Mar. 8-9, 2008 - Rumbling Bald, NC
Neither rain nor sleet nor bitter winds stayed the Atlanta Climbing Club from its appointed rounds during the March Climbing Trip/Spring Kickoff.
As the weekend approached, the wet forecast was looking distinctly un-promising for the ACC trip to Rumbling Bald in Chimney Rock, NC. In spite of this, club members crossed their fingers and headed north on Friday. Though some had planned to arrive early for some extra climbing, Friday was a rainout, and worked instead as a travel day.
Saturday morning dawned with sunny skies, raising hopes in the chalet that it would be a good climbing day after all. The 16 intrepid climbers headed out after breakfast and arrived at the Cereal Buttress about 10 a.m. Jeff kicked things off by leading the first pitch of Fruit Loops (5.7) to set up a toprope, while Denmark headed up the neighboring Granola (5.8+), including the seldom-done second pitch, and Frank led the classic Frosted Flake (5.9+). Between topropes, Chuck led both pitches of Fruit Loops, with Huong seconding.
The sunny skies soon gave way to clouds, and before long, heavy sleet was coming down. Undeterred, club members like Johanna, Jamie, Stacy and Larry kept on climbing the topropes that were set up, and the rock never got so wet that it was impossible to make it up the rock.
Finally, our patience was rewarded with the sun came back out, this time for good. Temperatures were balmy, and the afternoon saw some great climbing. Moving down to the Comatose area, neither Huong nor John let a lead fall keep them from completing leads on an un-documented sport route (5.9+?) and on Comatose (5.8), respectively. Also in the Comatose area, Chuck led Rusty Redneck (5.10c); Susan, Sarah, Enid, Cathi and Gary toproped Huong's 5.9 mystery route; and Frank took a turn leading Comatose.
Back at the Cereal Buttress, Denmark led Born Again (5.11a) with one fall and set up a toprope on one of the neighboring climbs. Jeff led the very difficult Mennonite Surf Party (5.11+), taking a whipper in the process, and followed up with Born Again. Finishing up the day, the club members straggled back to the chalet for dinner.
The big Saturday evening feast is always a highlight of the spring kickoff trip, and this year was no exception. With Jeff and his trusty assistants manning the grill, hungry climbers were treated to wonderful grilled salmon and chicken, along with salad and vegetable dishes provided by club members.
Over dinner, Bryan and Chuck entertained the newer climbers with stories about the hilarious things that can happen when you make a mistake setting up to rappel from the top of a route. Most everyone saved room for dessert, which included the perennial favorite brownies by Barbara Osborne.
The weather outlook for Sunday was looking great: clear and sunny with highs in the 50s. But first, we had to endure the early chill. Temperatures were in the low 30s as the club hiked up the trail to the Flakeview area. It took a while to thaw out, but finally the day lived up to expectations, and clothing layers starting getting peeled off.
Gary kicked things off with a heady lead of Bear Hunt (5.8?). Denmark went down the trail to lead Drivin' and Cryin' (5.10a), while Bryan and later Chuck led an undocumented bolted route (5.7+) left of Bear Hunt. While club members toproped these great climbs, several teams got on the long and exposed routes on the tier above. The Gift (5.7+) was led by both Chuck and Denmark, while the popular neighboring upper-tier route, Gift Certificate (5.8), was led at various points by Tom, Gary, John and Jeff. Both of these routes offered following club members great views of the lake and valley below. Between other leads, Denmark led Bear Hunt and Jeff led Drivin' and Cryin'.
Even with daylight savings time in effect, there was no avoiding the long trip back to Atlanta. Club members packed their gear and headed back to the cars after a full day of Rumbling Bald climbing.
All in all, the ACC got very lucky with the weather, which could have been much worse. We had a day and a half of sunny weather and great climbing, and another half-day of nasty weather but still good climbing. It added up to a great weekend trip for everyone.
Special thanks go to Tom Osborne for procuring the great main dishes and potatoes for the Saturday feast; to Jeff for his cooking expertise; and to Jennifer Nederhand and Barbara Osborne for all their efforts in preparation for the big meal. Thanks too go to all the club members for your contributions to the meal and to the great climbing experience.