Linville Gorge & The Chimneys

Can anyone give me the lowdown on the Chimneys at Linville Gorge? I'm planning on heading up there late summer/early fall with some friends for a couple days of camping, some top-roping and day hiking. It would be the first outdoor climbing for my friends. I'd like to try for mid-week, but work schedules may force us into a weekend trip. I know that will be the crowded, peak time - I've been to Table Rock just once before, and on a fall weekend.

From what I've read here and the other NC guidebooks, it seems there are not really any guidebooks or named routes for the Chimneys. Is this right? It's just set a rope on an any one of a bunch of obvious lines? One concern I've got is the Outward Bound school or other groups taking all the lines. Does this happen? Weekdays and weekends? I don't mind other climbers around, I don't even mind the big guide groups that much. The more people in the sport, the better. I just don't want to plan a trip and then be surprised, you know?

The other thing I think I've heard is that if you're going to top-rope at the Chimneys, you need to bring a lot of webbing for anchors - like an actual unusual amount because a lot of the anchor points were long runs. True? Do any of the climbs have bolted top-rope anchors, or are those typically the ones that the guide groups are using?

Any info that you guys can provide would be great. Thanks!

Pretty much yes to all your questions. Set-up on whatever looks good and hopefully it's not too crowded.

Bring 100' of static line and you can set up multiple topropes off the same line and extend anchors safety over the edge. There are a couple huge eye-bolts on the top that are bomber but as with any anchor it should be backed up. If you've got plenty of static line you can use trees further back from the cliff edge, and there are also options for putting in pro.

In late summer/ early fall the chimneys can be pretty crowded with OB guides and their clients. You should still be able to find some routes to TR, though they might be a bit off the main trail.

I've never climbed at the chimneys, just walked by a bunch of times to the Amphitheater and NC wall, but from what I hear, you will want a ton of extra rope/ webbing for your anchors. I've also never seen any sort of guidebook explaining routes/ ratings. It all looks relativity easy, so just set up a TR wherever looks best. You can scramble up to the top easily.

Thanks guys - I appreciate the info.

I haven't been there in a long time, but from what I remember there is a face with 4-5 routes that people normally top-rope. These routes are usually monopolized by OB/Boy Scouts/whatever. They're all pretty easy, I think the leftmost (climber's left) route is probably the most challenging/fun, probably something like 5.9-10a.

There are big eye-bolts on top that you should run webbing from for topropes. There might be other top-ropeable routes in the area.

Good luck!