Beg, Borrow, or Steele GOES BIG!!!

Beg, Borrow, and Steele was more fun and successful than we ever could have imagined. It was truly a grassroots organized fundraiser with numerous people involved that came together to unite a community behind a common goal--a huge summer party-- I mean, the purchase of STEELE! This one belongs to everyone. Like last year, it was held at Adam Henry's back yard/crag/river paradise.

Access Fund visits the Dirty South!!

Just letting everyone know that Joe Sambataro from the Access Fund is visiting the Dirty South for the week. We had a great weekend of Alabama climbing, bouldering (even in this heat), and had a great meeting up at Brad's House. Joe is here with us for the rest of the week and we will be moving on to Tennessee.

Rock Town Trail Day Write Up

On June 19th, 24 volunteers spent 3 hours in the summer heat spreading gravel at the trailhead at Rock Town. The gravel was WICKED heavy!! It took four volunteers at a time to carry it up the trail in tarps. Everyone worked really hard and it was very hot. We were able to move about 1/10th of the pile, which seemed to never go down. We covered the trail from the beginning to the little foot bridge and then took care of some of the water steps on the first big incline. Carol Simmon's friend, Jeff, cleared away dead trees from the trail with a chainsaw.

R.I.P. Tommy Taylor

Most of us have the Dixie Cragger Atlas or the Horse Pens 40 Bouldering guidebooks. A few of us have probably read the short blurbs at the front of these describing just how these crags and boulders were found and the people instrumental in opening these areas up to the next generation. On June 28th, the climbing community lost one of their own, one of the "who's who" of southern climbing: Tommy Taylor. Tommy had many of the first ascents at Griffin Falls (such as the popular Knife Crack) and was a pioneer at Steele, Shades Crest, as well as some areas in North Carolina. He was a prominent figure in the Grand Tetons as well, summiting and guiding trips on the Grand Teton, Middle Teton, South Teton, and Mount Owen. He leaves behind a legacy all of us can appreciate, as we are all affected by the passion he and others have had in opening up and leading the way into the unknown and unexplored areas of the Southeast. If you would like to contact the family, email me at crittcg@yahoo.com for info. - Cosby Crittenden

Trail Day Shows Climber Support of Sunset Park!

Once again this year, SCC volunteers along with some non-climber locals gave back to Sunset in a very appreciable way! Our continued efforts speak volumes to what a focused group of individuals can accomplish and we certainly continue to impress the NPS and other park users alike.

SCC Board Meeting Minutes

On May 15, 2010, the SCC held a board meeting at my house in Huntsville, AL. While it was a small meeting, several issues were discussed and many actions were taken which are detailed below. There are definitely some good changes that are coming to the SCC right now. And while I know many of you will wonder why Sandrock is not detailed in the below minutes, rest assured that the SCC is tracking this on a daily basis. We will continue to work on this as well as many other access issues throughout the South. The light IS ON in the SCC office and will stay on as long as there is a job to do. Thanks to all who came out and provided input. Especially those from Chatty and ATL who made the drive! Stay psyched throughout this heat. Just think, 2 more months till September. - Paul Morley

Dirty South Film Fest Satisfies

Cool May weather ushered in another great year for the Dirty South Climbing Film Fest at WallCrawlers Gym in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. With a line up of awesome local climbing videos along with a national thriller - the stage was set for a killer evening of good times.

The SCC donates to CCC - Rumbling Bald Land Purchase

The Southeastern Climbers Coalition donated $1,000 to help the Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC) with there mission to purchase land and secure access to the Rumbling Bald boulders. The CCC has been on a crusade lately with their grand-daddy purchase of Laurel Knob, a lease of the Asheboro boulders and now Rumbling Bald. The SCC wants to continue to support our brothers and sisters in their fight to open and secure access to our many southern climbing gems.

Sand Rock Spring 2010 Trail Day Writeup

By Michael Cox (SCC Sand Rock Rep) - A common theme in our trail days for some time to come will be about controlling erosion and this trail day was no different. With a walk through the Fun Wall and Holiday Block areas it’s easy to see the amount of run off we are getting. Some hardy volunteers managed to reposition the downed tree next to Kennel Club to help slow down the erosion plus several small water bars were installed close by to slow the water.

Sandrock - Action Alert!

After a stormy Saturday, our Sunday outing to Sandrock revealed damage to the area caused not by an act of nature, but instead by the act of man. The installation of a hideous concrete barrier at the park’s property boundary during the past week brought us to a halt in the middle of the road to gawk open-mouthed in surprise. Up in the parking lot a large excavator sat next to the remains of the rock barrier.

