Brinton's Crack 

ultra-classic? yep. without a doubt.

The climb follows an obvious crack up to a point where you... obviously (I guess) need to traverse to the right to gain another crack _system_ to the top. going directly up is a 5.9? variation. After you get to this other crack, you have a bomber #5 stopper placement which protects your potential pendulum, and the potential crux. IMHO the crux is that first couple feet after the traverse which is this weird off-width thing with lousy feet below you. Typical devils lake ice skating edges.

My first ever lead. I've climbed this route uncountable times, including once by a full moon. What a classic. Mark M.

CLASSIC- ULTRA CLASSIC! This is the one "must do" that anyone visiting Devils Lake of any skill level has to get on. This was the second climb I ever did back in '70 and though I live (and still climb- see climbingboulder.com) in Colorado; Devil's Lake and this climb in particular still have a fond spot in my memories. I seem to remember the traverse as being the crux.

I once heard that the Chicago Mountaineering Club (lead by Paul Stettner?) used to take members to this climb prior to making the trip to Devil's Tower. To be approved for the trip to the Tower, members had to first competently climb this route. Anybody heard this before?

whoops. made a mistake. it's not a "funky off-width thing". it's really just a slick and rather large hand-jam. sweat caused me to ooze out of it... and i fell... again... on a devil's lake 5.6.

Devil's Lake 5.6 = Joshua Tree 5.8 (IMHO)

I've climbed all over the country. A Devil's Lake anything is way, way, way underrated. A Devil's Lake 5.6 is easily a 5.8 on granite.

Compare the Lake climb Roger's Roof (given 5.8) to Hobbitt Roof (given 5.10b) in Joshua Tree. The climbs are almost identical--the same moves, the same gear, though Hobbitt does have better friction---yet Hobbitt is rated much harder.

Those of us who have climbed at the Lake a bit (and throughout the continent) accept Devil's Lake ratings to be accurate and the rest of the world's ratings to be soft. That's just the way it is...Brintons is, and always will be, 5.6. Either accept it or move to Minnesota.

I agree with Jay. I always use Devil's Lake as a guideline elsewhere. If it is a 5.6 on granite, it will typically be a cake walk. Typically.

I was just having a ratings discusion yesterday at the lake. It is my belief that the ratings at the lake are top rope ratings. Meaning, once you have the route wired how hard is it - not on-sight lead ratings that you find throughout the country. Since DL is where I do the majority of my climbing those ratings will always be my baseline for comparison. Its nice to know that if you can climb "insert rating here" you can climb that rating anywhere.

Interesting thread running here. I learned to climb at "The Lake" starting in '69 and while the majority of my ascents were TR , I did lead a far amount of climbs. IMO the ratings at "The Lake" are what I grew up with and for me are still my standard for comparisons. I would say Eldorado Canyon is very comparable while "The Valley" classics always seemed soft to me. Go figure ; I thought we were "supposed" to be following Yosemite standards. The harder grades are another story but I think you've fixed that by now. I always LOVED Flatus (TR'd in 72) but thought it was a bit hard for a "F10B"; but I can make the same statements about a lot of the harder climbs I did here in CO after moving here in '73 ( "I was climbing an 11 and didn't even know it; good thing or I'd never even gotten on it back then"). I still don't have a total handle on the "Sport Route" grading. It seems to vary to a much greater degree between even local areas, depending on limestone or granite and what you're used to.

I find Terry's comment regarding DL ratings being top rate ratings as a little strange. The YDS rating system is suppossed to represent the hardest (crux) move on the route from a technical perspective. Thus, a route with one 5.6 moves and the rest 5.4 is a 5.6. Furthermore, and more to the point, the ratings aren't intended to reflect the level of commitment, etc. In my mind, 5.6 is 5.6 whether you are TR, leading or seconding. That said, if 5.6 is ceiling on top-roper, you probably don't want to be leading 5.6, at least trad 5.6.

Maybe I should restate it as red-point rating not an onsite rating. Yes in the YDS rotes are supposed to be graded on the hardest move and I believe they are at the lake. My point was that the concensus on a rating of a particular route at the lake was gained after the route was done several times by an individual and several other poeple and not after their first ascents of a route. I hope that clarifies my earlier statement.

Also the YDS is not always based on the hardest moves. There are sport routes atthe RED that have no moves harder than 5.10 but because of their length and steepness are 5.12.

Still an interesting thread! I finaly got to go back and climb at "The Lake" after a 30 yr. absence due my move to CO. I was back in Aug. on a perfect chilly day and went to visit a lot of my old favorites. (The one thing that shocked me was that it was more crowded on Weds. than I ever remember a weekend back in '72-'73! )The ratings at "The Lake" are STOUT !! I'm still climbing 5.11-12 sport routes and trad to 5.10 and going back to repeat a lot of routes I did as a High School kid was shocking to say the least. Birch Tree Wall (I guess they call this The Stretcher now) in my local CO/WY climbs would go 10d/11a. Birchtree Crack 9-, D'arcy's Wall 9 etc.. I had been gearing myself up to see "How Small" everything looked; and yeah, these cliffs look like Duncan's Ridge or Table Mtn. (local top rope/ short sport route areas.) But the ratings are REALLY STIFF!!! Don't slight yourself if this is your training ground. You'll rule when you go to anywhere else!! Got to Love the "Lake" !

