Supercrack of the Desert
Recently, I’ve been browsing through a collection of old climbing magazines that I have from the late 70s and early 80s, including Summit, Off Belay, and The Climbing Art. I love getting a historical perspective on climbing from these old publications. One article in Summit Magazine caught my eye this morning due to my recent trip to Indian Creek. Ed Webster wrote a great account of the first ascent of the classic crack climb, Supercrack (or The Super Crack of the Desert, as it is called in the article). It’s an amusing tale, with a bit of adventure, humor and irony (Jimmy Dunn was the one who spotted Supercrack and wanted to climb it but mysteriously decided not to climb that day). I particularly got a kick out of what Ed had to say at the end of the article, “even now though, I can’t help speculating that somewhere way out in the backlands of the canyon lies a crack more perfect than ours; anyone want to go and look for it?” People have certainly explored Indian Creek since Ed wrote that article and consequently, Indian Creek is home to hundreds and hundreds of climbs, documented and undocumented. People can debate whether there is a climb as perfect as Supercrack, but it’s hard to disagree with the assertion that Webster & company’s first ascent was bold and daring compared to the experience of a typical Creek climber’s experience. Today, Creek climbers fire their way up splitters with spring-loaded camming devices, clip the anchors, and lower, rarely venturing past the first pitch. Webster climbed Supercrack to the rim with one drilled angle for an anchor and placed hexes sparingly in the parallel cracks. It’s quite a story and well worth the read – it makes my hands sweat just thinking about the place!!!
