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KEK
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 10, 2006 - 04:39pm PT
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1.) I just moved from the left coast to the right coast, Chapel Hill, NC to be exact. I know some of you are from the area, so I was hoping you could recommend where to met partners, websites or locals; or if you are interested in climbing sending me an email.
2.) Also what are some moderate routes to start on?
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 10, 2006 - 04:42pm PT
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Try the Carolina Climbers Coalition web site.
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JAK
climber
The Souf
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Aug 10, 2006 - 05:20pm PT
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Goddam, you're only 45 minutes away.
Ok, the bad news - you're on the wrong side (right) of the state. Most of the good climbing is over to the left a couple hours. Nonetheless, if you have a full day to put into it, it's day-trippable.
I'm not familiar with climbing gyms in your area, but you can use your internets to dispatch that problem.
What kind of climbing are you looking for specifically? There are good trad and sport crags all within 2 - 2.5 hours.
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RockMD
Big Wall climber
Arizona
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Aug 10, 2006 - 10:18pm PT
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Hey there. I spent a good portion of my climbing years in the Southeast and highly recommend hitting "Looking Glass Rock" for starters. It's got some awesome multipitch trad lines and some nice single pitch stuff and some fun big walls on the north side. If you're really into hard/fun stuff, check out Whitesides. It's got 10 pitch trad lines starting around 5.12 and going up. Also check out Lynnville gorge, table rock, rumbling bald. All are good and you will not be disappointed. Have fun and if you get bored, head to Chattanooga and hit up T-Wall.
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Aya
Trad climber
New York
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Aug 10, 2006 - 10:26pm PT
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OR on Whitesides is nowhere near 5.12... it's like 5.10 A0 (the A0 being the two draws you can pull on to get you through the one 5.11 move...) It was great!
I really loved rumbling bald, but the eyebrows on looking glass got pretty old pretty much after two routes...
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Blumsky
Trad climber
Winston-Salem
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Aug 10, 2006 - 10:46pm PT
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I live in Winston-Salem and am always glad to go climbing around here. . . there is so much good climbing in this state, it's amazing. Moore's Wall is the closest trad 'crag' to Chapel Hill, but I think of it more as Adventure Climbing, most stuff is two pitches. It is about 30 minutes North of winston-salem. There are tons of trad climbs from 5.easy to 5.insane there, and if you like the occasional sport climb, there are a few, although the easiest one is .12. A little farther down the hill, there is some world class bouldering, too. This place has it all, and it closest to ya. As you go farther west, your options increase exponentially, though.
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Aya
Trad climber
New York
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Aug 10, 2006 - 10:49pm PT
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Agreed... even just the difference in atmosphere from going from one side of Looking Glass to the other is astounding. For whatever reason, I always just figured all the big rocks were up north... but sitting up top of whitesides and looking around, holy #!%$ there are huuuuge rocks EVERYWHERE begging to be climbed!
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blackbird
Trad climber
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Aug 10, 2006 - 11:11pm PT
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Add to The Glass the fact that 1)Laurel Knobb has just been opened to the public and 2) Linville Gorge and other areas right there and you've got a plethera of stellar climbing at your disposal.
I agree with you on the eyebrows, Aya... I was ready to hand the rack over after two or three pitches.
Also, she's right. The bolt ladder on the OR can very easily be aided with long draws. IF you are the one to lead, take a #3 Camelot to aid through the little bit to get to the first bolt. After that, sling the first bolt long for your second (only if they need it) and first and foremost, make sure you win the round of "rock/paper/scissors" so that you don't have to lead the first pitch!!!!
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Aya
Trad climber
New York
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Aug 10, 2006 - 11:20pm PT
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That first bolt is a looong way up
But actually, as the guidebook notes, you can start off to the right and you end up making the first pitch much shorter. However, it ends up being esssentially the same - either do all the unprotected climbing up to that first bolt, and then feel ok, and do the rest of it, or start off and do all the uprotected climbing up to the only piece of pro you're going to get (a cam under a loose-ish flake that will probably blow) and do all the climbing above it... sort of six of one, half dozen of the other. Either way, I've got a sort of TR of the OR here: http://smellabella.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_smellabella_archive.html and actually, there are some photos and ramblings about the other climbing we did in NC...
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KEK
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 10, 2006 - 11:40pm PT
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Thanks for all the great input, and keep it coming: it is helping me to get fired up about being here!
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
St. Louis
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Aug 11, 2006 - 08:30am PT
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KEK, in no time, you'll wonder why you waited so long to get there! The climbing in that area of the country is superb!
