PRINT: Rock Climb Donini's Crack, City of Rocks

Donini's Crack

5.10+, Trad, 80 ft (24 m),

Avg: 2.8 from 114 votes
FA: Greg Lowe, 1967
Idaho > S Idaho > City of Rocks > Bath Rock > Bath Rock - West

Access Issue: (1) Weather Wall, Yellow Wall, & all the crags north of Twin Sisters are CLOSED. (2) No trash cans. (3) Highlining temporary ban in place for CIRO and CRSP Details

(1) The area, crags, and routes just north of the Twin Sisters are on private land and the landowner recently posted no trespassing notices at the gated road/trail to the area. Any access of these areas and routes is trespassing. The area was closed by the landowner due to trespassing, illegal camping, fires & trash, and disregard of owner's privacy.
Please be respectful of the land owner's wishes and do not climb or hike here until further notice. This includes White Lightning, Skinner Roof, Weather Wall, Yellow Wall, Larry's Annihilation, Needle Rock, Mississippi Fred's, and Secret Tom's. Park officials and CRAG are working to regain access to this valuable climbing resource. Be patient and check back for updates.
(2) No trash cans anywhere in City of Rocks: urlzs.com/c4eZH
(3) HIGHLINING IS PROHIBITED
By the authority of the park manager, Highlining at City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park is temporarily prohibited as of August 28, 2019.

The park(s) is reviewing highlining activities. Here are Google Drive links to the closure and the updated Code of Regulations for CIRO. drive.google.com/open?id=1y… and drive.google.com/open?id=1Y…

Description

This is a classic tough roof crack on the back side of Bath Rock. Many try this route, but but few succeed. It is probably a little bit of a sandbag.

Start below the obvious roof crack. You can clip a bolt on Gemini 5.12a near the beginning. Work up under the roof and fire in some thin hand gear. If you are tall, you can get a no hands sit down rest below the roof.

Jam the thin hand crack through the roof. (tape!!) Face holds can be found on the left and right. Picking the right moves and getting your feet in the crack, will gain a rest above the roof. An easier hand crack leads to the bolt anchor on the sport climb to the left.

I heard a rumor that Donini came back and solo'ed this thing in his 60's.

Protection

Hand size cams, nuts...

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Jim Brink onsighting Donini's...

Ross laying around

post crux

Chris Parks cops a no-hands rest prior to the crux of 'Donini's Crack (10c)' on the West side of Batch Rock, in the City of Rocks, ID. Photo by Tony Bubb 4/07.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

John Bradford
Yellowstone National Park

5.10c

A little bit of a sandbag? I should get frequent flyer miles for this one. May 12, 2008

Shino
nomadic

One of the toughest 10cs I've ever tried to free. Ran out of juice and took a huge whip off the roof. Protect before trying to jam up (green .75s- I put in two of 'em- they won't obstruct the necessary jamming).

Rumor is true. Straight from the horse's mouth. Ran into Jim climbing in City of Rocks.

Great climb. Do it! And clip that .75 with a short draw. Aug 28, 2010

Ben Folsom

Awesome route! Glad I finally decided to do it. Intimidating and steep, but it is all there. I agree with the previous comments that it is a bit tough for the grade. Sep 20, 2010

Jeffrey Gagliano
Pennsburg, PA

I tried this route in 2007 (My 1st of 2 trips to the City). And had lead Crack of Doom the day before. I got soundly rebuffed at the crux! A critical and subtle change in hand position makes it possible...otherwise as I had hit it...impossible! Hey, every climb is a 5.14 if you do it wrong! Sep 20, 2010

Tim Wolfe
Salt Lake City, UT

5.10c

Burly. Tape up for the crux and don't forget heel hooks, breathing (or you will get very winded) and all kinds of crazy body contortions. Sep 7, 2012

Aerili
Los Alamos, NM

5.10+

I strongly recommend bringing a single #4. I was tipped off to the 4 by a dude nearby and was super happy to have it since it was my first piece (which occurs about 50 feet off the deck). This + a second piece in a slightly higher pod gave me some peace of mind to commit to the thought-provoking and steep moves getting under the roof. Also, these placements are not obvious from the ground.

Green Camalots can be put in the roof itself but I was able to place a gold much higher and that made me happier. So I would not really call this "a thin hand crack".

Heel hooking may work for some but is not required (or even necessarily most effective) beta. Jun 16, 2013

zach cook
Boise, ID

One of my favorites....short lived but full value for those few feet. Great hand crack with some bold moves below to get into it. Great gear all the way! Tape doesnt hurt, but the jams are over super quick. Mar 22, 2015

Dave Bingham
Hailey, ID

I looked thru some old correspondence with Greg Lowe, who called this 5.11. This may well be the only "Lowe Route" ever downgraded! Nov 3, 2015

Landon McDowell
Saint George UT

5.10d

Amazing route. Great jams! I disagree on the gear beta. A single BD set from .4-1 and then doubles in 2, .5, and a single red 4 works great. The party before me couldn’t get a new 4 to fit. A red 4 fits perfectly. To protect the moves into the roof you can place a 2 in a pod to the right of the #4 Pod. Sep 27, 2020

Big Red
Seattle

Burly. A few hand sized pieces protect the pods below the awkward entrance to the crack. Jul 28, 2022