The tallest route on the vertical wall, and the only one that doesn't climb drilled pockets.

Interzone

The Truth

4 Bolts

Make Believe

Drilled Pockets

Hidden Art

Unknown 4

The Corner

Yoda's Vision

Unknown 1

The most obvious of the routes on the sport wall. Climb straight up and the slightly right at the end to get to the anchors. 

  Created in the mid 90's this steep wall of drilled pockets is one of the more popular "project" routes in the area. Due to the nature of the climbing taping finger tendons is highly recommended. No real crux just sustained pocket pulling. 

  As an alternative this has been done as a clean aid route. Just take along a collection of hooks and experience A5 hooking right off the ground. The more sane will clip the bolts (just for gear not for aid) A couple other tips... watch your face if a hook pops, and a pink tricam would not go unused. 

The obvious bolted line up the slab. Do not be deceived by the angle! While only sitting at 60 degrees or so this climb requires exacting slab technique and foot strength. 

  Cruxes are likely the thin slab moves up to the small overhang, and also the thing traverse left 10 feet below the anchor. 

  A great climb to sick your bouldering friends on as it is so different from your day to day overhanging jug haul. 

  Originally done sans bolts by Mike Carroll back in the day!

Climb the slab via 4 bolts to a decent ledge. Climb the crack above and then around the roof to the top. 

  Has some decent moves, but could do with a good scrub down.

Climb the slab/dihedrial until you can reach the obvious tips crack on the left hanging wall. Climb the 15-ish foot finger crack.

This route and Yoda's Vision both start off the same ledge, which is most easily reached from rappelling in from the top. Find the furthest most point of land at the top and use a high sling on the small tree as a directional. 

  Leave the left end of the ledge via a thin crack in a corner, which changes to pure thin crack up higher. 

  A great find recently unearthed by John Kelbel. Certainly worth the effort to get to, as it is probably the nicest crack line at the cliff. 

  Staying tied in while belaying from the ledge is highly recommended. 

Fourth route from the left on the "sport wall", only climb without chipped holds. Project??

Scramble up to the base of the corner on the left side of the slab. Using both walls climb past the small overhang on the left wall. Move onto the face to finish. 

  This route back in the early 80s was a top rope route. Sometime between 1982 and 84 I placed 3 bolts on the face and to be best of my knowledge did the first free ascent. I replaced the bolt 3 times early on because some of the local climbers didn't think they belonged on the face.

Follow a groove and face up to a mantle to gain the main slab. Leaves the approach ledge from the far left.

First route from the left on the "sport wall." *Drilled pockets.*

Friction wall is an old quarry that has been out of operation for some time. Friction wall itself lies on park property and is open for climbing. The approach has changed in the last few years and the old approach along the tracks from Ellicott City has been replaced by an approach from above. See map below for more details. 

  Despite the approach complication Friction has some great climbs. From the perfect slab of The Truth, to the 5.12 Drilled Pockets, to practice nailing, this forgotten relic finds a way to keep on giving. 

  While this area has been bolted in the past, use discretion and find a local that can help sort through the history of the area to make sure that a new route would indeed be new. Also a few routes here (on the Sport Wall) were "created" via chipping and drilled pockets. While this quarry is essentially man-made the current ethic is to leave the existing routes but to refrain from the creation of new ones.  

  The top of the cliff is subject to extreme erosion, and reaching the top anchors is best done by rapping off a tree. The severe rainstorm of 2016 that effected the area may have further destabilized the top, in particular a block has come off above and to the left of the main slab. Use your best judgement and consider evaluating the condition of the top-outs from above before climbing below. 

  A video showing some of the aid in the back right corner can be found here

Description

Protection

Routes in Friction Wall