Updated May 26, 2020
Stay fit and engaged during the pandemic with these vitual classes and workouts from local climbing gyms
This page will serve as our landing page for any COVID-19 updates on impacts to outdoor climbing access across the Carolinas and beyond. Please note that this list can change hourly. We have listed CLOSURES, but will not be listing what is open.
Carolina Climbers Conservation Corp (C4):
The Carolina Climbers Coalition is lucky enough to share the CCC acronym with another amazing group of people, the Civilian Conservation Corp. Spend any amount of time in the Table Rock State Park cabins or on their trails and you will see their beautiful work. During the Great Depression, many people were put back to work through the CCC. The current COVID19 crisis and the effect it is having and will continue to have on unemployed families inspired us to recreate the spirit with our own Conservation Corp.
We are relieved to announce we will be hiring those affected by the loss of jobs due to the pandemic. The CCC will employ a crew, provide training, and provide tools for cutting trails while maintaining CDC safety guidelines. The first major project will be trail enhancements and erosion mitigation at Big Rock, SC. We hope the next major focus will be to cut a portion of the Pumpkintown Trail, leading to a newly opened cliff in South Carolina. We are lining up other potential new access spots in the Hickory Nut Gorge area, and another potential spot north of Asheville. If the fundraising pool is large enough, we will continue the program throughout the Carolinas at various areas in need of climbing infrastructure. Employment will last until the fundraiser pool is gone. This is where we need help from our membership.
Not everyone in the community is in jeopardy of losing their job. Those that are losing their job, the stimulus checks just don’t go far enough. The economic effects COVID19 will be long lasting. Many of those jobs that have disappeared will not come back. The CCC is kicking this fundraiser off with $5000, but we need your help. All money donated to this project will go straight to the unemployed we are going to start hiring.
Our target goal to complete this project is $25,000. We will begin hiring contract workers in early May. Stay tuned for updates as this project progresses. Let’s give everyone something to look forward to and while supporting our community in need.
The U.S. Forest Service is currently finalizing a new forest plan for all activities and designations within North Carolina’s Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, including climbing. These public lands are home to some of the most popular climbing in the East, including Looking Glass Rock, Linville Gorge, and Whiteside, to name just a few. The forests boast more than 3,000 routes and over 75 cliffs, crags, and boulder fields that offer an enormously diverse range of climbing: bouldering, sport, trad, aid, ice, and even 1,000-foot multipitch walls.
