Frank Curto Park Rock Climbing

For several decades Pittsburgh rock climbers have been discreetly climbing on the back side of the retaining walls of Frank Curto Park in Polish Hill. This wall sits high above the Allegheny River and The Strip District below, roughly across from the Heinz Factory on the North Shore, in a unique and remarkable urban greenspace less than 3 miles from the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh. In recent years, individuals from the climbing community have worked together to replace the aging hardware on the routes at Frank Curto as well as dozens of other “secret” routes at several urban crags throughout the city.  Please note that the installation of the new hardware was NOT done by either SWPACC nor the City of Pittsburgh but by countless climbers from the region who were committed to more fully developing our local climbing resources.  Shortly after the refurbishment of all of these routes, SWPACC reached out to City of Pittsburgh officials to discuss our ambitious “Climb Pittsburgh” project of partnering with the city to responsibly promote these resources and assist in their safest access and most sustainable use.  Among SWPACC/Climb Pittsburgh’s early successes was obtaining permission from the Department of Public Works in September of 2022 to clean up the sloped, muddy, weed-covered hillside beneath the routes at Frank Curto from where folks were trying to belay. Together with support from The Access Fund, SWPACC volunteers were able to level the belay area, build a retaining wall and then bring in tons of gravel that was spread at the base of the wall to provide a flat, clean and safe area from which to belay.  SWPACC/Climb Pittsburgh is extremely proud of the upgrade of this resource and encourages climbers to visit the park and enjoy eight different routes that can all be be led with six quick draws or top-roped with two. The routes are all in the (old school :) 5.9 range and are 35' tall.  These are the same sandstone blocks that you will find on many of the retaining walls and bridge pillars throughout the city including other urban climbing venues like The Arena, Seldom Seen, and The Pillar at Schenley Park.  The blocks are very featured with a variety of crimps, side pulls and textured slopers and all of these routes climb very much like vertical routes you would find on your favorite natural rock faces. Unlike Seldom Seen, these routes are not manky or dirty and they dry quickly after a rain. They are a must for folks wanting to sample a taste of urban climbing in one of our most beautiful and underutilized green spaces that is a few miles from downtown Pittsburgh. This is a true hidden gem!