A “world-class” Western North Carolina rock climbing spot is set to open to the public for the first time in decades, after two outdoor recreation land trusts purchase 16.5 acres adjoining Chimney Rock State Park.

Carolina Climbers Coalition and the climbing nonprofit Access Fund bought land on the lower flanks of a mountainous area known as Ghost Town. It’s named after a wild west-themed amusement park, Silver City, that used to operate nearby when the spot first became popular with climbers in the 1970s, according to a Nov. 5 news release.

Rumbling Bald, nearby in Chimney Rock State Park, is “one of the most celebrated climbing areas in the Southeast and Ghost Town is certainly of that same caliber,” Daniel Dunn, eastern regional director and policy analyst at Access Fund, told the Tim

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