Except Taken Directly From Here: Indy’s Guide to ‘Hidden Climing’

SPARKS CRAG.. (thats right Sparks MD)

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This small quarry lies in the woods next to the North Central Railroad Hike’n'Bike trail near Sparks, Maryland. There is a definite trail system that leads to the cliffs, and a fainter trail ~50′ further down the NCRR trail that leads to the top to set up anchors.

Anchor set-ups: Trees are fairly abundant up top; no need for gear. But 20′+ slings may be in order to set some routes up. Be extra careful when setting up anchors for routes near the Sentinel Corner, as the terrain up there is an extremely steep dirt/mud slope, from which a slip may be unrecoverable. There are a few nice trees near the edge to anchor off on, but there are also trees further back in the woods as well.

Don’t forget to bring a wire brush to clean off the dirt & grit that’s run down from the tops after it’s rained.

Warning: there is loose rock - some of it quite massive! - in this area. Take extra care and caution when both climbing and belaying! One pair of climbers, with just a gentle tug, pulled off a 1000 lbs boulder from broadway face 2 just recently (mid-July, 2000) that would have crushed the belayer had he been standing directly underneath. The quality of the rock is not 100% great (it is an old quarry, after all!). TAKE CARE WHEN CLIMBING IN THIS AREA!!

Warning #2: THIS AREA IS PRIVATE LAND! Access issues are being investigated (Sept, 2000). Refrain from overt activity in this area until access issues can be sorted out (that or just avoid this place altogether).

The rock here is mostly smooth, quarried from when the railroad was first put in. There are some corners, some cracks, some overlaps, small roofs, and overhangs. The cliff band averages 30-40 feet high, and is nearly 200 feet long from end to bitter end. The place does not see a lot of climber traffic, though there is some evidence of climbers on Che Schifo. Most of the hard stuff (5.11+) appears unclimbed (the named routes are only ‘place-savers’, until they can be climbed for real). Even though this is an old quarry, leave the rock as it is. If it’s too hard for you, either get better or let someone who climbs harder take a crack at it. There’s more than enough other rock around to climb without modifying that which is here.

Note: the Sentinel Corner is often wet for a couple of days after it has rained in the area. Kind of a bummer, but…

Warning: Beware of deer ticks that lurk in the woods! There have been no known incidents of late, but this doesn’t preclude the fact that they are not there. Lyme disease…you don’t want it !

Directions: From I-83, north of Baltimore (and Hunt Valley), get off at exit 24 (Belfast Road). Go east on Belfast road until you come to York Road (can’t miss it; Belfast Road ends here). Turn right and go south (back towards Baltimore) for just about 0.4 miles and turn left onto Sparks Road. Continue down Sparks Road a short bit until you come to a one-lane bridge. Immediately past the bridge the road intersects with the North Central Railroad Hike’n'Bike trail. Find a place to park (there are a couple of parking areas in the immediate area). From here go south (downstream) along the path, paralleling the Gunpowder Falls river. Please be courteous and share the trail with the other hikers and bikers (bikers seem to make up 80+% of the traffic on the trail). After about 5 minutes of leisurely hiking you’ll pass a house on the left. 5 minutes later you’ll come to a definite footpath heading into the woods on your left. Enter the woods on this path, and voila`! Sieta qui! (you are here!) The access trail to the top is a mere 50′ past this on the main trail (and is fainter; hunt for it).

The rock band can be divided up into several main sections: Slab Wall, Broadway Wall, Back Wall. The Slab Wall is the first thing you come to off the NCRR trail, and is blank ~80-degree ’slab’ featuring a couple left-leaning cracks, some overhangs, and a left-facing corner on the far right. The wall breaks at another, larger left-facing corner. The Broadway Wall starts at this large, left-facing corner (Dirty Dihedral) and goes for about 120′ to the left, passing a smaller left-facing corner to a mostly blank wall (with a couple of small cracks/seams and a shallow arch halfway across) to a broad and shallow right-facing corner/wall (Sentinel Corner). After an overgrown section, the Back Yard continues with broken and blocky corners. Routes are described from right to left.

Some of the routes named are ‘working names’ (eg, Jeanne d’Arc, Joan Left, the Stellar names, Fixed Line). Better than saying ‘unknown route x’ each and every time. When the route is freed or the first ascent party is found, the name will be updated to the route’s given name.

