Solar System area

Solar System refers to the entire climbing area north of Artmore Plastics and Sunshine buttress. This area is north of the falcon closure area and open for climbing year-round. The area was originally developed 2004-06 primarily by Mark "Indy" Kochte, and is described in his online climbing guide-http://indy-adventures.net/climbing/climb-maryland/TheNarrows.htmlhttps://indy-adventures.net/climbing/guide.html#TheNarrowsWhen the Covid-19 pandemic struck in spring of 2020, it was a great opportunity to further develop the climbing here, and we added about 40 new routes. To make routes easier to find, we named buttresses after planets in the Solar System and marked GPS waypoints at the top of each buttress. Routes are named with reference to their location on the buttress. The largest of Indy's walls are also listed here for convenience of adding descriptions of those routes in the future. For GPS coordinates and photos of each buttress, please visit-https://www.gaiagps.com/public/4Ud22t3eLyD2byaswBRH9zYO/?fbclid=IwAR3evEZkMJk7Jc87zEfGMO-QwpEqox347aIb1z7lIC17XfHFQMUxMmn6nlM&layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet&slideshow=falseA few precautionary notes:1. Always wear a helmet. On a normal day here you will break a few holds and drop several big rocks.2. Always test holds before you weight them. I climbed on to a toaster-sized ledge that broke off once my full weight was on it. 3. Your belay partner should stand at least 10 feet off to the side of your rock fall zone. Both climber and belayer should wear helmets at all times.4. Brush and thorns were cleared from all the routes and ledges in the spring and summer of 2020, but they grow back quickly. Long pants are advised.