Hello,
Does anyone know of any climbing areas around Columbia, MD? I've looked around online some but the crags I've found are north of Baltimore or inside the D.C. beltway. I'm going to be in Columbia for a class next week and I'm hoping to climb a bit after class; class ends at 1630. If I have to drive an hour or more it'll be dark by the time I start climbing...
Thanks,
Rob
bfeeley says:
Hey Rob -
Probably the best outdoor climbing in that area is a little further south west at Carderock or Great Falls. Those spots are right on the Potomac ... about 30 miles or so from Columbia. If you can't make it out that far, and would settle for some gym climbing, Earth Treks has a facility in Columbia. http://www.earthtreksclimbing.com/ They also have directions to various outdoor spot in the area ... http://www.earthtreksclimbing.com/content/view/129/1/
Hope that helps ..
Brian
ramseyrt says:
Thanks for the info. I had already checked out that climbing gym but I didn't realize they had local crags listed. I'm meeting up with a buddy to climb at that gym on Tuesday. In retrospect, I should have pushed my flight out until the weekend and given myself a day to climb!
I used to live in Columbia, MD two weeks shy of a year ago. The traffic is terrable in every direction out of Columbia from 3:30 - 6:30 and it gets dark now around 6 or so (5 or so after this weekend; daylight savings time). There's a pretty nice bike trail system in Columbia and I was hoping that there might be a crag off of one of those trails or in one of the local parks.
Rob Ramsey kc8kpx Fountain, CO
Vegas says:
Rob,
IMHO, you will be disappointed by Carderock or Great Falls after climbing in Colorado for a year. I know that the PATC climbs at Carderock on Wednesdays at 4PM if you can make it out there. There's also some bouldering at the Northwest Branch:
http://www.dcmetroclimbing.com/beta/index.html
Without a weekend, your best bet would be to hit Earthtreks. They have a really good gym in Columbia, Timonium, and the newest in Rockville. I personally would love for you to visit Sportrock, Alexandria, since that is my old gym and all my old peeps are there, but it is quite a haul from Columbia.
Let me know if you need more beta or if you need climbing partners. i'll try my best to hook you up.
-
http://www.paradoxsports.org
http://vegas.smugmug.com
http://www.coloradospringsrockratz.com
ramseyrt says:
Thanks for the intel. I think I'm done looking for real rock in Maryland. I've confirmed with a climbing parter to try out Earthtreks next week.
Rob Ramsey kc8kpx Fountain, CO
ramseyrt says:
Well, I'm in Maryland this week and I checked out the climbing gym Earth Trek in Columbia. It's a pretty nice gym with some neat crack climbs and plenty of lead routes. Unfortunately, they require that new members perform a belay test before being alowed to belay. My climbing partner had no prior climbing expreience and thus, couldn't belay me. A real bummer. As much as I like introducting new people to the sport, I like climbing more : )
As I recall, the Sport Climbing Center requires a similar test but I brought a brand new guy there with me and I was permitted to give the new guy some training before his test. This was not permitted at Earth Trek.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well!
Rob
Rob Ramsey kc8kpx Fountain, CO
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