Last weekend, I had such a blast being introduced to Shortoff in Linville Gorge, Vic and I headed back for the day today. Shortoff is really cool; about an hour or so from the parking lot, there are great, large, wild campsites overlooking the gorge and a ridge with dozens of established four-or-so-pitch climbs. You access the ridge via a pretty wild climber's trail. Last weekend, we cut our teeth on "Maginot Line," a classic, exposed four-pitch 5.7+ featuring steep positive face and a stemmy corner.

Today Vic had a project in mind, "Paradise Alley," supposed to be just a step above "Maginot" at 5.8+.



After following Vic up pitch 1, I exclaimed, "I just don't understand this type of rock!!" The pitch was beautiful liebacking and stemming in a steep corner handcrack. It certainly was steeper than what I'm used to and the gear is quite different. Linville Gorge is hard quartzite, which I imagine Shortoff is too (being a part of the gorge). It doesn't seem as hard as granite, but the edges are SHARP. There are lots of shallow, horizontal cracks that flare unexpectedly. We're still getting used to how things work around here.


I had a lot of fun learning how to use Vic's camera, which he just got for his birthday. At the bottom of the ridge, the rhododendrons weren't blooming, but at the top of pitch 1, there were a few flowers!


Pitch two was wandering and there was an awkward traverse over a bulge. Pitch three was pretty neat! An overhanging wall with huge, positive jugs. I can't imagine getting on something that overhanging in the Valley!



The foliage across the gorge was spectacular as the sun got lower in the sky.


I was surprised to see only yellow leaves still glimmering. All the red leaves which were so prominent last week had fallen. We got some rain midweek and I think only the yellow ones are still holding on. In a photo from last week, there's a bit more red:


The last pitch was quite an...overhanging surprise.



And the rhododendrons on top were in full bloom.


We enjoyed a quiet walk back to the car. I played with the camera some more. Didn't manage to get a good moon picture with our point-and-shoot, but I'll keep trying!!


The whole day the Blue Ridge was peaking from beyond the gorge.



Shortoff is quickly becoming a favorite climbing place for me. Today, we didn't see any other climbers. The solitude was quite nice. We enjoyed some burgers in the nearby town on our way home. I'm looking forward to next time!