My Favorite Tennessee Crags

I was lucky enough to spend some time climbing in East TN. Here is a list of my favorite spots:

The Obed

The first time I came to the Obed, we were there to camp, fish, and hike. I wasn't into outdoor climbing then. I remember hiking down a craggy trail from the boulder field to Lilly Bluff. I couldn't believe how high some of those cliffs were, and I had no idea that in a couple years I would be lowering off the top of them on routes like Whipper Snapper, Tarantalam, Heresy, and of course the mega classic: Rocking Chair. I also had no idea just how expansive the climbing area was. We stopped by Lilly Pad for a bite to eat and I picked up the Obed climbing guide by Kelly Brown. I later discovered the foreword was written by my former coworker Jason's dad Rob Turan. I was also lucky enough to climb on some of Rob's routes in my time at the Obed. The steep overhanging climbing, the beautiful river valley below, and the wonderful friends I have made at the Obed make this my favorite crag in Tennessee by a long shot.

Lilly Bluff and the boulderfield

This wall challenged me in a number of different ways. The face climbing is surprisingly difficult, and it was also my first time climbing an almost horizontal roof. Don't let the juggy nature of the roof on Heresy mislead you. It is a serious workout. I have not gotten it clean. For now I am blaming my cancer battle for the lack of endurance to link the bolts together. I will be back. The boulderfield almost had a gym vibe when we were there. It was pretty crowded due to the holiday, but we were able to get on boulders that required way more crashpads than we brought, like Hooker. It was definitely worth the crowd.

I followed on Whipper Snapper. Top rope has always freaked me out more than leading. This route is stunningly beautiful and I loved every minute of it even as I hung under the final roof with a bloody finger. Sorry if there was a little blood on your rope Nate when I cleaned the anchor.

Rocking Chair is just pure fun. I think it is a great route for any first time leader or top roper. It is probably the only easier route, other than Tarantalla, in the area.

Tarantalla is long and exposed as you get to the arete for a no hands rest. I give it a 4/5. I would give it a 5, but that ledge had too much bird shit on it for my liking. The climbing feels epic and very secure. The first move out of the overhang is a bit tricky and you have to backclean the first draw to avoid rope drag. It is all jugs getting out of this though!

The South Clear

This was my first climbing experience at the Obed. It was a bit crowded due to a holiday and the Vanderbilt climbing team showed up. Nonetheless, we were able to get on some amazing routes. My favorite of the day was probably Christine right outside of Stephen King's Library. We also hit up Pet Sematary and a few other classic climbs in the area. I was lucky enough to come back to this area a few times. Once it was just above freezing. I took a film camera and got some great shots of my friends on Super Ego from a climb directly across the dihedral.

The approach is almost as fun as the climbing. There is a section with rebar holds added to make walking the narrow ledge more comfortable. It isn't too high consequence or difficult, but it definitely adds to the adventure. It is worth it to even just do the hike IMO. I always have an amazing time at this crag, even if I slide off the slopers on Pet Sematary. Watching much stronger climbers do routes like Maximum Overdrive is inspiring. That is also a great movie if you haven't checked it out. AC/DC does the soundtrack \m/. It is the only movie of a Stephen King story where he actually directed it. The promo trailer is insane.

Denny Cove

Denny East

Buffet Wall is one of the most insane things I have ever seen. It was a warm spring day and water droplets were sprinkling from the very top of the 100 ft overhanging cliff side. 100ft is where the routes end, but it feels much larger as it looms over your belay. I only got to the first bolt on Canned Heat. We had done Frozen Lightning earlier, a 5.11a with a technical sequence for the crux. Three Star Salad Bar is good clean fun. That route is definitely one of the most enjoyable 5.9s I have climbed. The bolts are a little far for comfort, but the ledges are all great and make clipping (even high clipping) easy. I am not super tall and had no issues reaching anything. There are some other easier climbs on the salad bar wall too.

Denny West

I had my biggest whip on Kachunga. The catch was super clean and I fell under the roof (thank you Hannah and James). This one definitely gets a little slippery in the spring. So watch for that. Tulip Poplar is also up there with best 5.9s in TN. Even more fun than Three Star Salad Bar. It has amazing rock quality. Warm up on the Yawn Wall!

Foster Falls

My first experience here was the first time I went climbing with friends outside. Kyle and I found ourselves on an insane 80ft traverse called Moving Target. I learned that day that a 5.9 outside is way crazier than a 5.9 in the gym. Most of the moves were not too bad, but we struggled to clean the route due to its traversing nature. Luckily, we were surrounded by experienced climbers and had some help from the other folks we met up with. I also managed to get a 5.10b that day somehow! It was a bit shorter. I was quickly humbled by my friend going up Eclipse, an insane 5.12 roof climb in the cave.

Stonefort

What is more fun than bouldering at a golf club surrounded by a beautiful forest? The golf clubhouse and crashpad rental is a super cool combination you don't see anywhere outside of Chattanooga. Highlight was definitely Firecrack Flake. Pulling the last move on that one for the first time makes you feel like a real climber. We mostly played around on easier boulders and tried our hand at a few V2s and V3s. They even had their own "portable" boulder. Bouldering is hard and a lot of the V1s here are just free soloing. I avoided anything that would break my ankles. I hope to come back here and try some more difficult problems now that I have some more experience.

King's Bluff

I have mixed feelings about King's Bluff. It is where I learned to climb outdoors, but it is also pretty difficult and the rock quality isn't that great. There are some decent climbs for sure in the 5.7-5.9 range. My main gripes are that the feet feel insecure and the pockets are sometimes hard to find. There are quite a few secret holds 🔎. That being said, I have also had a lot of fun times climbing at King's. I learned how to rappel here and learned some good self rescuing techniques. Thank you, Max. Also onetime I climbed a route a few routes over from some baby owls and it was adorable. No owls were disturbed, the route with their nest was closed. Another good idea is to always read the latest MTN Poject comments on a route.

I hope you enjoyed this little overview of Tennessee climbing and I hope this post inspires you to get outside into nature and explore your current state and everything it has to offer.