Crack climbing

In rock climbing, a crack climb is a type of climbing route that follows a crack or fissure, or system of cracks or fissures, which the climber uses to ascend the route. The width of the crack dictates the techniques needed, and crack-climbs are further differentiated by the body parts that can be 'jammed' into them, such as finger cracks (the narrowest), hand/fist cracks, arm cracks, and body (also called chimney) cracks. Off-width cracks are some of the most awkward, being too wide for the hands or fists, but too narrow to accommodate the body. A top-to-bottom uniform-width crack is known as a splitter crack.

Crack climbing routes require a broad range of techniques, but most importantly emphasize the techniques of 'laybacking' and of 'jamming'. Laybacking requires the crack to be off-set (i.e. one side protrudes) or in a corner, to create the opposing forces needed for the technique.

Crack climbs are particularly suited to traditional climbing as the crack can accommodate the protection (e.g. Separate Reality). While the advent of bolted sport climbing routes in the 1980s diverted focus to the blanker face climbs, crack-climbs continued to feature prominently in the development of multi-pitch and big wall climbs, and most notably on the giant granite cracks on El Capitan and its famous routes such as The Nose.

The early 2000s saw a resurgence in traditional climbing, placing crack-climbing back in focus. Swiss climber Didier Berthod 'greenpointed' the bolted crack line of Greenspit at , as did Canadian Sonnie Trotter on The Path, and Austrian on Prinzip Hoffnung. In 2006, new traditional-grade milestones were set on crack-climbs by Trotter on Cobra Crack at , In 2011, British crack specialists, Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, climbed the world's hardest off-width crack, Century Crack at . In 2021, the same duo climbed the world's longest roof climb, a 762 m cement crack under the M5 in Devon, The Great Rift at .