Had a great day climbing at Crowders Mt State Park. I was joined by Kevin and his two amazing sons Bryce and Aiden. The weather was a little cloudy at first, but turn to beautiful blue skies. There were lots of people out climbing and having a great time. We started on a 5.9 sport [...]
Today was one of those rare days where everything seems to go well. I was fortunate enough to climb with Warren. He wanted to climb the Nose on Looking Glass Rock. It is one of those must do classics in the area. The Nose was the first route on this section of rock and follows [...]
Lately I have been extremely lucky to be able to climb many days a week outside around western NC. Today fellow AMI Guide Chris Davis and I went out to Cereal Buttress at Rumbling Bald near Lake Lure, NC. The weather was near perfect.
We started out on Obamanation (5.8), a more obscure route that was [...]
Had a great day out at The Nose Area with Gary!! We started the day at Looking Glass Outfitters where we learned how to tie the basic knots. Gary quickly mastered all of them. The sun burned the fog off and we drove up to The Nose Area. Next Gary had an introduction on how [...]
Rope Types
Dynamic Rope
Kernmantle ropes have two components that work together to create the desired performance. Some kernmantle ropes are static, meaning there is limited stretch. These ropes work best for jugging, hauling, rappelling and anchor construction. Climbers need a different type of kernmantle rope, dynamic. A dynamic kernmantle rope is designed to absorb energy from [...]
Last Monday four of us from Appalachian Mountain Institute was fortunate enough to visit the PMI factory and lab. PMI has been making ropes for over 25 years here is the USA. We were able to take a tour of the factory and learn how PMI makes dynamic climbing ropes and static ropes used for [...]
A couple of weeks ago I moved up to Level two circuit training. I had been working on level one to the point where I was completing three circuits in about an hour. Each circuit on level one lasted 15 minutes with a 4 minute rest. I seemed ready for level two.
It was a big [...]
I was fortunate enough to work with a great group of people this weekend for a Rock Intro Class. We had great weather and a fantastic day climbing and enjoying the fall color. Everyone experienced a rappel and climbing in the Pisgah Forest. The blue skies and fall color made the views fantastic. The real [...]
Last weekend I had the privilege of working with two outstanding people, Mike and Charlotte. They joined me for a great weekend of climbing cracks and learning the ropes at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. Charlotte wanted to focus on efficiency so she and her daughter could do more climbing together. The two had [...]
Appalachian Mountain Institute is looking for an individual for guiding and instructing. One must have a background in rock climbing instruction and/or guiding, medical certification and good communication skills.
If interested, please submit a resume to patrick@appalachianmountaininstitute.com and call 828-553-6323.
