14- in Squamish". Gripped Magazine. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  33. ↑ Climbing Desk (7 May 2023). "Hong Does 'Biographie,' Cobra Crack Sees a Repeat, and 70th Anniversary of Everest FA". Climbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  34. ↑ "Cobra Crack Sees Summer 2023 Sends". Gripped Magazine. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
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