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Colorado Topropes
Toproping in Boulder Area with small kids
Front Range Topropes by Fred Knapp
From: Frank Stock
Happy Hour Crag in Boulder
Canyon fits your requirements-easy to toprope, lots of cracks and it gets
some sun.
From: Bruch Pech
"Rocky Mountain National Park: The Climber's Guide -- Estes Park Valley,"
Bernard Gillett (Eastbound Sports Inc. 2001) (ISBN 0-9643698-4-2). A second
volume covers alpine routes in RMNP.
I haven't TR'ed climbs in the Estes Park Valley or elsewhere in the Park so
I can't really recommend areas based on personal knowledge. But, to judge by
the number of climbing school pupils I've seen around the so-called Parking
Lot Rocks area at Lumpy Ridge, there ought to be some reasonable TRs in the
vicinity. (See pp. 41-45 of the Gillett guidebook).
Top roping areas in Rocky Mountain National Park
Gunks Topropes
Top Roping in the Gunks on Gunks.com
From: Tricam, 6/20/1995
Some of the best toproping is available in the first 100' at The Trapps
near the Hueberfall where you go up the path from the guardrail to pay the
rangers for a pass. In this area many of the climbs are short enough so
that the whole route may be toproped. Two routes I would reccommend are
Phoebe 5.10 and Red Cabbage 5.9. There are many other areas along the
cliff are multi pitch routes but that you could toprope if someone was
willing to lead up that climb or a nearby climb and traverse over to set
up a toprope. However, if adopting this practice, keep in mind that the
Gunks are a trad leader's paradise, only keep the toprope on the route
long enough for everyone to have a try or two and then pull it down. It
is not polite to occupy the first pitch of a multi - pitch route for half
of the day so that nobody can lead it.
From: Jeffrey D. Fass, 6/21/1995
The Gerdie routes are nice to T/R (Herdie, Dirty, Nerdie). They are not
inviting climbs to lead since they're on a tall block that sits out from
the main wall system, with nowhere interesting to go, and perhaps 45-50' of
climbing.
"G U N K S - toproping, overnight stays
Joshua Tree Topropes
The Daytripper's (Non-definitive) Top Rope Guide to Joshua Tree from Somewhere Out There
Top Roping at Joshua Tree - Lots!
Gear Needed for Joshua Tree TR & Sport?
Lover's Leap/Tahoe/Donner's Pass Topropes
From: Nathan Sweet, 4/29/01
Seriously tho, there are lots of TR's there, just not many on the main spires.
On Middle Spire just wander up the ramp above Anal Sex/The Clam and there are
at least 5 routes(gear).
Other easy access Tr's are on Twin Owl's/The Blocks(bolts), Ham and Eggs(gear)
and Midway Rock(bolts).
If you can lead a short pitch of easy 5.6 you can access alot of the back of
Upper Spire from North Ridge. (Gear and and/or an overused tree)
One thing I like about Phantom is if you look around a bit there is always a
decent place to play. Keep away fom Middle and you can have the place to
yourself .
From: Paul, 5/1/1996
One place I know of which meets those requirements is called the
Ninety-Foot Wall. It has routes from 5.6 to 5.11 and you can walk to the top
where there are bolt anchors. The description is in Climbers Guide to Tahoe
Rock on p.112.
From: Bill Maas, 10/13/1999
Try the Practice Slab at School Rock. The bolts
on top are easily reached; 3rd class up to the left or
right of the slab.
From: Benjamin Joseph Faber, 6/16/1999
If you want to toprope, go to Eagle Creek Canyon's 90 Foot wall (it's
about 90 feet wide).
Moab Topropes
From: John Byrnes
"Moab" in the same sentance as "easy trad or topropes"
is an oxymoron.
From: Frank Stock
There is a little bit on Wall Street, but generally Moab is a poor top
rope area. Something about the sandstone geology tends towards sheer
400 foot cliffs and poor quality cap stone. Pretty low probability of
TR'ing that stuff.
From: Soultyranny
The areas are the Schoolhouse I and II at the Wall Street area. Go
north on Hwy93 out of Moab, cross the river and then take the first
left (To Potash). Drive down the road. Pass a camp area and it will
be the first pullout (right hand ride - left is the river) after a
sign that says 'Parking in Pullouts' or something to that effect.
These routes are mostly in the 8 range. The Moab CLimbing Shop is
gone... any route info will need to come from Pagan Mountaineering -
on Center street behind the visitor center. There a few books on it -
Falconguides Rock Climbing Utah and Chockstone's Desert Rock II: Wall
Street to the San Rafael Swell. They don't all have anchors- use of
top rope rigging and directionals etc. is a necessity.
