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Asheville, NC - Recommended climbing? Partners?


Alpinfox

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Howdy ya'll,

I'll be in Asheville, NC for a cousin's wedding from Apr.22-27 (I think those are the dates) and if there is climbing to be had around there, I wanna "had" me some. Recommendations? Is it worth stinking up my nice wedding clothes by throwing the rock shoes in my luggage? Anybody in that area, or gonna be in that area, that might wanna show a Cascade climber how cool appalachian climbing can be? I don't know what kind of transportation options I will have and I'm not sure of my exact schedule, but I'm sure I could squeeze a two or three day trip in there somewhere.

 

Cheers.

 

wave.gif

 

p.s. If you read this and want to contact me, but don't want to register on cc.com (I don't blame you, everyone here is a bunch o' wankers and whiners anyway yellaf.gif) then email me at alpinfox(at)yahoo(dot)com. I check that account periodically.

 

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How far are you willing to go? There is alot of good climbing and bouldering in the south. I spent about 3 months there a few years ago just travelling around and checking out the ice climbing, skiing and rock climbing in some unlikely locations. Tennessee Wall and Rocktown are pretty cool options. Moores wall and some areas up near Boone are good options for shorter trips.

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How far are you willing to go?

 

I don't know if I will be able to borrow a car yet. If I can get wheels, I'll drive a few hours (up to 4 say?) for good climbing. I'd prefer to do roped climbs, but if I can't find partners, I'll do some bouldering.

 

...ice climbing...
Really!?!??! hellno3d.gif Surely not in April, but I'm surprised there is any at all in Appaliachia!
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How far are you willing to go?

 

I don't know if I will be able to borrow a car yet. If I can get wheels, I'll drive a few hours (up to 4 say?) for good climbing. I'd prefer to do roped climbs, but if I can't find partners, I'll do some bouldering.

 

...ice climbing...
Really!?!??! hellno3d.gif Surely not in April, but I'm surprised there is any at all in Appaliachia!

 

There is ice down there at times, but not in April, and not every year.

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Whitesides, near Brevard, NC (big wall)

Stone Mountain, NC (bolted multi-pitch sport)

Looking Glass, also near Brevard, NC (just too awesome! trad, sport, and aid)

Moore's Wall, NC (been mentioned)

 

Search the net for Tim Toula's Rock-n-Road on-line guide to get the driving beta and route info, or buy it here.

 

Have fun, ya bastard. I started climbing on those crags when I was at school at VA Tech. First big wall was Whitesides Original Route. Yummmmmmm.

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Yo Alpinfox, if you got a car you should check out Rocktown north of Atlanta about 2 hours from Asheville. There is a ton of good sandstone bouldering. HP40 south in Alabama is suppose to be good bouldering too. In North Carolina, Looking Glass has long multi-pitch granite climbing. From easy slab to Steep free aid lines. In Tenn. check out the T-Wall for single pitch stout trad lines. If you were into mountain biking, I'd say leave the climbing shit behind an bring a mountain bike, Asheville is one of the new hotspots for mountain biking, I believe Outward Bound bases there mountain biking program out Asheville.

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Shit AlpinFox, is there any climbing near Asheville...are you kidding? And yeah, there's rad ice in the SE too, not in late April, but there's a reliable season down there.

solidliquid01a.jpg

 

I'd check out one of these in order of preference for a first timer:

 

Looking Glass Rock: Close to Asheville, right by Brevard (maybe 30 minutes to the rock from A-ville). Multi-pitch trad routes on bomber granite with the trademark funky "eyebrow" features. About 500ft routes to the top of the dome. Take plenty of small tcus, a normal selection of cams and wires, good smearing shoes, and calm nerves. Also big wall style aid routes on the north side with some full value A4+. This place is great, be aware that the approach to different sides start in different places. Recommended routes: The Nose 5.8, Tits and Beer 5.9, Cornflake Crack 5.11a (highly recommended), Glass Menagerie IV 5.11 A2 or 5.13 (all three star routes in anyone's book). All these are about 4-5 pitches.

 

Glass Menagerie's 3rd belay

gmpic_4.jpg

 

Whitesides: About 45 min west of Brevard. THE hardman cliff of the SE. 600ft, notorious for hard, runout, scary climbing. Original Route - Checks in at about .11- or .10c A1. The first pitch, runout 5.7 friction...about 1 piece of gear in the pitch, will wake you up for what's to come.

Looking up the first pitch of the Original Route

l_whiteside_or.JPG

 

I believe cc.com poster johnny is down there near Winston Salem?, RobBob is somewhere over there too. Check out http://www.southeastclimbing.com for good beta on routes, directions, etc. There is tons of good stuff in the Linville Gorge area, but it's a little ways from Asheville and has Peregrine closures at some cliffs too. Have fun, and drink some sweet tea...or better yet some shine.

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I used to work near Asheville. If I hadn't moved to Seattle I would have stayed there. Tips for stuff to do in Asheville:

 

Eat at Salsa's, an excellent Caribbean restaurant right downtown. Their food is SO GOOD!!!

 

Another place worth visiting is Barlee's, a brewpub with giant calzones and, uh, 20(?) beers on tap. Damn good.

 

I recommend Looking Glass, as well. Spent a lot of time there, the routes are spectacular. My climbing mentor still lives in Asheville. The guy is 60+ years old and still putting up new routes! He put up The Nose on LGR in 1966. Pretty cool guy. Email him (Steve Longenecker) and tell him Jimbo from Falling Creek sent you. He may not have the time to rope up with you, but he knows the area and the scene like nobody else, so he can at least give you some good current suggestions. His address is sfl(at)ioa(dot)com

 

Have fun!

