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MikeSaint
Dec 30, 2008, 5:41 AM
Post #51 of 61
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Many folks will be pretty pissed off for giving this secret away:
There is a beautiful handcrack to be found at the Umstead Boulders that goes for about 50 feet. It is not located on the central boulder itself. The rock outcropping requires a significant amount of time to find it though...
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norskagent
Dec 30, 2008, 2:15 PM
Post #52 of 61
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I call bullsh!t!!!111
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MikeSaint
Dec 30, 2008, 4:39 PM
Post #53 of 61
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Highly Unlikely and Debatable.
If you were to walk North- North West from the main outcrops for maybe 400 feet you would find an outcropping that consists of metamorphic quartzite. Be sure to turn left at the fallen tree. Look to your right and you see its glory. It goes at 5.11d R because of the last 15 feet is sketch.
In true Umstead character, the crack is bomber and far from choss.
Peace.
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norskagent
Dec 30, 2008, 5:47 PM
Post #54 of 61
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This is the best crack at umstead:
Send is only valid w/ spotter in standard umstead spotting position, as shown.
(This post was edited by norskagent on Dec 30, 2008, 5:47 PM)
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minibiter
Dec 30, 2008, 5:48 PM
Post #55 of 61
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cragmasterp wrote: a fun day can be had searching for splitters at Old Rag in VA. They are hidden in there, and some you can TR. The NRG has crap loads of TR-able cracks, and plenty of those are off-width. enjoy!
Top cracks at OR: Strawberry Fields (P1), Bushwhack Crack, Oh My God. BW is a splitter, OMG is an overhung more-or-less splitter dihedral with a big chunk taken out of it. Starts thin hands (for me) and smoothly goes to off fists (for me). Except for the big chunk of course. I think OMG is hike-to top-ropeable as well. SF is NOT.
The cracks at the NRG are most definitely not splitters. Even the one most approximating a splitter, New Yosemite, only has a section that more or less stays hand size for 20 feet or so and then degenerates into 5.6/5.7 face/crack stuff. Not that it's bad, I love that route. I want to get out there and run laps on it with a TR solo. Oh- China Crisis is an excellent, excellent overhung offwidth that is probably more splitter than NY but gets glossed over because it's slightly more of a hike, is offwidth, and someone *bolted* it. Makes it a great place to try falling on your bigger cams though. Put a cam in just above the last bolt and take a 30'er. I trust my cams now :)
Of course, just because there aren't many splitters at the NRG doesn't mean there aren't TONS of good cracks.
And- Season? What season? This winter is getting plenty of warm days and there are plenty of faces at the NRG that face south. At OR, the Reflector Oven (Home of SF) is an aptly named great winter climbing place.
I'll be at Linville in a few days, thanks for the suggestions.
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sammmy
Dec 30, 2008, 8:23 PM
Post #56 of 61
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Carnage wrote: i finally got out to asheboro, and honestly, i was kinda disappointed w/ the crackage. this thread got me all pumped up. when i got out there all of the "crack" problems had about 5 feet of crack then it went into other stuff. i didnt go out with an asheboro pro though. that may be my problem. i feel like there was quite a bit there that i didnt see. (on my to do list: get out to asheboro w/ a pro)
This surprises me. Even at the "main" area, there are at least 6 splitter cracks (and these are just the boulder "problems"). When I say splitter, I mean they are cracks from the ground to the top. Counting all, just at the "main" area, there would be at least 10. Assuming there are 3-4 other areas this size at the 'burl (at least) that would translate to about 30 or 40 cracks there. I've seen at least that many.
I guess having a "pro" might help, but exploration surely wouldn't hurt your chances...
Another fun one for the highball crack/wide crack connoisseur is to do Crimper's Paradise (hell even traverse into it), then topout straight up. In this case it is only a few moves of crack climbin' but it's fun and sure to make you want to get a really secure jam.
