Living in the south now I can not find any peaks to climb in the winter. Looking for some snow and ice if it exists down here.

Jan/Feb are the coldest months. Snow/ice depends on the weather forecast - then melts away rather quickly. WVA gets more of both, then MD, then VA. Maybe once a year Whiteoak Canyon falls in Shenandoah is frozen and climbable. Old Rag in SNP is a challenging, but short, climb when there is snow.

Not sure about those two states, but...

WAY PLENTY of ice routes in NC. For snow climbing in the east, not so much until you get way North (NY / NH). A winter traverse across some of the balds in the Smokies maybe.

mtnbnd wrote:Living in the south now I can not find any peaks to climb in the winter. Looking for some snow and ice if it exists down here.

Are you looking for vertical ice? or just backpacking ice/snow? dayhikes? what is your experience level?

The Smoky mountains get plenty of snow in the winter, but that's NC, and only because of the higher elevation. Other than that, you have to travel North to NJ, NY, or further if your looking for vertical ice climbing.

Dolly Sods Wilderness in WV can be a great winter hiking / camping experience in some pretty extreme conditions during a good snow year. Nothing vertical, though.

Old Rag is fun when it gets snowy and icy. A lot of the rocky gullies fill in with ice but there's not much in the way of vertical ice here.

However, on the west side of the park a bit to the north, there's an area called Matthews Arm which, among other things, has a spring-fed stream running down a big gorge with some big (up to 90') falls. There is definitely intermittent ice climbing here when the temperatures drop enough. http://www.neice.com/photopost/showphot ... 6/size/big

And, as mentioned above, Whiteoak Canyon (which is just south of Old Rag) occasionally has ice.

There's also some place down near Harrisonburg that has been rumored... called "Unicorn Crag" - but there is NO information on the web about it.

There's a huge waterfall down near Blacksburg called "Cascades" (of all things) that I imagine would be iced up in the winter but alas, it is a NO CLIMBING area.

nhluhr wrote:There's a huge waterfall down near Blacksburg called "Cascades" (of all things) that I imagine would be iced up in the winter but alas, it is a NO CLIMBING area.

And that's why we have wonderful headlamps!

thanks for all of the input.

taxinvestor wrote:Jan/Feb are the coldest months. Snow/ice depends on the weather forecast - then melts away rather quickly. WVA gets more of both, then MD, then VA. Maybe once a year Whiteoak Canyon falls in Shenandoah is frozen and climbable. Old Rag in SNP is a challenging, but short, climb when there is snow.

This is in Shenandoah National Park. During cold, wet winters, the 3 or 4 ice climbers in the area head for White Oak Canyon/ Dodson River Trail area at around 4 in the morning and start climbing.

If you are looking for some kind of alpine adventure close to home- then I recommend a first ascent on a new route on Champ Rock in WV- during a blizzard. Or perhaps begging for access to Nelson Rocks and then climbing one of the longest multi-pitch (7-9 pitches?) routes in the South- Again, during a blizzard.

Let me know if you need a partner.... I'm in!

Hotoven wrote:

nhluhr wrote:There's a huge waterfall down near Blacksburg called "Cascades" (of all things) that I imagine would be iced up in the winter but alas, it is a NO CLIMBING area.

And that's why we have wonderful headlamps!

The area has almost no policing. Also I believe the No Climbing is almost entirely to discourage silly teens from climbing on the slick rocks, not because they have a rash of ice climbers invading the area.

I've been to that waterfall in mid January though and it was only partially frozen. It would have to get viciously cold to really freeze. Part of the problem is that it's on a south facing slope.

A waterfall like Apple Orchard Falls along the Blue Ridge Parkway might be a better option because it's north facing, but doesn't have as much flow or isn't as vertical.

Thanks for all the input folks! It is much appreciated.