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 11, 2006 - 08:43am PT
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BirdBrain, you described tha ankle breaker pitch on the OR with the long sling for second. THat move is quite pullable with no aiding. Some peopel claim that move should still be 9+ instead of 10 b or c, all because a hold right below the bolt went from a two handed jug to a one handed (for guys with meat hooks) hold. I couldn;t say, but if the day is dry then it's not too bad, but if it is damp then it's much harder, and that broken hold is not the factor in make or break.
There are about 3 distinct ways to do the first p of hte OR at WS, the far right, 5.5 or less, takes some pro, the 5.7, to the left of that, and the 5.8 to the left of the 4.7that goes over the old rescue bail bolt.
Anyone going to do the OR shoudl really go with someone who has done it before, the route finding is for real. One of the best climbs though.
You guys don't like eyebrows? Tricams were made for eyebrows, so were zeros and aliens, if the eyebrows are small enough.
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 11, 2006 - 08:56am PT
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OR is only 9ish!! 16 years ago, it may have been a little stiffer cause it was full of lichen as there were only a few of us that played on it. Took a 25 foot whipper towards the top when I pulled a 10' block off. The crux move, getting off the deck on one of the longest RO's on the "Sides"!!! Better be a slabmeister to play on this one!
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Aya
Trad climber
New York
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Aug 11, 2006 - 09:28am PT
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This is getting a little OT, but whatever...
And take whatever I say with a lot of skepticism, since I am not a NC climber, and I did OR with a coupld of other NY climbers, so obviously our opinions will be those of out of staters etc....
But...
I guess there are two "crux" pitches on OR - the fourth pitch is the "ankle breaker"; it goes up a big inverted v-shaped thing right off the ledge and the crux is getting to the bolt on it (up by the tip of the v). Absolutely doable, I would still call it 5.10-ish (probably easier if you're taller than me...), and only scary for the ledgefall potential.
The seventh pitch is the 11a pitch - the bolt ladder - 3 bolts, very easy to french free through (although, as I found, a little strenuous if you've got the pack on...)
The hike in was super easy, finding the route was super easy and routfinding was very easy. There was only one time where I was thinking hmm, am I going the right way? And then I pulled over a bulge and the belay ledge was right there - it'd been totally hidden from view. The hardest "routefinding" was locating the first bolt from the ground (and then deciding not to go that way).
We were staying down there with a local climber who couldn't make it with us that day, but he told us that out of staters "always epic" on Whitesides... I don't know... it really didn't seem that intimidating to me. I think all told, we left the car around 9:30AM and got back to it around 5:30-6ish, plus we were a party of 3 so we were a little slow.
And... I don't like eyebrows not because of the lack of gear (I love tricams; I am a gunks climber after all), but because of the repetitiveness. It was just the same move, over and over... plus just going by aesthetics... I prefer a really beautiful line over the choose-your-own-adventure wandering of the eyebrows.
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jager
Trad climber
Raleigh, NC
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Aug 11, 2006 - 09:31am PT
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KEK, the local climbing gym, vertical edge is just inside durham on the raleigh side. Its a decent gym, their routes are rated 'spot on' for the most part. There is also a board with people looking for partners you can checkout. I live in Raleigh, my crew usually tries to hit the gym up on Tuedays and Thursdays, mainly just to get ready for the outdoor trips we tend to take about every weekend. Some times its a day trip to moores or pilot and other times we camp and hit up linville. We are actually in the process of trying to climb one or two different spots in the state a month. Hope to climb shiprock and the glass in the next month dpending on schedules. Sometimes there are just two of us, sometimes 4 or more. We do a bit of everything TR, sport, trad, and bouldering depending on the experience level of the people with us. There is great climbing to be had in NC and it is only getting better thanks to the CCC!
My name is Matt and my email is matty22c (at) msn.com. Hit me up and maybe we can meet in the gym next week, we are camping at moores next weekend (aug 19) for some bouldering on sat and will probably goto pilot on sun cause we'll have a newb with us.
BTW...check out the NC pics thread I started after coming back from linville two weekends ago.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 11, 2006 - 09:37am PT
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So Aya, you would just walk up to the OR and call finding the traverse pitch easy route finding?
Um, if you see that first bolt from the ground you are technically off route, and on harder ground than to the right of there, that is an old bail bolt from the broken ankle. But that area dries out quickest and that's the way I had to go once.
Sounds like someone had local beta or a good topo, hehe.
Jagging back 160 feet traversing with all sorts of apparently climbable stuff in fromt of you seems a bit...prescient?
Um, if you see that first bolt from the ground you are technically off route, and on harder ground than to the right of there, that is an old bail bolt from the broken ankle. But that area dries out quickest and that's the way I had to go once.
