Columbian Crack 5.7
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Good page? (1 like)   |
| Type: | Trad, 1 pitch, 150 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.7 [details] |
| FA: | Greg Lowe and friends, 1960's |
| Submitted By: | kBobby on Apr 10, 2004 |
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Now that's a crack!
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Description Aaahh, the good stuff! This crack is good, and long! On the east side of Elephant Rock is the fence marking private property. Forty feet past the fence is a large boulder which forms a chimney with the face. There is a nice hand crack coming down into this chimney but not all the way to the ground. This is the Columbian Crack.
Start up the chimney toward the crack. A good option for protecting this start is to go around to the east side of the boulder before you start up and toss your rope over. Have your belayer belay from this side. Then you are essentially on TR until you get to the crack. Climb up to the top of the chimney and step out onto the boulder. Have your belayer come back around to the inside of the chimney. Now you are ready to go!
Follow the ever-widening crack to the top, passing one old SMC bolt and finishing at another single bolt. Belay at this bolt (I think you can probably get some other gear in around here, but I don't remember exactly).
Rappel off the anchors for Just Say No, or walk off the south side.
Protection Same rack that you used on Rye Crisp. Standard rack, heavy in large gear.
Another classic crack on Elephant Rock!
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Maura Hahnenberger near the top of Columbian Crack...
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hand jammin good
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The chimney start..
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Go feet first..this crack is so big it may swallow...
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Climbing Columbian Crack
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Dustin on Columbian Crack, with The Gallstone in t...
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Julia gets it
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| Comments on Columbian Crack |
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By Andrew Gram
Administrator
From: Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 23, 2005
rating: 5.7
| This is my favorite 5.7 at the City so far. Stiff and sustained for 5.7, and lots of varied climbing. The idea for protecting the chimney never occurred to me, but the climbing is fairly secure. |
By Anonymous Coward
Aug 18, 2005
| FYI: as of two weeks ago that side of Elephant Rock got opened, i saw a ranger type guy up there fixing some old anchors. |
By Addict
May 23, 2006
| The "crack" is more of a flared groove and is not very fun. 2 stars for its length. Also, who is the idiot that placed 2 bolts right next to perfect gear placements on the upper half of the route? |
By Brian in SLC
From: Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 6, 2006
| Last I heard, this route is open to the public for climbing. Great route. |
By Tea
Jun 12, 2006
| Extra #3 Camalots, Helpful...maybe even a 3.5 or 4 on the rack. |
By Nathan Fisher
Sep 11, 2006
rating: 5.7
| Not nearly as good as other routes in the area. I was not too impressed with this route. Still worth climbing and worth the less than 5 minute approach to get there. |
By Blitzo
Oct 24, 2006
| A great, easy crack. |
By sqwirll
From: Las Vegas
May 29, 2007
rating: 5.7+
| This climb is great. Don't let the negative comments detour you from climbing this. I'm not sure where the flared groove comment came from, but it's a perfect hand and fist crack. A #4 camalot works nicely to supplement the one bolt anchor. |
By Ben Folsom
Aug 21, 2007
| This is a great route, and if for some reason you don't like cracks, you barely even have to use the crack as huge buckets are everywhere. |
By Brice W
Sep 8, 2008
rating: 5.7
| This is a fun crack that you don't have to jam much because of all the face holds. I wouldn't do it before Rye Crisp or Wheat Thin, but definitely worth doing if you are at Elephant Rock. |
By Woodson
From: Park City, Ut.
Sep 20, 2009
rating: 5.7
| I thought this was a heady lead, as the chimney starts those thoughts rolling! Save a # 4 for the top for some peace of mind. |
By Ty Morrison-Heath
From: Bozeman, MT
Apr 26, 2011
| Bring your big gear as I dont think I placed anything smaller than a #1. A fun climb but could be heady for a first leader. Placed a whole crapload of #3's. Sorta turns into a groveling off width at the top. Bring a number 4 up to back up the single bolt anchor at the top. Have fun! |
By Matt Schroer
From: Logan, Utah
Apr 1, 2012
| I chose not to TR the chimney - be prepared to be in the zone once you reach the crack in this fashion. Fun climb, but didn't feel as classic as either Rye Crisp or Wheat Thin to me. Definitely bring along 2's, 3's, and a 4 for this climb.
As for the top - I can't speak for everyone, but belaying my partner up from a single bolt is not ideal. I was also out of big gear at the top and couldn't build an anchor near that bolt. I was using a 70m and was able to head right at the top to the top of Rye Crisp and build a bomber anchor there with my smaller gear. |
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