Pat Kingsbury spends his time working for new ascents on rock wherever he can find it. Often, in the spring and fall, he can be found on the sandstone splitters of Indian Creek, Utah. Here he is digging deep on a redpoint attempt of his new 5.13 tips crack ‘Stemcell’.
The standard Indian Creek crack line is a vertical splitter, varying slightly, top to bottom. Pat had a different vision. Stemcell connects two crack systems with a stemming corner, a wild roof and thin face climbing.
I was immediately drawn to Pat’s struggle moving from the crimpers and roof back into the thin crux below the anchors. With a fixed line I shot as he floated the lower moves, reached out and clipped the first of two bolts on the face. As he pulled from the crimpers, straining, I focused on the eye, hoping that this would be the send. Screaming, he hit the finger lock, pulled through and pushed for a sloping ‘gaston’ hold above and right. He missed. This shot is the closest he’s come to sealing the deal.