Currahee Mountain Trip Report

Though forecasts called for temperatures in the 50s, we had our doubts as we headed up I-85 and noted sub-30s on car thermometers. But our worries were unfounded; as we headed down the descent gully at Currahee, it felt like moving into a different climate zone. The sunny and warm cliff base (temps in the lower 60s) soon had us taking off layers and enjoying a perfect day for climbing.

Gary Latimer started things off by leading All I Wanted Was a Pepsi (5.6), a nice long climb with a spicy runout start. Tom Osborne continued down the Slab Area cliff to lead Dust Bowl Daze (5.7). Before long, we were joined by late arrivals Chuck Parks, Andrea Wunderlich and Cathi DeSanto; Chuck “warmed up” with an onsight lead of Mikey’s Mantel (5.10a). Of several leaders who attempted this one, Chuck was the only one who got it clean.

While club members Ed McCord, Pat and Sean Patton were working on lines that had been set up on top rope, John Liles led Deprived Child (5.6), Tom led Stranger Than Friction (5.9), and Chuck led Frictionary (5.9). Later, we moved down to the Buzzard Wall, where Andrea made an exciting lead of Arbor Day (5.10a) and Chuck braved the strenuous Buffy the Buzzard Slayer (5.10). The rest of us took turns re-leading climbs that had been led previously or toproping the routes that were already up.

A pleasant surprise was the arrival late in the day of Bryan Raffield and Stacy. Bryan had suffered a broken toe while subduing a would-be suicide bomber, so he wasn’t able to climb with us, but he did offer beta and encouragement.

By the time we made our way back up the descent gully, darkness had fallen and headlamps were out. Heading back to Atlanta, we stopped in Flowery Branch for a great meal and headed home.

Overall, the ACC couldn’t have asked for a better day for a climbing trip. The weather was fantastic; the road up the mountain was in good enough condition that non-4WD vehicles could make it to the top; and the notorious Currahee graffiti was at a minimum.

Join us next month for the ACC club trip to Sand Rock. See you there!