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Ultimate Crack Climbing Destinations in the East

Original Post
CCliffe · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2011 · Points: 125

I currently climb in the White Mtns of New Hampshire and fiend for finger cracks.
Clipping an occasional bolt/piton along the way is fine - but spicy runouts are fun too.
I am looking for the 5.11 range but 10s are fine and I dont mind pushing for 12's.
Ive been to the Red and spent some time in the dacks (wikkid sweet).

Bottom line - I am looking for the top destinations in the East (anywhere).
Specific routes/areas that are somewhat well known plz.

JJNS · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 531

The New looks like it has some sweet cracks.

Nick Votto · · CO, CT, IT · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 320

Check out the Thorn Crack and Rose Crack (5.11 and 5.10) at Upper West Bolton in VT. Two of the best in New England if you haven't tried them already.

Jaysen Henderson · · Brooklyn NY · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 321

haha dude check out the spiders web in keene valley, all it is is overhanging cracks. the best craig in the adirondacks. id make sure you get on TR and live free or die. if you want more info pm me. ive also read about the 5 star crack on cranberry lake, catatonic

Stu Pidaz · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 30

T-Wall.

Dan 60D5H411 · · Colorado Springs, CO · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 3,239

+1 for the Spider's Web. Drop, Fly or Die is an excellent 11 and the rest of the wall is inundated with classics.

Sam Stephens · · PORTLAND, OR · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 1,090

I'm a big fan of new river gorge cracks. Plenty to go around.

CCliffe · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2011 · Points: 125

Yup i'm definitely a fan of the Web - probably my single favorite wall. It's only Entertainment, Fear and Loathing in KV, Drop Fly or Die are all super classics.

Keep the suggestions coming plz.

Nick Stayner · · Wymont Kingdom · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 2,315

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Looking Glass (Safari Jive! Cornflake Crack!) or the Cereal Buttress at Rumbling Bald.
Also, I'll second (and third) the suggestions for the New and the T-Wall.

Joe Virtanen · · Charlotte, NC · Joined May 2010 · Points: 241
Nick Stayner wrote:Can't believe nobody's mentioned Looking Glass (Safari Jive! Cornflake Crack!) or the Cereal Buttress at Rumbling Bald. Also, I'll second (and third) the suggestions for the New and the T-Wall.
I'll throw my weight behind Looking Glass as well. To add to the list, there's The Seal, Invisible Airwaves, Hyperbola, and the fun moderate cracks on the South Face.
JohnWesely Wesely · · Lander · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 585

The Cereal Buttress at Rumbling Bald has some pretty nice wintertime cracks.

John Husky · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2011 · Points: 5

Cannon cliff, though I don't climb as hard as you. 9's and 10's galore. Vertigo is a must. I'm a bit surprised someone calls the Rose and Thorn cracks top shelf in NE. Cool for VT but that is no huge compliment. They are super fun, no offense intended, but they are schist.

Hank Caylor · · Livin' in the Junk! · Joined Dec 2003 · Points: 643

Another vote for the New. Sport climbing gets all the hype, but there's plenty of great crack lines(many moderates).

Chad Wagner · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 75

The Fibrulator, RRG
Rock Wars, RRG
Goodstone, RRG
Return of Beane, RRG
Jack the Ripper, RRG thin!
Fallen Angel, RRG
All That Glitters, RRG
Melifolus, NRG
Burning Calves, NRG
These are just a few southeast classics. There are to many to list at T-Wall in Chattanooga. Same goes for the New.