SLAB WALL:

This is the first rock face encountered on the right as you stumble up the path from the NCRR Trail.

sparks slab 1 (5.?) - Follow the face up next to the first left-facing corner using cracks and shelves and whatever is available.

sparks slab 2 (5.?) - To the left of NCRR-SLAB-1, right of the second left-facing corner, go up the face using friction, cracks, ledges, etc.

The Queen Spider corner on the right end of Broadway Wall; Che Schifo goes up the face immediately to the left in the center of the image. The 1000 lbs block formed by the cracks in the upper left corner was pulled off the wall with just a gentle tug.

BROADWAY WALL:

This broad wall starts with Dirty Dihedral and continues left to the Sentinel Corner, ~120′ away.

Dirty Dihedral - Climb the large, 10-foot wide blocky corner to the top. There are three ways to go:

Dirty Dancing (5.3) - 20′. Use a variety of techniques to dance your way up the rightmost corner with the smooth face. Almost a flaring chimney in spots, with some interesting, inobvious moves. If it’s feeling awkward, you’re missing something.

Dirty Mind (5.3) - 20′. Wear a hat to keep your mind (and head) clean from the dirt above. Climb the middle of the three corners/flaring chimney-like lines up to the top. Easy moves on inobvious holds makes for some interesting climbing.

Dirty Laundry (5.3) - 20′. You will need to do laundry after climbing this grungy route! Plow through the dirt up the leftmost blocky corner next to the face up to the ‘gully’ above. Be careful (both you and your belayer!) for loose stuff (rocks, dirt, twigs) funnelling down from above.

broadway face 1(5.?) - climb the face left of Dirty Dihedral.

The Queen Spider (5.6) - 25′. Climb up the flaring chimney/left-facing corner ~15 feet left of Dirty Laundry. Surmount the block above to gain a ledge. From the ledge follow large, horizontal cracks up and left to the overhanging headwall (crux) at the top. Good holds. Watch for a large spider in the big cracks above.

Che Schifo (5.7**) - 25′. An Italian phrase, pronounced ‘ke skee-fo’, this route is nowhere near as disgusting as the translation would lead you to believe. Climb the face on good holds a few feet left of The Queen Spider corner to a large horizontal crack. Trending to the left momentarily, yard up the left-facing flakes using great holds until you gain the left-leaning flake/crack system above. Follow those for a move or two then cut right when they are about to end to finish on the overhanging wall above. Good but inobvious holds allow you to top out if you want.

broadway face 2 (5.11?) - 30′. Start 7 feet left of The Queen Spider, just right of the mini-roof formed by the horizonal crack 5′ off the ground. Follow the slightly rust-colored water streak through slopers to a small ledge. Step up and claw your way up the steep wall above (V1). Note: a 1000 lbs boulder was pulled off the the ledge, narrowly missing the belayer. Be careful in this area, hear?

V1 (5.?) - At the ledge step right and finish using the left-leaning cracks of Che Schifo.

broadway seam (5.13??) - 35′. Several feet left of broadway face 2. Follow the left-trending seam on slopers to the top.

Jeanne d’Arc (5.12/5.13?) - 35′. Start in the middle of the Broadway Face, below the highest point of the shallow arch and above where the green rusted-out hulk of an old automobile is buried. Be careful where you step. Climb up the almost blank face to the arch at it’s highest point. Turn the arch and continue on nothing to the top.

Joan Left (5.11d/5.12a) - 35′. 10 feet left of Jeanne d’Arc, follow the thin, left-leaning crack/seam through the arch to the top. Totally blank and smooth. There is a single bolt at the top of the seam, several inches to the right.

broadway face 3 (5.12?) - 35′. Begin 15 feet left of Joan Left, between two sizable trees. Desperate moves up the face with a sloping ledge and a small left-facing ‘corner’ yields to a small bulge in a blank wall above.

Bob’s Route (5.?) - A working name route. Start on the mud-encrusted face directly behind the tree left of broadway face 3. Climb up the wall to the overlap halfway up, then traverse left to the end where the overlap becomes a seam. Finish on Three’s Company.

Stellar Atmospheres (5.10/5.11) - This rarified route doesn’t have a lot of positive holds on it. Start 7′ left of the large tree on the left of broadway face 3, at the base of the boulder/dirt ramp that rises up to the Sentinel Corner. Climb the brown face full of very shallow pockets to the blank wall above. Pull around on the right when you reach the overhanging blocks above. Warning: these large blocks may be loose - be very VERY careful when climbing this route, both as the climber and belayer!! Take proper precautions in case of rock fall! (and a helmet isn’t going to do it all alone - not if one of these 1000+ lbs monsters drops on you!

