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jw11733
Nov 22, 2004, 3:57 PM
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Registered: May 27, 2004
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My wife and I are looking for a good beginner sport lead at Pilot Mt. Any moderate routs that are well protected? by well protected, i mean not too runout, good hardware etc.
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andy_reagan
Nov 22, 2004, 6:13 PM
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Theres an 8 slab in the ampitheater, and a bouldery 9 right around the corner. Other than that there is a really good 10d (devil in the whitehouse) which requires only 1 cam to back up the bolts. If you can work some 11s you got the whole range pretty much of climbs in the ampitheater, 11b? overhanging hangover, 11a blind prophet variation, 11b? shrimps, etc. Mostly toproping for the sub 10 level, though.
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noell
Nov 22, 2004, 6:51 PM
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The 5.8 referred to is Mild Mannered Secretary. It's slabby, three bolts then the shuts. Its the center most route in the ampitheater. It isn't too scarey, but there aren't necessary 'jugs' on the route (given its kinda slabby, no jugs by definition) so be prepared to use your feet. The route to the left of Mild Mannered Secretary is also one of the physically easiest lead routes at Pilot, though its a 5.8/5.9 and the second bolt is a little scarey if you aren't too hot on doing a move to a comfortable stance to make the clip, but a considerable distance from your first bolt. Then there's Black Rain, just around the corner. It's a 5.9, but the first two clips are pretty tricky, esp. if you are onsighting the route. AND it looks like the clipping jug for the first bolt broke off, so bring your stick clip for the first bolt if you wanna feel comfy about it. The crux is definitely right off the ground, getting past the first two bolts and then up to the big ledge. From there, its easy 5.9 climbing, nice and long, all the way to the anchors. Always big holds, nice moves. Lots of people work devil, the 5.10 mentioned previously, but getting to that first bolt is a doozy! Definitely bring gear b/c it's up there around 25 feet. Usually a green BD cam will work in the big horizontal that's at the ledge about 15 feet up. Finally, on the far right side of the amphitheater is Cow Pattie Bingo. All the moves are easy, I promise! But its a run out slab, rated 5.9R. Just use your feet, take a deep breath, and you'll get this nice climb, no problem. It's three bolts, then the shuts. Pilot's got alot of Top Rope opportunities, but not alot of easier sport. If you wanna check out moderate sport, I recommend going to Sauratown perhaps instead, but there isn't a published guidebook for it. Everything at Sauratown is sport leadable (with perhaps some gear placements for run outs) and moderate in difficulty. Good luck!
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joshy8200
Nov 22, 2004, 7:04 PM
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There are two moderate climbs on the left side of the Ampitheatre that are bolted...both are in the 5.7-5.8 range (Mild Mannered Secretary and Turkey Shoot). The route on the left is the harder of the two...but both are kind of low angle slopey holds. Pretty decent for a beginner if you keep your head and do the moves. The 5.9 on the right side does carry an R rating (Cow Patty Bingo). It's pretty far up to the first bolt...and if you fall before clipping at the second bolt you're going to take a ride (I've seen this happen) but you probably won't deck. BEWARE if you aren't solid. You also have the moderate (5.8-5.12) climb that is around the corner of the right side of the Ampitheatre called Black Rain. Taking the path of least resistance it is a moderate and fun 5.8 sport lead. As said before there are some harder sport leads in the 5.10 to 5.11 range. If you have a light rack there is one easy trad lead around the corner from the left side of the Ampitheatre that's a 5.6 called Pee Break. It has very good holds and good stances. For easy sport climbing...you're not going to find much at all below 5.10 in North Carolina. Ohh....I sort of take that back. Table Rock has some very nice multipitch bolted "sport" routes. They're only in the 5.6 and 5.5 range. They're very tame if you can deal with the height and rope management of multi-pitching. I would actually suggests these routes for first leads over the routes at Pilot (unless you've maybe done some solid leading indoors then you're probably more than ready for the routes at Pilot).
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joshy8200
Nov 22, 2004, 7:06 PM
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Ohh....you may also want to put a posting on Carolinaclimbers.org to get some more information. More local NC climbers on that website might be able to think of some more moderate sport climbs to point you in the direction of.
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jw11733
Nov 22, 2004, 8:18 PM
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Registered: May 27, 2004
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Thanks all, great info!
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