5.14 Crack Climb By Jonathan Siegrist

7 Responses to 5.14 Crack Climb By Jonathan Siegrist

1. 

   Austin Howell September 19, 2012 at 5:41 pm #

   This just makes me incredibly happy =)

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2. 

   Eric Reeves September 21, 2012 at 11:16 am #

   This is so crazy. I have climbed 5.14 and to imagine a 5.14 crack is insane. When I was climbing about 5.13 I got spit off a 5.10 crack. I give crazy props to anyone that crack climbs regularly and especially establishing 5.14 crack climbs. Way to go Jonathan.

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3. 

   Luke September 21, 2012 at 1:33 pm #

   I think Yaniro, Hong and others have postulated that the higher the grade goes the less real crack climbing (jamming) you do. So while this climb is beautiful and follows a crack like feature I bet many or most of the moves feel more like face climbing (Sidepulls, crimps, pinches). I’m not trying to say it’s not hard but different than a overhung 5.13 that requires off-finger or of hand jamming.

   A great example of this is cobra crack, which was originally done with a focus on jamming. All later ascentions have used a crimp and a crazy heel-toe cam instead of the original (and most likely harder) beta. Even Didler was trying to use some crazy mono pocket instead of straight in jamming the crack.

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     Dan September 25, 2012 at 5:15 pm #

     I think pure crack climbs in the 5.14 range are pretty rare, but they can certainly exist. I’m not sure what you are trying to use the Cobra Crack as an example of. It actually seems like a great example of an extremely hard sequence of pure jamming. Sonnie didn’t use that face hold because he didn’t figure out the overhead heel hook that makes it usable, not because of some desire to focus on jamming

     Didier’s “crazy mono pocket” was actually a one finger undercling finger lock, in the crack. Here’s a great video of him trying it:

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXD4Xlm2U8k

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       Luke September 25, 2012 at 5:56 pm #

       My point with cobra is that jamming the crack is not always the easiest sequence. Thus the crimp beta. Jamming off-size cracks is hard!

       Also I’m trying to say that at the higher levels that crack climbing is just a series of moves between holds, similar to sport climbing. Thus the movement required on higher end routes (crack and face) is closer together versus the movements on a 5.10 crack and a 5.10 sport route.

       I didn’t realize Didler was actually jamming with the one finger, cool!

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4. 

   Narc September 21, 2012 at 2:04 pm #

   I hesitated thinking of how to classify this route when writing this post. It’s not technically a trad climb since there are bolts involved, so I ended up going with “crack climb” since that is what seems to comprise most of the climbing, even if it’s not your traditional jamming sort of crack.

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5. 

   Luke September 25, 2012 at 2:36 pm #

   It can just get so silly with all the names and analysis. I wasn’t trying to be critical just lending some knowledge from my own pursuit of cracks.

   The questions regarding style (ground-up vs top down) and protection (gear vs bolts) are too numerous to count. Is a bolted route with 40 feet between bolts till a “sport climb”? What about a climb where all the protection is gear but it is pre-placed…

   I’m psyched for J-Star. I’m sure the route is mega. If i had that kinda skill I would surely go try it. Maybe in a decade 😀

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