Crag features

For many years, Laurel Knob was The Un-named Crag, a secret destination known to the chosen few. Climbing was illegal here, but that didnÂ’t stop the determined climbers who saw the imposing granite dome rising out of Lonesome Valley near Big Green Mountain. They thrashed and bushwhacked for hours through thick rhododendron to the base of the cliff, looking up in awe at an expanse of rock so tall they couldnÂ’t see the top. 

Because it was a secret crag for so long, documentation on the first ascentionists and even route names isnÂ’t easy to come by. But that wonÂ’t be the case much longer; in 2006, the Carolina Climbers Coalition pulled off the stunning achievement of purchasing Laurel Knob, with the help of donations by climbers all over the world. Now the 1,200-foot dome, one of the largest, if not the largest crag in the Eastern US, is open to all climbers.