[Hide Comment] Still hard, even if you know how to jam, and suggesting that Tennessee climbers don't know how to crack climb is ignorant and stupid. This would be 5.12 if if were a route. V4-5ish.
Jan 3, 2010
[Hide Comment] I agree on the v5. The crux would be right home on any 5.12 trad line. Crack of Doom might be v3/5.11 at Mt. Woodson, but that place is sandbagged!
Jan 24, 2011
[Hide Comment] I was thinking probably 11b or c on this which translates to V3...I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll take it at V5 all day long ;)
Feb 10, 2011
[Hide Comment] Atypical problem for the boulderfield. Trust the finger lock and stab for the hand jam to advance to the great crimp. Probably a walk in the park for most tradheads out there.
Aug 23, 2012
[Hide Comment] I did it by gastoning the flaring part and only used one finger lock near the top, which getting into I think was the crux. a good handjam above that leads to an easy topout
Dec 15, 2014
[Hide Comment] Love the discussion. No US grading system works great for grading short cracks. The best you can say, I think, is like Travis Eiseman is quoted as saying in the guide, "that would be like the crux on a 5.X route". Even that doesn't work very well, bc the grade of a trad pitch has a lot to do with pump and sometimes the additional pump of placing gear, depending on the local mindset.
For Crack of Doom, a boulderer with little crack experience could make this a v6. And a crack climber with little boulder experience could feel that this is easier than the steep rounded bulgy v3s here. Sure, this could be the crux on an 11b trad pitch (or easily could be the crux on a 12a/b trad pitch if it was pumpy). But you can't translate 5.X trad grades to v-grades like you can 5.X sport to v-grades. Because 5.11 trad is goddamned fierce compared to 5.11 sport.
It's a little like Earth Wind and Fire at HP40. To me, that thing feels a lot like the 10a first pitch on Serenity Crack, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a v3/4 boulder.
Ultimately, our grading systems just aren't built for this type of climb. With some trad, sport, and bouldering experience behind me: could be the right-off-the-deck crux of an 11b trad pitch, or a 12a trad pitch with a pump. Could be the crux on a 11d or 12a sport climb. It felt about as hard to flash as most v4s around the SE. And would be a 5.9 on the Yosemite slab scale and 5.8+ on the offwidth scale. :)
Feb 12, 2015
[Hide Comment] Started through the same crimp holds, then went into a gaston/layback on the sloper groove just left of the crack and worked way up to the top. Never used the crack at all, maybe v5/6 with that beta.
Jan 8, 2021
Avg: 3.5 from 147
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Colorado Springs, CO
Golden, Colorado
Vandalia, Appalachia
Marmet, WV
Northern VA
Probably a walk in the park for most tradheads out there. Aug 23, 2012
Little Rock, AR
Minneapolis, MN
For Crack of Doom, a boulderer with little crack experience could make this a v6. And a crack climber with little boulder experience could feel that this is easier than the steep rounded bulgy v3s here. Sure, this could be the crux on an 11b trad pitch (or easily could be the crux on a 12a/b trad pitch if it was pumpy). But you can't translate 5.X trad grades to v-grades like you can 5.X sport to v-grades. Because 5.11 trad is goddamned fierce compared to 5.11 sport.
It's a little like Earth Wind and Fire at HP40. To me, that thing feels a lot like the 10a first pitch on Serenity Crack, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a v3/4 boulder.
Ultimately, our grading systems just aren't built for this type of climb. With some trad, sport, and bouldering experience behind me: could be the right-off-the-deck crux of an 11b trad pitch, or a 12a trad pitch with a pump. Could be the crux on a 11d or 12a sport climb. It felt about as hard to flash as most v4s around the SE. And would be a 5.9 on the Yosemite slab scale and 5.8+ on the offwidth scale. :) Feb 12, 2015
Nashville, TN