Linville Gorge April 2026 with Wes

April 20, 2026

Hidden area in Linville Gorge with Wes

Hole in the Wall Gang (5.10c) - Face holds moving between solid jams. Climbing was not too difficult, but the rock was very friable - pebbles were coming off in my hands in the cracks. I moved between holds and placed gear very carefully. Starts wider, gets narrower, then traverses out right onto easier terrain at the top.

Wes reaches the summit of Hole in the Wall Gang

A great view through the hole in the wall at the top of Hole in the Wall Gang

King of Goats (5.11-) - (top rope) V1 boulder problem for the start. Biggish moves between solid holds, one crux in the middle with slightly smaller holds.

Geritol (5.11c) - Similar style to King of Goats, and shares its boulder start. Wes led. Thin holds to a bolted section (2 bolts) with even thinner holds and some hard pulls to get to the top. 

The Climb With No Name (5.9) - A beautiful, wide open book. Hands and fingers in the corner, then easier 5.7 climbing out right, then back into the corner for a 5.8/5.9 roof finish.

Starting my way up The Climb With No Name

April 21, 2026

After a very solid night's rest in the Morganton, NC Hampton Inn, I felt ready to head back out. I met Wes again at the Wolf Pit Trailhead, Parking area for the Shortoff Mountain approach. I had been to Shortoff one time before, with Malcolm in 2022. We had done Maginot Line that day. Today I was back and prepared to climb some harder stuff. 

After scurrying down the approach gully and making a final 30m rappel (almost exactly!) to the gorge floor, we approached the base of Dopey Duck to skiers right of the rappel. This was a fantastic two pitches of climbing followed by a ho-hum short pitch of 5.6. We actually did the first pitch of Toxic Shock rather than the first pitch of Dopey Duck, apparently a common variation.

Dopey Duck (5.9)

P1 - Thinnish holds up a very open corner. Pro near the start and for the first 20 feet was very sparse. After that there was plenty of gear when I needed it.

P2 - Wes led this. Huge jugs with a mild overhang. I really enjoyed this pitch, probably even more so than the first.

P3 - 5.6 to the top.

Looking down Dopey Duck

Then we hiked along the rim until we reached a faint trail which Wes led me down. He built an anchor and lowered me over the edge to try the top pitch of Built to Tilt (5.10a/b) on top rope. This was a spectacular, if short, pitch consisting of a juggy arete followed by an even juggier roof. The roof is huge but has equally massive holds, making it relatively easy but at the same time super exciting to climb. It was basically a sequence of one full-hand plate after another.

Coming back up, we hiked just a bit farther along. Heading down another faint trail a short ways, Wes set up a rappel anchor, we rapped down 100 feet, he set up another rappel anchor, we rapped down another 100 feet, and we found ourselves at the top of the first pitch of Straight and Narrow (5.10a). I led this pitch, Wes led the next one, and I led the 5.6 to the top.

Leading up Straight and Narrow

P2 - My lead. Reasonable climbing, with a thin crux heading right around an arete. The crux is short though and lands you at some huge holds. I managed to drop the carabiner full of nuts. Ugh. Luckily many of them were in our rappel anchors, so I ended up losing only five in total.

P3 - Wes's lead. A tricky 5.9+ section ten feet above the belay leads to more casual climbing to the top.

April 22, 2026

We climbed at Sunken Treasure. The wind was howling all night, and the idea of climbing up at Ship Rock on top of Grandfather Mountain seemed crazy. It kept howling all morning until finally dissipating around lunch time. We did three routes, keeping the day's effort light.

Peg Leg (5.10b/c). My lead. Large holds up a series of tiered roofs. Pro consisted of three or four bolts, with two pieces of gear, so it was almost a sport climb, but not quite.

Jolly Roger (5.10a). Wes led. More tiered roofs with big holds and a delicate stemming section. The final roof is big, but the holds are all there. Wes cut open his hand on one of the sharp jugs.

Powder Keg (5.10b). I led this and then cleaned it on top rope, as Wes was having some aches and pains and wanted to take it easy. Maybe my favorite climb of the day: big holds lead to a sloping ledge. Then follows an exciting traverse right, under the tiered roofs, to move around the arete, plugging gear in the horizontal along the way. The traverse is capped off by a nice heel hook. Short but sweet.

April 23, 2026

The weather was almost perfect today, with much less wind, clear skies, and temperatures in the 70s. We climbed at Ship Rock. I was finally feeling fully on my game. 

Linn Cove Lullaby (5.10a) - P1 is wandering, blocky 5.9, with an Eldo feel but with bulletproof quartzite. Wes led this. I led P2, which has a short bouldery crux 10 feet above the belay, followed by easy climbing to the top.

B. O. G. Man (5.11a)

P1 - Wes's lead, a series of hard moves through a bolted face and two roofs. Very exciting! 

P2 - My lead, solid hands and thinner feet move through a short but very overhung seam in a roof. Easy climbing above the roof traverses horizontals to an anchor on the right.

Contemplating the roof at the top of B.O.G. Man

Harpoon (5.10a) - My lead. Consistent thin finger crack until halfway. The crack is interspersed with solid hand holds, but feet are rather sparse in places. Then a 5.9 roof gets you to the rings. Felt harder than 10a to me.

Anguish of Captain Bligh (5.11) - I did this on top rope. It has big moves between decent crimps, with some very high stepping. From the crimps/finger crack it moves up and left around the arete, until you reach the same horizontal reached when Harpoon eases up. A 5.9 finish to the same anchors as Harpoon. The route felt very challenging - gear placements would be scary, with a run out not far off the ground.

Boardwalk (5.8) - My lead. A blocky but very easy start with minimal to no good protection. After reaching a roof, traverse right through horizontals to a hand sized vertical crack. Follow this only a short way, then peel off left and run it out onto the slab (no protection, but 5.6). Gain good holds again near the top left of the slab, pull a bulge/roof, and transition right over to a bolted anchor. Celebrate with a few pull-ups on the huge fin to your left. Good done as one pitch with appropriate rope management. Spectacular climb!

April 24, 2026

After camping in the Hawksbill parking lot, we hiked in early this morning to the main wall at Hawksbill. We spent the day at Hawksbill in Linville Gorge. The approach was short, maybe 1.5 miles.

Lost in Space (5.10b)

P1 - Wes led this. It starts with a shallow corner and some slab. Then it traverses right and moves into a lieback right-facing corner. After some grunting you reach the first belay.

P2 - I led this. After traversing 10 feet under a roof, I placed a cam in the base of the roof with a 120 cm sling extension. Reaching up high for a jug over the lip of the roof, I placed a marginal green Totem next to the jug hold. I reached high right hand for an intermediate hold, worked the feet up with a heel hook on the left, and reached even higher for a huge horizontal crack. Then I worked the feet up more, even using my knees at one point (I wasn't winning on style points!!!), and placed another green Totem. From here the route continued on 5.8+ terrain to the top. I slung a tree for an anchor and extended it back over the lip of the wall with the rope to ensure good communication with Wes. This was a super exciting pitch!

Preparing to fire the roof on Lost in Space

The Fat Lady (5.11a)

P1 - Wes led this one, too. It has a steep start into a tight chimney system. Step out of the chimney onto a large ledge, move left, and belay.

P2 - My lead, it follows a thin crack for protection but uses large jugs on the face for feet and hands the whole way. A few harder moves were there, but they always left you on a great hold to recover. The route finishes up through a steep but juggy notch in a roof. It is overhung the whole way, but the protection is great. Honestly this felt somewhat casual, easier even than Lost in Space.

Chilling out on The Fat Lady