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Cobra Crack

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Traditional climbing route in Squamish, Canada

Cobra Crack
Cobra Crack as seen from the ground
Map showing the location of Cobra CrackMap showing the location of Cobra Crack
LocationSquamish, British Columbia, Canada
Coordinates49°41′5″N 123°8′12″W / 49.68472°N 123.13667°W / 49.68472; -123.13667
Climbing areaCirque of the Uncrackables, backside of Stawamus Chief.
Route typeTraditional climbing
Vertical gain45 m (148 ft)
Pitches1
Grade5.14b (8c)
First ascentPeter Croft, Tami Knight, 1981.
First free ascentSonnie Trotter, June 2006

Cobra Crack is a 45-metre (148-foot) 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 it rebuffed many leading climbers, most notably Swiss climber Didier Berthod in 2005, the 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 the route 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

Canadian climbers and Squamish regulars, Peter Croft and Tami Knight, made the first ascent of Cobra Crack in 1981, a route that is located at the 'Cirque of the Uncrackables' behind Stawamus Chief, in Squamish. They used aid and graded it at A2. The route was named after the distinctive cobra silhouette of the groove that leads into the main crack. By the 2000s, the route had become an open project with the leading traditional climbers vying for the first free ascent.

Swiss traditional climbing and crack specialist, Didier Berthod, attempted to free climb the route in 2005, but failed due to a serious knee injury. 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". Berthod immediately quit climbing and became a Franciscan monk, and his struggles on the "world's hardest crack-climb", and his subsequent religious vocation, attracted international attention.

Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter made the first free ascent in June 2006, after 40 attempts spread over 3 years, placing all of his climbing protection as he was lead climbing on the route. Trotter felt it was a "solid 5.14" route, and with subsequent repeats, the consensus grade has settled on 5.14b (8c). A tradition was started of successful climbers signing a wooden fingerboard (called the "Earlmarker") that hangs near the base of the route.

Berthod, who had returned to climbing after more than a decade's absence, visited Squamish in 2023 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+). In May 2024, Berthod returned to the route to make the 20th ascent of Cobra Crack.

Route

Cobra Crack is a crack climb with a narrow crack that barely accommodates any fingers. The route has an abrasive surface, causing many to limit their attempts to once or twice per day to avoid excessive skin wear. 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".

While the entire route is over 45 metres (148 feet) long, the main crack is c. 30 metres (98 feet). Halfway up the main crack, it begins to sharply overhang at c. 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.

The technical crux is getting over the lip at the top of the overhang and then immediately making a critical move upwards. 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 your last piece of gear—it's really exciting". 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.

Legacy

After its first free ascent in 2006, Cobra Crack was considered the hardest traditional crack climbing route in the world. Reporting on Didier Berthod's failed 2005 attempt, El País called it "the most difficult fissure on the planet", while Desnivel said that Favresse's 2008 repeat had: "sealed Cobra Crack's candidacy for the hardest crack on the planet". 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).

Cobra Crack remains an important route in traditional climbing history and repeats are covered in the climbing media. 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." 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 climbs". In 2023, Climbing called the route "famous" and "iconic".

Ascents

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

Cobra Crack has been climbed by:

  • 1st (as an aid climbing route). Peter Croft & Tami Knight in 1981 (as an A2-graded aid route).
  • 1st (as a free climbing route). Sonnie Trotter in June 2006.
  • 2nd. Nicolas Favresse [fr] in July 2008.
  • 3rd. Ethan Pringle in August 2008.
  • 4th. Matt Segal in September 2008.
  • 5th. Will Stanhope in July 2009.
  • 6th. Yuji Hirayama in September 2009.
  • 7th. Alex Honnold in 2011.
  • 8th. Pete Whittaker in September 2013.
  • 9th. Tom Randall in September 2013.
  • 10th. Ben Harnden in May 2016.
  • 11th. Mason Earle in October 2017.
  • 12th. Logan Barber in September 2017.
  • 13th. Said Belhaj in 2017.
  • 14th. Tristan Baills in 2019.
  • 15th. Ryan Sklenica in July 2021.
  • 16th. Stu Smith in 2021.
  • 17th. Nat Bailey in May 2023.
  • 18th. Connor Herson in August 2023.
  • 19th. Adrian Vanoni in September 2023.
  • 20th. Didier Berthod in May 2024.
  • 21st. Ethan Salvo in August 2024.