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Aya
Trad climber
New York
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Aug 11, 2006 - 09:55am PT
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We found the first bolt as it is described in the two guidebooks for the area (I can't recall the titles, but one was the Harrison Shull one?), so I don't think we were "off-route". It was in the dark streak, just as described. It was just hard to find because it was so far up there. The rest of the pitches, again, were just as described in the books.
The only topo I can find online is here:
http://www.bigwall.com/whtsds.html
It barely matches what we climbed.
However, using the two topos in the books (and no local beta; our local had not climbed at Whitesides), we had no problems finding the route. The traverse pitch? Big deal... you just go straight right one ropelength, and there are the bolts. The only difference we found from what was described and what we climbed was at the end of the fifth pitch; the book showed bolted anchors and I just found a couple of rusty scars in the ledge. However, it was clearly the anchor, given what was coming up next (the crescent pitch - best pitch of them all). Maybe we were lucky not to get off-route, who knows? It didn't seem like it, though.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 11, 2006 - 10:17am PT
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call it what you will, but you DID have topos, so I guess a 160 foot jag right seems Normal then.
Guess you'll never know the other feeling hehe.
As for the bail bolt, It's not up for debate, no matter what someone wrote in their book. That ain't the original route, and this info is from someone who has guided the OR 50 times, and climbed it many more, including way before the jug on p4 broke.
It is the original escape though.
Before you call it an easy read, send someone in there with no beta and no book, see what happens. Watched a guy who is a known mountaineer and been up WS a few times get confused on p5 cause of running water.
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Aya
Trad climber
New York
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Aug 11, 2006 - 10:35am PT
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No guess I won't know "the other feeling". Woe is me. Also, I guess I didn't climb the "original" Original Route. Goodness!
All things considered, I didn't think OR wasn't that great of a route specifically because it DIDN'T really follow any obvious natural lines, etc. It's not very aesthetically pleasing, and you certainly never feel particularly exposed or anything despite climbing on a nearly 1000' face.
Without a topo? I agree, I'd never call it an "easy read" exactly because of what I just mentioned.
With one? No problem.
Besides, in the context of this thread, I don't imagine that a newbie to the area looking for moderate climbs is likely to go in to Whitesides to try to find the OR without a topo. But hey, kudos to you for knowing a guide and knowing a known mountaineer who got lost!
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craig510a3
Trad climber
Asheville, NC
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Aug 16, 2006 - 08:39am PT
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We just moved to Chapel Hill from Asheville. If your looking to get out to WNC give me a yell.
My wife Carrie works at Vertical Edges now. Introduce yourself. We are typically in together.
-Craig
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 16, 2006 - 10:18am PT
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Nice Aya.
Guess how long it took to do the OR once upon a time?
Um, it follows what's there, the weakest way up. That's usually what original routes do.
Honestly, I would bet that in the very beginning the 5.5ish bit to the far right was how people went, but that is a guess. People still do it that way today in fact.
The guy who got lost for a minute did so because there was running water all over the pitch.
NO exposure on the OR? not even when you swing your butt out and around on the crescent pitch not once but twice? Hmm, did you lead that pitch?
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 16, 2006 - 11:04am PT
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How many routes on the 'Sides follow any kind of (non-horizontal) natural feature, anyhow? It's just not the nature of the beast. There's a few corner systems on a few pitches, and that's about it. When you look at the older, more 'natural' lines, they all feature huge traverses (ever been on New D? How about Stegg's no-bolt odyssey?) It seems like the most direct lines have the most bolts- forced, in a way. If the obvious natural line is your primary aesthetic criterion, you're probably on the wrong crag.
You know what I like about Whitesides? Rock that will go just about anywhere you choose to climb, pulling bulges way off the deck, the arcing sweep or the cliff off towards Raven Rock, the smell of galax in low pressure, damp air, a palpable sense of bold history moldering in the rhodies. Acres of climbable rock. Peregrines. The frisson of commitment upon looking down at the rope, clipped to nothing, disappearing down over the curve of a bulge. Someday I'll boulder really hard for a few months, get solid on mindbending runouts, and go back to climb some of the real routes there.
Full Disclosure: my experience is limited to four routes over on the easy side.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 16, 2006 - 11:17am PT
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Arno in Dollywood (big jugs, wild rides).
red=Arm and Hammer; blue =Last of the Dixie Trads. To the L is the Vol Wall; to R, New D. Photo by Shull.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 16, 2006 - 12:47pm PT
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Hey sketch, I see you are still a wretch!
How about you go fvck yourself, like you usually do?
