 North
Carolina - Whiteside Mountain
 Location
Whiteside Mountain rises within some of the most beautiful and
scenic country in the Nantahala National Forest. It is close to
the southern border of the state, near the point where Georgia,
South Carolina and North Carolina are joined. The trailhead is found
just off Highway 64 between the towns of Cashiers
and Highlands. Whitesides
is located about 45 minutes west of Brevard, NC..
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 Description
If you are looking for the biggest, longest, wildest, runout routes
in the south, Whitside Mountain is where you come. It is the land
of hard men who seek difficult and dangerous climbing. Because of
this, most pass by to climb at other more forgiving cliffs.
There are aid and free routes here as long as 10 pitches and more.
By far, the most popular route is The Original Route 5.11a* (or
5.9 A1 if you use the bolt ladder at the crux), located towards
the east end of the long southern face. The cliffs are approximately
700 feet high here, though almost 1000 feet of climbing is required
when you include all of the traverses on the route. The first pitch,
140 feet of 5.7 slab offers no protection, setting the tone for
that to come above. The most difficult moves above have sufficient
protection, but the easier ground is very run out.
 Note:
a good view of the southern face can be had by driving through Cashiers
to Whitesides Cove.
Enlarge photo of Jason
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 Directions
From Brevard, NC, take US Highway 64 west, taking care to make
the right turn just as you leave town. Follow 64 past Lake Toxaway,
winding up into the mountains and through the town of Cashiers (good
barbecue at the Smokehouse on your left). After 4.6 miles ( and
before you get to Highlands ), you'll see a sign for Whitesides
Mountain Road on your left near the entrance to the Wildcat
Cliffs Country Club. Take this road to the parking lot and trailhead.
From Atlanta: Take I-85 out of Atlanta north across the Georgia
border into South Carolina. Take the first exit in South Carolina
- SR 11 north, (AKA the Foothills Scenic Highway). Take SR 11 north
to Walhalla and then west on SR 28. A few miles later, SR 28 continues
to the left and the road you're on turns into SR 107 Stay on SR
107 and go past Oconee State Park and north directly into Cashiers.
If you take SR 28 when it diverges left, you'll have a long but
scenic mountain drive into Highlands. At either Cashiers or Highlands,
follow the directions from US 64 above.
OR:
Take 441 North through Georgia to Dillard, then take SR 106 to Highlands.
Head east on 64 to Whitesides. This saves a little driving time
on the serpentine mountain roads.
![[ Yahoo! Maps ]](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mp/gr/mplogo.gif)
Yahoo Scalable Map - shows location of Whitesides Mountain
 Topo
map (TopoZone.com link)
Enlarge photo of East
view
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 Cliff
Access
The north face can be seen from the road just before the turnoff
to the parking area, but the massive southern exposure lies out
of view from this approach. Most climbing activity is focused on
the hidden south face that overlooks the valley from which the Chattooga
River begins
Take the summit trail from the parking lot until it makes a hard
left. The climbers trail to the base of the cliffs is straight ahead,
through some some small pine shrubs (there is a wooden post hidden
by the pine trees, see photo.) Follow the trail down and around
to the base of the wall, working east (left).
To find the Original Route, hike along the wall for about 1/2
mile until you're below a long narrow ledge with trees. To your
right, a large outcropping of rock reaches up to a tree covered
ledge (where Catholic Girls 5.9 begins). Locate a single bolt about
90 feet up the face. The first pitch of the Original Route is pure
5.7 friction, comparable to Stone Mountain or Looking Glass.
While climbing, you may see tourists at a lookout on the far right
side of the summit ridge. Once you top out, find the trail over
to this spot to view the beast. Return to the parking lot via this
same trail (head west).
Whitesides is closed to climbing due to peregrine falcon nesting
season from January 15th - August 15th each year through the year
2003. Those dates may fluctuate slightly. The area is administered
by the Highlands District Ranger office, call 828 - 652 - 2144 for
current information. There is a $2 parking fee, self administered.
Peregrine Falcon Closure info
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   Guidebooks
The Climbers Guide to
North Carolina by Thomas Kelley.
Southern Rock
by Chris Hall
Selected Climbs in North
Carolina - Yon Lambert and Harrison Shull.
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 Routes
The Original Route (a/k/a Gom Jabber) 5.11a* (or 5.10c A1),
New Diversions 5.10*,
Catholic Girls 5.9,
Volunteer Wall 5.10 A4 (hook moves)
View large image of
Bryan and Wayne
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 Land
Manager:
Nantahala National Forest
Highlands District Ranger Office
2010 Flat Mountain Road
Highlands, NC 28741
828 - 526- 3765
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 Emergency
Information:
911, you are in Jackson County.
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 Gear:
Trad, man. Although you'll bring a full rack, this monolith has
few weaknesses in which to insert your puny protection. On the Original
Route, belay stances are either bolted or offer good natural anchors.
Pitches in the 5.6 to 5.8 range are quite runout, often a full (gulp)
rope length. The more difficult pitches are more easily protected.
There is a 3 bolt ladder on pitch seven that allows you to aid through
the difficult 5.11 move. 60 meter ropes are recommended. Because
bad weather comes in unseen from the west and north, be prepared
for storms. Also be aware that, on the Original Route, retreat is
problematic after the first few pitches.
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 Facilities:
Camping is not allowed in the parking area or anywhere on Whiteside.
Camping is available at VanHook campground down the Cullasaja Gorge
Rd.
Another free area to camp is below Shortoff Mountain, about 4 miles
NW of Whiteside. Take a left out of the road leading to Whiteside.
Go about 3 miles, take a right on Buck Creek Rd at the curve. Look
for a boardwalk/wetland area under a mile on your right, then take
a right. Go another half mile or so and take a left. This road eventually
leads to Forest Service land. The road ends at a large turn around.
Park here. Go down the bank to make camp on an old roadbed. There
are houses nearby, so be discrete. Keep fires small. This is a great
and legal place to camp but avoid disturbing the neighbors. Camping
here is about 5 minutes from the Whiteside parking lot.
There is also a U.S. Forest Service campground on Highway 64 west
of Highlands, about 10 miles away. This is a self-pay campground
that is not locked, allowing for late arrivals and early departures.
See large photo of the
start of OR
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Seasons:
Southern exposure heats up the wall in the summer, but peregrine
closures usually keep the cliff unoccupied until fall. Winter can
be nice, but ice is known to pervade the upper pitches.
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 Access
Notes
Whitesides is essentially closed to climbing from January 15th
- August 15th, 2000 to protect peregrine falcon nesting activity.
Peregrine Falcon Closure
info
Show large view looking
west
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Miscellaneous
Be
especially cautious concerning the weather. Routes are long and
committing with limited chances for retreat or escape. This is not
the best place to get pinned during a violent thunderstorm.
View larger image of
South Face
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Links
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Whiteside Mountain Trip Reports
7/15/00 Opening
Day at Whitesides, NC - Almost - submitted by Wayne Busch -
Jason Hale and Wayne Busch try to be the first climbers on Whiteside
only to find the closure signs have not been taken down. They go
to Looking Glass.
10/21/99 Climbing
Scared - Submitted by Wayne Busch - Wayne has a foreboding dream
prior to climbing The Original Route with Jason Hale. We also visit
Looking Glass Rock and Tallulah Gorge.
9/25/98 - Whiteside
Mountain and Rumbling Bald Trip Report - Submitted by the Buttinskis,
a.k.a. Jeff and Chris Braund. The Brothers climb Whiteside with
Matt Floyd, then spend a day at Rumbling Bald.
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