Here's a pic, pull-through with a left-hand into the crack after this move:
edit: add picture
(This post was edited by sammmy on Dec 30, 2008, 8:28 PM)
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Carnage
Dec 31, 2008, 2:24 PM
Post #57 of 61
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sammmy wrote: Carnage wrote: i finally got out to asheboro, and honestly, i was kinda disappointed w/ the crackage. this thread got me all pumped up. when i got out there all of the "crack" problems had about 5 feet of crack then it went into other stuff. i didnt go out with an asheboro pro though. that may be my problem. i feel like there was quite a bit there that i didnt see. (on my to do list: get out to asheboro w/ a pro) This surprises me. Even at the "main" area, there are at least 6 splitter cracks (and these are just the boulder "problems"). When I say splitter, I mean they are cracks from the ground to the top. Counting all, just at the "main" area, there would be at least 10. Assuming there are 3-4 other areas this size at the 'burl (at least) that would translate to about 30 or 40 cracks there. I've seen at least that many. I guess having a "pro" might help, but exploration surely wouldn't hurt your chances... Another fun one for the highball crack/wide crack connoisseur is to do Crimper's Paradise (hell even traverse into it), then topout straight up. In this case it is only a few moves of crack climbin' but it's fun and sure to make you want to get a really secure jam. Here's a pic, pull-through with a left-hand into the crack after this move: [IMG]http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p54/sam_fagg/zero_friction_pic_19012.jpg[/IMG] edit: add picture
yea i did the pictured problem, i wouldnt call it a crack boulder problem tho. im looking for shit that has jams and locks and shit in it, all the stuff i got on in the main area was too short to really be worth doing crack like. ex: lightning bolt crack, i did it first time w/ jams at the top and finished out left, then my entire group was like "you dont need to do the jams, you can just throw for the top, which turned out to be much easier when i did it.
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knieveltech
Dec 31, 2008, 4:09 PM
Post #58 of 61
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MikeSaint wrote: Many folks will be pretty pissed off for giving this secret away: There is a beautiful handcrack to be found at the Umstead Boulders that goes for about 50 feet. It is not located on the central boulder itself. The rock outcropping requires a significant amount of time to find it though...
50' hand crack at Umstead? I've been all over out there and I've yet to see a formation 50' wide, much less 50' tall. I got two six packs of your choice says you're trolling  . To collect you're going to have to show me the outcrop.
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sammmy
Dec 31, 2008, 5:14 PM
Post #59 of 61
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Yea, Crimper's Paradise isn't a crack problem, like I said. The straight-up finish forces a couple moves of crack climbing (and fairly wide), a decent ways off-the-deck, though, like I said.
The crack to the right is a pure splitter, albeit relatively easy. Photo-Op Crack around the corner is a great thin crack. Lightning Bolt Crack is best climbed (IMHO) all the way up the crack. Z-Crack, the Green thing, the two on either side of Vertical Frix, etc (there's 6 just at the main area).
I'm not trying to argue that it's a crack climbing/bouldering mecca, but it's pretty good for NC. There is a relatively large amount there if you are willing to explore.
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norskagent
Dec 31, 2008, 5:56 PM
Post #60 of 61
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The original lightning bolt was a pure crack w/ no large triangular hole to stand in/on. In the early 90s some tooldo hacked that hole into the crack, the jams just above it were "enhanced" also. Back then the crux was pulling off the ground then the first few jams. The upper section wasn't much easier as all one had for feet were poor pasties. No "throwing" to the top. It went at v6 or so, now it's more like v2. To approximate the o/g line, skip the hacked hole altogether.
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Carnage
Jan 1, 2009, 6:46 AM
Post #61 of 61
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Registered: Mar 27, 2007
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norskagent wrote: The original lightning bolt was a pure crack w/ no large triangular hole to stand in/on. In the early 90s some tooldo hacked that hole into the crack, the jams just above it were "enhanced" also. Back then the crux was pulling off the ground then the first few jams. The upper section wasn't much easier as all one had for feet were poor pasties. No "throwing" to the top. It went at v6 or so, now it's more like v2. To approximate the o/g line, skip the hacked hole altogether.
yea i had heard about it, kinda made me sad cause it seemed like a sweet crack that had an easy mode hold on it...
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