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Calling all DC climbers

Original Post
sanz · · Pisgah Forest, NC · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 210

I'll be in Washington DC for the summer for an internship. I'm trying to determine how much that will actually make my climbing suck this summer.

I'll have no car and very little money. Earth Treks looks like it would be nice for training but far away and expensive. Any other gyms in the district? Or low-key training spots?

Also looking for weekend partners for rock. I'll probably bring my rack up there but won't have a vehicle.

I'm stoked to be in DC for the summer but worried that I won't get to climb much. Any partners/beta/etc that would help me get out would be much appreciated!

EricF · · San Francisco · Joined May 2012 · Points: 120
potomacmountainclub.org/

Meet up with these guys, should be able to get rides to the new or seneca for the weekend, maybe the gunks, and should be able to get some afternoon and evenings in at great falls or carder rock which are close. If you meet a few psyched people through the club shouldn't be a bad summer.
Eric Neal · · Jamaica Plain, MA · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 0

Second the patomac mountain club suggestion. Those guys are really friendly and helpful. Lots of folks travelling regularly to climb as well. You can post for partners on their page in addition to mountain proj.

I learned to climb in the DC area. Carderock sucks (sorry locals) unless you like crowded top rope. It's a nice 10 mile bike along the river from the city though.

Great Falls is ok. Just don't get caught soloing cause the rangers get pissed. Also mostly top rope.

Good paddling if you want to get into a new sport.

Seneca is awesome if you're a trad head. Yeah there's lots of beginners but you get a legit summit, a cool setting, decent pizza nearby, camping, and old school ratings. There's some hard sport there too.

Handful of semi-local crags you can bum a ride to as well.

Sport rock in alexandria is on the metro. Ok gym. It beats bouldering under bridges (but I did it).

D B · · Northern Colorado · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 60

As mentioned above, DC is fairly bleak as far as climbing goes; I spent a few months there not long ago. Sportrock in Alexandria is alright as far as gyms go - its location on the metro is convenient, but they have another branch in Sterling, NW of the beltway, if this is closer to you.
Getting outside is an endeavour; try not to let the traffic discourage you. Great Falls, VA is about 30-45 minutes from DC, and though its riverside location is pretty, it is predominantly a top rope crag, and often crowded. Carderock is across the river on the Maryland side, and is a smaller top rope crag. The closest sport, to my knowledge, is two hours south at Elizabeth Furnace - a small (20ish routes) roadside crag almost to Old Rag, in Front Royal, Virginia.
I hope this helps you; enjoy the different Southeast environment while you are there. The Appalachians have redemptive qualities about them as well.

Steve0 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 5

Sent you a PM. I'll be interning in NoVA for those interested and am looking to climb every weekend. Also have a Yosemite trip in the works for mid-august to mid-september.

Edit: probably have a car most weekends.

BrianWS · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 790

Local areas are pretty crummy. There are a handful of semi-decent bouldering spots here and there, but any and all roped climbing is garbage. The nearest sport area is Elizabeth Furnace, about 1.5 hours from the district. It is chossy and crowded.

Old Rag is really good though, and is roughly 1.5-2 hours away. It's more of a winter spot though - most of the good stuff faces south or is extremely friction dependent.

3 hours will get you to Franklin and Seneca, the latter of which is pretty cool. The New is where it's at for both sport and trad, though.

My advice? Get a 3 month pass for Earth Treks asap. They offer them on discount for students during the summer (used to be $180 for June-August). Hang at the gym and you'll meet folks to take weekend trips with right off the bat. Also, it's metro accessible (red line).

sanz · · Pisgah Forest, NC · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 210

Thanks for the beta folks. SteveO I will reply to your PM.

I'll also get in touch with Potomac and look into the Earth Treks passes.

Anybody want to share the beta on bouldering under bridges? ;)

Josh Schmaltz · · Evergreen, Co. · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 820

Seneca is great. The New is about 5 hours.

Annapolis Rock has a few good trad routes. Its about an hour drive + 45 min hike in on the AT.

Earth Treks in Rockville is enormous (I think its the biggest in the country) and great, but can get pretty crowded on weekday evenings.

Enjoy DC, it can be a great place to spend a summer as an intern, but its not gonna be your best climbing summer.

If you're looking for a place to live, and don't have a car, might want to aim for something in NW along the red line so you can metro out to Rockville for the gym on weeknights.

Emmett Lyman · · Stoneham, MA (Boston burbs) · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 480

I just moved to DC, and I've found it pretty limited. Spent most of the winter flying up to the Daks and Whites every weekend- that takes a lot out of you. Summer is clearly going to be rough due to the extreme heat and humidity, but we'll have to make the most of it. I'm coping by planning to travel a lot.

Check out Sportrock as erockbos said. It's closer to the metro than Earth Treks and it has a slightly less "peppy" vibe. Pretty long hours for members, too. I've heard that the YMCA has a small wall, too, though I haven't stopped in to check it out.

Feel free to hit me up if you're looking for a partner (I know I am). I have a car and rack.

