The Guides' Blog

Route Beta

Second Coming: An Example of How to Manage Risk when Climbing

August 12, 2022 fmg-adminFundamentals Fridays Guides' Tech Tips Guiding Rock Climbing Route Beta

A few weeks ago, myself and another guide were climbing with guests and witnessed an experienced climber fall and break his ankle at the crux section of Second Coming, a popular 5.7 multi-pitch climb at Looking Glass Rock in North Carolina. We managed to get the climber to the ground, splint the ankle, and help him walk down the trail to meet with the local rescue squad. While the injury was not life threatening, it resulted in surgery and an estimated six months of recovery for the climber involved. While climbing is an inherently risky activity, this particular accident could have been prevented. Read on to find out how.

The Route

Second Coming follows a beautiful crack system for roughly 300 feet up the south side of Looking Glass. The first pitch starts off easy as 4th class terrain, but around halfway up it begins to steepen gradually. The top of the first pitch is guarded by the technical crux of the route which has some polished foot and hand holds and is steeper than the terrain below. Depending on conditions and overall comfort level, this is where you’re most likely to fall, which is roughly 80 feet off the ground. In the case




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The Season Never Ends – The Secret Sauce to Winter Rock Climbing in and Around Western North Carolina

February 1, 2022 fmg-adminRock Climbing Route Beta

A question I am frequently asked during our busy season is, “when do you stop climbing for the winter?” Every time I am asked this question (more often than not in 85 degree heat with 100% summer humidity) I give a little chuckle because winter rock climbing in North Carolina can be the best rock climbing!

What’s going through my head is this: late fall with the onset of crisp air and no sweat, followed by blue skies and warm rock heated by the winter sun. I know this must sound a little odd for the folks who live up north, but down here in Western North Carolina, we really do have it good all year round. Winter is actually one of the best seasons for climbing rock! I’d venture to say our busy season (summer) is just that for a couple of simple reasons: 1. It’s when most folks take vacation and 2. It’s when most folks figure the climbing weather is best. The latter, in my opinion, is far from the truth. In the sweltering and sweaty heat of the summer, I spend a lot of time pining after fall and winter climbing conditions (just ask my wife!)

The secret sauce:

At the time of this writing, it’s February 1st, and I’ve just h




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Choosing Your First Multi-pitch Climb!

September 27, 2021 fmg-adminGuides' Tech Tips Rock Climbing Route Beta

We recently posted a photo of a party doing their first multi-pitch climb with us and had several calls from people wanting to do the same. While climbing your first multi-pitch climb with a guide is a great way to get started, not everyone wants to hire a guide; they would prefer to tackle their first mp climb on their own. With that in mind, we have some suggestions for how to choose your first multi-pitch climb because finding a route that is appropriate for a climber who is just starting to break into this terrain is a bit more complicated than finding a long, easy line: the YDS grade isn’t everything!

Following are some criteria to help you have a positive experience when you leave terra firma behind:

Easy Route Finding

Getting off route exposes the entire party to greater hazard. There may not be protection, the climbing could be much more difficult than anticipated, the consequence of a fall can increase significantly, and it wastes time (there are only so many hours of sunlight in a day).  Being able to easily follow a route saves time and frees up mental bandwidth to problem solve team protection and stance organization. It




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Bumblebee Buttress: A Linville Gorge Adventure

September 22, 2016 fmg-adminRock Climbing Route Beta The Guides' Climbing Adventures

With the recent lifting of Peregrine Falcon closures (http://carolinaclimbers.org/closures/2016lifted.html) , cool temperatures in the Linville Gorge, and a willing partner, I decided to venture to the rarely traveled North Carolina Wall to sample a classic NC moderate, Bumblebee Buttress (5.8).

I have heard many stories of BB, and it’s intimidating reputation. Imagine the classic movement of White Lightning on Table Rock with the remoteness and position of the Amphitheater. Put those two things together and you have the truly classic climbing that is Bumblebee Buttress. Here is a detailed description of the route with some personal accounts and suggestions of each pitch. As always, please use this information in conjunction with a guide book and other sources like Mountain Project and trip reports.

What to Bring:

 Pack: I prefer to tackle multi-pitch objectives in Linville by placing all of my things comfortably into my 32 Liter Deuter Guide Lite and then, upon reaching the top of the cliff, switch out with my Deuter Speed Lite 20 for decent and climbing.

Rack: Full set of cams from single set BD C3’s 00-2, BD C4’s .3-4 with d




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