Advice for Boone/Blowing rock bouldering NC

Hi,

I'm going to be in Blowing Rock NC in late April for a friend's wedding and will have 1/2 a day that I might be able to go bouldering. I was wondering if i could get a little advice

1) I'm flying and dont want to pack a pad, is there anywhere around where I could rent a pad for the day?

2) are there any "house rules" I should be aware of in terms of access, or policies?

Thanks so much for any advice!

-Max

Not sure about pad rentals, but you can get in touch with Footsloggers, the local outfitter, for your best bet. Have you thought about getting a small pad that can be used as a carry on? Ive flown with the Organic Briefcase pad a few times as a carry on...Josh will sew backpack straps onto it for an extra $10, bringing the total to around $100 for the best small pad on the market, that flies for free too. The Briefcase pad is also as thick as their Simple pad, but half the size, so you get the same protection as a bigger pad, just a smaller coverage area. I use mine as a circuit pad, satellite pad or pad for long approaches too...its very useful and a great option over a larger pad many times.

As far as the bouldering in the Highcountry goes, the locals still like to keep beta quiet on the web and out of print, but most everyone I've ever met in any of the boulderfields have been very nice and helpful if I needed directions to a specific problem or boulder. I'm a fan of the Blowing Rock boulders, 221 boulders (these 2 are the closest boulders to Blowing Rock) and Lost Cove, but most folks rave about Grandmothers as their favorite spot. You can gather enough info online between rockclimbing.com, the Hidden Gems article at Climbing.com, and various videos to find the classics and more popular problems.

Enjoy some great bouldering no matter what!

#1 - If you only have a half day then Blowing Rock boulders would be a good choice. Easy access and close to where you will be. Dont know about pad rentals. As the other poster mentions, Footsloggers has a location just down the road. If you are there on a weekend then a good change you might be able to just link up with some other parties.

#2 - House Rules: This is NC. We have a very traditional bouldering ethic. If the first ascensionist did the problem without a pad then a pad cannot be used for subsequent ascents. If so your pad will be taken and chopped into small pieces.

Second for Blowing Rock boulders. You can also do a lot of those problems without a pad as the landings are good. Odds are good if you hit any of the popular Boone / Blowing Rock areas on a weekend you'll be able to share a pad with someone.

You could rent my Misty pad for the afternoon possibly. Preferred currency is beer. I'll also give you some approach beta, but I'm honestly not much of a boulderer so I might not be that helpful.

Go to Footsloggers and buy their $2 boulder map.

PM if you want to use my pad.

Rock Dimensions operates out of Footsloggers in downtown Boone and rents out Misty Mountain bouldering pads.

You'd get some good beta talking to the folks there too, very nice people.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'll definitely be grabbing a map and some advice from Footsloggers. Kidda, I may end up hitting you up on the pad rental offer but will PM closer to the date if so.

PS: Chris, do you know if they have chopped-up pad insurance at Footsloggers? ;)