Hey erockbos - where's the good pizza at Seneca? Front Porch hits the spot, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone reference it as a selling point for the crag!

David Coley · · UK · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 70
Emmett Lyman wrote: Feel free to hit me up if you're looking for a partner (I know I am).
I'm not the OP, but I am in DC and want to head to Seneca in a couple of days. Let me know if you fancy a partner from the UK for a couple of days of climbing.

Thanks.
Josh Schmaltz · · Evergreen, Co. · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 820
Emmett Lyman wrote:Front Porch hits the spot, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone reference it as a selling point for the crag!
Agreed. Pizza is fine, but I wouldn't call it good. Pies and Pints in Fayetteville on the other hand...
sanz · · Pisgah Forest, NC · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 210
Josh S wrote: Agreed. Pizza is fine, but I wouldn't call it good. Pies and Pints in Fayetteville on the other hand...
Just had a half black bean half chicken gouda masterpiece this weekend....

But for real, who has the traverse wall / under bridge / general dirtbag glue-on stealth training spot beta for DC??
Emmett Lyman · · Stoneham, MA (Boston burbs) · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 480
David Coley wrote: I'm not the OP, but I am in DC and want to head to Seneca in a couple of days. Let me know if you fancy a partner from the UK for a couple of days of climbing. Thanks.
Would that I could, my man, but I'm stuck with a weekend commitment I can't get out of. Good luck finding a partner - you'll love Seneca!
Chris Clarke · · Davis, WV · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 130

I posted a list of options for non-gym DC climbing a month or two ago. I lived there for about thirty years in Columbia Heights, Admo and Woodley Park. Personally, I'd probably just go to SportRock or Earthtreks, except for the dry tooling traverse wall which is a unique training resource.

Eli Buzzell · · noco · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 5,507

I've been in DC for a month and a half with AmeriCorps in a very similar no-money, no-car situation. Everything is expensive here, and decent climbing is pretty far away.

My recommendation is to get a boulder pad and find some of the 'secret rocks' around the area. Behind the Italian embassy (there is a nice trail and then you go off to the left down a shitty hill) there are some exposed faces and cool problems that make for better-than-nothing bouldering. There probably are cool traverses in there and you could always mess around with eliminates too. It is better than not climbing at all. On top of that I've heard rumors that there are some other pebbles to wrestle in Rock Creek park.

If you're looking for a project, there appears to be a V10-12 at the Springfield Boulders in Alexandria, and some other slightly accessible stuff around.
A few days ago I bummed two belays at Great Falls. It was really nice to climb and the people were cool, but the rock was nothing special.

I think the most important thing is to not be afraid to beg people for help. The climbing community as a whole is pretty great, and there are a lot of opportunities that make themselves available for short periods of time before they go away again.

If I find anything else I'll definitely post it here, I think I'm in DC for another week or so.

Update: I went to the Springfield Boulders on Hooes Rd. yesterday. They were pretty cool, and had some difficult problems on them. Also if you go to the opposite side of the bridge you'll find some cool boulders that appear to be untouched. I'm going back on soon.

Eli Buzzell · · noco · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 5,507
Chris Clarke wrote:I posted a list of options for non-gym DC climbing a month or two ago. I lived there for about thirty years in Columbia Heights, Admo and Woodley Park. Personally, I'd probably just go to SportRock or Earthtreks, except for the dry tooling traverse wall which is a unique training resource.
Chris, I'm pretty sure you're referring to this: It was in the Training forum of all places.

It was very useful, and I've gotten to touch some rocks recently.

Thanks again!
ridethejoy · · Denver, CO · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 20

I'd be down to meet up somewhere. I moved to Richmond, VA last November and have had trouble finding people to climb with. I am sick of the gym and I would love to check out any of the surrounding areas.

Let me know if any of you guys needs a partner. Have gear, truck, and a strong desire to climb.

sanz · · Pisgah Forest, NC · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 210
Eli Buzzell wrote: Chris, I'm pretty sure you're referring to this: It was in the Training forum of all places. It was very useful, and I've gotten to touch some rocks recently. Thanks again!
Found it, sweet!
EricF · · San Francisco · Joined May 2012 · Points: 120

Ridethejoy, I use to live in Richmond, have a couple friends back there who are always looking for partners as well to head out to Seneca and the New. If you want there contact info PM me and I'll hook you guys up.

Also have you been down to Manchester Wall? It's small but unique to Richmond and fun if your sick of the gym and its downtown and outside.

EricF · · San Francisco · Joined May 2012 · Points: 120

Maybe, I'm Eric, who are you?

I see you added the Manchester area up here, so even if we don;t know each other we probably met down there in years past. Not Chris are you?

sanz · · Pisgah Forest, NC · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 210

Let's get out this weekend!

I made plans to head to the New with ridethejoy this weekend, inconveniently forgetting that he is located in Richmond. I am a dumbass.

That said, if anyone from DC is looking to get out this weekend, I would be psyched for ANYTHING! Weekend trip to the New or elsewhere, day trips around here, whatever. I'll pay for gas!

Thanks,
Sandy

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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