Rumbling Bald

Location: Located in the town of Chimney Rock, North Carolina just outside of Lake Lure, NC

Type of Climbing: Bouldering, Trad, Sport

Type of Rock: Granite

Camping: Firefly Cove

Guidebook: Rumbling Bald Bouldering Guide

Amenities...
Don't even bother looking for anything nearby.  The town of Rumney is tiny, pretty stereotypical type of town that contains climbing.  The closest amenities are in Plymouth, NH about 20 minutes southeast of Rumney.  Along the way you will pass a Wal-Mart, Burger King, etc.

Climbing here...
Rumney is one of the hardest places to climb in the country.  Routes here have been labeled with Rumney ratings.  They mimic how the Gunks are.  Really stout 5.9s that feel like 10s/11s.  I was shocked to get on a route to later find out it was only a 5.7.  The climbs here are so tough, if not adapted to them, that the climbing is not that fun.  The type of holds are crimpy, never-a-jug, balancing act, that can confuse the hell out of you.

Bouldering wise, I feel like they matched up well with the rest of the country.  There were a plethera of high-ball routes so look to bring at least two crashpads here.  Overall, I thought the area was beautiful but the ratings are so far off from the rest of the country that it was difficult to enjoy them.

The Guidebook...
I would definitely pick up a guidebook for this area.  It is easy to navigate from the start of the road, but as soon as you get on trail you can get yourself lost in the thick of it all.  The approaches are long and pretty sketchy.  We found ourselves always checking to make sure we were on the right trail because it felt like we were not even on one.

My opinion on general area...
Absolutely beautiful part of the country.  Heavily wooded with rivers and ponds around you.  How can you possibly not like that?

Camping...
We had not heard of any free camping in the area except for at the Rattlesnake trailhead.  We hiked up the trail until it leveled off and headed directly left of it to hide our tent in the heavy wood.  Our tent was bright green with a reflector and you could not see it even when it was only 15 ft away.

Weather...
Go in the fall.  Spring/Summer is nice but humid and buggy.

Recommendation...
What I would recommend is that if you go to Rumney, that you stay there for as long as you can to get adjusted to the difficulty of the routes.  I thought the area itself was beautiful but the climbing/bouldering just was not my style.  I am not a huge fan of crimp, balancing moves.

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