Best SEastern Route(s)...

Rob Dillon wrote:Oh yeah Pinball Wizard! And let's not forget the Maginot Line, and 'Help Mr. Wizard', anyone ever do that thing? Coz, come visit. I'm living pretty close to some sheer cliffs that are perfect for scaling.

Help Mr. Wizard - I stared at that thing every time I went down to Shortoff. Was never brave enough... Right next door, though, I'd add 'The Dancing Outlaw'. Kind of sandbag at 5.10c, but cool moves, and the P2 roof is the kind of thing you only get at Shortoff.

And Rob, I'd love to come visit. I just graduated after returning to finish my undergrad degree, and am applying to grad school/jobs. If I can find a way to afford the travel, I would LOVE to head your way...

Its really hard to say what is the best climb in the southeast because there are so many classics, but I think we can all agree on who the coolest climber in the southeast is.....thats right...ME.

Rambling...To me, OR at Whitesides is a choss pile. Dopey Duck is awesome, but so are most of the climbs at Shortoff.. Shredded Wheat is very nice, but too short to be classic. Cornflake qualifies much better. The first 2/3's of the first pitch of Safari Jive is fantastic even though the traverse afterwards is a bit scary. Rat's Ass is great. Recently, I discovered Ghosttown...that place has some fantastic cragging. The Nose is overrated. Dinkus Dog is phenomenal. Wild Hickory Nuts is super good. Cereal Buttress deserves its crowds...those climbs are all great. I've attempted Zoo View thrice without success due to weather or crowds, so I'm waiting on the best 5.7 in NC.

Dinkus Dog, that's the one I'm thinking of. Yeah.

Chosspile is a strong word. Slabby, wandery, too hot, too wet...these I will grant you. It does seem that the steeper things get on the 'Sides, the more likely they are to actually feature the choss.

Coz, when you accept the reality that all that fancy education just overqualifies you to sit out the recession in a job-fair line like the rest of us, we'll be waiting for ya. Travel is cheaper than rent.

I'll chime in so I can avoid work.

Some of my favorites in the South:
LRC:
The Lion
Toomsooba
Stealth
Silverback

Fosters:
Satisfaction
The Big Empty
Wristlets

TWall:
Twistin' in the Wind
Sugar in the Raw
Mrs Socrates
Open Casket

Whitesides:
The Matrix
Traditions

The Obed:
Alpine Dihedral
Born on the 4th of July
Tierrany
Rage

The Red:
The Inhibitor
Racer X
The 11 wall at Torrent
The 12 wall at Military
Orange Juice
Resurrection
Shanghai
The Force
so many more there...

Rob Dillon wrote:Coz, when you accept the reality that all that fancy education just overqualifies you to sit out the recession in a job-fair line like the rest of us, we'll be waiting for ya. Travel is cheaper than rent.

Admittedly this is a bit of thread drift, but... according to a recent NYT columnist, unemployment rate among those with a college degree is currently at 4.8%, as compared to the larger population, where it is ~8%. Not all that surprising, since the recession hits manufacturing/construction jobs before management jobs. But, I do think that if I'm going to be unemployed, I might as well be investing in my future, so that I can earn a higher salary when this thing is all over.

Of course, I still haven't decided if I want the lifestyle that goes along with those fancy degrees.... I much prefer climbing to working...

Maybe I'm a bit harsh on OR, but jeez there's a lot of loose rocks on that thing. I was actually on it last weekend and did the first 5 pitches before being turned back by a waterfall at the Crescent Pitch (It was 60 degrees out and Starshine actually looked climbable). The top pitches are a bit cleaner, I know, but those first 4 in particular are pretty bad. The first pitch (if done far to the right and not up the scary slab to the bolt) is basically just a 5.5 scramble over a couple of exfoliating flakes. Then you walk left on a big dirty ledge until you reach some more flakes just waiting to break off. Climb those and then scramble to the anchor. Scramble up another dirty ledge and do 20 feet of actual good climbing to some more dirty rock wrestling. The 5.9 (5.10+) start of pitch 4 is good, but again, it's only good for like 20 feet. The bolt ladder is kind of a three move wonder and then some more scrambling. Then there's the dirty traverse to the right and then up the brushy slabs. The scenery is nice, I reckon, but I just don't think that route is that nice. It reminds me of a sort of shorter Royal Arches in Yosemite: a whole bunch of easy climbing and scrambling and ledge walking with a few real moves thrown in.

