Southern Rock

Publication Year: 1982.

Southern Rock. Chris Hall. East Woods Press, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1981. 143 pages, black and white photographs, maps, diagrams. $7.95.

To call a climber’s guidebook Southern Rock and to cover the rock climbs in a five-state area, one would expect quite a weighty volume. Such is not the case with this book. True, it is the only one in print at this time; but, unfortunately, too little effort went into updating the old guidebooks. Then, too, some very significant climbing areas have been intentionally left out because of the author’s assumption that being privately owned, access to them is impossible because prohibited. This is not the case. The fact is that some of these very areas are where we are seeing some of the greatest route development in the south and where standards are being constantly pushed to higher levels.

Another criticism I have is that some climbing areas have received an unjust amount of space compared to the amount given other areas of equal or even greater stature. The most obvious example is the lack of attention given to Whitesides Mountain in North Carolina. A brief mention of the highest and most exposed rock face on the East Coast (1000 feet), does not do justice to the potential for future development that this area surely holds. Only a handful of routes have been completed on this most appealing face—equal in size to Cannon—and only a few of those are listed in Southern Rock. Much remains to be pushed up here and in many other fine areas in North Carolina and the surrounding states.

The book’s strongest point is its organization. Most of the areas it covers appear to be as well-detailed as possible. The maps and photographs help in beginning one’s quest for a particular route and most are of a good quality.

Overall, the book will be a significant help to those unfamiliar with climbing areas in the South, but it is not definitive or really comprehensive.

Richard W. Tyrrell