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WOW! Thanks a lot everybody!

 

Assuming I can smuggle my biohazardous climbing shoes onto the plane, it looks like I will have some climbing options.

 

MisterE has warned me about sketchy protection in those "eyebrow" features at LGR, so if I go there I think I'll start with a non-challenging route. Can anyone recommend any hot 4th class routes? yellaf.gif

 

Thanks again for the suggestions and I'll pursue some of the contact info you guys provided when I have a better idea of what my schedule and transportation situation is going to be.

 

Cheers.

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For sure check out Barley's Taproom as Fromage suggests. It's downtown in Asheville, on Biltmore St. They had 40+ ales on tap last time I was there. And they have nice pool tables/darts/hottie granola chicks upstairs.thumbs_up.gif

 

The current on-tap list:

 

Beers in the downstairs bar:

Amstel Light - Holland

Anchor Liberty Ale - CA, USA

Anchor Porter - CA, USA

Anderson Valley Belk's E.S.B. - CA, USA

Bass Ale - England

Brooklyn Lager - NY, USA

Catawba Valley Brown Bear Ale - NC, USA

Catawba Valley Firewater IPA - NC, USA

Cottonwood Almond Stout - NC, USA

Dogwood Bock Lager - GA, USA

Fosters Lager - Australia

Franziskaner Hefe-Weiss - Germany

French Broad 13 Rebels E.S.B. - NC, USA

French Broad Goldenrod Pilsner - NC, USA

Grolsch - Holland

Guinness - Ireland

Hardcore Cider - OH, USA

Harp Lager - Ireland

Highland Gaelic Ale - NC, USA

Highland Oatmeal Porter - NC, USA

Hoegaarden White - Belgium

Horniblow's Tavern American Ale - NC, USA

Joseph Hewes Revolutionary Ale - NC, USA

Kaliber N/A - England

Lindemans Framboise Lambic - Belgium

Lindemans Kriek Lambic - Belgium

Lindemans Peche Lambic - Belgium

Lost Coast 8-Ball Stout - CA, USA

Lost Coast Raspberry Brown - CA, USA

Negra Modelo - Mexico

Newcastle Brown Ale - England

Old Speckled Hen - England

Pilsner Urquell - Czech Republic

Pyramid Apricot Ale - WA, USA

Pyramid Coastline Pilsner - WA, USA

Pyramid Hefeweizen Ale - WA, USA

Red Stripe Lager - Jamaica

Rhinebecker Extra (low carb) - Germany

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar - OR, USA

Rogue Saint Red - OR, USA

Sam Adams Boston Lager - MA, USA

Sam Adams Light - MA, USA

Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale - England

Shiner Bock - TX, USA

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - CA, USA

Sierra Nevada Porter - CA, USA

Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale - GA, USA

Tilburg's Dutch Brown Ale - Holland

Weihenstephaner Dark Hefe-Weissbier - Germany

 

Beers in the upstairs bar:

Abita Purple Haze - LA, USA

Abita Turbo Dog Dark Lager - LA, USA

Carolina Blonde - NC, USA

Catawba Valley Firewater IPA - NC, USA

Catawba Valley Honest Injun Stout - NC, USA

Catawba Valley Indian Head Red - ND, USA

Dogwood Bock Lager - GA, USA

French Broad Wee-Heavy Scotch Ale - NC, USA

Guinness - Ireland

Hardcore Cider - OH, USA

Helles Angel Golden Lager - NC, USA

Highland Mocha Stout - NC, USA

Highland St. Terese's Pale Ale - NC, USA

Left Hand Black Jack Porter - CO, USA

Rogue Brutal Bitter - OR, USA

Rogue Dead Guy Ale - OR, USA

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - CA, USA

Thomas Creek Pilsner - SC, USA

Uncle Nut's Nut Brown Ale - NC, USA

Weihenstephaner Hefe-weiss - Germany

Weinstephaner Original Lager - Germany

Yuengling Traditional Lager - PA, USA

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Rocktown is pretty damn cool. A climbing oasis set in a nice southern pine forest. House sized boulders strewn about with amazing features and holds. Some are big enough to take a half-rope along.

 

Foster Falls, TN is another great place for tough sport routes. Its not far from the border of NC and GA.

 

But Looking Glass is definitely your best option for bumming around Asheville.

 

Mmmm, springtime in the south... sweet tea, sweet southern belles... laugh.gif

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Thanks for the beta everybody.

 

Salsa's thumbs_up.gif

Barley's thumbs_up.gif

Yuengling (or similarly spelled beer) thumbs_up.gif

 

Climbing confused.gif

 

Unfortunately I didn't get to do any climbing because there were too many wedding/family activites and I didn't have my own wheels. However, I got in lots of quality bigdrink.gifcheeburga_ron.gifbigdrink.gifbigdrink.gifbigdrink.giffruit.gifrockband.gifbigdrink.gifrockband.gifbigdrink.gifwave.giffruit.gifbigdrink.gifrockband.gifbigdrink.gif

 

Asheville is a very cool town with one of the best art scenes I have seen anywhere. I'd like to go back sometime and check out some of the climbing/rafting/kayaking/mtn biking, but I'm glad to be back in the PNW now.

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