Let’s hit up Thurmont Watershed TWS rocks – Ed rocks! It’s a smallish predominantly toprope crag north of Frederick MD. There is climbing info on mountainproject and it’s covered in Vol 1 of the Maryland (Kochte) guide.
If you’ve never climbed outside…great! This is an easy intro to climbing outside. It is possible to set up topropes for all of the climbs from above.
Meeting Place and Time
14 Sept 2025 0800 at the Movement Rockville gym. Please park on the road not using the gym parking spaces.
It’s a little under an hour’s drive from the middle school. We could coordinate a Rockville Metro pickup if you don’t have a car (in the soon to be created Whatsapp group). We’ll climb until mid-afternoonish. If you need to drive separately there’s parking that requires maybe a 300 meter extra walk.
Minimum equipment
You’ll need: belay device, harness, helmet, water, bug spray.
There aren’t any sport routes and most routes have little or no gear so toproping is the norm.
Registration
We’ll limit the attendees to eight. Registration opens 24 Aug at 8 pm.
Trip organizer is Ted Plasse ted.plasse at gmail.com. A Whatsapp group will be set up for coordination closer to the date.
If you are registering, or cancelling, after September 5 please contact Ted directly – don’t rely on the webmaster to do this.
If you can’t make it the morning of the event, at least give the trip leader a courtesy call so that
no one is waiting for you in the parking lot.
Please cancel your registration if you are no longer able to attend so someone can have your
spot. If you no show once, you will get an email from the Chair. If you no show twice, you will
not be allowed to sign up for another event for 3 months. If you continue to no show, your
membership will be cancelled and refunded.
Please note that this is not a guided event and none of our trip leaders are professional guides.
You will be climbing on ropes set up by members of the club who are hobby climbers and not
professionals. Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport and you do so at your own risk. You
are responsible for yourself and your own safety at all times.
Please ensure you are logged in to the website BEFORE trying to sign up for an event.
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TWS-Ed Rocks
September 14, 2025
7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Admission
Sold Out
"Thurmont Watershed Sept 14" is currently sold out.
Please check back again later, as spots may become available.
Venue: Thurmont Watershed - TWS Rocks
Address:
Description:
The Thurmont Watershed is located just south of the town of Thurmont, Maryland. TWS Rocks is the main climbing area with approximately 80 routes on walls 40-45 feet tall. Climbing here is mainly top roping, with good routes from 5.6 to 5.11. A few trad leads are possible.
There are also a few routes and boulder problems at Down Range Rocks and Bear Rocks. Both these areas have longer approaches.
Approach: The approach starts at the intersection of Pryor Road and a fire road located here. . There are 3-4 parking spaces just up the fire road, and there is ample parking along both wide shoulders of Pryor Road. The approach is fairly short and usually takes 15-20 minutes. It follows the fire road up a gentle grade for about 3/4 mile then leaves the fire road to cross a stream on the right and follow the faint climbers’ trail another quarter mile to the cliff.
Recommended Top Roping Gear: Most anchors can be set from trees with the usual TR anchor materials (100′ static and a pair of locking biners for the master point). There are some anchor bolts at the main TWS cliff – Ed Rocks – because the good trees are far back and behind a thick row of rhododendron. Most of these bolts are on the top (horizontal) surface and will need to be extended over the lip and well padded.
Guidebooks:
The routes at these cliffs are described in Maryland Climbs Vol 1 by Mark ’Indy’ Kochte and on Mountainproject.