John Liles wrote: "Though not quite as well-known as routes like Fathom and Groover, Seconds is an excellent moderate with good protection and runouts maybe a little more generously bolted than you might expect of a typical North Carolina slab route. For most of its seven-pitch length, Seconds follows water grooves that steadily cut deeper into the face until you find yourself in what's practically a chimney near the top.
Some words to the wise:
Lead on doubles or trail a second rope.
If you're going to do the direct start, watch your step. Several climbers have suffered sprained ankles, cracked ribs or a dislocated knee on this tricky start."
The route goes like this:
P1 - (Direct) Slab up to roof and pull it on good gear to the right or left then move up to bolted belay.
P1 - (Original) Climb up the hill to the climber's left of the clearingto the base of the rock, but directly left of the P1 anchors...traverse easy ground right and up to the anchors above the roof.
P2 - Head up water groove for the original Wild Turkey route or move left and up more featured, better protected climbing regaining the groove above. Climb straight up to a bolted belay.
P3 - From the belay, climb straight up the groove past a bolt and upwards. Either continue up on the left following features and gear until possible to move right to the spacious belay...or up the groove and right over face and two bolts to the good belay ledge with bolted belay.
P4 - Climb striaght up the well protected rightmost flaring crack until possible to move right to the semi hanging belay at the top of P4.
P5 - From the semihanging belay at the top of P4, make some thin moves up and right to gain a slight scoop left of the water groove...streeeetch out left to clip the bolt...slab up and into the groove and follow this up to a prominent quartz dike on the right...move out of the groove along this dike and do one of two things...OPTION 1: before the next groove, slab straight up the face with no pro to the anchors. OPTION 2: follow the dike into the next grooove for a couple placements, move up then back left to anchors...this belay is pretty comfortable.
P6 - CRUX - move right from the belay and up following flaring cracks back into the water groove...follow this up to a bolt on the left. Clip this and prepare to pull the crux bulge. There is a good blue TCU placement above the bulge that can be placed from the stance below. Follow the groove on up to anchors on the left.
P7 - Follow the groove on up for one last semi-clean pitch to anchors out and right. Most rap from here.
P8 - Dirty. Head up the groove then out and right on the face to two old, manky bolts...rap.
Location
John Liles says this:
"Finding the start for Seconds can be difficult, due to the untamed Laurel Knob cliffline. Toward the right end of the cliffline, between Central Pillar and Canyons of Laurel, the direct start is marked by a small clearing below an overhang. The original start can be reached from here by going up a short steep section of trail to the left and then clawing your way through the rhododendron to the slabby face. If doing the original start, don't get suckered into following the line of bolts going straight up; that's Central Pillar"...another fine LK moderate
Protection
We took the following and felt like we had too much gear (Offsets, Tricams, and Link Cams are handy for flaring features):
Stoppers 4-11 or 12 Tricams black through brown TCUs 0-2 Offset TCUs 00/0 - 1/2 BD C4s 0.3 -3 Link Cams 1 and 2 12 trad draws 4 QDs 2 48" runners 2 cordalettes rigged fro sliding Xs
Bolts protect the most runout sections...more or less.
By BirminghamBen From: Birmingham, AL Jun 14, 2007 rating: 5.8+
What signifies the start on this route? This is one of the next moderates on my list for LK.
By saxfiend Administrator From: Atlanta, GA Jun 14, 2007 rating: 5.8+
Kind of hard to describe (other than what I've got in the route description above). From the time you reach the end of the trail switchbacks at the right end of the cliffline, I don't think it's more than about five minutes hike on down the trail to get to the clearing at the base of Seconds. From this clearing, you'll see the overhang above you, and above that, I believe you can see the bolts for the P1 belay.
Once you've located this, the trail goes up kind of steeply for a short distance; about where it levels off, you bushwhack through the undergrowth and pick a spot to belay from. At this point, you'll be above and left of the overhang. Move up and right along a faint dike to the belay.
Of course if you're going to do the direct start, you don't leave the clearing. I've heard some people compare the moves and difficulty level to U Slot at Stone Mountain; but I've also been told by friends who've led it that the rock is fairly exfoliating on this slab. So be real careful if that's the option you take.
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