Crack climbing

In <a href="/facts/Rock_climbing/wd5WnGnG">rock climbing</a>, a crack climb is a type of <a href="/facts/Climbing_route/KqNt0Vy0">climbing route</a> that follows a system of crack(s) or fissure(s) which the climber uses to ascend the route. The width of the crack dictates the <a href="/facts/Rock-climbing_technique/wd5WnGnG">techniques</a> needed, and crack-climbs are further differentiated by the body parts that can be 'jammed' into them, such as finger cracks (the narrowest), hand/fist cracks, arm cracks, and body (also called chimney) cracks. Off-width cracks are some of the most awkward, being too wide for the hands or arms, but too narrow to accommodate the body. A top-to-bottom uniform-width crack is known as a splitter crack.
Crack climbing routes require a broad range of <a href="/facts/Rock-climbing_technique/wd5WnGnG">techniques</a>, but most importantly emphasize the techniques of '<a href="/facts/Laybacking/b0DxJFdx">laybacking</a>' and of '<a href="/facts/Jamming_(climbing)/b0DxJFdx">jamming</a>'. Laybacking requires the crack to be off-set (i.e. one side protrudes) or in a corner, to create the opposing forces needed for the technique. 'Jamming' is where the climber physically "jams" a body-part(s) into the crack which they then pull on to gain upward momentum. The type of rock has an important effect on the effectiveness of 'jamming', with the high-friction surface of granite being particularly suited to the technique. The friction needed for 'jamming' can wear the climber's skin, requiring medical tape or specialist gloves for long crack routes.
Crack climbs are particularly suited to <a href="/facts/Traditional_climbing/m7h9lyI2">traditional climbing</a> as the crack can accommodate the <a href="/facts/Climbing_protection/hEjKa2pX">protection</a> (e.g. <a href="/facts/Separate_Reality_(climb)/MzhfwlnG">Separate Reality</a>). The invention of <a href="/facts/Spring-loaded_camming_device/XLEL76Hl">spring-loaded camming devices</a> in the 1970s revolutionised the difficulty of cracks that could be attempted by traditional climbers, and led to new <a href="/facts/List_of_grade_milestones_in_rock_climbing/A8wy1tNn">grade milestones</a> set on crack-routes such as <a href="/facts/The_Phoenix_(climb)/hcFqHvSC">The Phoenix</a> in 1977, the world's first-ever <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">7c+</a> (5.13a), and <a href="/facts/Grand_Illusion_(climb)/hcFqHvSC">Grand Illusion</a> in 1979, the world's first-ever <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">8a</a> (5.13b). While the advent of bolted <a href="/facts/Sport_climbing/z7juJ9hy">sport climbing</a> routes in the 1980s diverted focus to the blanker <a href="/facts/Face_climbing/pTCojKES">face climbs</a>, crack-climbs continued to feature prominently in the development of <a href="/facts/Multi-pitch_climbing/YS0sAYLX">multi-pitch</a> and <a href="/facts/Big_wall_climbing/we3jgINh">big wall climbs</a>, and most notably on the giant granite cracks on <a href="/facts/El_Capitan/euzq3eMf">El Capitan</a> and its famous routes such as <a href="/facts/The_Nose_(El_Capitan)/PvJVFt8f">The Nose</a>. 
The early 2000s saw a resurgence in traditional climbing, placing crack-climbing back in focus. Swiss climber <a href="/facts/Didier_Berthod/UPP6Ct4J">Didier Berthod</a> '<a href="/facts/Greenpoint_(climbing)/b0DxJFdx">greenpointed</a>' the <a href="/facts/Bolt_(climbing)/ugaN0dGn">bolted</a> crack line of Greenspit at <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">8b+</a> (5.14a), as did Canadian <a href="/facts/Sonnie_Trotter/Jm5tzlk5">Sonnie Trotter</a> on The Path, and Austrian Beat Kammerlander [de] on <a href="/facts/Prinzip_Hoffnung/3KN5Xbbn">Prinzip Hoffnung</a>. In 2006, new <a href="/facts/Traditional_climbing/m7h9lyI2">traditional-grade milestones</a> were set on crack-climbs by Trotter on <a href="/facts/Cobra_Crack/5a2fdrAn">Cobra Crack</a> at <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">8c</a> (5.14b), and by Scottish climber <a href="/facts/Dave_MacLeod/54oJ9dyT">Dave MacLeod</a> on <a href="/facts/Rhapsody_(climb)/W0pPgJxf">Rhapsody</a> at <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">8c+</a> (5.14c). In 2008, American climber <a href="/facts/Beth_Rodden/gJW3WdCo">Beth Rodden</a> freed the Yosemite crack-line of Meltdown at <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">8c+</a> (5.14c), becoming the first-ever women to climb a traditional route at that grade, which at the time was also the highest traditional grade climbed anywhere. In 2011, British crack specialists, <a href="/facts/Pete_Whittaker/LXmhnrpc">Pete Whittaker</a> and <a href="/facts/Tom_Randall_(climber)/94hQ5Cfw">Tom Randall</a>, climbed the world's hardest off-width crack, <a href="/facts/Century_Crack/xvcpKRuA">Century Crack</a> at <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">8b</a> (5.13d). In 2021, the same duo, climbed the world's longest <a href="/facts/Roof_(climbing)/M8g8PFe7">roof</a> climb, a 762-metre (2,500 ft) cement crack under the <a href="/facts/M5_motorway/MVg53jkN">M5</a> in <a href="/facts/Devon/go3z9lDW">Devon</a>, The Great Rift at <a href="/facts/Grade_(climbing)/1lMDzC54">5.13</a> (7c+).

Crack climbing open-in-new

Crack climbing