Whiteside Mountain and Rumbling Bald Trip Report
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Chris & Jeff Braund (the Buttinski's), Matt Floyd
September 25-27, 1998
After our disappointment in Yosemite earlier this year, Jeff & I really wanted to experience a long climb on a large wall. A strong climber from Columbia, Matt Floyd, had offered to take us up the Original Route on Whitesides. We took him up on the offer and all met in Cashiers, NC on Thursday night. We headed to the US Forest Service campground and got a quick night's sleep.
As Thomas Kelley writes, "Whitesides is undeniably bold. Whitesides is immense, scary and the closest thing to big wall, runout adventure climbing you'll find in the south. This is the place for you if you wish to avoid the crowds and soil your drawers. There are aid and free routes as long as 10 pitches. Southern exposure heats up the wall in the summer, but peregrine closures usually keep the cliff unoccupied until fall. Winter can be nice, but ice is known to pervade the upper pitches. The face is about 700 feet high, and the Original Route is about 1000 feet of climbing when you include all of the traverses."
Friday 9/25:
The three of us hit the trailhead a little after sunrise. We had read that the trail to the base of the Original Route (O.R.) could be devious and to plan for up to an hour and a half approach. Matt debunked this by taking us directly there in about 35 minutes. The day was beautiful, the wall was big and Jeff & I were definitely excited. We would be the only climbers visible on the wall all day.
South Face
Parking Lot
Many thanks to Dean Elliot of Cullman, Alabama for his excellent route description (which Iíve borrowed from heavily):
Pitch One (5.7R) 150', no protection
Steep friction, very reminiscent of the first pitches at Stone Mountain, NC. Just pick a line and move upwards very carefully. Matt took his time working up to a large ledge, clipping one questionable bolt at about 90 feet. Chris followed and then Jeff worked up gingerly with our shared pack on his back. Although we tried to travel light, three sets of shoes, water, jackets and ascenders (just in case) filled a pack and would later prove troublesome.
Pitch 1 --The climber can be seen (barely) in the black circle
Pitch Two (5.8R) 90'
We moved to the left end of the ledge and climbed up a short flake to pull an overhang/bulge. Chris had the pack this time and was definitely awake for this little crux move. Afterwards, there's another 70 feet of mellow but unprotected climbing until you gain another ledge.
Starting Pitch 2
Pitch Three (5.7) 80'
Walk and scramble about 50 feet to the left end of the ledge, then climb the cracks for about 20 feet. Then traverse right under a short overhang. It's best to stay low on the traverse, using your hands on the 3' ledge rather than your feet. At the end of the traverse is an obvious corner with a crack that will go at 5.9 or 5.10. Keep going further and you'll find a right-facing layback flake that's much easier. At the top of these cracks (about 40 feet), step left around a corner and continue up the face to a bowl-shaped belay ledge with two anchor bolts.
End of traverse on Pitch 3
Pitch Four (5.10a -- originally 5.9) 60'
There is one challenging series of moves early in this pitch, easily seen in the dihedral corner just above and left of the belay. Matt reached as high as possible and placed a good cam to protect the first move. It's then a stretch, a stem and good crack technique that will get you through. I think that there's a bolt in the middle of the section and another above it where a ledge starts. The ledge is nicely covered with grass, narrow but quite long. Upon reaching the ledge, move to the far left end. I gave Jeff the pack and proceeded up the crack, pleased to make the first move and clean the cam. However, messing with the next bolt clip and pumped from the difficulty, I slipped here. The rest of the pitch was pretty straightforward. Jeff was next and decided to pull out the ascenders after watching Matt and I and considering that he now had the pack. I fixed his line from the ledge and waited as he prepared to jug. I then heard about 10 minutes of grunting, groaning and cursing that echoed over the peaceful valley. He lowered back to the belay and collapsed, seriously questioning whether he could continue. Matt, having already led the fifth pitch, periodically hollered for a status update. Not good. Retreat is very difficult from this point, because you've travelled so far to the left. A rappel would end in a sea of blank granite. Jeff clipped the pack to the rope and I hauled it up the 40-50 feet between us. He then rested and reset his ascenders. It seems that he had misjudged the initial setup and had been supporting his entire weight (plus the pack) with his arms--instant burnout. His second attempt was much better as he smoothly climbed the line and joined me at the ledge. We happily reported our progress to Matt, who was baking in the sun above and probably questioning his decision to get on a wall of this seriousness with the Buttinskiís.
10a Pitch
Pitch Five (5.7R) 75', no protection
Now this is Whitesides fun. From the left end of the ledge, traverse out another 10 feet and then head up the face. There's no protection and we were now in awe of Matt's confident, smooth progress pitch after pitch. He knew the route and knew that he could make the moves, he just aimed for the next belay. The face climbing was not too difficult (5.5-5.7), but very exposed. The belay is a narrow ledge with anchor bolts. The ledge (not the pitch) continues for about 50' to the left and provides an incredible view of the west end of the wall.
(Left Photo) Starting Pitch 5 ; (Right Photo) Ledge Before Crescent Pitch (end of Pitch 5)
Ledge before Crescent Pitch
Pitch Six -- The Crescents (5.8+), 80'
From the belay, Matt used the crack immediately above the anchors for balance and swung out right and under a small overhang. With several hundred feet of air below him and on lead, he pulled up and over the bulge--an impressive piece of work. I slipped again here trying to work the sequence, but was able to get it. The key is to sidepull on the left hand crack and slide out to the right as far as possible. There is a high right hand hold that you must match and then pull to get over the bulge. I later read that this a variation, you can also head straight up the crack and then move out above the overhang. You then work up until you reach a right facing corner. The key to the next 20 feet is to look further to the right for a second crack that is just out of view. By sidepulling on both, this daunting section can be tamed. At the end, traverse left until you can continue upwards on the face to a hanging bolt belay.
