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Iron Mountain Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Iron Mountain

South Cliffs 8 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8

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Elevation:	2,726 ft	831 m
GPS:	44.12605, -71.2396 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	10,627 total · 99/month
Shared By:	chinos Garlough on Feb 25, 2016
Admins:	Jay Knower, M Sprague, Jeffrey LeCours, Jonathan S, Robert Hall Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Iron Mountain (2726’), is a fun outing with a backcountry feel. The climbing is found on the southeastern slopes of the mountain known as the South Cliffs (2430’), which provide beautiful views. This mountain was formerly known as Baldface, but in the late 1800’s the southeast slopes were used for iron mining and was renamed Iron Mountain. The remains of the mining efforts can still be found on the southeast slopes of the mountain. The true summit of the mountain still has remnants of an old fire tower that stood about 30’ tall and was active from 1939 to 1948. The Iron Mountain house built in 1861 was also a historical landmark in the town of Jackson, but burned down in 2000 and is now the home of the Red Fox Pub. The Iron Mountain House was located under Iron Bluff a sub peak of Iron Mountain now known as “Duck’s Head”, and offered a small rope tow ski area!
The South Cliffs of Iron Mountain offer moderate slab climbing and is capped by a short vertical headwall at the top. The wall is hot and receives full sun. There is no documentation of climbing that I have found, but these cliffs have most likely been explored by generations of valley climbers.

Getting There

Option 1: (Updated Oct 2022) From the intersection of Route 16 and Route 302 in Glen, take Route 16 north heading towards Mt. Washington for 2.5 miles into the town of Jackson. Take a left at the golf course onto Green Hill road. Follow Green Hill road for 1.2 miles and turn left onto Iron Mountain road. Continue on Iron Mountain road and stay left at the fork at 0.3 miles. Continue up the hill and park at a pullout marked with a parking sign. (PLEASE use the overflow parking 1/4 mile below if the half-dozen or so slots are taken at the trailhead parking. This is PRIVATE land. THANKS! R Hall, NH Admin Oct 2022)

Cross the road to the edge of a field with a trail sign. This is the Iron Mountain trail head. Follow the foot path through the field with beautiful views of the presidential range. Follow the newly created trail to the summit at 1.3 miles. (At about 1.1 miles there is a turn-off to the right, 75 ft to a boulder with great views.) From the summit (no views) follow the path downhill for another 0.8 miles to a fork. Take a right and walk across rock for 0.1 miles to the top of the South Cliffs. The approach will take about 1-1.5 hours. Rappel the cliff or bushwhack down to the base. Going left at the fork will lead down to the iron mine in 0.2 miles. (For more beta on finding said rap routes, see COMMENTs and "ledges photos.“ in the sub-area South Cliffs. R Hall NH Admin Oct 2022 )

If you like to bushwhack I recommend option two…

Option 2: From the intersection of Route 16 and Route 302 in Glen, take Route 302 west heading towards the town of Bartlett. Drive for 1.0 mile and take a right onto Jericho Road. Follow Jericho Road for 2.5 miles to a gate and park. Bushwhack heading northeast following overgrown logging roads. Look for the water bars and keep the stream on your right. Eventually the road will open up with occasional cairns. Take a left and following a short run of flagging tape that gets you heading straight uphill to the base of the South Cliffs. The approach will take 1-1.5 hours.