Tampa Bay Area Buildering

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All content and photos ©2009 Chris Brown/Highexposures.com.

DISCLAIMER

Buildering, i.e. climbing buildings, is stupid dangerous. Buildering always results in serious injury and horrible death. Buildering is illegal. You will be caught, charged with trespassing, and spend years in jail. All media contained within this guidebook is fictional. It is a fictional account of fictional characters doing fictional things. All photos have been doctored to give the appearance of buildering. They are not real. This guidebook is not intended to promote or legitimize the illicit activities of criminals. Buildering.net and highexposures.com promote climbing at Vertical Ventures, walking on sidewalks, and good dental hygiene.

ETHICS

One of the greatest things about buildering is that you make your own rules. Your actions rarely impact others around you. Remember this whole buildering thing is fictional, let's not give the authorities any real evidence of our misdeeds. Keep a low-key and heads-up presence about you when you're engaging in buildering antics. Climbing shoes, crash pads and huge chalk marks are not exactly low-key. Don't be stupid.

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TAMPA BAY AREA BUILDERING

There are 5 main areas of development in the Bay Area: USF's Tampa campus, Downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg, Fort Desoto and Egmont Key. The highest concentration of quality problems is at Fort Desoto.

  • Fort Desoto

    • Take I-275 to The Pinellas Bayway(toll road) and head west. Turn left at FL-679 (to Fort Desoto). Enter the park ($.35) and turn right at the T intersection. Drive about 1 mile following signs for the Historic Fort. The climbing gets blasted by the sun until late afternoon.

  • Egmont Key

    • Use the directions to Fort Desoto. Launch your water vessel from near the fishing pier and head southwest aiming for the southern tip of Egmont Key making sure to stay well clear of the giant freighters and cruise ships using the channel. Round the southern point and continue another half mile or so to the boulders. If you want sandy landings, time your arrival to coincide with a low tide. Plan on a 2 hour paddle each way.

  • St. Petersburg

    • This guide refers to the sculpture in Vinoy Park. St Pete buildering is in its infancy and many options exist downtown for the exploratory soul.

  • Downtown Tampa

    • Downtown Tampa has a large number of quality problems, but they're a bit spread out. A bike would be perfect for linking them all together. The University of Tampa is a good starting point.

  • USF Tampa Campus

    • This campus is a literal treasure trove of buildering and parkour potential. Not to be missed is the infamous Supercrack of Tampa aka Bullcrack - a 5 story trad line up a splitter hand crack. USF.

     

    Downtown Tampa: Beer Can Chimney

    The west chimney. It goes all the way (40 stories?) if you're bold enough.


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    Downtown Tampa: Brick Face

    Climb the bricks with your face. Or punch your friend in the face, then shake your hand like you just hit a brick wall.


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    Downtown Tampa: City of Tampa

    Highball. The right side of the mural is easier than the left due to the ledge above the doorway.


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    Downtown Tampa: Over the River

    Sport route. Access the south west bank of the bridge. Follow the holds out the bottom. Figure out a way to get back in when you lower off.


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    Downtown Tampa: Parking Pillar

    Climb the juggy pillar to the ledge. Down climb to get off.


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    Downtown Tampa: Tampa Tressel

    Jug haul up the steep underside of the railroad tressel. There were fixed draws at one point in time.


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    Downtown Tampa: The Wall

    Start at the 2 finger pocket. Reach left and follow the left trending brick overlap until you can climb up to a small ledge.


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    Egmont: KO Wall

    Climb up the face on edges. Down climb the south side on easy terrain to descend.


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    Egmont: Lip Traverse

    Traverse the right or left trending lip. Good warm up.


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    Egmont: North Arete

    Project. Steep arete to roof. Scary. Sandy.


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    Egmont: Northwest Crack

    Traverse the broken ledge to the base of the crack. Jam the crack to the top. Bonus points for the sandy top out. Downclimb the south side.


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    Egmont: Project Arete

    Project. Work your way up the arete by pinching, cussing and praying. Levitation skills a plus.


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    Egmont: Soggy Pants

    Wade through the water to the arete with two jugs on either side. Throw for the lip and top out.


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    Egmont: South Arete

    Start on a small pocket on the face right of the arete. Follow the seam up using face holds and the arete.


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    Egmont: Tideline

    Start at an overlap in the arete just right of the hand crack. Climb the arete and top out.


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    Ft Desoto: Cannons

    Start on good low edges and feet. Follow good edges and the seam up. To descend walk straight back through cacti and thorns to the observation sidewalk.


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    Ft Desoto: Chips Ahoy

    Project. Start on the tiny edges left of Cannons. Work left and up... somehow.


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    Ft Desoto: Flakes of Wrath

    Mantle the plate and follow the seam to the lip. Hard top out. To descend work your way left to the old stairwell.


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    Ft Desoto: Iron Seagull

    Start on old iron hinge and reach left to crack and good edges. Mantle over the slab and walk right to the old stairway to descend.


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    Ft Desoto: Project

    Start on the left edge of the doorway. Work up left and past a hole in the wall.


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    Ft Desoto: Trash Can Arete

    Start with the iron rung left of the arete. Move up the arete to mantle on the corner. Bonus points if you don't use the metal drain pipe at the top. To descend scramble through thick bushes at the lip the walk straight back to the observation sidewalk keeping the wall of the fort on your left.


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    Ft Desoto: Unnamed

    Climb the seam. Cruxy.


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    St Pete: Steel Mantle

    Mantle out the low roof on the south side of the sculpture. Tag the summit.


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    St Pete: Steel Slab

    Climb the slabby (north) side of the sculpture. Will burn your mitts off if its in direct sunlight!


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    USF: Supercrack of Tampa aka Bullcrack

    Climb the wide hands splitter on the southeast side of the parking garage. Rack: 1 #2 camalot, 3 #3 camalots, #3.5 or #4 useful.


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    USF: Chemistry Building - East Wall

    Many options - easy ups or traverse the entire wall.


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    USF: Chemistry Building - Northeast Corner

    Climb the sun and rays looking portion of the Northeast wal.


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    USF: Chemistry Building - Southwest Corner

    Awesome climbing up the highest portion of the featured wall. Descend at the center of the west wall.


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    USF: Chemistry Building - West Wall

    Many options exist on the featured white walls of the Chemistry building. Various easy ups, or for the full monte traverse the entire wall from left to right or right to left.


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    USF: Left Dihedral

    Fists in a right facing corner.


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    USF: Right Dihedral

    Baggy hands gradually shrinking to perfect hands in a left facing corner Fun section of wide 6 feet from the top. Rack: 2 #2 camalots, 2 #3 camalots, 1 #4 camalot.


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