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Rock climbing in the Southeastern USA
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Trip Reports - 7/17/99 - Tennessee Wall, TN - Itching to Climb
By Wayne Busch
Summer in the southeast can best summed up in one word -- steamy. Hot and muggy mornings lead to boiling afternoon thunderstorms enraged with lightning. The earth is perpetually damp, the air thick and sticky, lush vegetation almost roars with the song of cicada. Everywhere, there is life. Creeping, crawling, flitting, buzzing, hopping, hanging, and biting! Especially chiggers. Chiggers love things hot and damp. That's why they like to crawl up under your clothes before they inflict their subtle bites. When you're not wearing much, it concentrates their dining activities to some of your most strategic areas. Once the welts raise, the itching persists for days. While T-Wall is known for it's great crack climbing, don't forget the insect repellent if you visit. Henry Gholz, Jason Hale, and I drove through the rain Friday evening, pulling off the side of the road along the Tennessee River around midnight. Henry slept in the car, a good practice here, with Jason in a bivy sack nearby. I found a small clearing closer to the river and spent the humid night in my tent. We were up with the first light, moving up the trail in the coolest part of the morning. Even so, we were drenched with sweat by the time we reached the top of the trail. Henry selected our first climb, Prerequisite for Excellence 5.8, leading the classic corner crack to the top. I followed him, while Jason soloed nearby Plastic Toys 5.7. We moved next to another corner crack, Passages 5.8, again Henry taking the lead. Jason followed this time, and a top rope was set up to allow ascents of both The Sweep 10a and Super Slide 10b a couple of nice crimpy face climbs. It was my turn on the sharp end, and I struggled up In Pursuit of Excellence 5.9, another overhanging corner crack. It was my best climb of the day, a sustained layback - hand jam all the way to the big roof, escaping to the left. Meanwhile, Jason soloed another nearby corner. Henry battled his way up to meet me, and we rejoined Jason on the ground for one last challenge. Henry chose to lead an unnamed arete next to True Colors 5.8. It looked simple enough, but turned out to have a few twists, one of which let Henry test the quality of his gear placements. Jason followed him up, then rigged a top rope before returning to the ground. The security of the top rope let me ease up the left side of the arete to just below a sections of orange roofs. I started to attack them, but turned my attention tot he right face of the arete after some soft rock exploded in my hand when I tested it. The right face proved worthy, and made for a nice finish to the route which easily approached the 5.10 range. The heat of the day was on us now, and we retreated to the car
to look for cooler crags, stopping for lunch on the way. We drove
over to Lookout Mountain, and found a parking space waiting at Sunset
Rock. The first clap of thunder threatened us as we left the
parking lot. Undaunted, we headed down the trail hoping it would
pass. Instead, the booming escalated, striking the cliff tops above
us. We retreated to the car as the sky unloaded on us. We scouted
for a motel room while the storm festered above us, but a softball
tournament had taken most of the available rooms and pickings were
slim. When the rain finally let up around 5 PM, Jason and I returned
to Sunset for some bouldering while Henry continued the search.
There was plenty of dry spots in the large cave near Jennifer's
World, including the big boulder at the mouth. The rock dried quickly,
and we moved to a section 5 minutes south of Sunset. Sunday, July 18th. -- We made our way back to Sunset Rock at 8:00 AM, official opening time and headed south on the bluffs trail. Henry had the hots to get on Blonde Ambition 5.7, a classic and favorite climb. He took the lead, and Jason followed. I came up via Second Sun 5.9, on toprope. Henry and I next moved on to explore new ground, a line I'd spotted a short walk to the south. The route turned out to be dirtier than it looked, and it looked filthy. Plagued with ants, loose rock, lichen, briars, and muddy moss, it was dismissed as unworthy of repetition. I took him down to my newly discovered moderate route Big Crack 5.6, which truly deserves a better name. Henry took the lead, agreeing the route is enjoyable enough to become a regular treat. Jason followed him up, and they rigged a top rope for me before returning to the ground. I took this opportunity to climb the challenging white roof to the left of Big Crack. I gave it my best effort, but didn't have the juice today. It will be a beautiful line - crimpy lockoffs, freaky footwork, and twisty grabs, clean rock. I have to wait to return for another try. Approaching noon, we called it a day and hit the road for the long slog home. Itching. Scratching. Happy. ` |
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larger view of Wayne
The air had cooled, and it made for pleasant climbing. By 7:30 PM,
Henry had returned after securing our luxury suite, and we
headed to Mr. T's for a large pie to go. I pity the fool don't
eat at Mr. T's!
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larger photo of Henry