Type: Trad, Mixed, Ice, Alpine, 380 ft (115 m), 3 pitches, Grade III
FA: Chuck Schobinger and John Amato in 1958 as a summer rock climb, then Mark Twight and Will Gadd in 1996 as a mixed route.
Page Views: 6,067 total · 44/month
Shared By: Chris Sheridan on Oct 21, 2012
Admins: Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC

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Description Suggest change

Schobinger's Cracks has always had a special appeal to me since I saw a picture of Will Gadd on the route during his and Mark Twight's first ascent as mixed route. (Disclaimer: I might not have all the historical details straight here.) The caption for the picture just said Eubank's chimney (the last pitch of the route) and so even the process of learning where the picture was taken was one of peering into this mysterious world of alpinism that I had, at the time, only barely begun to experience first hand. At the time, I could hardly comprehend what it would be like to climb hard vertical and overhanging mixed terrain high in the mountains.

Schobinger's Cracks climbs a distinct chimney system from Broadway, up to Upper Kiener's, between the Notch Couloir and The Window. The route itself is short at only three pitches, but the difficulty of the terrain, altitude, and the amount of climbing required to just get to the route and continue to the summit make the overall experience about as big of an objective as one can find on Longs.

Start by gaining Broadway by any means. The most logical routes would be to either climb Lamb's Slide to Broadway, or Alexander's Chimney, or Field's Chimney. Traverse Broadway till you're roughly half way between the start of The Notch Couloir and The Window. A deep chimney system above holds the first and second pitch of Schobinger's Cracks. Some easy climbing above Broadway gets you to the base of the route.

P1: Climb steep but well-protected, mixed terrain, then make the crux transition to the ice curtain. Just a little bit more climbing brings you to lower angle ice deep in the chimney. WI5 M6, 100 feet.

P2: Continue up ice in the back of the chimney then make difficult moves out and around a large chockstone. Above this chockstone, the technical difficulty backs off some, but not much. Finish the pitch by traversing right to the base of 2nd chimney system (Eubank's Chimney). M6, 150 feet.

P3: Climb straight up Eubank's Chimney reaching Upper Kiener's after about 100 feet.

Protection Suggest change

3 stubbie screws, 2 medium length screws, stoppers and cams to 3".

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