Tallulah gorge partners

I'm looking for some partners that are interested in climbing at Tallulah gorge. I have not climbed there before and would like to since it's fairly close to Atlanta.

Also, anyone have recommendations/guides for the routes there?

Punk Wave, Flying Frog, the Diagonal, Digital Delight, Mescaline Daydream, Rapture of the Steep, BT Express, Heaven and Hell (p1 is a little runout at 10R).

Great rock, can be pretty warm on the side where all these routes are (not a lot of routes on the other side, but there are a few). Not a place for dogs or kids, there is a funky little chimneyish downclimb to reach the base of the crag that's about 30' or so.

Have to stop at the vistor center and get a climbing permit, be out by sunset.

Dixie Cragger's Atlas (two vol set, one of which covers the GA stuff) is the std guidebook for the area.
Have fun.

Will is right about the season. Tallulah Gorge was in season, now its not. Anything above mid-60's in the sun will be scorching. With all of the off and on rain, I haven't been able to get down there most of the winter. It is up to the rangers whether or not they will give out climbing passes, and more often than not they don't. I always call the morning before heading there to save myself a drive if they aren't open. The claim is that the trail stays wet. The sad thing is there are easy ways to rappel in, because the walls dry fast or don't get any rain due to large capped roofs. I would love to go down there with you, but unfortunately getting in any more is all chance.

There is supposedly a new Dixie Cragger Alabama Georgia coming out soon. That has been the talk for a few months now. Just waiting on Chris to finish it I guess. So it will be hard to find one even on the internet, and I don't suggest paying the crazy prices some are listing it for on amazon.

All of Will's route suggests are great also. One of my favorite 10's in the SE is Flying Frog.

Will hit almost everything, but Primitive Paradox is also supposed to be really great. For some reason, I have never done it.

TomCaldwell wrote: It is up to the rangers whether or not they will give out climbing passes, and more often than not they don't. I always call the morning before heading there to save myself a drive if they aren't open. The claim is that the trail stays wet.

Weird. I've been out of the SE for a long time and last time I climbed in TG was during a visit to see the folks, maybe 2002 or so. Never an issue then, hell they gave me a pass during a rainstorm on that trip so I could go down and look for a TCU I'd dropped a few days before (didn't realize it was gone until I got home, miraculously found it laying at the base in a bush).

That sucks. Has anyone ever actually skated off that one sketchy/sandy section of the trail, before you get to the downclimb?

TomCaldwell wrote:There is supposedly a new Dixie Cragger Alabama Georgia coming out soon. That has been the talk for a few months now. Just waiting on Chris to finish it I guess. So it will be hard to find one even on the internet, and I don't suggest paying the crazy prices some are listing it for on amazon.

It's out and looks great. Color pictures and all. Check local climbing shops or order dixiecraggers.com.

Will S wrote:That sucks. Has anyone ever actually skated off that one sketchy/sandy section of the trail, before you get to the downclimb?

Not that I have heard of. There was the college kid that died there last year on Mescaline, but no other recent accidents. People often leave a static line up to get past that first scary section. The chimney part at the end has a permanent piece of static to get down it.

We were denied a permit about this time last year the day after a heavy rainstorm. We called ahead, talked to the rangers, and were able to make alternate plans. Permit granted when we showed up the next day. And our route (Digital Delight) was a little wet in places still (bottom half of 3rd pitch). And you can rap the down-climb section on the approach if it looks bad to you on the day (it did to me!).

Last year someone fell down the approach chimney and landed on their head/back. Somehow they walked away, perhaps a bit dazed.

The main wall stays shady until about 11 or 12, so it can be okay in the morning when the temps are higher. It is just a race to get your permit when the center opens at 8 in order to get some climbing in before the mercury rises.

Be aware of the tourist overlook above the punk wave/primitive paradox area. Morons tend to throw things, and are especially fond of heavy items. It has happened to me more than once (luckily I've never been hit). Last time I was ready and called the ranger on my cell as soon as rocks started whizzing by. He caught the kid red handed, as he was winding up for another toss. The dude had heard me swearing at him to stop throwing stuff but continued until being caught by the LEO and ejected from the park.

It is pretty funny. I have found all sorts of things people have ceremoniously thrown over into the "abyss". I once found a bandaid box decorated with construction paper hearts and full of torn up love letters and bf/gf pictures. It was pretty entertaining to piece them back together, getting a glimpse into the relationship drama of some poor girl. I can still imagine her standing at the rim and tossing the box as she wept and cursed her ex. I also found the studded dog collar of what I presumed was someone's deceased giant pet. It was almost big enough for me to use as a belt.

Tallulah Gorge is awesome, but, while well intentioned, the climbing permit system is really an impediment to access. Climbers are lumped in with the great unwashed of the general hiking public in terms of the state feeling compelled to protect us from ourselves. People with no climbing experience whatsoever decide when conditions are "safe". They also are tasked with separating gumbies from experienced climbers. The distinctions end up being arbitrary. Due to my experiences at TG, I have learned to be wary of any suggestions regarding the permitting of climbing at other areas.

All that said, once the park staff recognizes you as a regular, there are pretty much no questions asked. I go down there without a partner about half the time myself without a problem.

Finally, main wall is the only area in the guide book at which the park acknowledges climbing. Some of the rangers do watch what people are up to down there, often from across the gorge, so be aware that you are likely being monitored to one degree or another.

In many ways Yosemite Valley has fewer bureaucratic hurdles to climbing than Tallulah Gorge. However, TG still takes the cake for GA trad climbing.

The crazy thing about the permit system is that I think it adds liability to the park. By trying to determine who is qualified to climb down there they assume more responsibility. We have even been asked how many times we have been down there in order to determine our level of expertise. Seems like this could have legal ramifications if someone got injured that they deemed qualified.

Thanks for those stories sf. Definitely entertaining.

Good point regarding liability, but sovereign immunity applies to TG because it is a state owned and operated park. You can not sue GA or any of its departments without GA's permission. Thus, liability is not the underlying issue. Cynical me thinks that the head ranger has a career interest in a low accident rate. Plus, evacs/recoveries are expensive in TG because they usually require a helicopter, etc. So, restrictions on climbing at TG are more a function of the bureaucracy than of the liability system.

If the rangers were really concerned about safety they would close, or move the overlook. It's too bad the place became a state park, it was much nicer years ago when there was only the defunct dirt road on the north side of the canyon.