Maddie was home for a few days before she starts her whitewater guide job for the summer, so we headed to Looking Glass Rock between the showers. This is a traditional climbing area in North Carolina. If you have ever driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway, you have seen this large granite gumdrop in the midst of the forest. It is a beautiful place for sure.

Traditional climbing, or trad climbing is a type of rock climbing where you place gear, or protection as you climb. You place gear in cracks or in other deformities in the rock to protect a fall. Here is the anchor that Maddie built at the top of the third pitch in what we call an “eyebrow.” It consists of three cams equalized with a fourth cam as a backup. It may look scary at 300 feet off the ground, but honestly, you could hang a car from this setup.

This would be Maddie’s third try at completing a 450 foot climb called Sundial Crack. Her first attempt was not long after she started placing gear. The first two pitches took too long, so we had to bail from the top of the second pitch. Her second attempt was a couple of months ago during a cold snap. It was 26 degrees when we stepped on the rock. Moderate winds and climbing in the shade made our toes and fingers feel like icicles, so we were forced to bail from the top of the first pitch. It seemed as if she wouldn’t get to finish this climb before our trip out west.

With a heavy dose of determination, we headed up the trail just before sunrise. We stepped onto the rock just after 7:00 AM. A little while later, and she made it to the anchors on pitch one.

After I climbed up to clean the gear, Maddie set off to climb pitch 2. This is the technical crux of the climb, but she smoothed through with no problems. This is a picture of her setting up the belay from the top of the second pitch.

I couldn’t resist grabbing a picture of her smiling before she headed off on the third pitch.

Normally, we wouldn’t carry our backpacks up this climb, but we are training for an alpine route that we plan to climb in Wyoming in July. The third pitch begins with the feature which this climb gets its name from, a 20 foot hand to fist sized crack. It isn’t technically hard, but for those who don’t climb cracks often, it can be a bit tricky. The first two pitches have bolts for the anchors, but at the top of pitch 3, you have to build your own anchor with gear. I shared that picture above. The fourth pitch is by far the easiest. It traverses to the left after around 130 feet or so to the the rappel anchor.

The opening picture is of Maddie getting ready to do the first of three rappels to get back to the forest floor. Success at last! The Sundial Crack monkey is off of her back!

So, how much is a smile worth? An orthodontist would say “around $6000.” A hospice nurse would say “a thousand words.” I would say that the smiles that I shared with you today are priceless.

Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

My prayer is that as Christians, we would always have a “happy heart.” How can we not smile? Jesus lived the life that we couldn’t live. He died the death that we all deserve, but on the Third Day, He arose from that tomb to defeat death and to provide a way for us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. The next time you have “heartache,” don’t head up to Looking Glass Rock, think about what Jesus has done for you, what He is doing right now as He sits at the Father’s right hand, and what He will forever do for you.

Because He Calls, Old Climbing Dad