Mount Yonah Trip Report

Braving frigid winds and ice bombs, the Atlanta Climbing Club made its April climbing trip to Mount Yonah in north Georgia.

New members and old hands alike converged on the new parking lot off Chambers Road for the hike to the Main Face of Mount Yonah. After a hike of a little more than an hour on the trail's many switchbacks, we arrived at the imposing granite face. A total of 13 ACC members were on hand, including a welcome appearance from out of town by longtime member Trish Stoops.

The body heat we generated on the long hike dissipated quickly once we reached the face. Though the sun was out, the temperature refused to rise above the 40s, and the wind increased steadily throughout the day.

Ignoring the cold, several nice toprope climbs were set up in the Army Balance Climb area. Additionally, some leads were done and set up as topropes. Frank Nederhand led the balancy Special Edition (5.9), Robert Morris led Dihedral (5.6) and John Liles led Balance Climb #7 (5.6). Shouts of "rock!" could be heard throughout the day as the thawing rock near the summit periodically sent chunks of ice raining down on the group.

After a good day of cold climbing, we headed back down the trail for a great buffet meal at the nearby West Family Restaurant, then back to Atlanta. For those of us making our first trip to Mount Yonah, it was an excellent introduction and left us looking forward to returning in friendlier weather!