Ask Corbett if I've done the route, that is, if he will talk to a jerkoff like you.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 16, 2006 - 12:47pm PT
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Hi sketch, I see you are still a wretch!
Had your head out of your ass lately?
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KEK
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2006 - 12:53pm PT
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Awesome info thanks so much!
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Aug 16, 2006 - 01:12pm PT
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Hit a nerve? Haha you stupid cow, you'be been nothing but a snide, nasty buttplug ever since you started posting in the SCC.
Tell me, MR Wretch, what exactly have you ever done for climbing besides be a turd in the punchbowl?
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 16, 2006 - 01:28pm PT
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RE: 2.) Also what are some moderate routes to start on?
OK, in Linville Gorge, which isn't too terribly far away--
You should climb the North Ridge of Table Rock, 5.5 or so, and probably the best line on the whole formation. Left of this is White Lightning, 5.8, another classic. Both of these are on the shady side and are nice for the next few months. My Route (5.6) is a nice line on the E. Face that should not be missed. I'd round out the TR day with Second Stanza, 5.8, also in the neighborhood.
The trick with all of these is getting back to the start, as the walk-off via the regular trail takes forever, and doing it 4 times could eat up your whole day. You should investigate coming back around the NW side via the Devil's Cellar, which will bring you back to the N Ridge in about half the time once you get it sussed out. A right turn at one of the many switchbacks on the way down will get you there, but don't count on nailng it the first time. I also like to downclimb Two Pitch, a 5.4 chimney on the S end of the formation, which cuts off a bunch of trail and feels more like climbing than hiking along with the tourons. Hard to find as well but worth the effort.
If you arrive late in the day, or have time for one more pitch, locate Stella By Starlight, 5.8+, on Little Table Rock. Good climbing, great views, no traffic. Also good: Slippin'/Helmet, Blood Sweat & Tears, Cracker Jack.
The Ampitheater has a few moderates that I love: the Daddy tops the list; the Mummy is good as well; the Prow, 5.4, is a longish alpine-style affair that most find worth doing once.
Down on the NC Wall I would catch the Bumblebee Buttress, possibly the best 5.8 in the state?
If you have time to get out to Shortoff (45 min approach+longish dirt road), there's a bunch of good stuff in the 5.8-5.9 range. There's a spring on top (!) where you camp that runs when it's been wet out; I hear this summer has been dry so maybe ask around about this one before you commit to a weekend there. Anyhow it's lovely and remote, you camp on top of the 400' wall where some good routes top out so it's easy to climb a route, eat lunch in camp, climb another, etc. 1 rope.
Not to be missed at Shortoff: Dopey Duck, the most exhilarating 5.9 climb east of T&B at the Glass; Maginot Line, the best 5.7 (+) in the state; Paradise Alley.8+. Consider Lichen Express if 5.10 fingers is in the game plan, and look for a steep white corner to the right for a great topout pitch. Built to Tilt (10+) in the Tilted World has a pretty intimidating opening move which pretty much succumbs to brute thuggery once you decide to go for it.
So that's the Gorge. Oh yeah, some good stuff on the Hawksbill if you like the steep stuff. The Traverse is amazing, and you want a lot of 3-4" pro for it.
Shiprock is nice in the summer; it's at 5000' so it's cooler, and subject to thunderstorms. Just about everything there is good. KB Capers 5.9, Boardwalk, Edge of a Dream .7 stick out.
Moore's is closer, day-trip range. You'll get that figured out quick. Zoo View is the other best 5.7 in NC, don't miss it. Best to have your endurance game on for these things, it's steep!
Stone Mountain is not a summer crag. S-facing slab forever.
Have fun and enjoy the magic out there!
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 16, 2006 - 01:28pm PT
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PS
maybe you two should take this elsewhere.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 16, 2006 - 01:40pm PT
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chil-DREN...!
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The Mad Irishman
Trad climber
VA alpine capital of the world
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Aug 21, 2006 - 09:16pm PT
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Anyone intersted in climbing at Looking Glass on Labor day weekend? Glass Menagerie or Rowins route would be fun. Any aid would be great. I've climbed a few of the routes on the north side but it's been a while.
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DixieGal
Trad climber
NC
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Aug 21, 2006 - 10:15pm PT
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North Carolina has perhaps the best rock climbing in the Eastern
United States, though a few climbers from New Hampshire may put
up some objections. Basically there is a great variety of climbing, different types of rock (mostly granite and quartzite),
different types of climbing (from slabs at Stone Mountain and
Big Green Mountain to really steep overhangs at Moore's Wall and
parts of the Linville Gorge). Looking Glass is one of the finest
crags in the Eastern US, with all kinds of different climbing
(eyebrows, slabs, faces, cracks, and a variety of aid lines).
