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Looking Glass Rock Climbing

Looking Glass Rock Climbing

North Face and Nose Area, Looking Glass Rock

Looking Glass is a classic North Carolina exfoliating granite dome.  It is one of the best rock climbing areas in the east, and sports steep friction, crack, aid, and face climbing routes.  It is relatively amenable to the novice and intermediate climber.  The south face is home to a large number of moderate routes. The sun wall is southwestern to western in aspect and holds some very difficult free climbs.  The nose area is famous for the intermediate routes The Nose and Sundial Crack, 400 foot free climbs of four pitches or more.  The north wall is home to difficult free climbing as well as grade V aid lines (multi-day routes).

Climbing Season:

Climbing can be comfortable at Looking Glass all year, although winter temperatures can be prohibitive on the coldest days.

Location:

Looking Glass is located minutes from Brevard, North Carolina which has hotels, restaurants, and a summer chamber music festival.

Routes:
  • Rat's Ass (5.8), 3 pitches.  Fantastic corner climbing on exquisite granite in a beautiful location.
  • The Nose (5.8), 4 pitches.  World famous--and worth the hype.
  • Sundial Crack (5.8), 4 pitches.  Interesting crack, face and eyebrow climbing.
  • Gemini Crack (5.8), 3 pitches.  Slab to right facing corner to straight-in crack bliss.
  • Second Coming (5.7), 3 pitches.  Undulating face and crack climbing with some friction feet thrown in for good measure.
  • Dinkus Dog (5.10), 2 pitches.  Beautiful near vertical face climbing on tiger-striped, clean NC granite.
  • The Odyssey (5.11), 3-4 pitches.  Ultra classic face climbing on the Sun Wall.
  • The Womb (5.11), 2-3 pitches.  Crack to Odd Offwidth to crack.  Excellent quality climb.
  • And many, many more.
What We Offer:

Granite Arches offers professional rock climbing guiding and instruction year-round at Looking Glass.  Granite Arches offers private guided instruction only, so you or your group will not be with any other climbers.    Our focus is to help you efficiently reach your climbing goals, while developing superior risk management awareness and technical skill proficiency.  Our 'courses' are not set in stone, because our instruction is private and custom tailored to each client.  Instead, instructional goals of varying levels are integrated into "focus areas" to be seamlessly woven into your climbing day at the crags.  The focus areas covered by you and your guide are determined by your technical skill and practical knowledge and follow a natural progression.

Our Credentials:

Our climbing guides are  professionals who have climbed and guided rock, snow and ice allover the Southeastern US., but also in South America, Greenland, Europe, and Canada. They bring that experience to your rock climbing adventure.