Mississippi Palisades

No more sport climbing

I recently took a day trip to Mississippi Palisades to check out the climbing. It was mid week and we had the place to ourselves. We wanted to do the one noted sport climb there but the wall it is/was on is permenatly closed because of rock fall. As all the rock in that area seemed to be a little questionable we decided to top rope. We set up on the Bee wall and I must note if you come at it from the south end (tall) the scramble up is a bit sketchy, especially if your wearing a pack. Use caution! The top has alot of loose rock as well and you would be advised to tie into a tree back from the edge before approching the edge. I don't know the names of the routes we did ( I will find out and update) but they were fairly tall, overhung and burly. One had a chain on top around a tree, the other was about 25 ft south of that seperated by a cleft with an easy looking crack. The left (northern) route has the remains of a huge bee hive plastered on it near the top. The rock was more solid than it appeared, although it would be smart to test anything questionable before commiting. It is also nicely textured. I know its not "cool" but EVERYONE should wear a HELMET. Climbers, blayers and observers. I got pinged several times while belaying but had my lid on. The routes probably had not been climbed in a while as there was alot of sand on the holds. I plan on spending Memorial Day weekend there exploring and climbing some of these.