Where to climb after Thxgvg, travel from New England south

We are trying to plan a trip for somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We want to leave RI and head south to climb in some warmer temps. I roughly saw we could goto RRG or Linville Gorge and expect ~50 Avg temps, or head down to T-wall/ foster/ sunset park and expect ~55 Avg temps. I know these are average so we could expect better or worse but we are playing the drive-time vs. temperature game, and we have to plan out in advance. (GF doesn't like the idea of climbing in the cold, but likes Ice, what the???)

So that leaves us roughly a 14 hr drive to Kentucky/ North Carolina or a 16 hr drive to Tennessee.

Anyone have any input on where to go, what to do, or ideas for the all around trip experience. Our goal is to climb, but want to have some fun wherever we go, expecting to stay 4-9 days. She likes sport I like trad. She climbs 5.8-5.9 onsight sport, I'm in the 5.7-5.8 range. I climb 5.6 trad looking to push this.

My knee-jerk thought is Sunset Park South, maybe foster falls so she can get on some sport. Your thoughts on these areas, surrounding areas, ability to setup a TR at these destinations, and finding the climbs (can we rent a guidebook)?

What I can tell you about TN/NC, having never been to the Red:

+ lotsa sunny options for clipping bolts and plugging gear around Chattanooga w/free camping, good eats, chill scene.
+TN is warmer than Linville Gorge, which might get a little challenging given the season, but lacking in the >half-rope routes department. If you got a warm and dry spell the NC options would break up your drive nicely.

-toproping is perhaps easiest at Sunset, but it's kinda shady there until the afternoon. Lots of stuff at the TWall is good to lead the 5.8., TR the harder thing. Foster's you're pretty much leading everything. NC is shite for top roping, not that people don't try.

+ Tell me you eat bacon

? I'd look at the weather immediately prior, and that might make your decision for you. It can be feasible to dodge weather by moving around. And then sometimes you end up in the rain, everywhere. Things have been a bit damp in the SE this fall.

Rumbling Bald is perfect in the winter. Weekends are crowded. You might not find an abundance of leads in your range but the bouldering is top notch at all grades.

Sunset will be too cold. It doesn't get much sun this time of year if any by December. T-Wall might be above your limit for trad leading. The easiest good stuff there starts around 7's, but it won't feel like 5.7. Leda is pretty cool for sport, TR, and trad. Just small location and not picturesque. Tennessee certainly has more sport than NC.

The Bald has already been mentioned, but the south face of Looking Glass is pretty good as well. The 5.6 trad limit is really going to be an issue every where you go. There is very little at that grade during the colder months.

Skip guidebooks and use the mountainproject app.

Stone would also put you near Pilot and Rocky Face, 2 other good cold weather crags with top-ropes and moderate leads. You could combine all of those for a pretty interesting trip and be within a reasonable drive to Looking Glass, where you would need to push your trad limit a touch (say to 5.7 / 5.8) in order to really get the most out of it.

Rocky Face: mountainproject.com/v/rocky…

Pilot: mountainproject.com/v/pilot…

Either area could be ok if you get some sun. There are sheltered south facing areas that you will be able to climb at. For me the bigger issue would be the very limited amount of daylight available at that time of you. You will be lucky to get 5-6 hours of climbing in a day - especially if there is an aversion to morning chill. You will have lots of time to kill in the evenings. There will be a lot more "civilized" things to do around Chattanooga then the RRG. But maybe your idea of fun is investigating the source of the banjo music in the woods - plenty of opportunity for that in the Red. Or you could just fly to Vegas and get the best (and worst) of both climbing and sloth.

I don't know if Stone Mountain would be my first choice to up the ante on leading levels. Stone is probably not my first choice for anything.

I think the Crowders/Pilot suggestions are probably best. Crowders will get sun for the first half of the day. It has TR, sport, and some trad (but not 5.6). Never been to Rocky Face, but it seems like a place to consider.

I've climbed in January at the Gunks before and didn't freeze my arse. I would skip the driving and spend my time climbing. Get a puffy jacket and put hand warmers in your chalk bag. Gunks has great trad routes in every grade, and most are easy to protect for new leaders. The Trapps get great sun.

cheers.
-chris

I would go on an adventure if you have the time / $$. Chatt is a great base for options in your reach. Gunks will be FN cold unless luck - which may turn south too.

Chat Steel or Dixie Craggers would / will be of use.

Jake Jones wrote: I agree. I was just throwing it out there to add to options.

I wasn't trying to give you grief. Just trying to emphasize my distaste for Stone Mountain. I heard the climbing there best described as being bored and scared at the same time.

Now the Gunks comment deserves some grief. "This one time in January, between epic New York snow storms, the high got up to 35F and the East facing wall got some glancing sun..." haha. Snow doesn't really happen in the south. If it does, it doesn't last. Much easier to plan a trip in the south during the winter. vimeo.com/9748348.

