To save paper & ink, use the [Hide] controls next to photos and comments
so you only print what you need.
Pilot Rock
N Carolina
> 1. Southern Mountains…
Description
Close to Looking Glass, this is a great place to learn lead and friction. The routes are easy, but some are run-out in exciting places. Most are bolted.
It is rarely (if ever) crowded, and the rock is solid. If there are people above you, be careful since the top is chossy and small rocks could be dislodged.
Getting There
The Pilot Rock Trail starts on FS 1206 (Yellow Gap Rd), 3 miles northeast of US Hwy 276. FS 1206 turns right off 276 just above the Pink Beds. It is also a fairly short drive on Yellow Gap Road from The North Mills River campground. This approach is perhaps slightly shorter, particularly if you are coming from Asheville, avoiding nearly an extra hour looping around through Pisgah Forest. From this direction you'll first encounter the pilot rock/slate rock and pilot rock loop trails, but avoid these and continue to the pilot rock trail, which is the direct approach described here.
Beware of speeding dirt bikes on the road.
Follow the Pilot Rock Trail for about 3/4 mile, crossing an old roadbed near the bottom. After the second switchback the Pilot Rock Base trail leads right (be careful of yellow jackets near the beginning of the trail). This trail winds across the top of the ravine and along the base of the slopes. It then descends a built staircase that may be scarier than any of the climbs.
The first route is on the face before the steps, and the second two at the bottom of the steps. The rest are farther on around a corner and down.
[Hide Photo] Base of Pilot Rock at the start of "Slab Solo".
[Hide Photo] Second section (I think) of rock that you come to. By the Reardon/Wolf guidebook, this would be below "Entry Crack" and "Ledge Slant" climbs
[Hide Photo] Trail-head to base of rock. This sign will be on the right as you hike up on the Pilot Rock trail. Pass through a few switchbacks and look for the sign. Hard to miss.
[Hide Photo] Trail-head sign. Look for this sign, on your left, as you drive in on FS-1206 (the dirt road).
[Hide Comment] I am a little torn about seeing Pilot Rock on the site. I have going there since 2010 and have only ever seen one other party on the rock. Great solitude, fun slab climbing and great views. If you want to learn North Carolina, run-out slab climbing, this is your place.
Jul 28, 2016
[Hide Comment] I highly recommend the Reardon/Wolfe book, "Cedar Rock and Satellite Crags". Great information on the area. I wish all guide books were that thorough. The bike shop in Brevard sells it - you'll pass right by the shop on your way to Pilot!
Jul 28, 2016
[Hide Comment] The Cedar Rock write-up is good, but the one in the Rumbling Bald guide is even better, and includes the Slate Rock faces. It is also an excellent guide to the Bald.
I was actually surprised when I moved back after 15 years to find that the slab I had been messing around on 1994-97 had been bolted and listed on climbing sites. I first saw it from Pounding Mill overlook, and collected the TVA maps to home in on it, being unfamiliar with the Pink Beds region of Pisgah NF at the time. We hiked up several times over the years, but either did not have the right team, or the weather was not on our side each time. I have been climbing there several times since then, and while I am generally not a fan of bolts, I do appreciate the bolted belay stances that have appeared across the cliffs of WNC.
Jul 29, 2016
[Hide Comment] Charles - pretty cool update and interesting history. I found a reference to it in 2009 on some guys personal website. He had posted pictures that intrigued me. I cannot locate the site anymore, but the idea behind climbing someplace obscure was exciting. It was pretty easy to find on the Forest Service maps once I knew what to look for. I agree about both the bolted belays and the use of restraint in placing bolts!
Jul 29, 2016
[Hide Comment] The bolted anchors for entry slab/entry crack are currently hangerless. I added some cord and rap rings to the one dead thick tree and two live skinny trees at the top left corner of the crag. It is not an appropriate long term solution to rap from there, the dead tree is going to come down at some point and who knows if it will take the smaller trees with it. Someone else had run into the same problem as there was a sling and locking biner up there already.
Those bolts need their hangers back, especially since they service the two easiest and better protected climbs here.
Sep 5, 2017
[Hide Comment] Did they make Yellow Gap Road better? I see the updated approach description, and I firmly reject that as faster or more pleasant.
Jul 23, 2020
[Hide Comment] Just visited 9/27/23 forestry road has been redone and both routes 400 Foot Rope and Chopped Route have anchors at ever pitch no need to rap off tree after 3rd pitch 2 bolts with rap rings have been installed
Sep 26, 2023
Continue with onX Maps
Continue with Facebook
Asheville, NC
I was actually surprised when I moved back after 15 years to find that the slab I had been messing around on 1994-97 had been bolted and listed on climbing sites. I first saw it from Pounding Mill overlook, and collected the TVA maps to home in on it, being unfamiliar with the Pink Beds region of Pisgah NF at the time. We hiked up several times over the years, but either did not have the right team, or the weather was not on our side each time. I have been climbing there several times since then, and while I am generally not a fan of bolts, I do appreciate the bolted belay stances that have appeared across the cliffs of WNC. Jul 29, 2016
Winston-Salem, NC
Those bolts need their hangers back, especially since they service the two easiest and better protected climbs here. Sep 5, 2017
Asheville, NC
Travelers Rest