Another Day at Pilot

Tried Pilot again last weekend. A buddy from work came with me. It was his first time climbing outside. He did really well. We did a lot of 5.6-5.7 routes. By about 11am the weather was getting so hot it sucked the life out of you. I also took about 5 falls off of a route I did cleanly last week. My husband is going to kill me. I was able to make it up, but really struggled about half way through. Here's a movie of me climbing Grandpa's Belay. The movie is titled wrong.

Climbing with Friends

My wife let me get away for the day to climb at Pilot Mountain. I think it's been a year since I've been here last. The weather was warm and humid but actually a pleasant day. The hike down to the wall was pleasant. The forecast called for a day in the 90's. There was a nice breeze and it pretty much stayed in the 80's.A friend was nice enough to show me some anchor techniques. We actually repelled off the anchor I tied. I was really proud of myself.After getting schooled it was time to get ready to climb. It's amazing how much stuff you pack in. The first routes we climbed were in the Little Amphitheatre section. We did Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, Place your Bets and Grandpa's Belay. The climbs were 5.6-5.7. Really fun to start the day.One of the cool things climbing is how you meet people We met another group climbing with a guide, and as what often happens we shared ropes. This helps you get more climbs in and it's fun to meet new people. We moved to another section called black rain. I started a route called, My Wife's Gonna Kill me.I was able to get up that, but I failed on a 5.9 route to the right called Black Rain. I took a nice 10ft drop and bruised my heel. I think the fall and the route kind of psyched me out. Definitely doable. I'm looking forward to trying it again next time. I only got really 4 climbs in, but I did them all cleanly. I found places to rest where I didn't hang on the rope. It was a really fun day.

Pilot Mtn

Some friends and I went rock climbing at Pilot Mountain. I've been wanting to climb outside but I haven't been to the climbing gym as much as I'd like so I was concerned about how well I'd do. It was my second time climbing outside and my first time climbing at Pilot. The weather held and we were able to get a full day of climbing in. The climbs were pretty hard, for me anyways. The ratings were 5.7-5.8. It was strange how some people who were able to climb one route were not able to climb others.

Here I am assessing the situation. The girls seemed to climb all the routes better. I think it's because they use technique over muscle strength. Most of them could climb all 3 routes.

One of the routes was named chicken bone, and I choked on it and could not get to the top, I was able to climb the route Vegomatic to the left. Here I am going up threw a combination of a crack and chimney.

After just four climbs, all I wanted to do was take a nap. The climbs were 2-3 times longer than the ones in the gym. It was still a fun day.
Routes at Parking Lot section:

http://www.carolinaclimbers.org/_PDF/PilotMountainGuideSingle.pdf

Vegomatic 5.8, Climb a chimney to a large ledge at 40 feet. There is a set of
anchors just below the ledge. Continue up the face to the top. 60m rope
necessary if using the upper set of anchors. Bolted anchors.

Chicken Bone 5.7 , Start 10 feet right of the chimney at a small roof. Climb
the face to a ledge, and then continue to the top. The anchors are located 2
feet from the top of the cliff below a tree. 60m rope necessary. Bolted anchors.

Unnamed 5.7 , Start 20 feet right of the chimney behind a large tree. Climb
past a low right facing flake, then up the face to a ledge, pull the overhang and
continue to the top. There are two sets of anchors for this climb. One set is
located on the top of the cliff. The second set is located about 12 feet down
above a small ledge with a tree. 60m rope necessary. Bolted anchors.