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Southern Pillar - East Side Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Southern Pillar - East Side

L › R R › L A › Z

	(VAR) Indirect Start to FFTMC T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Back Scratcher T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	BEVOS T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a PG13
	Craving for Pink T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Far From The Maddening Crowd T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b PG13
	Fragmatist, The T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Free Ballin' T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a PG13
	Great Chimney T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a PG13
	Hidden Gem T,S 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Initiation T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a PG13
	Loosey Goosey T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Mrs. Robinson T 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b
	Rowdy Goose, The T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Southern Thriller S 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
	Where The Wild Goose Goes T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a
	Window on the West T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a

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Elevation:	1,733 ft	528 m
GPS:	38.83257, -79.36727 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	4,997 total · 97/month
Shared By:	Andy Weinmann on Dec 6, 2020
Admins:	Andy Weinmann, Pat Goodman Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

The east side of the Southern Pillar incorporates everything east of the area of the Great Chimney. It is a rarely visited place. It sees little traffic as there is an abundance of loose rock and debris. This is adventure climbing. Anyone venturing into this area should proceed with an abundance of caution and use sound judgment. Confidence with self-rescue techniques is a must as well since an evacuation from the area would be challenging at best. All of that said, there are a few routes that may be worth your time, especially on a crowded fall day. The area is best visited in fall, winter, and early spring and in the first half of the day when the sun is out.

Getting There

To access the area, either start up towards the west side of the Southern Pillar and scramble up the hillside around to the left (east), taking care as you move up the slope of loose rock. A better approach, though a longer distance, is to continue walking down Roy Gap Road past the entrance to the Southern Pillar area. Pass the start of the trail to the Skyline area and the start of the East Ridge Trail. Continue down the road past two bends and then about 50ft. further. Cross Roy Gap Run at a spot where the slope comes down and locate an old logging road. Follow this road back towards the crag up the slope at a reasonable grade. Where this trail switchbacks sharply up the hill to the left, the main area of the crag will be directly in front of you across a short scramble on the rocky hillside.

To find The Wild Goose Wall, when you reach the stony landing area, the old road turns left and sharply uphill (with leaves off the trees, you can see the wall from here, high on the crag). The easiest thing is to follow the old road up the hill for about 150 feet or so and look for what seems like a logical cut back right across the slope back towards the crag. Make your way across, aiming rather high on the slope to an obvious blocky step up onto the ledges. Follow the easy ledges down and right (north) to the base of the wall. The first route reached is The Rowdy Goose.