Friction Wall

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 The approach has changed in the last few years and the old approach along the tracks from Ellicott City has been replaced by an approach from above.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