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Edge of Fire

5.11b, Trad, 100 ft (30 m),  Avg: 3.1 from 22 votes
FA: Lee and Pat Munson (1979)
N Carolina > 3. Piedmont Region > Moore's Wall > Moore's Wall (R… > Fire Wall

Description

Cool, varied climbing with a pumpy crux and amazing position. Potential for huge, clean falls onto the only bolt on the route. Probably the best introduction to climbing on the spectacular Fire Wall.

Location

Front side of Sentinal Buttress. Start on Super Direct. You will notice that the dihedral feature actually goes into Edge of Fire naturally. Can be done in one pitch plus a short and easy roped scramble to Crows Nest.

Protection

Standard rack, one bolt, gear belay. Protects very well, especially for the Fire Wall.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Neil Rankin on the upper crux section of Edge of Fire
[Hide Photo] Neil Rankin on the upper crux section of Edge of Fire
Neil Rankin on Edge of Fire.
[Hide Photo] Neil Rankin on Edge of Fire.
Dropping a knee and dropping a stopper.
[Hide Photo] Dropping a knee and dropping a stopper.
Edge of the Fire Wall
[Hide Photo] Edge of the Fire Wall

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Tim Fisher
  5.11b/c
[Hide Comment] Bolt was replaced years ago. Old bolt left there for chuckles, See if you can make it fail! Jun 4, 2009
Ben Sachs
Las Vegas, NV
  5.11b
[Hide Comment] I took a huge (40 ft?) whip (fell from belay ledge mantle!) onto the drilled angle bolt. Of course I backed it up with new bolt, but the old one took the force. It bent slightly but was fine! Jul 1, 2009
Robert Hutchins
  5.11b
[Hide Comment] Great route, and some of the best exposure you can find at the grade at Moore's. Would highly recommend for someone wanting a firewall adventure who isn't quite up to the other offerings. Any reason this is grouped with Central Buttress routes when it pretty clearly climbs the Firewall side, albeit the edge, of the formation? Dec 21, 2011
Neil Rankin
Winston-Salem, NC
  5.11
[Hide Comment] This route is not run-out after the crux bolt. The pro is there if you can hang on to place it. Sep 23, 2013
Neil Rankin
Winston-Salem, NC
  5.11
[Hide Comment] The more popular start is on the Fire Wall side in the large left-facing dihedral. Climb the corner to the ledge, traverse the ledge 20 feet and climb straight up from there. Its best to not place pro in the corner because drag will be bad and it’s only about 5.6 or 5.7. If that doesn’t float your boat you can make the very easy traverse to the ledge from further right and closer to the Wild Kingdom’s start. Jan 27, 2018
Austin Goff
Winston-Salem, NC
  5.11b/c
[Hide Comment] Another start option albeit strenuous is to climb the overhanging chimney/offwidth in-between Super Direct and the easier regular dihedral start. Bring bigger gear and some body english. Apr 27, 2018
Samuel G
Laramie
 
[Hide Comment] The gear options for an anchor on the "belay mantle ledge" are a bit sparse for my taste (or my lack of skill at anchor building) . I found one really solid nut and a few semi-decent other options. Offset cams might come in handy. Oct 31, 2018
Austin Goff
Winston-Salem, NC
  5.11b/c
[Hide Comment] Gear on the ledge has always been a challenge. I've found some great pieces that would take too much time to explain here (PM or hit me up to climb sometime). Currently most people place spread out gear which requires lots of cord or being really efficient using the rope to build it. . Oct 31, 2018
dave Hause
carrboro, nc
  5.11-
[Hide Comment] Mental crux is longer on this than the physical crux. Jun 22, 2020
Nathaniel Ward
Winston-Salem, NC
  5.11
[Hide Comment] If you have a follower who is strong but not enthusiastic about the 5.6 free solo start to the ledge, (you’re 20 or so feet to the right of the rope line and until you walk across the ledge the swing is big enough that you treat it like it’s no-fall territory) there is a cool variation the first 25 or 30 feet of this route that goes straight up right of the offwidth/chimney to the ledge where you place your first gear, goes around 11-, neat face climbing. Not recommended on lead, would be R/X. It adds a crux section, but you get plenty of recovery at the ledge.

This is one of my favorite routes as Moore’s, and very unique. Each of the crux sections is completely different and the exposure is incredible. Apr 3, 2021