Hand Crack (aka White Lightning)

Imaginative name, but a fine pitch with clean, varied jamming and plentiful protection. The crux, in fact, is fingers - but the steep hand jamming above is quite good.

The Hand Crack is located in an enclave of the upper West Ridge called the Cirque of the Cracks (a fittingly vague name since the West Ridge comprises 2000 feet of cirques and cracks). Fifty meters uphill from the Quartzite Ridge, locate an alcove with several obvious, chalked crack lines. Look for a steep hand crack (the Hand Crack, yes) about thirty feet right of a prominent, serrated, corner crack (the

Duh Dihedral

) and immediately right of a clean, left-facing dihedral (

Terminal Velocity

). Heavy chalkage marks the way, especially around an overhanging section of 2" crack forty feet up.

The route appears unremarkable and discontinuous from below, but does provide some quality action and varied climbing - slabby fingerlocks, steep hand jams, an arete slap here and there. Jam the Crack through a tour of sizes and belay in a comfortable chimney below a loose ledge or traverse left to a slung tree atop

Terminal Velocity

(a few feet left/north). Either way, mind the abundant loose rock on these ledges. Rappel

Terminal Velocity

.

Rossiter calls the FA Unknown; can any historians (or seniors) out there set the record straight? Important minutia.

Standard Eldo rack to #2 or #3 Camalot; even the gripped should be well-equipped without doubles as the crack size varies substantially. If going light, leave the #3 Camalot behind; otherwise it can be sunk near the top for the last bit of (5.7 or .8) jamming.