Caterpillar 5.7
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| Type: | Trad, TR, 1 pitch, 80 feet |
| Consensus: | 5.7+ [details] |
| FA: | |
| Submitted By: | Chuck Parks on Feb 4, 2008 |
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Red Wall Caterpillar (5.7) trad Crowders Mountai...
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Description Grunt your way up the splitter chimney. Feel the exposure as you worm your way past overhangs, teetering close to edge of the chimney. As you near the top, you can either roll out left onto the steep, sharp face and head up to a small tree (better for toproping), or continue to tunnel your way up the chimney to the top.
Location The obvious chimney that runs the entire height of David's Castle Wall.
Protection standard rack, sling trees for toproping
By Sean Cobourn From: Gramling, SC Apr 17, 2008
| In all seriousness, one of the best routes at Crowders. |
By saxfiend Administrator From: Decatur, GA Sep 12, 2011 rating: 5.7+
| This really is a great climb -- wish I'd led it! Pretty sustained chimney climbing the whole way; turning your body frequently and not keeping your back to just one side of the chimney is good strategy. I know people do it somehow, but I don't think this route is well suited for toproping. If you make the exit move onto the face, your rope is going to be going over some pretty sharp rock; and if you go all the way to the top, I suspect even a 70-meter rope won't be long enough for a slingshot toprope. Better to belay from the top. |
By Mike Best From: Charlotte, NC Sep 13, 2011 rating: 5.7
| Saxfiend is correct that a 70M won't work for top roping this if you go over the top of Davids Castle. You can use gear in the cave/hole atop Davids Castle/Caterpillar or you can use a long piece of static rope and sling the boulder and trees that are directly overtop of the hole and drop the masterpoint down into the hole. If your masterpoint is extended far enough down into the hole near the end of the cave a 60M works (with about 10 feet of spare) and a 70 is plenty. Just make sure to knot the ends of your rope if you're going to rappell down and use a boulder/tree to belay yourself down into the cave safely. |
By Dominion Rognstad From: Houston. From Boone, NC Oct 10, 2011
| At the top of the chimney, you can exit right through a cave or left to the tree. Going left travels over much less travelled terrain and is chossy. Both can be walked off, but the cave is easier to setup a top rope, just bring some long slings or cordelette. This route is a great warmup but doesn't require much from your arms. Excellent exposure looking out over the Piedmont to Charlotte. |
By Brian Hudson From: Greenville, SC Apr 5, 2013 rating: 5.8-
| You can set up a slingshot toprope with a 70M without getting down into the cave, but you'll need to downclimb to the lower edge of the top. Extending the masterpoint into the obvious slot will get rid of a lot of rope drag, but it'll make a rappel tricky. |
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