Georgia Breaking News
SCC Update, GA, AL, TN (02/14/2008)
By Paul Morley, Board Member, Southeastern Climbers Coalition
During the past couple of months, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC) held several comps and trail days in areas such as Boat Rock, GA (newly purchased by the SCC), Jamestown, AL (owned by the SCC), Castle Rock, TN (leased by the SCC), and Sunset Rock, TN.
During the annual "Float the Boat" competition, several climbers participated in a pre-comp Adopt-a-Crag cleanup and later pulled down on slabs of Georgia Granite. New access was gained to the Jamestown cliff line where climbers and volunteers spent the day clearing a new road and parking area for the new trail. Castlerock, a recent lease by the SCC, was also a hotspot for trail work as several bags of trash were carried out from the area, and some anchors were replaced. During November, climbers and volunteers worked to preserve the trails around Sunset Rock, one of Tennessee's finest areas.
Over the past few months, trail work has been extensive and work hours have been long, but it is a small price to pay for knowing that a crag is OPEN. The SCC is looking forward to the next few months as many more trail days and competitions will be held, and with any luck, new areas will be opened.
Southeastern Climbers Coalition pays off Boat Rock Mortgage ahead of Schedule, GA (12/15/2006)
By Chad Wiykle, Triple Crown Organizer
We wanted to share details on the finale of The Triple Crown Bouldering Series--by many accounts the Stone Fort/Little Rock City Competition was one of the best outdoor bouldering events ever! We actually kicked-off the weekend at Rock/Creek Outfitters on Friday December 1st at 7:30pm with a fantastic slideshow/movie presentation and poster signing delivered by Access Fund ambassador and Board member Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden. We had a great turnout for this presentation with over 150 people in attendance.
As for comp day, the weather was absolutely perfect--cobalt blue skies and temperatures in the low 50s made for ideal climbing conditions. Over 450 climbers and bouldering enthusiasts from thirty states and two countries were present at this competition, and over 1,200 participants were in attendance throughout the entire series.
The goal for this year’s series was to raise enough money for the Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition to gain permanent access and ownership of Boat Rock —a unique granite boulderfield and green space located inside the metro of Atlanta, Ga. When we officially began the series in October, over $11,000 remained on the note for Boat Rock. Through the efforts of this event, our sponsors, and donations from climbers attending this series, we have achieved this goal.
EZ Crack Boulder in GA Now Secure (08/16/2006)
The EZ crack boulder is now secure after the house and land was purchased by a local climber.
The boulder is especially significant as it is the largest boulder in the entire ridgeline and has been closed to climbing for 20 years. Boat Rock is located in southwest Atlanta and is under constant threat from development to turn the surrounding areas into residential subdivision.
The land and EZ crack boulder will be surveyed and donated to The Southeastern Climbers Coalition Land Trust to become a part of the Boat Rock Preserve. The Boat Rock Preserve is now a community park and greenspace that is owned by The Southeastern Climbers Coalition and open to everyone.
Local climbers known collectively as "The Friends of Boat Rock" have worked steadily behind the scenes over the past few weeks to purchase the house and land before it was bought by anyone who may not be climber friendly.
The boulder has been off limits for the past twenty years as climbers were routinely shooed away from the area. Prior to 1986 the 30 foot tall boulder with numerous hand and finger cracks was led and top roped by many climbers and was featured in the original "Float the Boat" bouldering competition in 1985.
Please do not climb on the EZ crack boulder as there are still details that need to be worked out with the new purchase. The SCC will post info on the opening of the boulder in the near future. Please be patient as we finish out the details of this transaction.
The purchase of the EZ crack boulder is part of the long range plan to create a larger park (approximately 25 plus acres) spanning the forested ridgeline. Donations are gladly accepted to help pay down the current mortgage on the 7.8 acre tract within the Boat Rock Preserve.
You can send donations to:
The SCC
275 Stone Mill Trail NE
Atlanta, GA 30328
Note: The SCC would like to thank all of it's many supporters including the Access Fund for providing seed money to get the original Boat Rock project off the ground.