Laurelville Retreat Center Boasts Expanded Climbing Terrain!

We are ecstatic to announce the official opening of roped climbing at Laurelville Retreat Center (LRC) in Mt. Pleasant, PA. This is in addition to the dozens of previously established but seldom climbed boulder problems on the property. Climbers can now experience 26 brand new rope routes ranging from 5.3-5.10+, all less than an hour from Pittsburgh. More details can be found on Mountain Project.

A chance meeting in December 2025 at the annual gathering of the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape group led to the expansion of this  great climbing resource for the community. While there had been informal bouldering on LRC grounds for many years, SWPACC formalized an arrangement with Laurelville Retreat Center to steward and further develop the area. Jeanette Lahm, the Executive Director of LRC, and her team have welcomed the climbing community with support and enthusiasm.

The work at LRC would not be possible without a massive effort from the community. We could say volunteers have dedicated countless hours to bring this new climbing area to life… but we’ve actually been counting. Over the past year volunteers have given over 500 hours of their time at LRC! Tom Thomas, Mariann Mondik, Ray Tuttle, Nate Grygo and Valerie Kramer truly led the charge on this effort. Here’s a full list of everyone who volunteered with SWPACC at LRC this year:

Ada Tsang
Andrew Benedictus
Andrew Gerlach
Bob Dodson
Brett Kelly
Camilla Hendrych
Elizabeth Hestick
Eric Fingal
Eric Lahm

Ginette Walker Vinski
Jacob D Zarick
Jamie Billings
Jeanette Lahm
Jeff Baxter
Jordan Knight
Mackenzie Baxter
Matt Mercurio

Meredith Soeder
Nate Grygo
Regis Kaufman
Rich Lamp
Ryan Rugh
Steve Bates
Tom Brooks
Warren Adams