Put Sunday September 13 on your calendar please! PMC is bringing Friends and Family New Climbers Day back! Carderock is the place. 7:30 am to set up ropes, event opens at 8:30. We’ll need volunteer belayers, volunteers to fit the new climbers with shoes and harnesses, volunteers to organize said gear, fetch it from the gear locker, return it to the gear locker, and make sure waivers are filled out. It’s a fun half day of service, and a great way to get your friends and family to dip their toes in outdoor climbing. It’s free! It’s fun! If you’d like to volunteer let me know through the new group F&F day volunteers on WhatsApp. If you have friends and/or family that are coming, please sign them up here, or send them the link:
https://forms.gle/kJWPG2Ruk5pUZi2Y8
That will leave this registration for volunteers only.
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September 13, 2026
8:30 am - 1:00 pm
Venue: Carderock
Venue Website: https://www.canaltrust.org/pyv/carderock-climbing-area/
Address:
Description:
Carderock Recreation Area is on the Potomac River just outside the 495 Beltway. Carderock is part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and is well known for top rope climbing and hiking. The Potomac Mountain Club has published a guidebook to Carderock.
The climbing area is less than a hundred yards from the parking lot. To access the climbing at Carderock, park in the north parking lot (Pin) and follow the trail westward past the toilet. It leads to the top of the cliffs. At the end, stay slightly left of straight to take the easy scramble to the bottom. You can also go right and follow the longer trail until it turns left. It continues along the base of the cliffs for a couple hundred yards.
Note that cars have been broken into in this parking lot, so do not leave valuables in your car.
PMC Social Events are often held at the Carderock Pavilion. There are two Pavilion parking lots, one to the left and one to the right upon entering Carderock.