From: Tarzen
I agree with most people that Wall street (potash road) is where most
people climb near moab, but the difficulty there is rather high. There's 3
trad 5.8's, 2 sport 5.9's, 2 trad 5.9's and the majority os 5.10 and up.
There's also the school-room area that offers TR's around 5.4-5.7 but
there's not always good anchors there (people tend to chop them for various
reasons *shrug*).
From: Guillaume Dargaud
- Go anywhere you see someone (Indan Creek, Wall Street...)
- Bring some tape.
- When they are about to pull their rope, ask politely if you can tape yours
to theirs...
- instant toprope !
New River Gorge Topropes
From: Chris Weaver
At the New, check out the Bridge
Buttress area for toproping.
From: David Rowland, 12/16/1994
Rock, has them and even an small indoor gym).
Top-roping is easiest at the Animal Cliffs, the Bridge Buttress and
at Summerville lake, although the rest of the gorge is top-ropable with some
long slings and a little patience.
Pennsylvania Topropes
From: Ben
Check out guide books for Ralph Stover SP and New Jersey Crags. I frequent
Ralph Stover (High Rocks) and it's the best top rope-conducive climbing i've
done in PA. Slightly inclined red meta-shale beds make for some nice
overhanging routes and steep face climbs. Lots of easy to moderately hard
TR's to choose from, a few hard routes (couple of .12's and one ".13a").
From: Mike
I've TR'ed both Ralph Stover and Allamuchy. Different rock, totally different
areas.
Ralph Stover -- be very careful of falling rock; there's a trail overhead of the
crag and stone frequently gets kicked over the lip; a buddy of mine was belaying
on a crowded day and just missed getting pegged in the head by a softball size
chunk; there's a second part of Ralph Stover called Grey Rocks that's a little
hike along the creek below; local rock shop is called Rudolphs in Doylestown;
Phone Booth is a classic; descent to the base is a little loose -- be careful; as
Ben says, this is by far the best TR'ing in the area; you'll enjoy it.
Allamuchy -- on the north side of the road close to a place called Waterloo
Village; rock is nowhere as smooth as Stover; smaller than Stover; a couple of
decent, micro-edge faces; you can boulder for a pretty good lateral distance
along the base; extremely easy to hike to; good natural anchors, albeit some
require a ton of webbing; town of Hackettstown is closeby for fast food grub.
From: Aaron Croop
if your willing to drive
to south central PA, there's Chickies Rock located between Lancaster
and York; North on 441 at Columbia, <2 mi. 5 minute walk to rock
face and top-rope climbs ranging from 5.6 to 5.12.
From: Ken Cline
Coopers Rock State Forest a few miles east of Morgantown in your best
bet. It has outstanding bouldering, and some leadable stuff, though
most people top rope.
There's a small crag at Seven Springs which you can toprope. Its at
the airport, so check with a local about access and directions before
heading out. You could try Tim Anderson - I'll bet
he know of about this area.
More beta is available from the Pittsburgh area stores Exkursion and
Mountain Dreams International.
From: ewingi
There's some pretty cool climbing in Alegheny National Forest. Some nice
topropes and boulder problems at a place Called "heart's content." It's
about a mile hike off the road, but really cool boulders abound.
From: Allistair Bruce
check out rimrock and jakes rock, near the kinzua (sp?) dam for some decent
toproping and pantfilling potential solos!
From: Mark Reisch
Also Panther Rock, a moderate TR area near Clarion
Red River Gorge
From: FatCrak4Me, 10/21/1996
The Red
isn't the easiest plase to toprope at. But if you are industrious, many
routes can be TR'ed. Get Bronaugh's guide and be sure not to kick any
rocks on me or I'll ask a local to shoot you.
From: Scott Roberts, 11/26/1996
You can find more out-of-the-way trad crags in John's book. You can set
up TR's at a lot of them by walking around and getting on top of the
cliff. And please, if you do TR on a bolted climb, use draws on the
anchors when you're top roping. I'm tired of replacing worn through
gold shuts.
From: Tony Bubb, 11/22/1996
At Fortress wall, an easy lead up American Crack (5.5) will get you
to the main ledge system on fortress, form where you can TR various
routes. American Wall (5.3), Route 48 (5.6+), CalypsoI-III are 5.6,
5.8, and 5.3 respectively if I racall correctly. Snake (5.8), Bombs
Bursting (8) and Cussin' Crack(5.7+) can all be reached with a little
careful ingenuity.
