Cobra Crack is Canada’s Famous Hard Gear Route, Here’s Who’s Climbed it
The famous Squamish crack had at least two sends in 2021
This year marked the 15th anniversary of Sonnie Trotter’s first ascent of Cobra Crack 5.14 in Squmiash. Over the past decade and a half, it’s become one of the world’s most sought-after single-pitch gear climbs.
It took the top trad climber around 40 goes over a number of years. The 30-metre splitter crack had been aided by Peter Croft in the 1980s and had been attempted by top climbers such as Didier Berthod.
In an interview with Gripped in 2006, Trotter said: “Cobra is 30 meters long, with the crux pulling over the lip around the two-thirds mark. It involves huge dynamic throws between one- and two-finger locks; pain is ever-present, and the mental crux is overlooking the pain move after move. The redpoint crux comes over the lip on a slippery side pull; the feet are next to nothing, and it takes momentum and a huge throw to latch the final edge, at which point you’re about 15 to 20 feet about your last piece of gear—it’s really exciting.”
At least two climbers redpointed it this year, with Ryan Sklenica and Stu Smith completing the Cobra. About his send, Sklenica said, “The best piece of stone in Squamish. Had the full whip experience after my foot picked on the last move two sessions before sending. I have no idea how hard It is since I can’t crack climb very well, but 5.14a/14b seems about right.”
The gear required ranges from a red C3 up to .4 with doubles of each. Watch the original film below, which had been uploaded to the Patagonia YouTube channel for years, but can now be found on Trotter’s.
Known Cobra Crack Sends
2006 – Sonnie Trotter (Canada)
2008 – Nicolas Favresse (Belgium)
2008 – Ethan Pringle (USA)
2008 – Matt Segal (USA)
2009 – Will Stanhope (Canada)
2009 – Yuji Hirayama (Japan)
2011 – Alex Honnold (USA)
2013 – Pete Whittaker (UK)
2013 – Tom Randall (UK)
2016 – Ben Harnden (Canada)
2017 – Mason Earle (USA)
2017 – Logan Barber (Australia)
2017 – Said Belhaj (Sweden)
2021 – Ryan Sklenica (Australia)
2021 – Stu Smith (Canada)
Cobra Crack
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