[Hide Comment] A great climb not so much for the great climbing so to speak, but more for it's length, position, diversity of moves, route finding, etc...
A rarity for the area, and something special. Jun 11, 2009

[Hide Comment] On Saturday March 30, my friend and I tried climbing this route. We became so off route idk what we climbed. We did the first pitch fine. We then worked right on the traverse. After the traverse we went up what seemed 5.7 face climbing. We then traversed far right by mistake and came to a nice looking crack into a face climb. I led this pitch which felt 5.9 R. went up a thin hands-hands crack for about 20 feet to a ledge. then traversed far right, place a BD #4 cam in a horizontal. I then worked right up a small ramp that i placed a #2 cam in the crack that followed along the wall of the ramp. I then traversed about 10 feet right of the piece on face climbing, Then climbed 10 feet up and then 20 feet back left. I ended up on a ledge with some rhodos and a tree at the end of it. i then worked up a small gully like feature with a tree at the top of it. the gully was maybe 20 feet. The hiking trail was about 2 feet back from the edge where I topped out at. Has anyone done this before or was this an FA? Also what is the best tree to rap off the top of. we double rope rapped from a tree about 10 feet back from the edge. Came down to find out there was too much friction to pull the rope, had to climb back up the rope a bit to pull it for the next rap. Has anyone had this happen to them before? Also there is a sweet dihedral that looks finger to thin hands with the final moves going into the roof and then top out. there were small vines growing out at the bottom. Has this been climbed before? we are wanting to go back and clean the start to climb it. will it be an FA? Apr 1, 2013

[Hide Comment] Did this route on 3-26-16 with Branden V. who led all the pitches. My girlfriend Beth climbed in the middle of the rope (she had done her first outdoor climb - Eureka 5.6 - the day before), and I brought up the tail end carrying the pack. I accidentally left the guidebook on the ground which caused us to wonder if we were on route, especially on the second pitch. Branden and I are just beginning to try some multi-pitch trad and this is a good route for beginners.

First ten feet of the climb may be the hardest. No shame in using the tree. At the top of the first pitch, walk right until the ledge ends to find the start of the second pitch. The second pitch didn't take much gear - Branden ran it out a pretty good distance at the top, but the climbing is fairly easy. After this pitch comes the scary traverse left around the corner. My girlfriend was really scared at this part but managed to do it just fine. The next pitch is the longest and most fun. Start in a left-facing crack and traverse left onto slab, then the pitch ends on a small ledge after a small bulge/roof. This bulge may be the crux for most people. It's the only place Beth weighted the rope. Last short pitch starts a little to the left on the ledge. Climb up through dirty cracks and ledges and surprise some tourists on the top.

A few notes:

• Wear a helmet. Tourists are always on top of this formation and who knows what they may kick down. We did see some small rocks coming down. There is also a lot of bad-quality rock on the route. I broke a hold during the climb.
• A popular rappelling spot is just to the right of this formation. There are also tons of hikers. These people can be loud and detract from the experience.
• It's in the sun and can get pretty hot.
• The guidebook says "rappel or walk off left" This is wrong. Walk off RIGHT. There are nice trails that lead right around the waterfall to a breakdown in the cliff.

Mar 29, 2016

[Hide Comment] Led in 3 pitches, scrambling up the very last 10 feet unroped. Finding the second pitch was the crux - walk right along the ledge, to the end, past some thin orange cracks and a mini corner, to find a crumbly crack with darker plates about 25-30 feet up. Don't walk so far on the ledge that you have to step over a 50ft drop, that's too far. As for the ledge traverse, we climbed it as a part of pitch two, belaying right around the corner with a little bit of rope drag but not terrible. There was no pro on that so if the follower slipped it would have sucked, but it's an easy crawl, and easier to climb up into it from below than step over from across.

In any case, we climbed the last money pitch using lots of hand sized gear, and I belayed from a small tree up and to the left, just above a short offwidth, then we walked left to scramble to the top. Walk off right.

