Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
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I am not a climbing enthusiast. I don't even do it much for a hobby. I have friends that are
avid climbers and they invited me to join them on a trip to Looking Glass. Located in Pisgah National Forest, near Asheville,
North Carolina, it is a fairly sizeable park and a popular one at that Even on Easter weekend, it was a little crowded. There
was a little water left from a previous rain, so that limited the choice of climbs. Out of the ones that were dry, the popular
ones were always occupied.
I have never officially climbed before. Well, nothing other than the occasional tree or building.
I've done some practice runs at the local climbing gym, but nothing spectacular. Here are pictures from my first climb. Yeah,
I'm a freak, taking a camera on my first climb. The first two are on the way up and the third is from the top looking up beyond the
belay station.
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After the climb, I basically just hung out and watched them climb another pitch and then I took off from the rock to head back to camp. It was Ceci's birthday after all and the Champagne needed chilling. I stopped off at the falls for a quick dip. When the rest came down, they all stepped in for a quick shower. It was cold, but very refreshing. About 10 minutes after I was in there, a snake came down over the falls and swam off towards the other rocks. Didn't come near me, but scared the crap out of the guy it landed beside. |
| After a day of climbing, we camped out not far from the falls. Dinner was prepared and after dinner, we celebrated Ceci's birthday. I took a few pictures around the campsite, but I didn't have a tripod, so must of them are too blurry to post. Better luck next time... | 
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The next day was pretty much the same thing, but I got to play around a little more.
The rest of them tackled Gemini which is a three pitch climb. I only did the first pitch on this one and basically
just hung out on the ledge for the duration. After everyone had taken their shot at Gemini, we took off from the ledge and looked for another place to climb. Before we repelled down (my first repel as well) I got some group shots... The last shows (from left) Mike, Alex, myself and Ceci. |
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Some individual shots of our group. These are of Alex. He's possibly
the most avid climber I know. It's a toss-up between him and Mike. I met Alex through a mutual friend, and we both
went to Virginia Tech. |
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More individual shots. This is Ceci, girlfriend of Alex. I work
with her at IBM, but I don't see her (or Alex) much these days. Extra pictures of her because
she wasn't stuck to the rock all day. (I had to limit the number of butt shots that I took of Mike and Alex.) |
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Finally, Mike. I met he and Alex through the same mutual friend.
Again it turns out that we went to college together, but I don't remember him from any of my classes.
(Probably 'cause I was sleeping through those classes.) |
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Etra pictures... Some of the group and some of the scenery. 1 & 2. Mike and Alex 3. Ceci, Mike, & Alex 4. myself 5, 6 & 7. Looking Glass Rock |