WHISKEY SPRINGS

Whiskey Springs

Type of climbing: Bouldering

Location: Whiskey Springs Rd. Boiling Springs, PA 17007 map

Land ownership and management: Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Current access: Open

SCPC Ambassadors: SCPC Team

Ambassador contact: scpclimbers@gmail.com

Additional information: Whiskey Springs is a small but well-established bouldering area in south-central Pennsylvania, near Carlisle. People have been climbing in this spot since the 1970s. The area is located directly on the Appalachian Trail, less than 5 miles from its overall midpoint (Center Point Knob). Whiskey hosts a variety of problems from V0- highballs to V10+ boulders. The climbing is largely characterized by sharp crimps, good jugs, slippery slopers, and the occasional pocket. Both overhangs and slabs exist in abundance. The rock is Weaverton Quartzite and has a variety of grains ranging from large quartz stripes to smaller crystals. It is very solid and generally quite clean, though less-traveled lines occasionally have lichen on them.

The area consists of a series of quartzite outcroppings and freestanding boulders on the crest of a narrow ridge (aka Rocky Ridge). The main area is about an eighth of a mile long, though scattered outcroppings pop up on the ridge for several miles in each direction. These smaller areas are slowly being developed by locals.

Whiskey Springs is popular with local boulderers, and it is not uncommon to see other climbers there in almost any time of the year. However, it is rarely crowded and a large portion of the people one tends to see there are hikers passing through on the AT. As it is located on a ridge, it tends to be cooler and windy than the surrounding valley.

An old guidebook written by Travis Gault exists, but unfortunately the guidebook is no longer in publication. There is word of a full South Mountain Guide being created by Ryan Shipp and plans to be published in the Spring of 2023. For more information currently, check it out on Mountain Project.