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Hey gang,

I'm ultimately considering a move to the hills surrounding Asheville, NC. I'm doing some research on the climbing opportunities near there, and ice is one of them.

Are there any small falls that come in for North Carolina? If not, how far do you have to go to find decent ice? WI3-4 would be lovely. I've go my fingers crossed there are some opportunities not too terribly far.

Hmmm.....I spent a lot of time in and around Asheville. Lots of rock climbing, but the ice is going to be spotty. May be some stuff up on Grandfather mountain. I'll ask a couple of climber I know in Asheville if they know of any ice. If there is, I wouldn't expect it to be much. That being said, there is phenomenal rock climbing to be had! I grew up climbing in VA and NC....cut my teeth on Seneca Rocks and Stone Mountain. If you want steep/overhung sport climbing, Hawksbill is the place. You can even get 1,000ft routes on Whitesides if you want a bigger wall experience.

Don't know much about ice in NC...but Hawksbill (the Gorge in general) I'm sure has some great climbing.

http://www.summitpost.org/cliffs-of-hawksbill-mountain/791250

Thanks for the feedback, guise. I'm blessed with Joshua Tree, Taquitz, and the Sierra right now for climbing purposes, rock and ice. I imagine it will require a drive up to the NE for any real ice, but there might be a few small flows to be found in NC to practice on a bit. Keep the skills sharp.

Climbed once but its so fluky, depends on weather. Spots are NC215, Graveyard Fields, Carvers Gap, Winding Stair Gap and other spots. Look at small book Southern Fried Ice. Also ncice.com. Fox mountain guides has current conditions on there page

Where do ice climbers from NC go? New York, Vermont, NH.

There's supposedly decent ice climbing at the New River Gorge, when conditions are right. I often go to the DC area at Christmas time and for the last several years have inquired about ice conditions at the NRG before heading out, and have yet to hear enough likelihood of ice that I was willing to pack an extra bag for ice gear, but supposedly it does form up there:

http://www.newriverclimbing.com/secretseason.html

I live in Atlanta, GA but ice climb in NC. Hwy. 215 offers some routes (single pitch), farther down 215 try Sam Knob (multi-pitch, WI3) or try Whiteside Mtn, near Highlands, NC, route called "Starshine" (multi-pitch, WI4+). Great route! In GA. during rainy & very cold winters, we have several routes in NE corner of state that come in...some evern get fairly fat!!! PM me if you've already made the move to NC.