Mountain Project Logo

linville link up?

Original Post
William Rhyne · · Casper, Wyoming · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 135

who has tried this/ completed this? what routes does the link up consist of? maginot line, the mummy, . . . . . ? thanks for the info dudes

Dave Wise · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 50

Jay Young has done it.

rockclimbing.com/Articles/T…

Keith Robinson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 10

I attempted a few falls ago but my partner wasn't feeling it after the NC Wall.

Our plan was Maginot, Prow, Bumble Bee, Cracker Jack, Star Trekkin, and then one of the routes on sitting bear spire. We did Maginot, Prow and BB. Our plan was to carry everything we needed and be on foot for the whole thing. We chose south to north because we had a friend that was going to TR and was available to shuttle our truck back to Sitting Bear.

North to South seems to make more sense to me now. Going from TR to NC Wall is good because when you top out you walk accross the top of NC wall to Amp. We did some backtracking going south to north and did the Prow to put on top of NC wall though not the best route in the Amp.

My next approach will be:

Sitting Bear,
Star Trekkin (2 pitches)
North Ridge (2 pitches)
Bumble Bee (3 pitches)
Daddy (2 Pitches)
Maginot (2 Pitches)

William Rhyne · · Casper, Wyoming · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 135

wow! i fell like i should have heard of this by today. I was reading some accomplishments of my hero Pat Goodman and stumbled on his speed solo back in '09 of the linville link up. 23 miles 32 pitches 11 hr 23 min. WOW!!!!! seems like maybe it can be done in 15 to 20 hrs simuling everything? right? Im totally inspired to start planning my attempt!

Ryan Williams · · London (sort of) · Joined May 2009 · Points: 1,245
William Rhyne wrote:wow! i fell like i should have heard of this by today. I was reading some accomplishments of my hero Pat Goodman and stumbled on his speed solo back in '09 of the linville link up. 23 miles 32 pitches 11 hr 23 min. WOW!!!!! seems like maybe it can be done in 15 to 20 hrs simuling everything? right? Im totally inspired to start planning my attempt!
Pat also did a 100 mile bike ride through the Utah desert in JULY to link up 3 obscure towers. Point being, you've picked quite a hardman to emulate.

In all seriousness that's a pretty awesome goal and if you pull it off in a day it would be sick. I'll do it with you on my way through NC next year :-)
William Rhyne · · Casper, Wyoming · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 135

pat is hard for sure! thats insane about the tower link ups. give me a call and i'll tell you hpow mine goes

William Rhyne · · Casper, Wyoming · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 135

I really want to have supporters film in different location of the link up. from shortoff you could do dopey and have an excellent vantage point to film. from the top out of paradice alley does any one think you could film the prow,mummy,or daddy from that perch? i know you can see the buttress of the amphitheater but i have never been able to spot a climber from that far. from the top of the apricot buttress you have an excellent view of bumble bee and from the parking on table rock you have a good shot of the second pitch of cracker jack. does anyone know of good filming spots for hawksbill and sitting bear?

jaboyd510 Boyd · · West Asheville, NC · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 0

It has been done a few times by a few different groups. Pat certainly set the bar but he is kinda in another league. We did it on Labour Day 2010 (maybe 2009) and went N to S:

Sitting Bear Original Route
Hawksbill Startrekin
TR North Ridge
NC Wall Bumblebee
Amphitheatre Mummy
Shortoff Maginot

We left a car at Shortoff parking lot and drove to Sitting bear parking. Took us about 16 hours. It has been done much faster. Awesome day and great experience. Linville Georgeous.

William Rhyne · · Casper, Wyoming · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 135

nice job jayboyd510!how did you manage with water? Im thinking of carrying one 1L bottle and a bottle of drops. my whole packing will be orientated for lightness. Im thinking of taking mostly passive pro to save weight. and i'll be using my 9.4. any other ideas that would make the trek more do-able besides having support?

Mike F · · Arden, NC · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 56

Hey Bro,

My buddy Brad and I did it a few springs ago when I was at school at App.

Our day looked something like this:

Sitting Bear- Original Route
Hawksbill- Star Trekkin'
Table Rock- North Ridge
NC Wall/Ampitheater- The Prow (BB Buttress was closed due to falcons)
Ampitheater- The Daddy (climbed this first, then rapped and climbed the prow and hiked out toward shortoff from there)
Shortoff- Maginot Line

It was one of the most fun days of climbing I've ever had. We simuled the daddy/prow but pitched everything else out. We both thought that the hike to shortoff was the crux for sure, as our legs were beat by that point.

Funny Story: We stashed gatorade in the Table Rock parking lot trashcan the night before the trip. We did the link up wearing ridiculous tights from runningfunky.com and (as we blasted out of the woods into the table rock parking lot ) ran into a SAR team looking for a lost hiker. The lead volunteer (after seeing me in the lead wearing rainbow polkadot tights) said something to the effect of, " I thought a rainbow-wearing leprechaun was running out of the woods to bring me a pot of gold". We were then interviewed by a news crew from Charlotte, all the while wearing our ridiculous outfits.Good times.

I think Shannon and Ed did a linkup a few years ago where they only climbed routes onsite.

Anyway, have a blast.

Cheers,
Mike

William Rhyne · · Casper, Wyoming · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 135

thanks for the addition mike. Ya like you said north to south has its perks but amp. to shortoff connection is something that ill use for training inspiration. seems like every part of my body will feel like a wet noodle. I did a 40 mile day while i was thru hiking the AT and it didnt seem as bad as i thought it was going to be so hopefully im building this up as well.

Rick Carpenter · · Marion, NC · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 1,315

Do this with a capable partner, although the link up has been done free solo which was pretty badass...

Austin Howell · · DILLIGAF, TX · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 316

Does anyone know if many of the lines at Shortoff have been soloed? What about any linkups on that wall?

5.samadhi Süñyātá · · asheville · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 40
Austin Howell wrote:Does anyone know if many of the lines at Shortoff have been soloed? What about any linkups on that wall?
uhhh yes :p
Chris Whisenhunt · · Fayetteville, WV · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 995

I once saw Pat take on a whole tribe of West Virginia rednecks. He was armed with a bottle of tequila and a single rusty razor blade. He walked away leaving behind a pile of carcasses while shaving with that same blade and using the empty bottle as a mirror. No one can emulate the man of hardness.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Southern States
Post a Reply to "linville link up?"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.