Flatliners Southeast Climbing Trip Report - 7/15/00

Give or take a day ...

Photo by Wayne Busch - Whiteside Mountain viewed from Whiteside Cove

"Next weekend, you and me, Whiteside" were the first words out of Jason Hale's mouth when we met for a brew about a week ago.

"I spoke with someone in the Highlands District Ranger office, and she told me it would be opening July 15th instead of August 15th, give or take a day" Jason countered. So it began...

Friday evening found us whisking through Georgia, then into North Carolina as we passed into Saturday. Finally entering the Nantahala National Forest, we pulled off the road to get some sleep. The previous evenings rain had saturated the foliage before our arrival, and the humid night allowed no drying. The blustery remnants of a passing front tussled the laden tress, loosing huge drops of water with each gust. But as the sun rose, the low clouds thinned, and blue sky peeked through with increasing frequency.

photo by Wayne Busch - Breaking camp Saturday morning

We awoke a little groggy after the long drive, but a couple cups of good coffee cleared the cobwebs and we set off for Whiteside Mountain. Pulling into the small parking lot, we were confronted with the large "Closed to Climbing" sign near the trailhead. No problem. It was early, they had not yet taken down the sign. We hopped out of the car and went to the bulletin board to get the true story. The closure order would be posted there, it would verify the dates it was effective.

There were three conflicting documents posted here. The most prominent and specific was the actual closure order, which specified August 15th as the last day climbing was prohibited. Though it was the original order, the document covering the period from 1997 - 2003, the status of closures had changed since, with the Forest Service becoming a little more permissive. Another more recent document reinforced the first, but specified the last day of effect as today, July 15th. Still another smaller advertisement incorrectly asserted climbing was prohibited from August 15th through January 15th, in opposition to the true situation. All together, the information on the board added up to a complete ban on climbing at Whiteside. Which to believe?

Photo by Wayne Busch - Wayne, Jason - Sign reads: Whitesides is closed to climbing and rappelling due to peregrine falcon nesting season.

Then there was the big sign... We wrestled with the situation in the parking lot. It was going to be a great day. This would bring out a lot of people. Already cars were pulling in to the lot, none of them climbers. It would be a busy weekend, the Rangers would most likely be here. While we were sure the order had been changed, without someone in authority we could not be confident of it's enforcement. What if we were fined, or worse yet our gear was confiscated? Breaking the law certainly wouldn't bring climbers any good will from the Forest Service. Surely they would take the sign down today. Or maybe tomorrow. Give or take a day haunted us.

The sign... we decided to play it safe and move on. We would return tomorrow. We came to Whiteside to get on the biggest climbs in the southeast. An hour away, Looking Glass Rock has some big climbs. Jeff Braund had recently been to the North Face and told us there were some really big, really hard climbs there. That fit the bill. We would explore the North Face.

It was a first visit to this side of Looking Glass Rock for both of us, so we decided we would do this in the spirit of the first ascentionists - sans trail (a.k.a. we couldn't find the "obvious" trailhead). We bushwhacked through steep wet underbrush so thick most times you couldn't see your feet, gaining the base of the rock by sweat and compass. The reports were correct. It was huge! Acres of granite soared upwards hundreds of feet, with enormous features oft described as resembling those found in Yosemite Valley. Much of the rock bulged outward a few hundred feet up, the top of the faces unseen from below. This was serious business.

We started the day be climbing the first two pitches of Safari Jive 5.9+. The third pitch starts with a 5.11c problem, and neither of us felt ready to tackle that challenge this early. There had been some pretty stout moves just to get to the second belay station. We rappelled to the ground, and next moved on to The Seal 5.10. I really enjoyed leading this climb, the last few moves are exciting. The arching first pitch is the best part of this climb, with some aid climbing required above it, so we went no further. From the top of the first pitch however, the ropes dropped directly on Shrimp Creole 5.11a, which Jason climbed flawlessly. We finished the day on The Sperm 5.9+, a dirty little adventure through a tight chimney, rappelling from atop the second pitch.

It was a good introduction to the North Face, a taste of the easier offerings here. Our next visit will have to include some stiffer routes if we are to continue expanding our repetoiur in this area. We look forward to a return this fall. We continued the tradition by stopping at El Chapala Mexican Restaurant in Brevard, then drove back into the western mountains to pass the night.

Sunday morning was clearer, calmer, and a little cooler, ideal conditions for a long day on the big stone at Whiteside. Again, we made the drive to the parking lot, fingers crossed that things had changed, but found everything as it was before. Clearly, according to our phone info, and one of the three postings at the trailhead, the restriction were no longer in effect. I suggested we had beat the Ranger to the lot before he had a chance to take down the sign. Perhaps, if we took a short drive, it would allow him time to get there and perform his duty. I wanted to get a good look at the cliff faces we planned to climb on from a distance, to get some perspective of how big it was. The Whiteside Mountain Trail approaches from the back side of the mountain, so no good view of the expanse of granite is available from this side, and it is too large to see it all from vantage points atop the 1000 foot high cliffs. A short drive through Cashiers would bring us to Whiteside Cove, and a superb view of the entire south side of the mountain. It was inspiring! Such a contrast to the disappointment on our return to the unchanging situation at the trailhead. We would not climb here today.

I argued the best alternative was to go to Tallulah Gorge in Georgia. It was on our route returning to Florida, quickly accessed, and would cut an hour off our drive home - an hour we could use for climbing. Yielding to the efficiency of my plan, we wound our way down out of the mountains into northeastern Georgia and proceeded down US 441 to Tallulah Gorge State Park. Only an hours drive, but what a contrast to the wilderness we'd left. We'd dropped a couple thousand feet in elevation, and moved further south. For one thing, as midday approached, it was hot.

We paid the $4 parking fee (doubled since my last visit), and waited in line at the visitor center to get our permit. While there is no fee required for the permit, there is a $100 fine for being in the gorge without one. It's a compromise adopted by the park service to insure the safety of visitors and warn them of the rigors of entering and traveling within the rugged canyon. The potential for serious and fatal accidents is real, and a history of them precedes the park services tenure of management.

We climbed Digital Delight 5.8, three pitches, one of my favorite climbs because it emerges on a spectacular triangular wedge of rock extending from the North Wall cliff top. An overlook allows tourists views of climbers on the last pitch of the route dramatically appearing on this ledge, casually resting on the suspended perch with hundreds of feet of air beneath them. It's one of the best views in the park.

Enough. Weary of the heat, we hit the road home early in the afternoon. Best to return to Tallulah later in the year when it cools off. Just our luck, the peregrine falcon closures in North Carolina were lifted the next day.

Trip Reports - 7/15/00 - Whiteside Mountain, NC (almost), Looking Glass Rock, NC and Tallulah Gorge, GA

Give or take a day ...