Quick Stone Mountain Revisit

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Summary

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 4 of Grand Funk Railroad (5.9)...the rails are clearly visible in this shot (Feb. 2011).

Stone Mountain is one fucked up place to climb.* It’s like being addicted to cutting yourself with a razor blade. Shirley tells me “Why the hell did we come back here?!” A good point considering how scared I am and how little we’ve climbed over the course of two days. After a somewhat fun first day on the Grand Funk Railroad (a 5-pitch 5.9 – truly a classic IMHO), it seems my tank of go-juice is empty. I start up this, I try that but just don’t seem to have the stomach for the runouts and ledge fall potentials. Finger strength, forearm endurance…none of that shit matters at Stone. Only thing that seems to matter here is the ability to suck it up. Step after step. Forget the ground. Forget the bolt spacing. A good day of climbing calls for suspending my disbelief I suppose. Shirley leads the nice Dirty Crack (5.8). We mess around with a few other “easy” base routes (very little at Stone feels easy really) and call it an outing. We drive out to Looking Glass Rock but find the access road gated and menacing posted notes all over the barriers. Just our luck – a year ago snow, now this shit. Not the best of times. We’ll be back to North Carolina for sure but it will not be for Stone…not for some time. Think I got my fix. A fucked up place to climb.*

 

(*)…for me  😉

 

Photos

Stone Mountain

Another quick trip to Stone Mountain...another fearful day (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Leading the start of pitch 1 of Grand Funk Railroad...plugging in some make-belief gear into the flaring seams. Still, found it helpful on my way up to the first bolt at 30 feet (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Starting up pitch 1 of Grand Funk Railroad...trying to finagle some shitty gear into the seams below the first bolt (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Approaching the top of pitch 1 of Grand Funk Railroad (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley starting up the Grand Funk Railroad route (5.9; Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley starting up the first pitch of Grand Funk Railroad on Stone Mountain (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley on the 5.9 traverse between the two bolts on pitch 1 of Grand Funk Railroad (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 1 of Grand Funk Railroad (5.9; Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Leading the easier pitch 2 of Grand Funk Railroad (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Pitch 2 of Grand Funk Railroad in all its glory (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley following pitch 2 of Grand Funk Railroad (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 2 of Grand Funk Railroad (5.9; Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Leading the third pitch of Grand Funk Railroad. Progressively easier terrain but with more limited pro options (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 3 of Grand Funk Railroad. Cool alligator plates like Cochise (minus the green lichen; Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley at the third belay on Grand Funk Railroad (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

The fourth easy pitch of Grand Funk Railroad (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Shirley nearing the top of pitch 4 of Grand Funk Railroad (5.9)...the rails are clearly visible in this shot (Feb. 2011).

Dirty Crack

Shirley starting up the Dirty Crack (5.8) line...not dirty at all and in fact a very nice pitch (Feb. 2011).

Dirty Crack

Shirley leading the lower half of Dirty Crack (Feb. 2011).

Dirty Crack

Shirley entering the crux of the Dirty Crack route (5.8; Feb. 2011).

Dirty Crack

Shirley in the thin crack corner of the Dirty Crack (5.8) route (Feb. 2011).

U Slot

Leading the U Slot pitch to Tree Ledge (Feb. 2011).

U Slot

Leading the U Slot line (5.7; Feb. 2011).

U Slot

Shirley starting up the U Slot (5.7) route (Feb. 2011).

U Slot

Shirley topping out on the U Slot route on Tree Ledge (Feb. 2011).

Grand Funk Railroad

Another trip to non-climbing at the Looking Glass Rock...deja vu (Feb. 2011).

Pilot Rock

Some afternoon sightseeing in the western North Carolina (Feb. 2011).

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