To North Carolina for Climbing
For the longest time, I have been making fun of my friends in North Carolina for actually having to drive to go climbing. After my trip out there, I still feel like they drive a lot, but there is some amazing climbing o
ut there. Since I was only there for a short period of time, Scott made sure I got on a few of the classics. I just so happened to be traveling while the leaves where changing so it was a very beautiful trip. It sure was amazing to see all the colors. They don't have the magnificent Utah mountains in their backyards, but they definitely beat us on the colors this time of year. We have the mountains all year around whereas they only have the colors for a short period of time....we win!
Friday we went to Moore's Wall in North Carolina. The rock was some quality metamo
rphic quartzite. It felt great to the touch and it looked amazing! Scott put up Zoo View (5, 7+) a two pitch trad route with a fantastic view of the countryside. The first pitch was easy fun and the second was still easy with a small roof and all around quality climbing. Later that day, we got on Quaker State (11a) and I top-roped it. It was a face climb with some fun tricky moves.
After a great day at Moore's, we drove through Virginia, up to West Virginia to climb at the New River Gorge on Saturday. After much debate, we went to the Endless Wall at the New. Gina and I header over to Euro-Nation (11c, unless you use the tree start like we did which makes it 10-) and we both red-pointed the semi-run-out face climb. It is suppose to be kinda classic but I was not super impressed. It was fun, but not amazing. Next I top-roped a trad route Scott put up called Raging Waters (11a). Even though all the climbs we got on were high quality, this one was super fantastic. I can't wait to work on my trad leading so I can red-point this route. Lastly for the day, I headed over to Little Help From My Friends (10a) and on-sighted it. This was very exciting for me since it was a slab climb (hard), and I had not on-sighted anything this hard. It was a great way to end the day at the New. After climbing, we ate at Pies and Pints. This was very exciting since I had heard about it so much from Alex. The food was delicious and the company was even better.
Sunday we all headed to Summersville Lake to climb. I was not super excited with the start of the day, but it ended up being a perfect day on the rock. I started off top-roping For What? (10a) and didn't care for it all that much. I was told I need to lead it to really appreciate the two run-out sections near the top. Then I red pointed an easy 9 that I don't remember the name of. I was then led over to take a look at Satisfaction Guaranteed (11a/b). It had a bouldery start, then a technical face followed by a big roof and finishing off with a slopey section. It was a little daunting so Gina and Scott took me over to Make Way For Dyklings (10a) which I red-pointed. Then I had to do what needed to be done...it was time to get some 'Satisfaction'. I belayed Gina and tried to take all the mental notes I could, but there were just too many moves to remember (plus it didn't help me much since she is only 5'2"). Scott told me if I didn't lead it, he was going to send a bad report to Alex so it had to be done. I ended up flashing it with a lot of beta from Gina along the way. It was soooo amazing. Each section had its own unique feel and challenges. I have never climbed anything like it so this was very satisfying for me (hence the name). I wasn't planning on red-pointing anything while I was traveling since I have been pretty week in the recent past but I was very happy to have grown the balls to actually do it. To end the day we headed over to Narcissus (12a) and I only climbed to the second bold on top-rope.
The hikes for all three places I went to this weekend were super long compared to hiking to Utah crags. I guess this is just another thing to add to my list of things I can make fun of my NC friends for.
All the climbing and hanging out with friends was a ton of fun this weekend. When I take Daria back to Florida after Christmas, I am heading on to Alabama to do some more climbing at Horse Pens, a bouldering area. I love bouldering so I am very excited to try out a new place.
ut there. Since I was only there for a short period of time, Scott made sure I got on a few of the classics. I just so happened to be traveling while the leaves where changing so it was a very beautiful trip. It sure was amazing to see all the colors. They don't have the magnificent Utah mountains in their backyards, but they definitely beat us on the colors this time of year. We have the mountains all year around whereas they only have the colors for a short period of time....we win!Friday we went to Moore's Wall in North Carolina. The rock was some quality metamo
rphic quartzite. It felt great to the touch and it looked amazing! Scott put up Zoo View (5, 7+) a two pitch trad route with a fantastic view of the countryside. The first pitch was easy fun and the second was still easy with a small roof and all around quality climbing. Later that day, we got on Quaker State (11a) and I top-roped it. It was a face climb with some fun tricky moves. After a great day at Moore's, we drove through Virginia, up to West Virginia to climb at the New River Gorge on Saturday. After much debate, we went to the Endless Wall at the New. Gina and I header over to Euro-Nation (11c, unless you use the tree start like we did which makes it 10-) and we both red-pointed the semi-run-out face climb. It is suppose to be kinda classic but I was not super impressed. It was fun, but not amazing. Next I top-roped a trad route Scott put up called Raging Waters (11a). Even though all the climbs we got on were high quality, this one was super fantastic. I can't wait to work on my trad leading so I can red-point this route. Lastly for the day, I headed over to Little Help From My Friends (10a) and on-sighted it. This was very exciting for me since it was a slab climb (hard), and I had not on-sighted anything this hard. It was a great way to end the day at the New. After climbing, we ate at Pies and Pints. This was very exciting since I had heard about it so much from Alex. The food was delicious and the company was even better.
Sunday we all headed to Summersville Lake to climb. I was not super excited with the start of the day, but it ended up being a perfect day on the rock. I started off top-roping For What? (10a) and didn't care for it all that much. I was told I need to lead it to really appreciate the two run-out sections near the top. Then I red pointed an easy 9 that I don't remember the name of. I was then led over to take a look at Satisfaction Guaranteed (11a/b). It had a bouldery start, then a technical face followed by a big roof and finishing off with a slopey section. It was a little daunting so Gina and Scott took me over to Make Way For Dyklings (10a) which I red-pointed. Then I had to do what needed to be done...it was time to get some 'Satisfaction'. I belayed Gina and tried to take all the mental notes I could, but there were just too many moves to remember (plus it didn't help me much since she is only 5'2"). Scott told me if I didn't lead it, he was going to send a bad report to Alex so it had to be done. I ended up flashing it with a lot of beta from Gina along the way. It was soooo amazing. Each section had its own unique feel and challenges. I have never climbed anything like it so this was very satisfying for me (hence the name). I wasn't planning on red-pointing anything while I was traveling since I have been pretty week in the recent past but I was very happy to have grown the balls to actually do it. To end the day we headed over to Narcissus (12a) and I only climbed to the second bold on top-rope.
The hikes for all three places I went to this weekend were super long compared to hiking to Utah crags. I guess this is just another thing to add to my list of things I can make fun of my NC friends for.
All the climbing and hanging out with friends was a ton of fun this weekend. When I take Daria back to Florida after Christmas, I am heading on to Alabama to do some more climbing at Horse Pens, a bouldering area. I love bouldering so I am very excited to try out a new place.
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