Some friends and I are going to Asheville this coming weekend, and I'm hoping to get on some rock Sunday afternoon. I'm sure it will be hot if it's not raining, but I don't mind. Are there any areas with relatively short approach times, so as to maximize our climbing time? I'm familiar with Looking Glass, and have climbed once at Rumbling Bald and Crowders, but was hoping one of the lesser known areas might have a shorter approach. I imagine "Lesser-known" and "Short Approach" are mutually exclusive.
We are coming from Georgia, so Western NC climbs are more convenient too.
If you're willing to make the short trip up to Boone, Ship Rock on the parkway has a quick approach. North Face of LG is not that long of an approach and will be cooler than other areas at LG.
The 10 or 15 minutes you save on an approach would be lost many times over if you have to drive to some of these crags. If I was in Asheville this weekend and looking to climb on Sunday I would just head to LG. Get an early start because in my experience it seems to rain there everyday between 2 and 3PM. North side will be cooler, and stays dry longer if you do get a little rain. If you really dont want to walk and are willing to sacrifice quality for time then there is always Snake Den near Asheville. I climbed there once. That was enough. I need to check out Cathys Creek. I think it is mostly harder sport and mixed routes. It is in the Cedar Rock guidebook in case you decide to check it out.
Thanks for y'alls responses! I was kinda thinking it might wind up being looking glass anyways. I'm ok with the driving part, since I know where to go- it's the bumbling around in the woods for an hour trying to find the right trail to the right section, when scoping out a "new-to-you" crag. I'm probably bringing along a few friends who don't/haven't climbed much, and a short approach (even with a slightly longer drive) does a lot for perception.
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