Frigid Weather thwarts the sole climbing item of our trip to North Carolina
Looking out at the upland plateau from Pilot Mountain’s ridge
A few years back, Ra and I made our first trip to North Carolina. With family now ensconced there, it is likely we will be visiting the state more frequently each year, so we figured it wise to get to know the climbing options available in the region. After visiting with our kin for a few days, we set off in search of vertical playgrounds. Our second stop placed us in the town of Pilot Mountain, near its namesake prominence, a location we hadn’t known of but had spotted from the highway. After spending the night in town, I’d garnered one significant fact: there is climbing on the mountain, but it is strictly verboten on the outstanding summit promontory itself. At the time, this was a big turn-off, enough to send us onward, looking elsewhere. We never even drove up the road to the upper ridge to glance at the permitted climbing area.
On this trip, we gave it a second glance. What a glance it was, revealing how very shortsighted we’d been. That main promontory still beckons – and it’s a shame climbing isn’t allowed there – but the scraps left us vertical crawlers is well worth the trip.
