Beam Rocks, Ropes Rock Climbing

Beam Rocks is located in the Forbes State Forest of the Laurel Highlands of Southwest, PA. Very nice, taller (for PA....70') roped climbing and some engaging bouldering around the base (see: Beam Rocks Bouldering page). The cliff overlooks the scenic Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (which meanders through the boulders). A popular destination with hikers also.

Although folks have been rope climbing at Beam Rocks for at least 30 years, there were several factors that kept the place from becoming a favorite of climbers in the area.  With no fixed anchors, climbers at Beam had to either trad climb the cracks here, or lead even more challenging routes by boldly connecting sparse gear placements through difficult terrain that was never as clean as you wanted.  More typically, climbers would choose to set top ropes.  However, even the top roping here presented its own set of challenges. Given the significant distance from the trees on top of the cliff to the top of the wall (not to mention the difficult access of the Beam Rock pinnacle) rigging top ropes was no easy task. As a result, the area saw relatively little traffic over the years which meant that the routes were perpetually dirty and always required a good bit of cleaning anytime folks would want to climb here. An additional concern of climbers was that the elaborate anchors that were required for top roping inevitably resulted in a spider web of rigging on top of one of the most frequented vistas in all of the Laurel Highlands. Climbers were always concerned about the many tourists milling around their lifelines unsupervised.  Thus despite the fact that at 70’, Beam Rocks is one of the tallest vertical rock faces in the region, the wall lived in relative obscurity. 

For the past 10 years though, SWPACC showed a commitment to the area by working together with the administration of Forbes State Forest to organize annual clean up days and graffiti removal.  During that time the possibility of redeveloping Beam into a sport crag remained an enticing idea for the organization.  Eventually, SWPACC began to share their ideas with the FSF administration of how to build out the opportunities to lead climb in the area in a way that would best protect the natural resources there and allow for the greatest safety of all user groups. In 2022, SWPACC’s proposal to place hardware on six different routes at Beam was officially approved.  Over the course of the following year, over 30 SWPACC volunteers worked on six different days to clean the routes and equip them with ½” stainless steel wave bolts as well as quick links and mussy hooks on top of each route to maximize safety for lowering and top roping.  As of summer of 2023, the work has been completed and all of the routes are ready to be enjoyed.  For those climbers in the region who may not be SWPACC members, please consider becoming a member.  Beam Rocks is just one of many projects that we are excited about… there are many more that have recently been completed and there are many more to come.  As an organization, we are only as strong as our membership!

NOTE: The top anchors on 5 of the six routes can be reached from the top of the cliff to easily set top ropes.  You'll see that that the anchors for the route on the far left and the route on the far right are just out of reach to access them safely. For this reason we equipped a second set of anchors for each of these routes to easily secure yourself into (use a 48” sling or other PSA) as you step around to the top anchors to set your top rope.  As always, please exercise utmost caution at all points in your climbing day.  You alone are responsible for your safety.