Three’s Company (5.11d/5.12a*) - 35′. Starting 5′ feet left of Stellar Atmospheres, on the first block partway up the boulder/dirt ramp leading up to the Sentinel Corner. Tricky moves at the bottom are avoided by stepping onto the higher block up left to bomber handholds. After this the climbing gets stiff, fast. Working on good and marginally good holds, follow the black streak studded with bumps and rounds holds up next to the tan, mud-encrusted line to a horizontal seam halfway up. Be careful that some of the good holds may break on you. At the seam find tiny slopers and sloping finger ledges to work the blank but slightly undulating face above to the next horizontal crack that starts the overhanging wall. Yard on up through the overhang using good holds in the cracks. This wall is often soaking wet after it has rained, unfortunately (water seeps through the ground above and out the cracks in the overhang). Warning: some of the large blocks may be loose - be very VERY careful when climbing this route, both as the climber and belayer!! Take proper precautions in case of rock fall! And a helmet isn’t going to do it all alone - not if one of these small-car engine-sized monsters drops on you!

Stellar Conquest (5.10/5.11) - This route lies halfway between Three’s Company and the Sentinel Corner itself. Starting 5′ left of Three’s Company, battle your way up the undulations and features in the face to the overhanging blocks above. Pull through the ‘hangs, or step left to go around them. Warning: these large blocks may be loose - be very VERY careful when climbing this route, both as the climber and belayer!! Take proper precautions in case of rock fall! (and a helmet isn’t going to do it all alone - not if one of these 1000+ lbs monsters drops on you!

Sentinel follows the shallow, wet corner; A Simple Kind Of Life goes up the wall along the left edge of the wet section

SENTINEL CORNER:

The Broadway Wall ends here with this right-facing corner face. Past this is a section of overgrown blocky rock before you come to the Back Yard, approximately 50′ away. It is unfortunate that the corner itself, as well as the rock upwards of 5-10′ on either side (particularly on Broadway Wall) stays wet for days after it has rained in the area.

Warning: the large blocks atop of the routes here may be loose - be very VERY careful when climbing these routes, both as the climber and belayer!! Take proper precautions in case of rock fall!

Sentinel (5.10*) - 30′. Be on your guard if the wall is wet! (and it often is after a good rain). A double-* route if drier. Following the shallow and thin crack in the right-facing corner, step left when you reach the overhanging blocks above and finish (V1) on welcome (and sharp) holds formed by the blocks and cracks.

V1: Sentinel Direct Finish (V1) (5.10*) - Instead of stepping left at the overhanging blocks, work up the right corner past the steep face.

A Simple Kind Of Life (5.10a*) - 30′. Not so simple a climb, although fairly straight forward when you know the moves. Start near the center of the face, just left of the micro-nut thin crack several feet left the Sentinel corner. Use inobvious face holds (finger ledges in most cases) and the thin crack to welcome holds at the horizontal break 20′ above you (there was a ‘downed’ tree immediately left of this route in the 1990s, still hanging on with a few roots in the first horizonal break, hiding a few nice ‘exit’ holds from the face; the climbing’s not that much harder if you don’t use them to get off the face). Finish past the blocks on the last few moves of Sentinel.

sentinel face 1 (5.10) - 30′. Starting at the far left side of this wall, several feet left of A Simple…, layback up the small right-facing corner, arcing over to gain the horizontal breaks above. Traverse right and finish past the blocks on Sentinel.

THE BACK YARD:

There are only a few routes worth climbing in the back half of this quarry. Most of the rock back here is block and/or heavily overgrown with vegetation. Setting top-ropes up on many of these routes is nigh impossible (due to the slope of the ground above and the fence which seperates the mowed property with the woods). ~30 past the Sentinal Wall is a stack of broken rock and a large boulder that form a small ‘cave’ or cavity. This starts The Back Yard.

Fixed Line (5.?) - another route with a working name until I can learn what the first ascent people are calling it. Just left of the cavity at the start of The Back Yard is a finger crack that jaggedly works its way up the wall. Follow this past a bolt or two (first bolt may be a rivet) to a second horizontal seam (just past the upper bolt). Step right around the outside corner and go up the friction wall past two bolts (upper bolt may be the rap station). Gear to lead this consists of small nuts, camming devices, RURPs.