Fall Climbing 4: Climb the Weekend Away

OVERVIEW

Some folks have been asking for a weekend trip, and I haven’t been on one in a while, so here we go.

Possible destination #1: If a smaller number of people sign up, we’ll go to Seneca. Yay Seneca! We’ll stay at The Shitbird, where there are lots of walnuts, ample flat spots, loud tractor trailers, hot showers, noisy assholes from Northern Virginia who show up at 1am and wake up the entire campground, and flush toilets. There are two places to get coffee in the morning, The Gendarme and From The Ground Up. FTGU may also have food, but I wouldn’t count on it. We’ll be doing multi-pitch trad. As before, I will be the only one leading climbs and you will be brought up on top rope. There will also be rappelling. We will likely eat dinner at The Front Porch, where there is mean pizza and a great ham sandwich.

Possible destination #2: If a larger number of people sign up, we will go to The New / Meadow / Summersville. We will stay at an as-yet undetermined campground with flat ground, hot showers, and flush toilets. We all love Roger’s but it lacks those three things. Most of us have the easy sport locations (Sandstonia, Beer Wall, and Summersville) memorized so we’ll probably go to a sunny place where there is sport and trad, with easier trad routes I can set top ropes on. There will probably be a few sport routes that people can lead. These places will also be significantly less crowded. We will probably eat dinner at a restaurant in Fayetteville, either Pies and Pints, Gumbo’s, Dirty Ernie’s, or the new Mexican place. We may have breakfast at Cathedral, but a speedy oatmeal & bagel bash is more likely.

Please note that there will be ample time to study and do homework in the cars, at the campground, and whenever you’re not climbing. ‘I have to study’ (say it with a nasal, whiny voice) is not an acceptable excuse not to come. Follow Nick’s example – he brings the papers he has to grade in the car with him. When you look back on college you’ll regret the things you didn’t do, not the things you did.

It will probably be cold at night and possibly during the day. Below freezing temperatures at night and in the mornings are a good possibility. Dress appropriately (layers! hand-warmer things in chalk bags!) and bring/borrow an appropriate sleeping bag and pad. I will cancel if the forecast turns sour, but I don’t consider medium rain at night and a small chance of light rain during the day to be sour, nor do I consider lower daytime temperatures (40deg) to be sour. At this time of year there will be no nighttime temperatures that will make me cancel.

The trip will start with 4 spots, but don’t let that scare you. I’ll expand the trip as drivers sign up. Drivers get priority to come off the waitlist.

Requirements: Able to tie in, belay a top rope, and cleanly climb 5.8 on top rope.

Club provides: Climbing gear, ga$ money, breakfast, lunch, maybe dinner, camping gear.

You provide: Any climbing gear you own (harness, shoes, etc), appropriate clothing, water, sturdy shoes for the approach, camera, $ for dinner, earplugs for the campground, kick ass attitude and a smile.

Yeehaw.