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ERT (Echo Rock Traverse)
5.9,
Trad, 1200 ft (364 m), 10 pitches, Grade II,
Avg: 3.3 from 8
votes
FA: ACB: Brian Haugli & Mike Dannhardt (Oct 9, 2011)
Virginia
> DC & Northern V…
> Great Falls
> Echo Rock
Description
Full traverse of the Echo Rock cliff band. Starting below Cow Hoof and working downstream. The guys who did this first in the 40s/50s were beasts.
The 50m rope works better, as the pitchs need to be short to allow for the leader and belayer to communicate. The area has big alcoves and voices carry off quite a bit. So you try to be in eye sight of each other.
Location
Farthest downstream crag at Great Falls.
See photos for beta.
Protection
What we used on the successful traverse: 50m 10.2mm rope 1x #0 BD C3 1x #1 BD C3 1x yellow alien 1x red alien 2x mid size Trango TCUs 1x #.5 BD C4 2x #1 BD C4 2x #2 BD C4 2x #3 BD C4 #1-8 DMM Walnuts #4,#6,#8 BD stoppers 8x slings with 2 wiregates each 2x double length slings 4x quickdraws
[Hide Photo] Sam leading pitch 6. We anchored the end of the pitch from near the piton marked with an X in the photo. The crux of the route was protected with a BD#3, circled in the photo. Its worth bringing th…
[Hide Photo] Start: (Lat: 38.982028, Lon: -77.242920) End: (Lat: 38.980706, Lon: -77.239988) Please note these are approximations based on the best information available*
[Hide Photo] Chris leading the second pitch, right before the crux. Photo taken from the belay ledge.
[Hide Photo] Moving through the crux to the belay ledge.
[Hide Photo] Last pitch after 3rd/4th section. From here, hike downstream to Difficult Run trail and back to car.
[Hide Photo] First attempt in 2009. Route in Blue (we escaped after pitch 2 and headed up) Green shows the rest of the route as we believe it goes.
[Hide Comment] Sorry. That was on my old blog and I don't have the write-ups anymore. Catch Mike Dannhardt with PATC / Mountaineering Club for local beta. I'm out of the area now.
This is a great route. I attempted it 3 times before finally getting it. Stay after it!
Jan 31, 2016
[Hide Comment] Overall, the route was dirty, overgrown, full of spiders and a hell of a good time. Made is 7 out of 10 pitches. Had to bail because it was too late in the day to finish before sunset. Hiked out in the dark and almost stepped right on a copperhead on the path. Going back here shortly to run the whole thing through. The route and images already uploaded are sufficient beta to get you through.
*FYI, the climbing topo is blurry when viewed from a cell phone. If you are still interested in using it, open from a computer or link to a TV, then zoom in and take photos. This will give you a better resolution topo to reference**
Annapolis
Shrewsbury, MA
This is a great route. I attempted it 3 times before finally getting it. Stay after it! Jan 31, 2016
Made is 7 out of 10 pitches. Had to bail because it was too late in the day to finish before sunset. Hiked out in the dark and almost stepped right on a copperhead on the path. Going back here shortly to run the whole thing through.
The route and images already uploaded are sufficient beta to get you through.
- *FYI, the climbing topo is blurry when viewed from a cell phone. If you are still interested in using it, open from a computer or link to a TV, then zoom in and take photos. This will give you a better resolution topo to reference**
May 28, 2020Shrewsbury, MA
LINK to photo album when we succeeded and it was warm: photos.app.goo.gl/8FiZoDmQq…
LINK to photo album when we failed and it was cold: photos.app.goo.gl/4srq33Vfr… Feb 6, 2021