However, Looking Glass is only one crag among many.
The closest good crag from Chapel Hill is Moore's Wall. Avoid
Pilot Mountain and Crowder's Mountain (both pieces of sh#t,
relative to the good stuff). Stone Mountain has excellent
friction. In the Linville Gorge, the places to go are Shortoff,
the NC Wall and Hawksbill (avoid Table Rock). Whitesides is
definitely great, most routes here are "serious". Big Green is
a scary crag (to be visited after getting really good at friction
climbing). There are a couple of good smaller crags scattered
here and there (e.g. Cedar Rock near Looking Glass, Ship Rock
on the Blue Ridge Parkway). Really good winter climbing on
impeccable granite is to be had at Rumbling Bald. All these
crags are described in Harrison Shull/Yon Lambert's guidebook.
Check out the CCC website as well.
If you are willing to cross the NC border there is excellent
sandstone in neighbouring Tennessee (Tennessee Wall in winter).
The best places in West Virginia are Seneca Rocks and the New
River Gorge. North of this, the closest good stuff is at the
Gunks in New York. So basically, it's pretty good in NC, and
less than 2 hours to the excellent quartzite overhangs of
Moore's Wall, which should be your first pilgrimage.
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dmalloy
Trad climber
eastside
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Aug 22, 2006 - 12:30am PT
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from Chapel Hill, you got your summer crag - Moore's Wall - and your winter crags - Sauratown and Pilot Mt. I would agree with whoever said Pilot is darn fine for being so reachable - not the greatest crag in the world, but some fine topropes and a big handful of good leads as well. In the winter sun, Pilot is great, but cold days are....brrrrr.
Good moderate routes at Moore's abound - Zoo View, Air Show (5.8+, so at the far end of moderate), Washboard, Golden Earring and Wailing Wall (5.6 but steep and exposed). Routfinding on all of those is....worthy of attention. Quartzite is great stone, but takes some getting used to. Finding a partner with some local experience would be a good idea if you don't feel up to getting out on the sharp end and learning as you go.
Sauratown has the benefit of a steep uphill hike, so you are warm when you get to the crag, but if the wind is blowing, watch out. However, I enjoyed many winter cragging days in short sleeves there when I lived in Durham. Dunno where topos are available these days, I had an old one pulled off the web but it is probably buried someplace now.
There used to be a fair number of climbers who hit the Chapel Hill Community Center on the climbing nights, but I have no idea of the current scene.
All the mountain stuff...you'll get there, and you'll love it. Shiprock, Looking Glass, Stone, the Boone bouldering, Rumbling Bald, Linville Gorge, lots of quality and a variety of experiences available at each. You should get psyched and get strong now, because after you enjoy the fall weather and colors, the other three seasons are going to pale in comparison.
Maybe I would still live in NC if my last spring there had not consisted of three months of rehab from knee surgery, followed by three months of rain when I was finally able to climb. And I mean three months of rain every stinking weekend, so it was impossible to get out.
Also, the New is only 4 hours away - perfect for weekend trips.
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Ultrabiker
Ice climber
Eastside
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Aug 22, 2006 - 08:45am PT
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I sure do miss NC!!! Miss the 5.10+ 120' "Run Outs" of Stone and the A4 "Eyebrow's" of LG. Oh, and the quietness (and thin Ice when it forms) of Cedar Rock!
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TIM SHEA
Trad climber
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA
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Aug 22, 2006 - 09:43am PT
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Living in Florida I appreciate North Carolina climbing very much. In my opinion it offers the best quanity and quality of trad climbing E of the Mississippi. The OR on whitsides is an excellent adventure, and mind you hard climbers this is the easiest climb on Whiteside (and now laurel knob), Looking Glass, Linville gorge, Stone Mt (you like slab?), Moores Wall, and all the smaller places. It's like a mini California on the East coast. My favorite climbing destination will always be California. But on he east coast N Carolina is hard to beat.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Aug 22, 2006 - 11:01am PT
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The thrill of stealth ascents is possibly the one area where southeastern climbers have an edge on the Californians...
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Aug 22, 2006 - 03:12pm PT
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North Carolina has perhaps the best rock climbing in the Eastern United States...from slabs at Stone Mountain...
...really steep overhangs at Moore's Wall...
and parts of the Linville Gorge...
Looking Glass is one of the finest...
A North Carolina appreciation thread!
-Brian in SLC
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The Alpine
Big Wall climber
Tampa, FL
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Oct 17, 2008 - 04:34pm PT
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Sooo good.
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