 General
South Carolina Information
 General
Description
While South Carolina has a few quality climbing destinations, they
pale in comparison with that offered across the border in North
Carolina, and it is generally bypassed on the way to it's northern
neighbor. The climbing which is found in South Carolina occurs on
the Blue
Ridge Escarpment in the extreme northwest edge of the state.
State high point: Sassasfras
Mountain 3,560 feet
Climbing areas sorted by type of climbing
available
Areas are recommended as follows:
Bouldering Options in the Columbia Area
Thus far, I know only of bouldering in the
Columbia area (though I hope to have more information as I make it
to new bouldering areas.) There are two sites on the Saluda River
that have some decent bouldering.
The first site:
Take I-26/126 to the Greystone Blvd./Riverbanks Zoo exit. Follow
the signs off the ramp to the zoo. Upon entering the zoo parking
lot, turn right and go all the way to the end. Take the trail (to
the south) into the woods toward the north bank of the Saluda
River. There will be a picnic area on the left. At the bank, turn
right (west) and head upriver about 200-300 yards. Walk out onto
the rocks into the center of the river. There will be four large
boulders (about 15 feet high) that have come to rest on each other.
The one closest to the center of the river has some grafitti of a
skull and crossbones on the south side. There are about six or
eight problems with about a half dozen moves apiece. Not a whole
lot of climbing, but it will kill an hour or two. Also, not that a
crash pad would really be needed for the problems, but you're better
off bringing a lot of spotters instead since any crash pad would
usually need to be placed in about 6 inches of water to be
positioned properly. Just as fair warning, the river side at the
zoo is particularly popular among the locals for other recreational
activities (such as drinking), so I wouldn't recommend going if
you're not ready to deal with somewhat intoxicated on-lookers.
The second site:
This site is just across the river on the south bank of the Saluda,
in plain view of the first site. To get there:
From downtown Columbia, take the Gervais Street Bridge (Hwy 1)
across the Congaree River into West Columbia. Just across the river
at the first light, turn right on Hwy 378. About half a mile up the
road turn right onto North Lucas Street. (It's at a light just past
the underpass of Hwy 12.) Take N. Lucas St. until it ends. Turn
right onto Comanchee. Take it until it ends. Turn left onto Laurel
Crest Drive. Take Laurel Crest until it dead ends and park on the
side of the road. Face north-by-northwest and walk down the hill to
the river bank. For a few hundred yards along the bank (it's
probably a quarter-mile stretch or more) there are boulders ranging
from a few feet to about 15 foot problems.
To get there from outside of Columbia, take Hwy 378 west into
Columbia and turn left onto N. Lucas St. Follow same directions as
above.
There are actually about a million ways to get there. Anyone with a
map can see that all you're really trying to do is get as close to
the south bank of the river as possible. There are a lot of roads
that run back in that direction since the area is residential.
Also, Laurel Crest Drive is a private, gated road that is currently
open at all hours. However, much of the property adjacent to the
road is composed of private waterfront lots that are being sold
piecemeal for housing development. This means there is good news
and bad news. The good news is that the property lines (as they are
still currently marked) stop about 2/3 of the way down the hill,
leaving the riverfront still open for public use (it currently sees
light use by paddlers and tubers.) The bad news is that one day the
gate to the private road will inevitably be locked. However, there
is a nearby apartment complex that has visitor parking. Also, the
roads are relatively unused and have plenty of grass on the shoulder
to park on, so once the gate is locked it will just require a little
more hiking to reach the river.
There's at least eight problems on the boulders on the bank, but
that's only because that's all I've had time to climb yet. I'm sure
there's at least a dozen more problems yet to be discovered. As far
as local usage, the south bank is relatively quiet. The last time I
was there I was out for about 7 hours on the weekend and only saw
three tubers and four paddlers. Also, there's plenty of shade as
the area is wooded which makes for nice climbing in hot weather.
(The climbing on the north bank is completely exposed, so it can get
pretty hot in the 105 degree temps of a columbia summer.)
I've recently taken another bouldering trip in
South Carolina, this time to Peachtree Rock Nature Conservancy near
Swansea. To get there from Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, or other
points north:
Take Highway 6 south toward Redbank/Swansea. Highway 6 will meet
Highway 302 where they will run together for a few miles before
Highway 6 separates to the left. Continue on Highway 6 for
approximately 0.5 mile. On the left will be a sign for Bethel
Independent Church. Another 0.1-0.2 mile and Peachtree Rock Road
will be on the left, as well as a small dirt parking lot and a sign
for the Nature Conservancy. Turn left into the parking lot.
The conservancy has two trails on it, one marked in red, the other
in blue. Both trails start at the parking lot and stay together
until they reach Peachtree Rock itself. From there they separate;
the red trail goes southeast and is approximately 0.75 mile long
while the blue trail goes northeast and is approximately 2.0 mile
long.
There are two bouldering sites. The first is around Peachtree Rock
itself. Peachtree Rock cannot be climbed on since it is
extraordinarily unstable, not to mention a geological landmark. (It
should be pretty much impossible to miss since it is roped off.)
However, there are numerous sizeable boulders around Peachtree Rock
that can be climbed.
The second site is the "Little Peachtree" and can be found at the
tail end of either the blue of red trail where the trails converge.
It is approximately 15-20 feet high and completely free-standing so
it can be climbed on all sides. Unfortunately, the fact that it is
free-standing is a double-edge sword. It is much riskier to get
down than to go up. There is a boulder about 10 feet high a few
feet away that can be used to descend, but it's still rather
tricky. Another option would be to use a couple crash pads and
simply jump down to the level spot on the ground, though the pads
would need to be packed in about a mile to reach the rock. There
are other boulders surrounding the Little Peachtree as well that are
suitable for climbing and are much easier to descend.
Most of the boulders at either site are sandstone, and in some cases
simply very hard-packed sand. Therefore it is imperative to choose
holds wisely before starting a problem as many features will flake
or crumble beneath you. There are quite a few boulders that look
like easy but fun problems that become incredibly difficult (though
still fun) as the rock crumbles when you put weight on it. (This is
especially unpleasant to discover at the top of a problem after
having traversed away from a crash pad.) Further, as Little
Peachtree is, in my humble opinion, a landmark just as much as
Peachtree Rock itself, it is important to preserve its original
state as much as possible by not crumbling it as it is climbed.
Also, if you are allergic to stinging insects (wasps, bees, etc.),
be sure to pack out the epi-pen as one or two of the boulders are
home to wasps nests in the summer time. There are not so many wasps
that they significantly impact climbing, but it would be good to use
caution, especially if you are severely allergic.
Peachtree Rock Nature Conservancy
Thanks,
Information provided by Derek DeBruin
debruin@mailbox.sc.edu
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