As others have said, this is an adventure climb. The rock isn't the best the movement is good but not classic, but it's more about great position and summiting with your partner on a cool rock wall. Throw some beers in a pack with your hiking shoes to enjoy a summit beer! Mar 24, 2019

[Hide Comment] You can get a small but solid but placement before doing the mantel onto the traverse ledge. It helps as mental (and potential physical) pro for the leader but doesn’t do much for the follower Mar 24, 2019

[Hide Comment] One of the purest multi-pitch adventures the Red has to offer, complete with the inevitable accompanying bit of drama. A few useful tips from my experience to help mitigate some of that drama:

1. Technical crux is definitely the first 15 feet, but brief and doable with careful feet and hidden pockets. Don’t give into the temptation of stemming the tree! A single #6 or even a #5 is all you’ll need. Bump it up until you can sling a cool little pillar feature. The rest is a chill pine needle shuffle to a comfortable ledge and tree belay. Be careful not to slip here.

2. The second pitch is not super obvious. Walk to the right on the ledge to the very end, stopping at the drop-off. A sort of mini-arete juts out here, forming corners with cracks on either side. The RIGHT side corner is what you want. Sizable plates dot the face here. I almost mistook the left side crack for pitch 2, although it’s an established variation in itself.

3. Be careful of a loose feature at the start of pitch 2. A few feet up from the ledge, you’ll come to an obvious crack that would make for a sensible first placement. The flake you’ll inevitably grab here is very loose and moves when pulled on. Best to skip it and place a piece just above.

4. If deciding to link pitches 2 and 3 (the ledge traverse), take extra care when guiding the rope. Just under the traverse ledge is a small crack that will take a small nut. I placed here and extended with a double length. However, the rope tends to get caught in this area and it kept me from getting to the belay tree. Had to backtrack, whip it free and guide it deliberately. If you place the nut, either extend it even further or simply don’t place at all. The traverse itself is mild, but could be devastating if you blow it.

5. Be extra cautious of the rock quality around the two dirty top-out OW/chimney cracks. I barely placed a foot on a small shelf just under the first one and broke off a chunk the size of my head. Chucked it far out in the woods so the next party wouldn’t be unpleasantly surprised by it.

Good luck and safe sending! Jun 1, 2021

[Hide Comment] We had a great day climbing this beast. A great adventure! I thought the bulge at the top of pitch 4 was my crux. Sep 8, 2021

[Hide Comment] Great fun! Definitely worth walking out for if you're trying to avoid the crowds. My partner and I got mixed up in a little path finding. Definitely just stick to the river for as long as you can before it bends hard right, and then you will take a trail going up. You will be greeted by a beautiful huge amphitheater/waterfall after a few minutes of walking. The start to Foxfire will be climbers left of this waterfall. Stick to the rock as close as you can, and you will bushwhack your way to the start. Here's a breakdown of the pitches.

P1 - Weird offwidth. I didn't have any pieces to protect it, but stem against the tree, and the rest will come. Once at the top, belay from a tree. Then move belay to climbers right where the ledge ends.
P2 - Follow the cracks on the right side of the arete for protection. Nice sporty climbing with huge jugs and plates. A little runout, but never felt the slightest bit worried with the huge jugs given.
P3 - Army crawl climbers left through the traverse. No protection. anywhere in the traverse itself, so plug up before you head over.
P4 - A really nice pitch following the prominent left-leaning crack. Feels like real rock climbing! There's a large bulge to pull at the top. I couldn't do it (felt really hard for a 5.7!), so I ran out climbers left and grabbed the large dinner plates and jugs to bypass it.
P5 - Walk climbers right, and go up where the trees are. Easy 5th class to summit.

