Nine Times / Big Rock Climbing

Here's the link to the current guidebook to the area...
lulu.com/shop/brad-caldwell…

www.tinyurl.com/JocasseeGorgesGuides Sep 13, 2017

Make sure you check out this info for the proper place to park and approach the cliff

carolinaclimbers.org/climbi… Nov 18, 2017

Just hopped on Rowan's Leap the other day...as it was getting dark. Excellent route! Thanks for setting it up. Feb 25, 2018

Glad to hear you enjoyed Rowan's Leap.

On another note, we (CCC) were asked to leave this area off of Mountain Project for a little while. The goal is to keep the local residents of Big Rock Lake happy while the numbers slowly increase. Mar 30, 2018

Hi! Looking for a bit more information about Big Rock. Totally understand you're trying to keep this area exploding all at once, so please feel free to PM me with a response if you feel that is best.

Are there natural anchors for top rope set-up, i.e. trees or rocks? Or would I need to build an anchor on bolts at the top? Can one hike to the top of Big Rock to set up top ropes or do climbs need to be lead first?

I'm desperate to get outside and do some climbing since I'm stuck in Columbia with no access to a gym. The Crowders page said it had top rope but when we got there we couldn't find anywhere that allowed for natural anchors. Unfortunately I haven't yet learned/trained enough to attempt sport or trad climbing so that's pretty limiting. Any guidance you guys could offer would be fantastic, thanks so much! Nov 30, 2018

Hey L P...did you pick up the guidebook? That's the easiest way to know where each climb is and which ones can be TRed (off of the anchors for those climbs, no need/not off of natural anchors). The place is a labyrinth of cliffs and boulders, so trying to describe on here how to get to specific climbs is really difficult. Dec 1, 2018

Hey Brad! I'm definitely planning on it! I'm not really looking for route locations or specifics, just whether I can even climb at Big Rock with my current set-up. I totally understand that it's a somewhat specific question, but I was hoping someone on this forum had attempted it before and might know if it was possible. I don't really want to purchase a guidebook for a specific area if I can't even climb there yet, that's all. Also I've made the mistake before of assuming certain specific information such as anchor type might be in a guidebook only to find out later that it wasn't. Not trying to be difficult or mooch off of anyone, just hoping to find someone in a similar situation who has climbed Big Rock. Thanks! Dec 3, 2018

Then yes, there are climbs there that you can set up a top rope off of the anchors. It's rare to find that around as most routes in the Carolinas must be led to TR them, but Big Rock offers a lot of variety. Dec 3, 2018