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Suggested Page Improvements to Great Falls
Dear Great Falls moderators,
I visited this area from NY and was tradding on some of the lines in Caderock. While doing so, I ran into an old timer there who informed me that it is extremely dangerous to trad at Great Falls and Caderock due to the brittleness of the rock. I thought the rock here looked super solid, but this gentleman informed me that cams have been known to pull through solid placements and cause severe injury. He referred me to the following video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCsIID6iY_s, as well as the local guide books.
Apparently cams and nuts can pulverize and break the rock! I experienced this myself later in the trip when a super solid quarter pad crimp busted off the rock with less than body-weight. I would highly recommend changing all routes to TR instead of trad. It may also be worthwhile to cross check this information/experience although I have found similar threads: http://www.summitpost.org/great-falls-carderock-potomac-river-gorge/283338, http://robinclose.blogspot.com/2013/04/carderock-bolts.html.
Regards,
Alex
I visited this area from NY and was tradding on some of the lines in Caderock. While doing so, I ran into an old timer there who informed me that it is extremely dangerous to trad at Great Falls and Caderock due to the brittleness of the rock. I thought the rock here looked super solid, but this gentleman informed me that cams have been known to pull through solid placements and cause severe injury. He referred me to the following video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCsIID6iY_s, as well as the local guide books.
Apparently cams and nuts can pulverize and break the rock! I experienced this myself later in the trip when a super solid quarter pad crimp busted off the rock with less than body-weight. I would highly recommend changing all routes to TR instead of trad. It may also be worthwhile to cross check this information/experience although I have found similar threads: http://www.summitpost.org/great-falls-carderock-potomac-river-gorge/283338, http://robinclose.blogspot.com/2013/04/carderock-bolts.html.
Regards,
Alex
Getting There Suggestion
It's about 20 minutes up stream, and west of Washington DC in Great Falls Park.
Description Suggestion
A beautiful area in the Potomac River Gorge. The cliffs are about 60 feet high and made of hard, solid rock. The area is sunny and has lots of climbers and hikers. This is a major top rope climbing area with trees being the anchor norm.If you want a guidebook for great falls check out the PATC website and pick up a copy of A Climber's Guide to the Great Falls of the Potomac. If all else fails the VA/WV/MD Climbers guide by Horst is also a great guidebook for the area.A number of climbers that know this area well have mentioned that the rock is very suspect in some places. Others swear that it is completely bomber. There have been a number of incidents here regarding broken holds and gear pulling. This is a reminder that it is up to each individual climber to assess the quality of rock and to accept a level of risk that is appropriate for the person, and for the place.If you are preparing to belay from the bottom of a climb, before going check the water levels (on this government website designed a long time ago in a galaxy far far away) as many of the belay spots can get washed out as the river rises. The National Park Service suggests 4.5 feet and above may cover belay areas and down climbing access, but depends on the area.
Description Suggestion
A beautiful area in the Potomac River Gorge. The cliffs are about 60 feet high and made of hard, solid rock. The area is sunny and has lots of climbers and hikers. This is a major top rope climbing area with trees being the anchor norm. If you want a guidebook for great falls check out the PATC website and pick up a copy of A Climber's Guide to the Great Falls of the Potomac. If all else fails the VA/WV/MD Climbers guide by Horst is also a great guidebook for the area. A number of climbers that know this area well have mentioned that the rock is very suspect in some places. Others swear that it is completely bomber. There have been a number of incidents here regarding broken holds and gear pulling. This is a reminder that it is up to each individual climber to assess the quality of rock and to accept a level of risk that is appropriate for the person, and for the place. If you are preparing to belay from the bottom of a climb, before going check the water levels (on this government website designed a long time ago in a galaxy far far away) as many of the belay spots can get washed out as the river rises. The National Park Service suggests 4.5 feet and above may cover belay areas and down climbing access, but depends on the area. https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?gage=brkm2&wfo=lwx