Walk off climbers right, and you will find your way back to the base of the waterfall. Oct 16, 2021

[Hide Comment] Awesome adventure climb!! Would repeat again.
Beta
P1: Wide start #5 C4 useful if you want to protect the start
P2: Far far right, if your not on jugs your off route. Mostly small gear used #.2-2
P3: Crawling traverse left, very chill. Looks more intimidating than it is!
P4: Left leaning crack, lots of gear finger - hands. Continues to top after pulling bulge. May 13, 2024

[Hide Comment] Would it detract from the experience of this route to add bolted anchors for some of the pitches? I see visible wear and tear on the tree bark from people anchoring off them.. I think an example of this done right is roadside attraction. People used to anchor/rap off the tree at P1, but now it has bolted anchors the tree seems to be making a comeback. May 17, 2024

[Hide Comment] Hey Chris, First, the whole point of this climb is the adventure. The moves aren't spectacular. The route finding is. There isn't another RRG route like Foxfire in that respect. Second, new bolts would violate Forest Service rules. And, since Foxfire is in the Congressionally designated Clifty Wilderness Area, the Forest Service gives it an additional layer of scrutiny beyond what is seen in the rest of the DBNF. May 17, 2024

[Hide Comment] Haskie, The ban includes newly placed bolts, but is not limited to newly placed bolts. To describe it as a "bolt ban" is not false but it is incomplete. May 18, 2024

[Hide Comment] For the Alpinist stopping by the RRG.

This is a 2 pitch route with 70m
Set a high directional on the top of pitch one.
Traverse on the wall after the first ledge with double length extensions on the face to prevent rope drag, all the way to the right side of the mini arete. There is a jug haul up the face with a crack on the left for plenty of protection. Then the “third pitch traverse” is seriously a crawl on a ledge with small cams prior to leading left under ledge. You reach a tree, that I slung as a directional and built an anchor just above it at the base of the money pitch. From there, there is a left leaning crack that you can link the rest of the climb to a top out with, if you get out of the crack, your off route (caveat- I climbed straight up the face into sketchy flakey rock, to many holds to care for the “5.10 leader”) then top out with plenty of rope length left.

Walk off right.

This is rated 5.7, but I bet it’s the only 5.7 with 2 overhaul roof features you’ll climb. Absolutely brings back childhood and reminds you why climbing is an adventure. Definitely recommend doing. I climbed all over the place on accident, there are tons of options for variations. I’m going to add a few. Don’t care who is the FA is, claim it if you want. Just trying to record stuff so more people get out to check it out. Sep 12, 2024

[Hide Comment] This was a great climb! Contrary to what some have said, I think routefinding would not have been very hard if descriptions had been better. :P The route follows a fairly intuitive path of least resistance up the cliff.

2 60 meter ropes tied together didn't reach the ground in one rappel even with rope stretch--I'd advise against trying.

Some gear spoilers follow, don't read if you don't want that.

P1 (5.7PG): Climb the offwidth, stemming off the tree. Follow the crack as it gradually widens and veers right, until you reach some trees; build a tree anchor. This pitch is PG if you bring a #6 for the first 15 feet, which is the technical crux.

"P2" (Unroped walking) Walk right until you reach the end of the ledge. If you are considering roping up or feel sketched, you're considering going too far. There are some orange finger cracks which are probably a decent route, but they are not Foxfire: go past those to the very end of the ledge just before the 50 foot drop, and build a belay below the crumbly looking crack with lots of face holds.

P3 (5.3): Climb the crumbly looking crack until you reach a narrow ledge where the P4 traverse begins. On your left you should see a mantle up to another ledge capped by a roof.

P4 (5.4R): Walk left along the ledge, pull onto the ledge capped by the roof, and then crawl until you emerge on a spacious ledge. Not much pro to speak of but if you got here you don't need it.

P5 (5.6PG13): Build an anchor in the crack/hueco--you can reuse your #6 from pitch 1 here but it's not needed. Follow the cracks upward until they reach a small roof which looks harder than 5.6, and then traverse left a bit to a second crack. Follow this crack to the top where a tree anchor awaits. There's always jugs and/or a way to finesse the small roofs without doing anything super hard, but the pitch is a full 30 meters. Be aware of rope drag and have fun! Apr 30, 2025