Learning to Crack Climb on Exasperator (Pitch 2) in Squamish, BC

I really enjoyed this pitch.
Yes, it was challenging. Yes, the beginning was a bit clumsy but by the time I was half way through the pitch, this style really began to make sense to me. A lot of work but a whole lot of fun.
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[@kickerqb01]

"look at that...a little elvis leg, haven't had that in a while" lol great job, great video, wonderful climb

[@murrayrudd3471]

Such a beautiful crack - first did this climb back in 1980, when it had a cedar tree to slink around. It's always been up there at the top of my list of Squamish favorites (also loved The Zip, though that was a bit easier (10a) & much less sustained than pitch 2 of Exasperator). Great to see this video, which popped up randomly on my feed recommendations.

[@jeremyrosene157]

Looks like your belayer is on top of his game

[@jglantz08]

how did he even catch that fall? lol didnt look like he had a belay device in his hand? Am I missing something? is he redirect belaying from below?

[@Lax-Sharks]

I get that it's a GriGri, but that's the last time I'd climb with him.

[@twonix1428]

@@jglantz08 I think he had the rope in his hand. But im not sure too...

[@zonlymachine]

Lax-Sharks he had rope in his hands.

[@onzeit1822]

You can clearly see the Grigri at 04:02.

[@peteontherock]

Solid push!

[@PB-sk9jn]

I said this on your Pitch 1 video, and repeat (sorry dude! I posted before I saw you fell) "you really don't appear to like torquing on your fingers ! :)" I've done both these pitches climb early in my trad career, and the thing about cracks is you should just twist hang on the bones in finger locks. You shouldn't have taken that fall. You are using muscles in your fingers to stay in the crack. Finger locked you can hang all day. I've seen your other videos and on face you are MUCH stronger than I ever was. Fair's fair....

[@FirstPersonBeta]

All Good my man. By halfway through this pitch, things starting feeling pretty good. All in learning the technique. I enjoy the process.

[@awkwardbbq8332]

Have you done Jabberwocky at the Smoke Bluffs? Another great splitter

[@Jzhar]

sweaty palms dude. Hyped for my squamish trip

[@jre9571]

Just came across this…your belayer didn’t have a brake hand on during that fall- SKETCHY AF!

[@scottmx426no7]

Leader falls, belayer puts hands on wall. Oopsie

[@KubaClimbsRocks]

Wohoo, like you said, never thought 5.10 would give you any trouble! Really want to do this when I'm in Canada, looks like I am in for a treat!

[@themindgame14]

That was well done! There are some major perspective issues though. I thought the start of the hand jam was almost a horizontal traverse until you did the first move, and I could not tell at all how steep it was. Sick though! Now my palms are sweaty.

[@origin32]

Dude! Crazy when a two finger lock is a jug!!!! Ha ha ha.... Damn!!!

[@bonefishboards]

Heck of a sustained pitch.

[@grubercaleb]

This has gotta be the best way to learn how to crack climb short of actually doing it yourself. Its great to pause the vid and check out your hand/foot placements. Thank you for sharing your vids!

[@louisfelixlaroche-morin6411]

Beautiful climb ! congrats.

[@kylewog6522]

my goal is to climb this route this upcoming summer!

[@somanayr]

It's nice to see you sew it up like I do. Granted you're doing it in 5.10 and I'm doing it on 5.4. Same difference right?

[@MarkAreJohnston]

There used to be cedar trees in the second pitch!

[@tannerhall2825]

Nice climb!

[@drewcunningham2]

good job!

[@lucasmotta875]

Congratulations on the climb! What place is this?

[@wredwards68]

Loving those totems?

[@chrisgraham887]

Hey Seth, what are your thoughts on those crack gloves? I've only used tape. They look pretty good!

[@dannyisrael]

They are nice and thick but the sizing is really odd. I’m usually a medium but I need the XL and it still constricts my hand from touching my thumb to pinky. I put them on super loose and. They work quite well.

[@serges201]

Yellow x4 (5:33) looks umbrella'd

[@imxd9698]

yolo

[@christianbartram6701]

Belayer had a grigri?

[@lechoixv9959]

That’s rate 5.10?! Iiiiiissshhhh... no feet and very thin jamming sure looks WAY harder than that to me! Wow!

[@awkwardbbq8332]

It's not vertical and the smears are bomber. Just an amazing climb. Jabberwocky and this are the best 10ish cracks in Squamish

[@marqde1]

#5 stopper at 4:00?

[@chriswitter6889]

bro holy shit you sounds just like nick cage lmao

[@alexryantucker4711]

Why are you wearing jammies for a finger crack dude?

[@scottcampbell3079]

my first thought

[@somanayr]

At 19:00 the crack becomes thin hands!

[@enachelucianadrian]

I need magnesium to watch this movie😀

[@hondaiv942]

The power of grip you got there man. Is hella amazing!

[@dhoule2188]

First piece of gear should be a cam (omni directional) so you don't zipper out the nuts. Otherwise, fun seeing you climb a squamish classic.

[@bubba5656]

The pitch is planar so there isn't a huge concern on zippering gear since the belayer, first, and second piece are all on the same plane as the potential fall. While cam as the first piece is far from a terrible habit nuts feel way more secure on this first pitch than cams. Omni directional first piece are super important if you have a lazy belayer standing 20 feet back from the base of the climb :P.

[@dhoule2188]

There's always a concern with zippering your gear when using only nuts. You said there is some concern with zippering, so why not remove all concern with a cam or other omni-directional pro? I'm responding so novice/beginner trad climbers don't think it's ok to place a nut first.

[@bubba5656]

@@dhoule2188 Just so we are on the same page we both mean zippering as when more than one piece is in and a fall occurs and results in the gear placements failing from the bottom up? If the rope runs straight between, in this case the belayer (or the anchor redirect) and the second piece, then once the second piece is placed the first piece won't have any secondary load applied unless the second piece fails. You are very right, secondary forces are a very important thing to keep in mind. I was just responding so motivated beginner climbers could start thinking about when that rule of thumb isn't always required. I have seen climbers forgo bomber nut placements and climb dangerously off the ground waiting for a cam placement because they adhered to the cam as first piece too strictly and didn't know the reasoning behind it. I love these sort of nerdy climbing conversations!

[@AdHow]

nice work dude! making my hands sweaty! can't really tell from the video but you shoes look like a soft rubber. if your going to carrying on crack climbing maybe get some more aggressive shoes with a firmer sole and pointed toes so you can jam them in the crack and place them on small edges at the sides of the crack. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4icapqEapmqgrM - awesome video from two british lads who have spent a lot of time crack climbing. highly suggest watching the video to make your next crack climbing experience seem a hell of a lot easier!

[@2enjoihsu]

jesus how long does it take this guy to place a singluar nut.

[@curvenut]

Why you do not just use a cam for your first placement instead of searching for the nut ?

[@infamousboone]

Conserve your cams maybe?

[@Govanification]

Well the 2nd nut was solid but the first one seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

[@bobdole8389]

Also, he had a quickdraw on the bolt as his first piece which eliminates the need for a multidirectional first piece.