Trip Report
Carolina Redemption PHOTO TR

by Ezra Ellis
Friday January 21, 2011 12:32pm
So I was always kind of a geeky kid, some what hypersensitive due to my intellect. I was also a top runner in high school and college, and a ski racer prior to finding climbing. Some of my hypersensitivity probably stemmed from losing my father to Kidney cancer when he was 35, I was seven when he died.

I excelled at nearly everything I tried, but probably missed the point of life, until I started climbing. I grew up in Washington State, and went to undergraduate there. I first climbed out doors at a summer camp in 1985? It was a 5.0 rock slab near Sacheen lake in north eastern Washington.

During college I also tried climbing out doors in 1996, it was a 5.8+ trad route near Helena Montana at a friends house on a Bridger Bowl Montana ski side trip. I also attempted a 10d slab and nearly made it up. I hurt for days after due to a chronic Achilles tendon injury from skiing and running. I didn’t start climbing again ‘till around 2000.

I went to graduate school in Winston-Salem North Carolina and was in for a culture shock to say the least! It was a hot steamy city with open smoking every where, even at the mall and airport in 1999 when I started.

My class mates were kind of competitive and very image obsessed, I was friends with about 20 of a class of 108, they weren’t necessarily bad people, just people I had nothing in common with.

In the fall of my second year of school I met an older professor who taught me to trad climb, Charlie. He became a great friend and mentor and introduced me to Jim H. Another professor who I had many adventures with.

Jim was one Kool cat, in 150 days climbing with him we never had a cross word or disagreement of significance. It was just so easy to climb with Jim. He hated to lead, which was great because I loved to lead.

One of my favorite places to climb in carolina was Shortoff, Since it was 2 hours away and I didn’t climb there but maybe 10 or so days I n 8 years of climbing, every route was an onsight. On a busy day you might see 4 other parties there, on a cliff 500 feet high and nearly 1 mile long.

Jim and I got out to do Dopey duck a 3-pitch mega classic 5.9 one march!

Gearing up for the Climb!

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Looking at the climb from the descent


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P1 looking up

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P1 looking down

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P2 looking up

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Jim at the belay

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Me at the top


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Jim with Lake James in the back ground!

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Climbing changed my life I now loved living in north carolina, had a great group of friends like Sean, Nathan, Alan, John, Steve, Jim S, Bill B, Eric W, Eric J, Michelle and many others!

I no longer spent any time with my class mates and loved life!

Much more to follow!
















  Trip Report Views: 3,938
Ezra Ellis 		About the Author
Ezra Ellis is a trad climber from WA, & NC & Idaho.

Comments
karodrinker

Trad climber
San Jose, CA
  Jan 21, 2011 - 12:44pm PT
That sure is some pretty rock you got there...
CubicleNation

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
  Jan 21, 2011 - 12:48pm PT
Brings back alot of Carolina climbing memories from when I was climbing there in the mid-1980s. Great pics.
Dirka

Trad climber
Hustle City
  Jan 21, 2011 - 12:51pm PT
Sweet!
ncrockclimber

climber
The Desert Oven
  Jan 21, 2011 - 02:47pm PT
Props to another NC climber! Way to represent.
Ihateplastic

Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
  Jan 21, 2011 - 02:50pm PT
NIce pics... plenty of places for pro, eh?
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Jan 21, 2011 - 02:55pm PT
Ezra, you're on a roll!
Blakeb

Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
  Jan 21, 2011 - 03:16pm PT
rock looks beautiful, north cack-a-lacky represent!
bluering

Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
  Jan 21, 2011 - 07:19pm PT
Excellent TR!

One of my current climber buddies is from NC.
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
Author's Reply  Jan 21, 2011 - 06:45pm PT
Plastic: Yeah I am a singer sewing machine, I sew it up, part of my conservative climbing nature! Prolly 15 pieces in that pitch at 130 Feet.....:)

Thanks Y'all, Carolina has Sweet stone especially linville gorge, looking glass, Ship Rock, Rumbling Bald, stone mouintain, and Moores Wall!
Captain...or Skully

climber
Boise, ID
  Jan 21, 2011 - 07:16pm PT
That's the good stuff, man. That's what it's ALL about.
TFPU!!!
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
Author's Reply  Jan 21, 2011 - 09:37pm PT
I also forgot to mention Eddie, Sean, Tim F, Tim S Bruce B, Danny and Ray, Carlton, Shelly, Emil, Bill W, Jeff H, Phill Y and many other great people I met climbing in Carolina!

So a bit later Jim and I made it to Looking glass,
Absolutely world class stone, it has these funky eye brow formation in the rock, protects well with Tri-cams and metolius Tcu's.

I'm gearing up for the Nose at looking glass a 4-pich 5.8 that is way less committing then the Yosemite nose...:)


Looking up the climb

Looking down P1
P2 Belay

Up P3

Looking down P3

Near the top

We rapped to the base and still had time so we climbed the first pitch of sundial crack. A nice gentlemen about 60 years old came up and struck up a conversation, he hadn't been to looking glass or climbing since he was on leave from Vietnam. I offered him a Top rope and he accepted, he was a little tenuous at first but sailed right up it!


We set up a top rope for another couple and headed for camp!

A fitful night's sleep ensued, cars arrived all night long every hour or so and woke us up... ughhh.

next morning we awoke to frost, and headed up to the south wall for gemini cracks (no pics) and some 5.7 and 5.6 action


All in all a great trip..... More to follow!
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
Author's Reply  Feb 20, 2011 - 05:41pm PT
Radical, I loved ship rock and the high country bouldering too!
it is a great state!
go-B

climber
  Feb 20, 2011 - 05:50pm PT
Very cool!
It looked like you needed one more runner on the piece on the right!
Cheers!
rhyang

climber
SJC
  Feb 20, 2011 - 09:17pm PT
Great pics !
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
Author's Reply  Mar 19, 2011 - 05:47pm PT
Thanks for the kind words all
Go-b, I would have placed a longer runner on the right, just didn't want to hit my belayer if I blew it!
mucci

Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
  Mar 20, 2011 - 04:47am PT
Great looking stone!

Nice to hear you are back and Psyched as ever!

gotta dig that runner work in the first round of pix...

Superb TR Ezra.

Mucci
The Wedge

Boulder climber
Estes Park, CO
  Mar 20, 2011 - 05:48am PT
nice eyebrows.
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
  Mar 22, 2011 - 07:11am PT
Wow....

So glad I returned to see those photos that I missed before.

SWEET! Thanks Ez.
Captain...or Skully

climber
Boise, ID
  Mar 22, 2011 - 08:38am PT
Good shizz, huh? Brow climbing.
Woot!
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
  Mar 22, 2011 - 10:25am PT
Ezra: Thanks for the fun stories and photos. Great job!
drc

Trad climber
Durham, NC
  Mar 22, 2011 - 11:59am PT
Bump for NC glory.
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