John Braun wrote:Rumbling Bald is perfect in the winter. Weekends are crowded. You might not find an abundance of leads in your range but the bouldering is top notch at all grades.

Rumbling Bald is the best bet. If the weather turns really nice you can drive down to Shortoff (not to be missed).

Whatever you do, don’t go to Rocky Face…ever. This is a great concept (no approach, convenient facilities, moderate grades), with TERRIBLE climbing. Poorly bolted choss. Period.

I vote the RRG or Chattanooga.

How many days do you have? If you're not looking to get there right away and set up camp and don't mind driving at night / car camping, you can hit places on the way and keep your plan very flexible and head to where the sun's shining.

Consider that on your drive to the red you'll pass by Safe Harbor - not that it compares to the red, but it's south facing and has plenty of slabby sport climbing to keep you two entertained for a day. It's a good winter climbing spot when the sun's out (but not if there are high winds from the west)

From there you could head down to Seneca and hit the east side in the morning and west side in the afternoon, following the sun. There is plenty of trad there in the grade you're comfortable with.

Then continue on from there to the red, new, old rag, or further south.

Edit to add Map to possible route

RRG to Chatt is a good option. Don't know much about the winter options though. Only issue I have with chattanooga is there isn't much multipitch (which might not be a bad thing), especially at your level. If I can have both single and multi I'm loving it, but if I have to pick one, it would be multi, but that is just me.

I personally love some stone mountain (nc). If you are comfortable at slab or just have a good lead head, you could really push that 5.6 limit (are bolted stone routes still considered trad?). There are some places for pro, just few and far. If you have your head about you, you can easily climb 5.8-9 there (maybe more if you dig it). It is all footwork and mental toughness. There is a perfect slab simulator boulder in the field there. Great to stop at this boulder to test how the slab skills are working, practice slab falls (aka sliding) and get your head in the game. The 2 5.5s are awesome, just expect to be crowded on the weekend. As mentioned you do face a min. 5.7 pitch to get to these climbs (entrance crack not included). Stone is usually a love it or hate it place. You really don't need much physical strength to climb there, it is more head and technique. Stone will teach you all about trusting your feet and run outs. A successful day climbing there and you will be ready to push that 5.6 trad limit (if not break it there).

Table rock/Linville is awesome. I would worry about the road construction/closure though. It might be closed and that walk sucks, especially if you bring a lot of gear. Edit: Looks like the road is open again!

Another option is Cedar Rock/Stone Depot area. If you can get the guide book anyway. There are tons of 5.4-5.7 trad climbing. Decent hike in and I'm not sure about which way the certain faces are oriented, but I'll dig out my guide book and check for you (if someone doesn't know) I haven't been here yet, but I'm hoping to go either thanksgiving week or during christmas when I'm up there visiting family. This area plus Looking glass (Rumbling bald is ~1hr away) has a decent amount of climbing in your range.

How much time do you have? You could make a loop of it. Home > Stone Mtn > Linville > Rumbling Bald > Looking Glass/Cedar/Stone Depot > Chatt spots > RRG > Home. Add or remove a few stops, reverse direction.

Related question - how's the NRG for thanksgiving? Looks like low 40s and mostly sunny - do people get out regularly at those temps? Thinking about a trip down from NYC next week. Will camping at the AAC be miserable?

Just my .02..

Just got back from climbing over thanksgiving break at Linville, Table Rock, Shortoff, Leda, and T-Wall. We left Notth Carolina because it was snowing heavily and everything was wet. After arriving in Chattanooga, we experienced semi-awesome weather at Leda, but the weather at T-Wall was the TITS. We were in the sun all day and I only used a light jacket to stay warm while belaying. Night time is a different story. To give you an idea, the high was 48 and sunny and there were people there wearing shorts and some people were shirtless.

If you decide to hit up North Carolina, make sure you are keeping an eye in the weather. It can change really fast. If you don't mind semi-cold weather, then you have nothing to worry about. Just check the forecasts and plan accordingly. If Table Rock and Linville are wet Shortoff is a really good alternative. Windy, but dry.

Cheers

Just remember in most areas of NC (anything slab related) expect 30ft runouts as a well protected route and they get worst from there. The great arch of stone is a fun route but getting up to the tree ledge couldn't be sketchy for your climbing level. The block route isn't bad though 1 big run out on 5.1 ground and well protected single 5.8 move right at the end. The great arch is a long relaxing route that wouldn't challenge you but is fun for a day when you want to take it easy. I would not recommend attempting no alternative (the other big crack) unless you want to skip the last pitch.

What about The Obed?
I have only been there once myself, so I don't have a lot of seasonal or trad beta to pass along but maybe someone else will