PRINT: Rock Climb Diamond in the Crack, Red River Gorge

Diamond in the Crack

5.6, Trad, 120 ft (36 m), 2 pitches,

Avg: 3.8 from 147 votes
FA: Larry Day, Tom Seibert, Bob Hill, Eric Bostrum 1974
Kentucky > Red River Gorge > Northern Gorge > Jewel Pinnacle

Access Issue: New route development is prohibited in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Details

fs.usda.gov/activity/dbnf/r…

Follow existing trails and climb using removable protection or in climbing areas with existing approved fixed anchors or bolts. Development of any new rock climbing, bouldering or rappelling areas and development of any climbing routes involving the permanent installation of new fixed anchors or new trail construction requires prior Forest Service authorization.

DESCRIPTION

Looking southwest form the Gladie Visitor Center in he middle of the Red River Gorge you'll see Jewel Pinnacle. It is a distinct spire on the south side of the river. The route follows the crack that goes just right of the cat's nose and then between it's eyes to the summit. (NE side)

At the base of the pinnacle you'll know the route when you find the steep dihedral that seems to go all the way to the top.

The ultimate crux of the route is the mid section of the thankfully short first pitch. If it were cleaner the first pitch would be much cooler.

The intermediate belay is on a comfy ledge, but you can build a nice gear anchor in a horizontal and "hang" on it.

You'll need a #4 or #4.5 camalot for the start of the second pitch but other than that the gear is mostly mid sizes. Just bring plenty of duplicates.

You can rap from the goofy anchors of scramble down to the southwest and then rap from the vegetated ledge off to the east. Beware of copperheads near the rap.

There are now bolted anchors at the top of this climb that will get you all the way down with a 60M or 70M.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Great place to start a life, after a full-adventure evening. Best going when the water is high and the sun is going down for extra fun.

Diamond in the Crack

Garrett making his way up the second pitch. Great pitch and climb. A must do if you're looking for an adventure at the Red

Pitches 1 & 2 can now be easily seen here as sadly the enormous tree at the base of the climb has recently fell.

Cross the River to this side to pick up the trail

P2, A beautiful pitch, straight forward, fun move around small roof.

P1, stay to the right or try the left for slightly more challenging line.

Leading Diamond In The Crack at the Red

John M. Second pitch. Fun and well protected.

Diamond in the Crack 2nd Pitch Start

Monica coming out of the roof on the second pitch.

Diamond in the Crack

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

James Beissel
Boulder, CO

You can run P1&2 together without much drag if you are comfortable running it out a little and using long runners. Nov 1, 2006

Mark Cushman
Cumming, GA

It's also possible to walk-off this route by scrambling down towards the Copperhead route from the top - no need to rappel. Jun 4, 2007

Matt Thorum
Urbana, IL

There is now a well extended and equalized webbing rappel anchor at the top of the route so you can easily rappel back down to the base with a 60m rope and pull the rope with no trouble. Thanks to whomever set this up. Jun 14, 2009

Doug Hemken
Delta, CO

In the late 70s we used to hike out to this spot from Chimney Top road. It was considered a real test of your "Gorge sense" to be able to thread your way across the ridges to find it! Nov 4, 2009

Casey the "Renaissance Man"

Great line, best 5.6 in the Red. The bottom is a little dirty sometimes. New anchors now with extended chains so you can rap off without getting your rope stuck. Also you can put a .75 cam in the back of the wide part at the start of the 2nd pitch. Jul 11, 2012

Kevin Wagner
Tucson, AZ

Careful! There is a wasp nest in the summit register container. Apr 30, 2013

David Tennant
Denver, CO

5.6

The added anchors were perfect to repel the entire route with just one 60m rope. Ran into the guys that bolted it which was also pretty cool. There's a registry on top too. Need at minimum a #4 or I used #5 bd c4 size for the start of second pitch or else it's super sketchy because it took a good 20ft above the belay ledge to place anything smaller. Although higher there were some nice nut placements. Aug 5, 2013

Doug Hemken
Delta, CO

Gotta say, I'm sad to hear that convenience anchors have shown up in such an out-of-the-way place. Aug 6, 2013

Jason Eicholtz
Fort Wayne, IN

Crossed at the junction of the rivers. Crotch deep and fast flowing made this a bit precarious. Especially the hidden logs that seemed to reach up and catch a foot every time you moved forward.

Next up, a river bank at a 45 degree angle with no trail... And muddy. Numerous roots weren't attached, and using them to get up the hill on the approach led to more fun.

The climb itself was pretty rad. There was a black snake 2/3 rds of the way up the second pitch. The leader was like, "Crap there's a snake up here!"... I imagine the snake was like, "Crap, there's a human up here!".

Topping out was great - excellent views. The best part though was the adventure getting there - that's a hard thing to forget. Aug 14, 2017

Derrick Colberg
Louisville, KY

5.7

A forgotten classic that is worth the hike in. May 16, 2019

Marco Velo

This is a very nice adventure route. Great topout. First couple of moves are easier up the left crack versus the right. First move after belay station feels quite exposed but is probably no harder than 5.5. Jul 1, 2019

Adam Stein
Cleveland, OH

5.6

In desperate need of a new notebook, some pen and pencils /something that might write on damp paper, and probably a better container to keep it in. Condensation gets in and ruins the paper it seems Oct 25, 2019

Mike Weber
Las Vegas, NV

Thanks Adam S for the comment, we added a new notebook and a waterproof pouch for it to go in (PLEASE SEAL IT WHEN YOU ARE DONE). The old book was soaked and the spiral was rusty so I will keep it as a lot of the writing is still legible. You would not regret bringing a trekking pole. I didn't find the climbing 5 star quality but the whole outing to the pinnacle is super fun. Oct 5, 2020

michaelheifets

Exciting outing!
climbed after rain previous day, rock was dry, but the approach muddy and very slippery - trekking poles would have helped. First pitch easier to start on left crack then traverse right, first gear placement: blue Alien in horizontal above the right crack
Start of the second pitch - what worked best was to place #4 BD as far as it would go, and then once i made the move to place # 5 Friend about 6 feet above, wish i had another # 4BD for higher up as well... Pass the overhang on right. Trying to pass on left makes it significantly hairier - tried and backed off. May 3, 2021

Matthew Pieper
Henderson, NV

Use the chain extensions for rapping down. The party in front of us rapped from the bolts and promptly got their rope stuck from drag over the lip alone. Apr 29, 2022

Drew Williams
Cincinnati

5.6

Log book soggy and unfortunately totally illegible. Replaced with new notebook on October 29, 2022 with a handful of new pens and multiple plastic bags for storage. Cleaned out plastic tub of old log book, old food and trash. Lovely climb on a gorgeous fall afternoon. Oct 30, 2022

John Powers

5.6

The bucket for holding the logbook has become brittle and cracked. The logbook is still encased in 4 plastic bags, but if someone could take a new waterproof bucket to the top that would be nice. May 22, 2023

David K
The Road, Sometimes Chattan…

Beautiful outing with a new climbing partner. Getting to the climb was the hard part. The climbing is stellar and the summit views are incredible. Aug 27, 2024

Nolan Buland
Kentucky

5.6

Just an all-around amazing route! The first pitch is super short and honestly not that dirty. The second pitch was a blast, and the view from the top is really special. The 'small roof' is easily navigated! Chains are still present at the top. Jul 13, 2025