Filmography

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
  • Rhapsody, British E11-graded traditional climbing route from 2006

References

  1. ^ "Cobra Crack 5.14b". theCrag. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Cobra Crack 5.14 Trad Repeated in 2023". Gripped Magazine. 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Sonnie Trotter frees Cobra Crack 5.14 b/c". PlanetMountain. June 2006. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ^ Berg, Emmet (4 October 2005). "DIDIER BERTHOD: True grit and grip on the Cobra". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Cobra Crack is Canada's Famous Hard Gear Route, Here's Who's Climbed it". Gripped Magazine. 20 October 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  6. ^ Moix, Fred (17 May 2021). "Listen to Crack-Climbing Legend Didier Berthod Give One of His First Interviews in 13 Years". Climbing. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  7. ^ Gogorza, Oscar (15 November 2022). "Didier Berthod, from rock-climbing star to monk and back again". El País. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Didier Berthod finally climbs Cobra Crack at Squamish, Canada". PlanetMountain. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Sonnie Trotter climbing Cobra Crack at Squamish in Canada". PlanetMountain. June 2020. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Favresse repite Cobra crack" [Favresse repeats Cobra crack]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 30 July 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023. Sealing Cobra Crack's candidacy for the hardest crack on the planet
  11. ^ McDonald, Dougald (29 June 2006). "Trotter Climbs 5.14 Cobra Crack". Climbing. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  12. ^ Ryan, Mick (17 August 2008). "Pringle Succeeds on Cobra Crack: 3rd ascent". UKClimbing. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Tom Randall y Pete Whittaker repiten 'Cobra crack' en Squamish" [Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker repeat 'Cobra Crack' in Squamish]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  14. ^ Bailey, Nat (17 August 2023). "Connor Herson Just Hiked 'Cobra Crack' and 5 Other Squamish Testpieces". Climbing. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  15. ^ "The World's Hardest Trad Routes by Winter 2021". Gripped Magazine. 1 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  16. ^ Kuelthau, Willis (24 September 2019). "The Hardest Trad Climbs in the World". 99 boulders. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Logan Barber Makes 12th Ascent of Cobra Crack". Gripped Magazine. 26 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  18. ^ Schaufele, Tim (3 July 2019). "Tristan Bails makes ascent of Cobra Crack (5.14a)". Squamish Climbing Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  19. "Didier Berthod Redpoints New 5.14 Trad in Squamish". Gripped Magazine. 25 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  20. Bailey, Nat (10 July 2023). "Didier Berthod Returns to Climbing Limelight With FA of 5.14 Crack". Climbing. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  21. Zeidler, Maryse (18 July 2023). "Legendary free climber conquers the 'Crack of Destiny' in Squamish, B.C." CBC News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  22. ^ Bailey, Nat (16 May 2024). "After 10 Years in a Monastery, Climber Send One of the World's Toughest Trad Routes". Climbing. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  23. ^ McDonald, Dougald (15 June 2012). "Cobra Crack: Nico's Story, Ethan's Near Miss". Climbing. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  24. 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.
  25. ^ "Cobra Crack at Squamish climbed by Mason Earle". PlanetMountain. October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  26. "Watch the Second Ascent of Cobra Crack". Gripped Magazine. 10 June 2023. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  27. "Nicolas Favresse repeats Cobra Crack, Squamish, Canada". PlanetMountain. July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  28. Corrigan, Kevin (20 February 2021). "Interview: Matt Segal on His Life as a Pro Climber and Entrepreneur". Climbing. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  29. "Yuji Hirayama, Cobra Crack and back to his roots". PlanetMountain. September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  30. ^ "Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker repeat Cobra Crack at Squamish". PlanetMountain. September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  31. "Ben Harnden Sends Cobra Crack 5.14". Gripped Magazine. 1 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  32. Berry, Nathalie (27 September 2017). "Logan Barber on Cobra Crack Interview". UKClimbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  33. "Said Belhaj Gets Lucky 13th on Cobra Crack 5.14". Gripped Magazine. 11 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  34. "Ryan Sklenica Sends Cobra Crack 5.14- in Squamish". Gripped Magazine. 30 July 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  35. Climbing Desk (7 May 2023). "Hong Does 'Biographie,' Cobra Crack Sees a Repeat, and 70th Anniversary of Everest FA". Climbing. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  36. "Cobra Crack Sees Summer 2023 Sends". Gripped Magazine. 25 September 2023. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  37. Pardy, Aaron (9 September 2024). "Ethan Salvo Sends the Legendary Cobra Crack". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2024.

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