Looking Glass Beta

Hey NC climber community! I'm planning a visit to Brevard to see some friends and go climbing. I would love if a local could help answer some questions.

I'm a Tahquitz and Suicide rock junkie from SoCal and would love to climb some of the slabs on the south face (totally used to run out). And if I can't find a partner on my trip, TR solo some of the harder routes on the north face. I was curious if anyone has information about how annoying it would be to rap in and fix lines.

Also, any information about weather and seepage on routes would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm not sure if you can even access most North Face routes from above. One of the MP pages talks about a walkoff which links up with the tourist trail, but my limited experience on the North Face has been with routes that just sorta... end.

Earlier this year I climbed The Nose the morning after a pretty good rain. There was a big wet streak on the route, which pushed us off into some hard climbing on the 2nd pitch, and the 4th pitch was soaked so we traversed over and did the last pitch of Peregrine instead. Sundial Crack looks like a better route to climb immediately after a rain. I have been told that the South Side is not the place to go after wet weather. 

Jared Chrysostom wrote: I'm not sure if you can even access most North Face routes from above. One of the MP pages talks about a walkoff which links up with the tourist trail, but my limited experience on the North Face has been with routes that just sorta... end.

Presumably all the north side routes are outfitted with hardware to rap then? I'm not too concerned with accessing them because I could fix and rap a 100 meter line to get over there. I was more curious if people have done it before and how much of a pain it is. I don't have a guidebook in front of me so I can't conceptualize the process.

Sorry man, but coming in from the top of the north face of looking glass would fall somewhere between dumb and impossible.  I've topped out several north face routes before and done the bushwack to the tourist trail.  First off, there is absolutely zero trail from the tourist trail to the top of the routes.   Not even the faintest hint.  I've gotten so lost up there before we ditched the bags, recorded the gps coordinates, and went off to find the trail.  Luckily it was 100 feet away so we went back for the bags.  Second, there isn't a top "lip" of the wall.  It just kinda bowls over and some trees start to grow.  Third, you would never ever be able to recognize from above where the routes end.  Fourth, for the routes that do go to the top, there is no top anchor, they all end at trees.  Fifth, most the routes have some kind of roof above them or in them that would make rapping to set up a tr solo difficult or the routes are steep.  That's why people go to the north face, cause its steep.
But what do I know, I'm sure someone will chime in soon that has set up a fixed line all the way from the top of the north face before.

Ryan7crew wrote: Sorry man, but coming in from the top of the north face of looking glass would fall somewhere between dumb and impossible.

You don't know how dumb I am... but seriously this is great info. I appreciate the details. Regardless, let me know if you ever wanna crank on the north side when I'm in town. 

Thomas Claiborne wrote:

You don't know how dumb I am... but seriously this is great info. I appreciate the details. Regardless, let me know if you ever wanna crank on the north side when I'm in town. 

When are you coming? I'm not exactly local, ~4 hours away, but I am always up for a day at Looking Glass. I know the popular Nose area slab routes pretty well. 

North side in December / January might be a bit chillier than you would want, but regardless as mentioned it would be really hard to set up TR solos there. Actually, all of LG would be challenging for that given the length of the routes and the nature of the rock. Cathy’s Creek might be doable for TR solos and there is good bouldering below the north face. 

The NF of LG is pretty big and steep (think smaller version of El Cap's right side). If it is warm enough I'd highly recommend the routes there, just on lead, as coming in from the top would be much more difficult than leading them.

But if you're going TR solo you would probably be better off checking out the main wall at Cedar Rock. Easier access to the top and fantastic rock.

Thanks NC climbing community! This is super helpful. You may see a post looking for partners in that forum in a couple of weeks. It seems it's just better to find a partner for the north side of Looking Glass. Cheers folks!

Godspeed

It's completely out of season at north side looking glass.  Freeeeeezing and no sun.  Also the dirt road is closed so someone would need to describe the additional access issues relating to that.

Russ Keane wrote: It's completely out of season at north side looking glass.  Freeeeeezing and no sun.  Also the dirt road is closed so someone would need to describe the additional access issues relating to that.

I know that the dirt road closes at the end near the fish hatchery. Where is the other gate? There’s one at the Nose area trailhead, do they close it there? Or somewhere else?

I'd actually like a little more clarification from any kindly person regarding the road closure...access to the fish hatchery stays open, right? So I could park there and hike in to south side or the nose, if I really wanted to? or are those crags accessible all winter from the north?

FS475 to the fish hatchery stays open. They are talking about FS475B which you turn onto to access the climber's THs for first the Southside, then the Nose/Sun Wall, then the North Face pullout. FS475B is often closed in winter, but not always. You just going to have to call the Ranger's office when the time comes. Theoretically, you could bushwack to the north face off HWY276, after crossing the river; maybe from the Sliding Rock area. Good luck with that. There are a couple climber THs on FS475, before the hatchery, that take you to Wijys Wall, Wall of Fate, Balcony, Meat Wall, then South Side. All those south side walls get all day sun.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48114

Wijy’s, Wall of Fate, and Guide’s wall are all easily accessible from 475, if the gate to 475B is closed.

Rumbling bald is also a good winter destination, as is Table Rock, SC if you’re aTahquiz junkie-amazing knobby climbing. 

Accessing the Northside from HWY 276 is by far the easiest way to do it in the winter. Similar approach time, much steeper 

Shiny new guidebook; www.grounduppublishing.com 
If 475B is closed there are still plenty of other area options.  

If you're going to Brevard but want to check out some good slab climbs, make a short jaunt over to Laurel Knob near Cashiers for some great climbing. It can dry out decently quickly after a rain too. Just be wary you could get some ice bombs if it's cold enough. There's also the Sun Wall at LG. Some very high quality climbing there.