Century Crack

Century Crack is a 120ft (40m) long offwidth crack climb in the White Rim Sandstone, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, graded at 5.14b (8c). It is one of the hardest and longest offwidth crack climbs in the world.[2] The first aid ascent of the route was done by Steve Bartlett in 2001, and the first free ascents were by crack specialists Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, known as the Wide Boyz.

Century Crack
Map showing the location of Century Crack
Map showing the location of Century Crack
Location within Utah
LocationWhite Rim Sandstone, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Coordinates38°28′22″N 109°52′04″W
Route TypeCrack climbing
Pitches1
Grade5.14b (8c)[1]
First ascentSteve Bartlett, 2001[1]
First free ascentPete Whittaker and Tom Randall, 2011[1]

The route

Century Crack starts with an 85ft roof crack, requiring the climber to hang upside-down, making progress with various jams throughout the crack's varying widths. It requires a mix of hand jams, hand-fist stacks, fist jams, and various other offwidth techniques.[3][1]

The first 15ft of the crack is small enough for straightforward hand jams. This is followed by the offwidth crux section, wide enough for No. 6 cams, and the rest of the horizontal section fits No. 5 cams.[1]

The crux of the climb is where the crack transitions into a 45-degree overhang, requiring the climber to flip from their inverted position to an upright position. The top-out has the climber squeeze between two outcrops of rock onto the plain above.[1][4]

First aid ascent

Century Crack was discovered by Steve Bartlett, who completed the first aid climb of the route in 2001, giving it the name Chocolate Starfish.[5]

Wide Boyz

The first free climb of the route was completed in 2011 by Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, documented in the movie Wide Boyz.[3][5] They initially climbed it with pre-placed gear, but returned two weeks later to do the climb while placing the gear.[5][6]

To train for the route, Randall built a replica of the crack in his cellar, where both climbers trained by doing continuous laps. They also did thousands of hours of offwidth-specific training, training an average of 5 days a week for two years.[4]

List of free ascents

References
  1. "Century Crack". Hard Climbs. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. "Century Crack, the hardest offwidth in the world?". Planet Mountain.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  3. Chris Alstrin, Paul Diffley (directors) (2012). Wide Boyz (Documentary).
  4. Mary Anne Potts (25 October 2011). "Q+A With Pete Whittaker on Free Climbing Century Crack, Canyonlands, Utah". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  5. "Desert Testpiece Century Crack (5.14b) Sees Third Ascent by Danny Parker". Climbing. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  6. "Wideboyz Climb Century Crack Placing Gear". UKC. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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