Nemacolin's Highline

Nemacolin’s Highline is now Maryland’s longest climbing route.  Let it be abundantly clear, this route is absolutely an adventure climb and climbing at The Narrows is often characterized by chossy, loose rock.

While the traverse is given a fairly moderate grade overall, many of the individual pitches are even a bit more causal. However, the ease in which one might be able to climb does not negate the objective hazards of loose blocks, brittle rock, or gravity. Use caution at all times and triple check each hand or foot hold as well as gear placements.

The accompanying photos are a comprehensive view of the traverse - including other existing climbs, major features, rappel stations, heights and distances. These are all approximations to the best of our knowledge. Please plan accordingly.

Pitch 1: One Pitch Wonder Wall  Begin the route at I’m Too Sexy. Climb around to the left of the initial roof to the second large overhang. Place gear in the crack above and start your long traverse to the left, gently rising. Step across a couple airy dihedrals and resist the urge to top out to the trees above. The pitch ends by slipping behind a few thin pines to a broad ledge with a bolted anchor atop Free But Worth It.  5.5 / approx 120 ft

Pitch 2: Funland  From the bolted anchor walk north along the ledge to the rappel tree at the top of Kiddie Land. Step straight across and aim for the Tunnel Of Love roof. Slip down below the roof and across to a pine. Pop back up to the face above and follow the slabby horizontal cracks toward the Unexpected Party ledge. Be careful not to step down into the thorns below. Finish the pitch by staying high and belay from a large tree with a ‘V’ low in it’s trunk.  5.4 / approx 110 ft 

Pitch 3: Howling  From the belay tree, walk through shrubs downhill to pick up the rocks again. The climbing starts by turning a slightly blind corner then a stretchy stepdown. Continue across through some shrubs to the How Yuck Yang corner. Belay from the rappel trees at the far end of the Howling ledge.  5.5  / approx 115 ft

Pitch 4: Jim Pick  From the ledge, strike out straight across undulating horizontals and some blind feet. Aim for a LOOSE blocky arete that leads up to a broad ledge under the Misty Splitter roof. Step left and down to the lower Jim Pick face. Follow great hands under the roofs and bump up to a horizontal with a large branch growing out of it. Finish on a slopey triangular ledge with rap slings at the second pitch of Dirty And Cheap. Mostly 5.5 climbing with a 5.7 bit at the end.  5.7** PG / approx 130 ft  One of the better and more fun pitches on the traverse.

Pitch 5: Cumber Honey  From the belay, step up to rounded handholds, then out left onto the top of a huge detached and leaning flake. Trending slightly higher, traverse beneath a few small pines and above a couple shrubs. Round a corner on BRITTLE rock, then up to a large pine on a decent ledge just before the imposing Cumber Honey roof.  5.5 PG / approx 100 ft

Pitch 6: Rama  Start by walking across a rubbly ledge toward Cumber Honey, aiming for a black, rectangular notch in the arete. Turn the sharp corner and step down into an alcove. Navigate around a thin tree to a craggy face. Turn another blunt corner and traverse behind a decent tree to a bit of 4th class. End at the large tree with rap slings on the Rama ledge.  5.5 / approx 130 ft

Pitch 7: A Winter’s Tale  From the Rama rappel tree, step over some large blocks and onto a foot ledge. Move out to a small right facing corner and pull up to the next set of horzontals heading up under the A Winter’s Tale roof. Continue an airy hand traverse with great gear, but thin feet, compressing to a bit of a bulge. Step around the bulge and down to a nice ledge with a pine. From the pine, climb up and left into the corner at the far end of the AWT roof and back out from under the overhang to a great belay ledge.  5.6*** / approx 130 ft  Probably the best pitch on the traverse with stellar exposure underneath you.

Pitch 8: The Downclimb  After the Pitch7, it is recommended to move your belay to the far end of the ledge at a pile of blocks. Start by downclimbing the left facing dihedral and chimney system, past a large tree. You’ll want to end at a narrow, mossy platform about 15 feet above a large, broad, thorn covered ledge. There’s a few small cracks for a gear anchor. This could also be rappelled if you’re willing to leave behind gear/slings.  5.5 PG / approx 60 ft

Pitch 9: The Beer Keg  From the mossy platform, continue straight out on small hands and finger size horizontals. At a sharp diagonal flake you’ll pull up to a higher set of ledges. Continue across and under some shrubs until you are just about under the I Wanna Live roof. You’ll reach a nice ledge with what looks to be a keg lodged in a pine tree and another oppurtunity for a gear anchor.  5.6 / approx 110 ft

Pitch 10: I Wanna Live  From the Beer Keg Belay Ledge, move around some shrubs to regain the wall and step up and out to great hands and airy feet above an overhang. Continue across until you gain more solid feet on easy ledges. Follow around until you thread the needle between two areas of shrubs. You’ll finish on licheny horizontals about 12 feet above a large tettering platform. Then mantle up a generous belay ledge. Build another gear anchor at the far end of the ledge.  5.6 / approx 140 ft 

Pitch 11: The Amphitheater  Begin this pitch by crawling through a square notch behind a dead tree trunk to gain The Amphitheater. Follow the stair stepped ledges down, across, and back up to a platform. Make a stretchy down climb move to gain the far wall. Next continue to follow stepped ledges back up to Little Jimmie Arete. The climbing is rather tame, but navigating the ledges and reducing rope drag is the crux.  5.3 / approx 170 ft 

The next, final pitch is R due to crumbly, loose blocks and is not recommended. If you choose to skip it, you can easily top out using the fixed line at the other end of the ledge, above the Sister’s Rappel tree.

Pitch 12: The Ballad Slip behind the Sisters Rappel tree and walk across some black ledges toward Sunshine Buttress. You will descend under the prominent White Corner and traverse on sketchy, fried rock. Stay high and perform a stretched step-across to gain a broad ledge under a LOOSE shallow, scooped out corner. Carefully climb up to a thin pillar and walk behind and inside. From the far end, chimnney up and mantle onto the last slanting ledge before the final roof. Finish on the good quality rock of A Man Needs A Maid, climb up to the roof and then traverse left beneath it into and up through the left-hand notch.  5.7 R / approx 115 ft  A more direct finish directly above the slanting ledge would be 5.9.

Full rack up to #4. The nature of traversing in and out of corners can generate a lot of rope drag quickly. Using a half-rope system to alternate clipping is advised.