It's been offered to me many, many times. I'd done a good job of resisting.

But, I've realized that, if I am going to continue chasing this high, I have to go to the dark side. I can no longer lieback my way through this. I'm going to have to take hits off the crack pipe. Big hits.

I can't drive to IC or Turkey Rocks every weekend. So, I'm looking for recommendations for places to practice in the front range.

What are the good beginner crack climbs in the front range? I'm not talking about a little crack cut with some face climbing. If there's a dime edge hold to be had, I'll grab it and single-handedly pull myself up to avoid jamming. I'm talking about pure crack. I need climbs that give me no options.

What do you recommend?

www.mountainproject.com/v/country-club-crack/105748711

The Flame on Pikes Peak.One of the best pure splitters east of Indian Creek. Arching Jams is a close second.

Country club is definitely not a good crack for beginners. Maybe the first pitch, but is a hard 5.11 slab to the crack. My opinion is head to Escalante Canyon. Spent two days there didn't see a soul. Most climbs are 5.10 and above, but if crack is what your looking for there all gonna start at that grade. Escalante is the same as Indian Creek it's much closer about 45 min south and west of Grand Junction but still in CO. Short 5-10 min approach and free camping. You can also chase around the shade all day.

VEEEE-DAAAHH-VOOOOOO

Bring tape.

www.mountainproject.com/v/star-wars/105749299

Maybe Table Mt. has some good stuff to practice crack technique.

This crack looks sexy: www.mountainproject.com/v/bone-collector-aka-bone-crusher/10>>>

Clear Creek has Roadrunner - 11a, Crack a Beer - 10+ (have not done but looks awesome!), and Night Crawler - 8.

Not much but a few true crack climbs close to home for after work. I would have mentioned 30.06 on wall of the 90's be it is often times very, VERY poopy.

Maybe Darren Mabe will post up pics of his crack training board.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. This gives me a pretty good 'to do' list within a 45 minute drive:

Star Wars - was already on the list as it was one of the climbs that made me realize I need to work on my crack skills (read = I got humbled by it)
Night Crawler
Finger Crack (Nip & Tuck)
Handcrack-a-rete
Planetary Pull
Crack a Beer

As far as the 11s go, haha! I'll add those to the list once my crack skills catch up with my face and slab skills.

Keep the suggestions coming.

J-crack (5.9) at Lumpy and Pear Buttress (5.8) on the book both have some LONG crack-only sections.

In fact, the book at Lumpy has lots of 5.9s that are continuous crack, those are just the 2 I have been able to get to so far. The cool thing about these routes is that they tend to vary in width, which allows you to practice varied techniques and use a standard rack.

Good luck.

cheers.
-chris

At Lumpy for a few easier crack climbs try Hen & Chickens. There's Rooster Tail, Cackle Crack and Yosemite Crack- all in the 5.9 range. Also in the area is Gollum's Arch, 5.10b, Rather Fight Than Switch, 5.10a and a couple other routes on various crags near Twin Owls.

The Platte has some amazing stuff much closer than Turkey.

Bucksnort Slab:

- Classic Dihedral - 5.7 - Fingers to OW
- Buck Fever - Funky 5.9
- Bushes of Beelzebub (sp?) - 5.8

Boulder Canyon:

- Cob Rock has some really good, easy cracks on it.

Eldo:

- Mr. Natural - Short, but in the same range of difficulty as Star Wars, but with more face features to use.
- West Chimney on the Bastille - 1st pitch before the traverse doesn't get any better. Second pitch is great minus some bird matter. Both pitches offer some excellent straight in jamming.

Just a few...

Try the Sunshine Face in the Cathedral Spires area of the S Platte. There is a good collection of cracks at a range of grades.

Surprised no one mentioned blind faith on the bastille.

i was just think of that one. good suggestion.

P1 of Grandmothers Challenge and P1 of The Green Spur both have their moments...

Eldo:
Handcracker direct, short but sweet section of hand jams
Blind Faith, killer route & great jamming
Bastille, easier but good to practice jams
P2 of Outer Space is amazing 5.9 crack climbing
Rincon, P1 has dime edges, but also you need to finger jam. P2 is more physical, but lots of jams.


BoCan, Security Risk Crag:
Security Risk, really good and you have to jam P2. You can climb around the 10d P1 if necessary or french free it.
Get Smart, offwidth to fingers, excellent
S Buttress direct

Practice Rock also has some excellent practice cracks, hence the name. hands, fingers, liebacks

There aren't many "pure" cracks like IC in the front range. That's why we all end up driving out there!