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HueyFE
Dec 10, 2009, 4:24 PM
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So I may be heading out to climb the sprt routes here this saturday....I think its about a 4 hr drive from where I am in Hampton Rds VA.
I was wondering are there chains on the routes for top rope or do I have to build anchors??? Also how well are the sport routes pro? DO I need any trad stuff?
All help is greatly appreciated
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deltabrian
Dec 13, 2009, 6:44 PM
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There are no bolted routes at Great Falls. Bring at least 30 ft to set anchors at the top of climbs.
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brokesomeribs
Dec 14, 2009, 2:25 AM
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Correct, there are no sport routes at all. Everything is top-roped. Occasionally, people will lead the climbs on trad gear, but the rock is slick doesn't hold protection well.
You'll need two 30-ft lengths of webbing or static line to sling trees and two fat locking biners for your toprope. That will cover you for 95% of the climbs. Occasionally, small nuts and cams can be very helpful in creating more redundant top-rope anchors when the trees are too small or too far away. I try not to use them because there have been reports of people stealing gear from your anchor while you climb.
(This post was edited by brokesomeribs on Dec 14, 2009, 2:27 AM)
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agdavis
Dec 14, 2009, 4:31 AM
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brokesomeribs wrote: I try not to use them because there have been reports of people stealing gear from your anchor while you climb.
you've got to be kidding. what kind of twisted fucker steals pro from an in-use anchor.
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brokesomeribs
Dec 14, 2009, 4:38 AM
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Yeah, crazy right?
Maybe they had the decency to wait until you had lowered off. It never happened to me personally, and I've used trad gear a bunch of times to beef up anchors, but it was warned right in the guide book to not use trad gear if you can help it.
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agdavis
Dec 14, 2009, 5:07 AM
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brokesomeribs wrote: Yeah, crazy right? Maybe they had the decency to wait until you had lowered off. It never happened to me personally, and I've used trad gear a bunch of times to beef up anchors, but it was warned right in the guide book to not use trad gear if you can help it.
Is this place right next to a road or something, where non-climbing thieves hang out? It's so atrocious it is hard to believe...
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brokesomeribs
Dec 14, 2009, 5:54 AM
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Yeah, sort of. First of all - the area is gorgeous.
It's also literally a 15-20 minute drive from downtown Washington DC and the approach from the parking lot is about 6-7 minutes. There's also an extremely popular hiking trail along the top of the cliffs.
The park is exceptionally popular, right in the middle of one of the densest population centers in the country, and attracts all sorts of people: Families, hikers, climbers, whitewater kayakers, large Hispanic family reunions, gay men soliciting sex in the woods, a couple crackheads, and shiftless delinquent kids playing hooky.
I think the gear thefts were an issue several years ago, most likely crackheads or some good for nothing kids. I haven't heard any stories of theft in recent years, but I'm not climbing there as much as I used to either. I just figured it was worth mentioning.
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deltabrian
Dec 19, 2009, 11:35 PM
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I was making a traverse of the Echo Rock area this past summer and my partner and I had our backpacks stolen by some kids that had swam across from the Maryland side. Morons dumped the bags, and swam back across. They left about $200 of gear behind, and just took the bags.
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joeforte
Dec 20, 2009, 12:15 PM
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deltabrian wrote: I was making a traverse of the Echo Rock area this past summer and my partner and I had our backpacks stolen by some kids that had swam across from the Maryland side. Morons dumped the bags, and swam back across. They left about $200 of gear behind, and just took the bags.
Maybe they wern't such morons... swimming across a river with a backpack full of climbing gear sounds a little hazardous!
Sorry to hear about the stolen gear though... that's lame.
(This post was edited by joeforte on Dec 20, 2009, 12:16 PM)
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