At Long Wall, you can walk around the far left end and drop the rope
down various routes, but you will have to top-belay the top-rope, as
the routes are well over 25m tall. Two-step (7+, 120') Long Wall
Chimney (7, 130'), and a few others can be reached. Ralph and Bob's
(5.7, 140') CAN be reached, but will be hard to get a rope down
through the salad.
Red Rocks Topropes
Seneca Topropes
Top Roping opportunities at Seneca
From: James
Seneca is not really a bouldering or TR crag. However there is some
bouldering to be had--for instance one rainy day me and a friend did
some problems in the cave. There also are some toprope routes but not
too many. I think there are a few along the new rock staircase and
also at the top of the tourist trail on the east face of the north
peak. You might try posting and asking for a partner to do some lead
routes with, even if you just want to follow. That is the way Seneca
is supposed to be enjoyed. To my knowledge there aren't too many well
known boulder problems, and finding a toprope partner would probably
be harder than finding a lead partner. It is kind of a big "crag" for
out east, so be prepared.
From: BryanATI
If you can stand the crowds, there are TR's at Seneca with nat. pro on the
North peak east side. Hike the tourist trail to the summit overlook then
descend the east side to the base of the routes (just below summit). Trees and
boulders are your anchors. Some routes could use directionals, which you may
not have without artificial gear.
From: Chris Weaver
At Seneca, the best areas to toprope are the
Northeast Face and the Lower Slabs.
From: Jerry Bargo
You can toprope some of the routes on the North Peak's east face. With
some difficulty, you can toprope some of the routes on the lower slabs.
"Discrepancy" (5.8) is very nice.
Smith Rock Topropes
From: Crag Junki
Rope de Dope rock has a few short toprope routes on it. The only problem
being you either have to lead a easier 5.3-5.4 or negotiate a 5.10a
boulder problem to set
From: Richard Kirby
Smith rock does not have many areas that are easily top roped. The two places I
know of are the student wall - about a 45 min walk up the river and the Rope de Dope
Block - just down the trail from the bivy area (I think Watt's guide has it in the
Morning Glory Wall or Dihedrals area). The Rope de Dope block can be accessed from
the back with a 5.10ish boulder move, or a boost from a friend.
Rope de Dope is a very popular beginner spot and can be very crowded so if you are
going on a weekend, get there early.
The quality of the routes in these two areas, however, are lower than Smith routes
in general.
If you are the friendly outgoing type, it is very easy to meet other climbers at
Smith that are willing to help out. A fair amount of rope sharing for top roping
goes on and it is pretty easy to talk someone into leading a route for you and
rigging your rope for top ropping (I've done this for a few people).
From: Scott Linn
If you go to the end of the parking lot road at Smith, to the end at the
top of the basalt cliffs, you can toprope a number of basalt column climbs
there.
Tennessee Topropes
From: Bruce Henderson, 5/24/1996
there is a small but nice toprope/bouldering area right near
Gatlinburg. It is called Look Rock. Ask around when you get in town.
Everyone knows Look Rock as a tourist overlook.
Sunset Rock from Flatliners
Tennessee Wall from Flatliners
Yosemite Topropes
Yosemite Valley toprope beta by Clint Cummins
Yosemite TR and Sentinel advice needed
Tuolumne Topropes by R. Floyd
Yosemite Topropes by Rob Floyd
Washington, DC Area Topropes
From: Greg Daughtry, 2/2/2000
That's Great Falls (VA) and Carder Rock (MD). There's tons of top-roping.
50 feet of static line, or LOTS of slings help w/ anchoring off the trees.
From: Chris Weaver, 2/20/1996
Great Falls Park - 5.0 to 5.12 One pitch vertical toproping on Potomac
River. Highly recommended. 20 Min from downtown.
Carderock - 5.3 to 5.12 One pitch slab toproping on Potomac. Not highly
recommended. 15 Min from downtown.
From: Joshua Ewing, 2/02/2000
If you're up to driving up by philly it'll take about 2.25 hrs to
drive to Ralph Stover State Park from baltimore. The place has lot's
of toprope-able climbs and a nice guide book. A little closer to your
area is an interesting little crag at Rocks State Park just about 30
min's north of Balto. There's little info or guide books but locate
the park on a map of Maryland. When there there the crags are visible
on either side of the main highway by the information booth.
Toproping: Page 1 2
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