19 Years Later, Didier Berthod Climbs ‘Cobra Crack’ (5.14 Trad)
On Tuesday, May 14, Didier Berthod completed a nearly 20-year saga with Squamish’s Cobra Crack by redpointing the legendary pitch. “It is more so the end of a book, than a chapter,” he told me yesterday on the lawn underneath the Stawamus Chief, where friends of Berthod had gathered to celebrate his send.
Berthod first tried Cobra Crack in 2005 and his efforts were heavily documented in the film First Ascent. Shortly after the film, Berthod disappeared into a Swiss monastery, where he stayed for over a decade. His name and brief moment in the limelight became a sort of shrouded lore.
The truth, of course, ran far deeper than rock climbing and was personal and murky. In 2022 Berthod returned to Squamish to try to reconcile with his daughter, who he had never met, and her mother. Since then, the 43-year-old Berthod has become a beloved staple of the contemporary Squamish community. Regarding his climbing, he’s also evolved, doing the first ascent of the Crack of Destiny (5.14b trad) last year (read my article about it here, which Berthod insisted ended with “I love rock climbing and I love you rock climbers!”). After Crack of Destiny, Berthod refocused on Cobra.
Berthod spent roughly two weeks projecting the 25-meter splitter in 2023, feeling fit and with an optimistic mindset. But after pulling over Cobra’s lip—quite runout, he took the final “jug” with his left hand but was too tired to hold it. A wild fall ensued, crashing into the wall wrist-first and breaking it. Pondering, Berthod joked that perhaps his relationship with the Cobra was cursed, and a redpoint wasn’t meant to be. On social media, he quickly added, “to reassure some of you, [no, I] won’t go into a monastery again….[But] I don’t know if I’ll be giving another go on this one.”
But he did it! Amity Warme, who belayed the ascent, said that Berthod floated the crux—in the V9/10 range—including the iconic mono-finger lock and subsequent invert. (He’s the only one I know who stops in the mono to place gear. Outrageous!) The mono-cam placement, for Berthod, was mandatory: “I couldn’t risk taking that fall again.” No matter. Pim Shaitosa, who filmed the ascent, said there was “no yelling, just rhythmic breathing and flowing movement; it was beautiful.”
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Regarding the send go, Berthod said that it felt like any other attempt: “I’d been up there so many times, I’ve placed that last cam so many times. So many one-hangs. This time it felt similar, only I didn’t one-hang—I’d come from the ground!”
Berthod dedicated his send to Mason Earle, a fellow Cobra ascensionist and friend whose battle with a chronic fatigue syndrome has prevented him from climbing for years. He also thanked his “two sun rays,” Thomasina and Cedar, for supporting him on this longstanding and very personal project. “I think I’ll see life a little differently after this,” Berthod said yesterday, between drags of a cigarette and amongst summer chatter under the Chief. “Today, the Cobra was a little bit more benevolent with me.”
Congratulations, Didier.
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