Wild 5.14 Roof Crack Necronomicon Climbed Again
The horizontal crack has only been climbed a handful of times since the first ascent in 2011
Marco Sappa has climbed the impressive roof crack Necronomicon, a 5.14a trad route in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. The first ascent of the 30‑metre line was by Jean‑Pierre Ouellet in 2011.
Sappa pieced together the crux sequence by his third session, having climbed through it with protection in place. He began taking full-length attempts from the start, knowing the key would be to climb quickly through the start to arrive at the crux as fresh as possible. At the infamous “u-turn” section, executed feet-first, Sappa rested before continuing, but didn’t make it to the finish.
In sessions four and five, he fell three or four times at the final moves of the crux, each time taking big falls and brushing through the bushes below. The closer success seemed, after all the time and emotion he’d invested, the heavier the weight became. Managing those emotions, keeping them from spiralling out of control, proved almost as difficult as the climbing itself.
Sappa returned on the sixth day determined to finally clip the chains. “On day six, I did it on my second try,” said Sappa. “An incredible emotion. Definitely the hardest crack I’ve ever climbed, physically and mentally.”
Previous Sends
Necronomicon went unrepeated until 2019, when Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker both sent it. In 2022, Mary Eden climbed it in October, and Bronwyn Hodgins climbed it in November.
