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[TR] North Carolina - Stone Mountain & Looking Glass Rock 12/18/2008


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Trip: North Carolina - Stone Mountain & Looking Glass Rock

 

Date: 12/18/2008

 

Trip Report:

Since you Northwesterners are currently experiencing excellent wallowing conditions in the hills, I though you'd appreciate some shots of the good winter climbing to be had in the south-east.

 

After moving from Seattle to Fayetteville, NC, memories of climbing throughout the Cascades could sustain me only for so long: I needed to get out, feel the rock passing under my fingers, and breathe that mountain air.

 

Derek is one of those gym-bred climbers, and was stoked to get out and try his luck on some of the state's classic cliffs. The requisite 3 to 5 hour drives have conspired with the short winter days to compel us to pick the most classic climbs for our finite free time. Here follows a sampling of two popular crags: Stone Mountain and Looking Glass Rock.

 

Stone Mountain

December 4th and 13th

 

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The Great Arch (5.5) Follow the uber-clean layback crack for 3 pitches to the top!

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The Great White Way (5.9 3p) Classic climbing up a steep water groove

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Yardarm (5.8 3p) Runout climbing on some of the more featured terrain at Stone

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Looking Glass Rock

December 18th

 

Recent rain limited our route options to The Nose (5.8 4p), hailed as the most classic/popular route east of the Mississippi. Great day, especially since we were climbing on the route's 40th anniversary!

 

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Fun stuff, but I'd take wallowing in the Cascades anyday!

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I assume the routes are bolted?

 

Stone Mountain, like most slab climbing areas, sports bolts across its breath, but only when natural spots do not present themselves. Local guidebook authors say this about Stone: " Climbing here is more about mind control than brute strength." Most of the routes here were put up ground up and onsite, hence the bolted routes are fairly run-out. No Alternative, which we climbed in the face of an approaching storm (it caught us on the descent) features one bolt on its 150' 5.6 second pitch. Great White Way has 5 bolts (not including belays) in its three pitches. The Nose, at Looking Glass, is traditionally protected.

 

O yeah, hey Pete :wave:! Yep, pretty crazy approaches!

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marko-those features are commonly referred to by southeren craggers as "eyebrows" a unique feature to this venue,possibly others- a sloper on the down side with a undercut pocet topside allowing TRICAMS to take priority on the rack as the work well in the active position.

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