Starting Crescent Pitch
Pitch Seven -- The Bolt Ladder (5.7R, A0 or 5.11a free), 75'
Suffice it to say that Jeff and I were pretty close to miserable at this point. We had been climbing for about 5 hours in the hot sun and still had four pitches ahead of us. The climbing to this point had been at the edge of our ability level and, as we looked upwards, things only got steeper. Even seconding on toprope, the climb had been mentally grueling, exhausting us even more than the physical fatigue. And then there was still this damn pack! We made a solemn vow that, if we ever made it off of this mountain, we would teach ourselves to climb fast and light. Matt led the bolt ladder, probably freeing it for all we know. The three or four old bolts were about 4 feet apart and Matt clipped each with a runner. I grabbed and yanked on each with lusty abandon. At the last bolt, I cried a little when I had to cling to the wall again for another 50 feet of free climbing that sure felt like 5.8 and was totally runout. You can belay directly above the bolt ladder, but Matt moved about 35' right and built an anchor using a small roof. I fixed the line for Jeff and he jugged this section, cleaning the bolts as he went.
Pitch Eight - The Traverse (5.2 R/X No protection ) 175'
This was my favorite part of the climb. It's rated anywhere from 5.0 to 5.4, but you work it carefully as if it were much tougher. Basically, you traverse to the right nearly an entire rope length using ledges, slabs, finger holds -- the moves are there but there's 500 feet of air and granite directly below your ankles. Matt led and placed one piece halfway to minimize the chance of a 175' pendulum swing before the bolts at the belay. At either end of the traverse, you can look across and see your partners, insignificant against the backdrop of the huge granite wall. Rarely do you get this type of view, as most mountains slope away from you in each direction. Whiteside Mountain is concave (left to right) and nearly vertical, giving you views of the bottom, top, left and right sections of the wall. We each carefully made our way across, a time consuming pitch. Note: Anyone following this pitch should have an ascender or prusik on their harness. This part of the wall is overhung and a fall from this point would leave you hanging free from the wall!
Traverse
Pitch Nine (5.7 R/X No protection -- originally 5.4) 150'
More runout face climbing with doable moves, but now youíre 500 to 600 feetup. Will this madness never end? It sure is easy to clean -- there's nothing until you reach the next belay. Matt is truly a hardman. The route heads up, to the left and then back to the right to a grassy crack and a fixed pin.
Pitch Ten (5.7 R/X No protection -- originally 5.4) 150'
Climb to the top of a large flake, which you can runner for protection. Keep moving up, keeping to the right of the bushes on the summit. The climbing is still devious here, for as you near the summit the holds are weathered and slopey and often coated with lichen. Matt topped out, I followed and belayed Jeff for the final moves. We quietely gathered our gear and talked with some tourists on the summit trail. We packed up and headed to Brevard to camp and plan for Saturday's activities. We enjoyed well-earned beers and mexican dinners and discussed the day's experiences.
Top of Whiteside Mountain
Having done the Original Route for the third time, Matt probably will focus on other routes at Whitesides. Jeff & I spent the evening seriously questioning whether we even enjoyed climbing and should sell all of our gear. Although victorious in reaching the top, we had been miserable and felt that Matt had dragged our butts up the mountain. Matt had plans to climb at Looking Glass on Saturday and I wanted to head over to Lake Lure and explore Rumbling Bald Mountain. Matt gave us his early edition of the NC Climber's Guide that had a section on Rumbling Bald and we parted ways. The park service campground at the entrance to Pisgah N.F. was full, so we headed into the park and found a secluded riverside bivy spot.
Saturday 9/26:
We got up and enjoyed a pretty drive through Hendersonville, Bat Cave, Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. We found Rumbling Bald with no problem and got out our gear. We were in search of something in the 5.6-5.7 range that we could lead. Today would be an important one -- it would either confirm that we were done climbing or it would reestablish our confidence in our ability range.
We followed the trail to the base of the cliff and wandered for a bit until we could sync the guidebook with the natural features of the rock. We were headed for Fruit Loops 5.7, but knew that there were others ahead of us with the same intention. We saw a pretty crack that eased up after 20 feet and would be a nice climb. The book called it Unnamed 5.6. Jeff started up and soon retreated, still tentative from yesterday. I took the rack and took my time working up the crack. Above the crack, the climbing was similar to that in the Linville Gorge. I enjoyed working cracks, holds and some friction until reaching a nice belay ledge. Jeff came up easily after finding a better approach to the beginning crack. We sat and reaffirmed our small place in the climbing universe.
Just to the left of this climb was a freshly bolted 5.12 on a vertical face. I rapped down to the first bolt and setup a big-wall belay. Jeff returned to the ground and sent up the infamous Yosemite haul bag. This was the bag that had been carried to Half Dome and back -- but had never been hauled! We enjoyed practicing our setup and hauling techniques for awhile. We then headed along the wall to find Fruit Loops. We found several people on it and it looked like a great climb. We marked it down for our return visit. We packed up and headed back to Columbia and Gainesville. A few weeks later, Jeff was overhead telling a fellow Flatliner that he was interested in returning to Whitesides and doing the O.R. again. Amazing what a little time will do to distort your memories. I had hoped to mark this one off of my list and to never return, but where one Buttinski goes, the other must follow.
Hauling
jeff@summitdesigninc.comsbraund@csc.com