SCC finishes Dayton steps project

After the SCC's 3rd year of trail work days, we are proud to announce that we have finally finished our trail building project that was started back in Spring of 2008. Thanks to all those who helped out and made this project a success!

Interview with new SCC Board Member - Will Eccleston

By Coleman Wood - The SCC’s newest board member, Will Eccleston, got his climbing start at Boat Rock, and it’s only fitting that it is also where he first learned about the organization and learned that the SCC’s mission extended well beyond this one crag.

A video editor by trade, Will is also involved in the Dirty South Climbing Film Festival. In his new role with the SCC he will also serve as treasurer for the organization. Will says that he is happy to provide additional help to a group that is largely seen as a model for how a climbing activist group should be run. We caught up with Will to ask him a few questions about the SCC as well as climbing in the Southeast.

Message #2 from "the Office"

Over this past week in Florida, I thought I would take the time to catch everyone up on some current happenings with the SCC. The SCC's achievements for 2010 continue to grow and I think we are looking at a great spring and summer season. So take a read and ponder the laws of physics. Will see you out and about.

Rob Robinson Interview

When you think of legendary Southern hardman climbers a few names bubble up to the top. Rob Robinson is a climber who needs no introduction in this part of the country. Most notably he found and developed the Tennessee Wall putting up many of it's super classic routes. If you flip through the pages of any guide book on southern climbing it would be hard to find crags that Rob hasnt extensively explored and put up many of the plumbs before the rest of us set eyes on it. We catch up with Rob for a great and long interview just in time for his new guide book to the T-Wall which is just now hitting the climbing stores shelves. Enjoy.

Triple Crown makes $3,000 donation The Land Trust for Tennessee

On Friday, February 19th, The Triple Crown donated $3,000 to The Land Trust for Tennessee. This donation supported the purchase of a 3,700 acre property in TN (with numerous climbing crags and boulderfields); the area will become part of the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail. Triple Crown has made several donations over the past two years to the Friends of the Cumberland Trail; a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the environmental, cultural, and historical resources, of the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Trail corridor. www.friendsofthecumberlandtrail.org

HPRocks Event Review

For those of you who weren't able to make it out to the HPRocks event, it was definitely a good time missed. Slopers were slapped and jugs were thugged, Good People was down, and Ben Henson stole the mic. Click to read the review from Birmingham's own, Brooks Walker.

Boat Rock Spring Trail Day

By Coleman Wood - Despite a weather forecast that called for clear skies and a high of around 60, the sec-ond Boat Rock trail day of the year saw a good turnout and got a lot accomplished. But it didn’t look like that first. A last-minute cancellation from Georgia Tech and other climbers heading out of town to take advantage of perfect climbing weather threatened to make the event a wash. However, a few committed volunteers showed up and vowed to make the best of it. Their ranks soon swelled as climbers arriving at Boat Rock to boulder quickly pitched in for the clean-up (the promise of free food provided by Con-course Athletic Club probably had something to do with it as well). Some of the first to help were a group of visiting climbers from UGA.

Southeast rocks TeamWorks competition

Written by Emily Bregel

For the second year running, Southeastern climbing teams dominated the Access Fund’s TeamWorks competition, an environmental stewardship program geared to involve young climbers in conservation.

Four of the five top teams in this year’s competition — with scores based on number of volunteer hours logged during trail clean-up days over the past year — were from the Southeast region.

Kasia Pietras Interview

If you’re at all into the climbing scene in the south, you’ve probably heard of Kasia Pietras. My guess is if you haven’t - you will! This 21 year old, originally from Chicago, transplanted herself to Chattanooga to attend UTC and to be closer to some of the best climbing around. Kasia started climbing indoors at a young age and grew up competing on plastic. Over a decade later, she still enjoys the rush of competition and it motivates her to train and climb hard. She climbed her first 5.13 in 2005 and has been going strong since. Kasia currently spends a little more time bouldering than on routes, but it’s paid off for the ambitious climber, as she took the overall win in the Women's Open division at the 2009 Triple Crown. As much as she loves competition and striving to reach her own personal climbing goals, the apparent thing about Kasia is she just likes to get out there! She loves seeing new places and as much as she can, she does her part to ensure that these places will stay open for future climbers!

Jon Glassberg Interview

Whether it's pulling down on sick boulders problems in the High Country of NC or setting course at The Spot in Boulder, Jon Glassberg cuts an imposing figure on the climbing landscape. Jon takes a few minutes to catch up with The SCC and fill us in on what he's been up to.