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Watch Utah Locals Climb Trench Warfare (5.12+) Roof Crack With a Circus Net

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.

Mason Earle initially built this 50′ by 20′ circus net for a big roof crack in Canyonlands, he wrote on the Momentum Climbing blog, but as it sat in his attic gathering dust, he began looking for other opportunities. This summer Earle and a motivated crew lugged the 70 pound fall protection device to Little Cottonwood Canyon’s Trench Warfare (5.12+), a 60-foot horizontal roof crack. The offwidth crack usually takes gear from 2″ to 6″ and climbs so low that, according to the Mountain Project description, “A buddy can actually hand you each cam from the ground as you are climbing the route.” With the help of the net, Mason wrote, “By the end of the day we had a big crew hanging out, and everyone was able to get on the route just as easily as you would walking up to try a boulder problem. No gear, no ropes, no hanging in your harness—you simply got your feet up into the roof and started shuffling. Falling onto your back was a little scary, but the catch was nice and soft.”

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