February has been a busy and exciting month in CCC-land. Expanded access, events, partnerships with land managers, partnerships with area businesses, stewardship, and ultra fun community events have all flown through February. We held the 6th annual Rumble climbing and bouldering competition at Rumbling Bald and also kicked off one of our biggest trail building projects to date, leading to the Pumpkintown Wall within Table Rock State Park. We could not conduct this work without support from our members, partners, and volunteers like you! Thank you! Looking Back on February: The Rumble, powered by Climbmax Climbing, had nearly 200 competitors and 50 volunteers. Great times had by all! Our stewardship day focused on assisting Chimney Rock State Park and Friends with several erosion mitigation projects on the east side trail and restoration of the West Side Boulders, funded by a 2019 grant from REI. Photo above by Millsaps Creative of our trail day volunteers. The brand new climbing access at Pumpkintown Wall within Table Rock State Park is about to get a sustainably built 2 mile trail to its base. The trail was kicked off this month by CCC volunteers and South Carolina State Park Staff. Thanks to SC State Park and Access Fund for sponsoring a 2-day layout course and 3-day trail machine course. After the courses this month, we are already 1/4 of the way there! A huge thanks to volunteers who have already helped establish the trail and corridor. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities to help move the trail closer to this premier wall. Our peregrine monitoring and collaboration work with North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission has been beneficial for both climbers and peregrines. After a monitoring training in January, CCC volunteers logged 20 hours of monitoring the Moores Wall North End cliffs have shown no signs of peregrine nesting. Moores Wall North End will be open for the season. The CCC were featured in NCWRC's quarterly report for our collaborative work at Moores and across the Carolinas. Many other areas with peregrine eyries remained closed until Aug 15. Please read more about peregrine closures here. The Pisgah & Nantahala National Forests are currently finalizing a new forest plan. This plan will shape how climbers are able to use these forests for the next couple decades. The public comment period is right now! Warning, the plan tallys nearly 2000 pages. Access Fund and Carolina Climbers Coalition have been working closely with Forest Service officials since 2013 to ensure that climbers’ issues and values are strongly represented. Read the full article here and see how you can have a stake in the plan.
Upcoming Events and Stewardship: March: Mast General Store will be matching March CCC memberships up to $250. Also, the first 30 members to sign up or renew in March will recieve a $10 Mast give card. March 4: Melrose Mountain trail building day with French Broad River Academy students and B.R.A.G. 10:00 in parking lot. Come check out the new climbing access in Tryon, NC.
March 6: "Gone Tomorrow" film / CCC fundraiser at TRC Morrisville
March 7: On March 7th, current CCC members get 50% off at BigFoot Climbing Gym in Morganton. 10% off for CCC members all other times.
March 10: Rumbling Bald West Side Boulders Restoration Day with Ohio State University students. Meet at 9:00am in the new parking lot. Sponsored by a REI grant.
March 20: The CCC is partnering with the Pisgah Conservancy to eradicate invasive species near Cathy's Creek Crag, if interested please contact mreardon@carolinaclimbers.org March 25-26: The CCC will be working with French Broad River Academy students on the climbing trails at Looking Glass. Supported by grants from Transylvania Always and National Forest Foundation.
April 4: "Pretty Strong" Film at Inner Peaks South End with proceeds to CCC
Various Dates/ Places: National Forest meetings about the Pisgah Nantahala Draft Plan. Details on the Draft plan website. This plan has major implications for our climbing areas. CCC is a part of the P/N Partnership and has helped provide feedback on the plan. Stay tuned for action alerts. In the meantime, see the link and attend meetings! We have until April to provide public comments on the draft plan.
Ongoing: Head out to Black Dome Mountatin Sports in Asheville to check out the Carolina Climbing Museum Photo below: CCC gaining experience on the mini ex for the Pumpkintown Trail and future projects. |