Sam Stephens · · PORTLAND, OR · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 1,090
Chad Wagner wrote:The Fibrulator, RRG Rock Wars, RRG Goodstone, RRG Return of Beane, RRG Jack the Ripper, RRG thin! Fallen Angel, RRG All That Glitters, RRG Melifolus, NRG Burning Calves, NRG These are just a few southeast classics. There are to many to list at T-Wall in Chattanooga. Same goes for the New.
NRG:

Leave it to Jesus
Fantasy
Springboard
Triple Treat
Wham Bam Thanks for the Jam
Voyeur Variation
Autumn Fire
Linear Encounters
Premarrital Bliss
Stuck In Another Dimension
New Yosemite
Four Sheets to the Wind
Rapscallion Blues
Handsome and Well Hung
Jaws
Marionette
Agent Orange
Gemini Cracks

There are tons more that I'm missing but all of those go down as 3 or 4 star routes
M Sprague · · New England · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 5,090

Close to home, have you been to Green's or Owl's yet? Green's has the two pitch 12a Greenpeace and Owl's, Left Cliff has Brady Libby's really good one pitch 12c Crack of the Future, that is 2 routes over from the 11d finger crack, White Owl. I also recommend the 3 or 4 pitch Crack of the World 11c and Egg Cracker 10c. Both cliffs are well worth the ride out to get to them, with Owl's currently having more established pitches.

With all the rain we just got, Greenpeace is probably wet atm, but I am about to head out there now for a few days and can give an update when I get back.

Further afield, The New definitely has a ton of great crack climbing, and the sandstone there is much better for gear than other sandstone areas. I was usually down there for the sport climbing, but I remember running all the way back to the car for a rack so I could do a crack, it looke so good. I did follow my partner up a bunch of really enjoyable cracks there, some of which Sam listed. I'll add Black and Tan, and Mellifluous to the list, if I remember right.

I am not super enthused about the rock in the Dacks myself, but I haven't been to Spider's Web yet, which does look a lot better than what I have been on. I like the Dacks better for the mushroom picking than the climbing, but Spiders should be on any list of eastern crack aficionados.

nbrown · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 7,718

The new is probably the best and most concentrated crack destination in the east -- specifically the endless wall. I know you said you like finger cracks, but there are loads of cracks of every size, including OW... haha! I like T wall also, but I belive that Endless is a better destination, it's like several T wall's combined.

That said, there are some classics in NC for sure, but If you are a solid 5.11 climber you could probably have them all (mosty) climbed in just a few days. The north face of LG is great -- in addition to the standard stuff there are lots more cracks high on the wall (above the aid pitches) that hardly anyone ever climbs for various reasons (most folks crag at the base, etc.). Also, Rumbling Bald has some good stuff that is very worthwhile, but could easily be done in a day or so.

For what NC lacks in the crack dept, it more than makes up for in the spicy runout dept... since you mentioned that you enjoyed this too...

Peter Pitocchi · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 70

I prefer trad but only leading up to 8+. I've been to Twall a few times and it's great--should I check out the New or would I do better back at Twall? I guess I'm asking if there is a concentration of easy to moderate trad at the New.

DaveB · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2007 · Points: 1,075

There are several nice 5.8'ish crack climbs at the New. At that grade, most do not require pure sustained jamming technique (ie Indian Creek). Along with occasional jams, stemming, laybacks, and hand-holds are usually littered throughout.

The higher grades require more actual crack-climbing, though still offer the same flavor, just more technical, sustained, steeper, smaller/fewer face holds, etc.

The rock quality is great and most gear placement is secure.

Auto-X Fil · · NEPA and Upper Jay, NY · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 50

The Daks has more cracks than anywhere else on the east coast, hands down. This is partly because it's just the biggest climbing area by a couple orders of magnitude, and also because of the geology of the area. Any of the uplift zones are vertically fractured, providing tons of crack crags.

Poke-O probably has 100 pitches of pure crack climbing from 5.8 to 5.11.
Spider's web has the highest concentration of steep splitters anywhere in the East.
Creature Wall and Tanager Face have lots of easier cracks on single-pitch cliffs.

There are at least 50 other crags with some crack climbing on them. Get the Lawyer book and start having fun!

P. Sully · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 350

The NRG and all the surrounding crags with its technicolor nutall sandstone is a crack climbing paradise. It seems the best quality cracks fall in the 10 - 11 range, as well as being the most plentiful.

The NRG does have a few quality 8 - 9 cracks, and a smattering of harder 11+ and up cracks as well.

Most cracks at the new are not pure splitters like you find on granite, but have face holds and roofs. Not too dissimilar to the gunks really.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Trad Climbing
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