Dave--thanks for the comparison. It was very accurate and well informed, in my opinion. I just returned to the Lake after climbing out west, and I agree that the ratings are stiff. I also agree wholeheartedly that the Lake (though short) offers some of the best and most challening cragging in the United States. What the climbs lack in stature, they make up for in lack of friction. Their technical nature (I watched a climber on Rubber Man execute ten moves to gain about five feet of height)makes DL routes difficult to onsight. Brinton's Crack, when wired, is probably comparable to a hard 5.6 in Yosemite. When climbed as an onsight, Brintons can definately feel a few numbers harder. If you botch the hand jam move above Hilton Ledge, you could easily find yourself doing some 5.9 laybacking. And, here at DL, you can't smear to save your ass. No matter where I travel to climb, I always enjoy coming back to the Lake to test my mettle on these challening routes. We trully have a climbing gem here in Wisconsin.

Led out Brinton's Crack Saturday morning bright and early at about 7:45 and I don't know if it was my early morning mental state or what, but, the delicate traverse in the middle of this route really got my attention. Super fun! If your new to the lake beware what you start up! All the climbs are sandbagged.

I love the photo of the reception at the Hilton. That's great!

good route for a beginner.

I had just gotten anew set of koflachs and needed to scuff them up a bit. I met some friends and while andy and joe were leading something between brinton's and boy scout, andrea and I did brinton's. I came over the top and this guy belaying on berkley just about jumped out of his skin. "I didn't think anybody lead around here," he said in a southern hemisphere accent. "Ozzie or kiwi?" "Kiwi."andrea comes up bare foot and the guy drops his jaw. About this time andy pops up on the hard side. the guy looked at andy and says "I gotta see what You're wearing on your feet. He's wearing mountain boots and she's barefoot. you Yanks are all nuts." We all made some good friends that day. Climb for fun and leave competition for those who keep score.

I did Brinton's Crack as my 2nd climb on 9.17.2005 up at the lake, and it was just a smooth great climb besides all the bees that were around that day on the face b/c i guess it was their day to mate. Anyway i would suggest to try this as a warm up or for a beginner climber it was great.

Can be led at a "G" level on just hexes, retro '70s style!

I would respectfully submit that anyone that would not rate "Brinton's" a CLASSIC has no perspective on Devils Lake climbing history. Heck, 1st climbed in 1941 (according to Swartling's guide). The legendary Fritz (freakin) Wiesner had to back off the thing before Bob Brinton had the "nads" to go for it.

If you want history, exposure, height, and tricky yet doable moves Brinton's has it all.

I would also agree that Brinton's 5.6 rating in some other areas around the country might be in 5.8 land.

I would go so far to argue that Brinton's is THE CLASSIC among Classics of Devils Lake.

I spent a year climbing at Devil's Lake and loved the climbing--one of the few reprieves in a flat land for a mountain lover from the West. I think the grades are about the same as elsewhere Just different types of rock with different skill sets. It will be fun someday to go back and climb there again.

This was my first lead. I did it in 1976 when I was 17 years old. Learning to set up TR anchors taught me how to place hexes and stoppers. Still at it in 2008 minus the hexes.

So who / why / when was the huge old ring pin a the top of the climb pulled? It's been there since probably the 60's? I can;t understand why it would have been removed or even how it was removed. Anyone know what the deal is?

Pretty sure it's been gone for at least a decade...

Nope, I've been climbing there since 1980 and it was there a couple years ago, possibly even last year.

Kevin,

Could you please describe where it was? I've never seen it there that I can remember (I think my first go on Brinton's was 1999ish). Was it out in the open by the cliff edge or back away from it?

About 4-5 feet back from the edge, in a large crack slightly bent over. It was identical to the huge ring pin on top of the Leaning tower.

I remember that ring pin. Wasn't it basically a piece of rebar that was pounded into the crack?

I think it disappeared a couple of years ago.

I know of the one on top of Leaning Tower, and I have vague recollections of the one above Brinton's now that I think about it, but I'm pretty sure it's been gone for quite a while, as I've been spending a lot of time in that area the last few years and I can remember the one on Leaning Tower (which I haven't been on top of in probably 6 or 7 years) better than the one on Brinton's...

I remember that old peice of rebar. I remember being upset that it got yanked out because I always used that as part of my anchor. It got pulled pre 2003. Thats all the more detail I can give.

I'd like to meet the knob who has it in their basement as a trophey on the wall. There have also been several pins that have been pulled from various climbs in the past 5 years. It can be a real pain in the butt when you are leading and a pin you ave used for years is ripped off and not replaced.
there is really no need for the one on top of Brinton's but it was part of the history of the area ...