 |
The southern part of Linville Gorge
looking from the top of the cliff side |
One of the things I was really excited about doing in Asheville was climbing and since my cousin Brian works at REI I figured he would have some inside beta (info) on the scene here. He did, and the previous night he laid out two options: a one day climb at a place called Looking Glass or a two day wilderness climb at a part of Linville Gorge called Shortoff Mountain. When I was climbing at the Gunks, my partner Bruce had highly recommended Linville Gorge, so I was inclined to follow his advice despite what I had heard from a few sources about a long and challenging approach. In addition, a couple of Brian's co-workers, Brian W. and Torry, had been planning to go so they'd be able to offer us valuable information about the routes and area.
 |
The cave with fireplace on the
right and flat rocks on the left |
When we woke up on the wet Thursday morning our minds were still not entirely made up but since the weather was expected to be clear and sunny with a bit of wind, we took our chances and headed to Linville Gorge. Our risk had paid off and by the time we arrived temps were in the 70s and the rock was dry as a bone. Brian and I made the 45 minute hike up to the top of the gorge to meet up with Torry and Brian. From there, Brian W. showed us to our camp, a perfect cave set up with a fireplace, flat boulders for sleeping on and plenty of natural seating around the fire. We set our packs down and racked up for our first climb.
 |
Part of the approach
down the gully
involves shimmying
down that tree |
The reason why the approach is so grueling at Shortoff Mt. is that first, you must hike to the top of the gorge, then scramble down a gully and finally bushwhack along the rock face until you find your route. It took at least 30 minutes to get down the gully and another 15 to find our route, Little Corner, a 5.6 500 foot 3 pitch climb.
 |
Great seating around a fire is
conducive to good conversation |
The climb was lots of fun and it felt great to get back on the rock. It looked and felt similar to the Gunks and by the third pitch we were hundreds of feet in the air watching the sun set behind the mountains. After the climb we found our way back to the cave, collected some wood, started a fire and cooked up some dinner. At that point I realized that I had forgotten to bring my stove, fuel and pots but fortunately Brian W. had one that he was kind enough to share. We sat around the fire for a few hours trading stories before tucking into our bags for a brisk autumn night under the stars.
Shortly after we had laid down for bed we were struck with an attempted burglary. A brave cave mouse tried to make off with our tortilla shells but Torry defended our food and chased the mouse back into his territory. The next morning however, we discovered what real persistence this thieving rodent had; Brian's socks (yeah both of them) were gone!
 |
| A cave with a view! |
I had a light breakfast consisting of apples and bit of oatmeal before going to collect some water. I hadn't wilderness camped in a while so I had forgotten how laborous it can be to get water. In fact, it took me over an hour to get about 1.5 liters of water.
 |
Maginot Line 5.7+
400 feet |
We were going to do one more climb that day before heading back to Asheville for a concert in the evening. Maginot Line (5.7+) was our route and everyone said it was an ultra classic. This time when exiting the cave, instead of walking around some rocks, we did a short and direct climb up to the trail that led the gully. It was a good warm up, but actually took a little longer than just waking. I despised walking down the treacherous gully again and bushwhacking to our route which shows you how spoiled I am in terms of getting to the climbing spots, (Golden Valley trail is like a walk in the park now) but once we arrived at the aesthetic line I was glad we had done it.
 |
Brian doing his best with hiking boots
on our adventure climb |
The first pitch of the climb went great. I built an anchor and began pulling up the rope. Then I heard the words I never expected from Brian "Hey man, I can't find my shoes". It turns out he had left them at the top of the gorge. Luckily, I was right near a horn I could sling so I rappelled down without leaving any gear beside a sling. The next problem was how we were going to get out of the gorge. Neither of us wanted to walk back up that god forsaken gorge and so we started bushwhacking along the cliffs toward a ridge line that would eventually lead back up to the cave. On the way over we realized how long the walk would really be so we made the risky decision to adventure climb our way out. With me leading and Brian following in his sockless hiking boots we found the easiest route to the top of the 400 foot cliff. It truly was and adventure but my route finding skills successfully led us safely to the top.
 |
| Beauty ain't free! |
We left a little later than expected but we were so glad to have avoided the walk up the gully or ridge line. On the way down we even came across a 3 or 4 foot black snake that was poised to strike was I tried to get some shots of it. Ironically, all the things forgotten on that trip really made it unforgettable.
When we got back to Asheville we went over to one of Brian's friend's houses to shower and waited for Kaitlin and her friend to get off work and come meet us. It was really nice of Brian's friend to let us use her shower especially since she wasn't even there at the time, and it saved us at least 1.5 hours worth of extra driving.
 |
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC |
Everyone was excited because we had tickets to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a rock band that I'd never heard of. For dinner we went to this place Brian had heard about called Neo Burrito. They serve huge burritos (I couldn't finish mine) and it reminded me of this place in Albany, NY that I frequented during college called Bombers Burrito Bar. The one main difference between the two is that on Friday's Neo Burrito has the deal of the century with 10 cent local beers. That's right, $1 will get your 10 beers! And the beer is a local craft beer. We finished up there and headed to a bar to play some darts and choose a beer from the largest craft beer selection in Asheville. It really is incredible how many craft beers there are in Asheville.
 |
| The Orange Peel had great acoustics |
Finally we walked across the street to the Orange Peel, Asheville's main music venue, to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. It was a great venue and by the look of it, they get plenty of great names to come through on a regular basis. We arrived just in time and within 5 minutes they were rocking on stage and the atmosphere was electric. The music is rock 'n' roll with a little folk and funk thrown in; some stuff you can dance to and other stuff you just nod your head to. They put on a great performance which is centered around the beautiful, energetic, hip, and talented Grace Potter. She really looked incredible and her lively dancing reverberated a lot of energy to the crowd. Finally, around midnight, we headed home and quickly ended a long day.
No comments:
Post a Comment