Okay, I will procrastinate and play. Not sure if these are the best or my favorites but here they are (in no particular order):

RRG - Rock Wars, Fuzzy Undercling
Seneca - Marshall Madness to Crack of Dawn (1 long pitch), Cotton Mouth
NRG - Handsome and Well-Hung, Remission, Raging Waters, and anything else at Endless is pretty damn classic
Shortoff - Straight and Narrow, Dopey Duck and Julia
NC Wall - Bumblebee Buttress
LG - Hyperbola (probably the best single pitch I have done there), Nose is a classic
RB - Shredded Wheat, Lakeview
Whitesides - OR (finishing on Traditions)
LK - Fathom
T-Wall - Atom Smasher, Margin of Profit, Golden Locks, Open Casket, Precious Orr, Art, Pre for Excellence, In Pursuit of Excellence, Points o Contact ...to many others to list...can't think of too many bad ones
Sunset - Flagstone, R.J. Gold, Scream Wall
Jamestown - Medusa Tree, The Arch, Pumpkin Patches
TG - Punk Wave, Flying Frog - probably the best routes in GA

All these come to mind as "great" or "best" for various reasons...locations, exposure, moves, company, etc...

Can't wait for two more weeks...spring break... Big Green, Laurel Knob, Stone Mountain and NRG...yeah boy! More classics coming my way!

Sometimes I think about growing up in North Carolina and I start to miss all the rad climbing and warm beaches (not to forget the Wrightsville Beach girls). Then I think back to 10 years of driving to Boone NC (Grandmother, Blowing Rock, Shiprock), Wartburg TN (Obed), Knoxville TN (LRC, Foster Falls), and the RRG in Kentucky and think, "Damn I'm glad I finally moved to Colorado!!!" I've been rained out of 70-80% of my climbing trips. You guys can keep all your rain, humidity, ticks, copperheads, and yellow jackets and I'll be climbing in perfect weather in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah and day.

Since I've moved here I've learned the value of being able to get on Sandstone, Granite, Ice, Limestone, and Basalt 7 days a week with anywhere from 10 mins to 2.5 hrs drive with a min of 300 days per year. If it rains here it lasts 5 mins. If it does rain for an extended amt of time I've still been able to climb a full downpour in Rifle without the holds getting slimy. Yeah you can climb at the Coliseum, Motherload, Stephen King Library, etc in the rain in the SE, but it's slimy and shitty.

The bottom line is eventually most people figure this out and move to CO and UT. If the humidity doesn't do it for you the water shortages in the SE will. Here's another 150 reasons: Colorado Local Breweries!!!

Dunno if ya'll consider Stone Mountain NC the south but Mercury's Lead 5.9+ R is the way we used to climb

I still have a lot of routes to climb to call anything the best but here are some that have stuck out so far...

Central Pillar at Laurel Knob

Edge of a Dream at Ship Rock

Punk Wave at Tallulah

The Daddy at the Amphitheater

Dodge City at Sunset

Knife Crack at Griffin

Joey Wolfe wrote:Knife Crack at Griffin

if only it were a bit longer.

Ben Lyon wrote: if only it were a bit longer.

I thought it was pretty decent length for a sandstone finger crack, the only other one I've seen in the SE is Finger Locking Good and the finger section is shorter than the biz on Knife Crack, oh and the top of Pigs in Space but it is flared and way short. But yeah, Knife Crack would be a mega classic if it was longer than ~60 feet. Know of any other moderate (= or > 10) finger cracks around TAG

I'm not saying because I don't want more people going there.

WWWaaaaaaHHHHHHaaaaaaaHHHAAAAAA (evil laugh)

RadDawg wrote:I'm not saying because I don't want more people going there. WWWaaaaaaHHHHHHaaaaaaaHHHAAAAAA (evil laugh)

You can't keep Allenbrook secret forever . . .

JL

Yep Allebrook is a real gem. If you like there come try the bolted road blast of South Fulton Hwy.