The Crash Pad: Chattanooga climbers find new place to land

 

The Crash Pad: Chattanooga climbers find new place to land

Last Friday, on June 3^rd, two Chattanooga-based climbers, Dan Rose and Max Poppel, cut the ribbon to The Crash Pad, a boutique hostel located just minutes from downtown Chattanooga. The Crash Pad caters to outdoor enthusiasts like climbers, trail runners or mountain bikers, or anyone looking to check out Chattanooga on a budget. While its reach is a broad range of user groups, its inspiration came from the desire to give climbers a better place to stay….

Read the full news story here on rockandice.com.

 

in pursuit of excellence

As soon as I stepped off the plane coming back from sport climbing for two weeks in Mexico with the Petzl RocTrip last November, I embarked on a journey to find the best 5.9 trad climb in the Southeast, which I hinted at here. As often happens when I think I have more time than I do to get things set up, the week-long road trip was, to say the least, poorly planned, jammed packed with unneccessary backtracking and full of twists and turns. But isn’t that the pure definition of a road trip?

The week started when I picked up friend and photo extraordinaire Keith Ladzinski from the airport in Louisville, KY.
I had traveled to France with Keith in 2008 for a Rock and Ice story on the Verdon Gorge, and we had been plotting another story since.

We scanned the city for a couple of hours looking for a camera shop to get a new battery, then drove to Lexington, KY to pick up Dario Ventura, who was joining the trip and who had the trad rack that I had forgotten I needed.

We  then headed to Asheville, North Carolina where we would set up shop on some friends’ living room floor and base out of for the next few days. All in all, from Mexico to Asheville, is was a solid day’s worth of rushing. What followed over the next five days was an asinine amount of driving and hiking and a few routes scattered in between.

The three of us, along with Pat Goodman and Jessa Goebel as the NC tour guides, journeyed through some of the areas most classic gear lines.

Old school, sandbagged and full of history, we got a glimpse into the sandstone that makes this one of the most amazing climbing areas in the country, and not only because of the bullet rock, breathtaking backdrops or stellar routes. Though we don’t have the drastic elevations gains of the Colorado Rockies or the seemingly endless expanse of sky of the Las Vegas desert, we have the bubbling expanse of the Appalachian Mountains, older and more grandfatherly than so many bigger ranges. Bigger is not always better, and the simplicity of age, time and history can teach you just as much about yourself.

As I have come to learn on many things, I need to always double what I think I need. Perhaps much of this has to do with the lack of preparation necessary for sport climbing, my style du jour, that I have gotten accustomed to. I thought five days was enough, we could have easily worked with 10. I thought one #4 would have worked, I would have been psyched with two. Regardless of my pathetic ability to judge the correct time, gear or preparation necessary, we made our pilgrimage. While our list of 10 routes was cut to 8, mostly because of time constraints, we hit Rumbling Bald, Looking Glass, Linville Gorge, Tennessee Wall and Sunset Rock in five days.

What followed was not only great routes, but a lesson in history and personal meaning of climbing: how what we do can help us measure up in a bigger world.

During the writing of the story, I gathered this Jeep Gaskins quote from guidebook author Harrison Shull, who had interviewed him years before.  ”If you have depth to your soul and insights into life’s lessons and you didn’t get them from risk, then congratulations, but I can’t relate. Climbing can be deltoids or it can be Zen; it can be runout or short, safe falls; it can be skies filled with lightning or crisp air ahead of mare’s tails. It is never standing in a grocery line.”

The poignancy of his quote, its simplicity and force, sticks with me even now.

So what happens when this sport climber goes trad climbing in the Southeast? Find out in the Rock and Ice July issue # 195, which just hit newsstands.

old, familiar places

It’s not often that we take the time to look at an old familiar place in a new light. So for a change — on a short stay  in Paducah, Kentucky for a wedding of a family friend — I headed out to check out the city, where I lived between the ages of  7 and 18. Here’s some photos from the weekend taken by me and Matt Ballard, who just left for Rocklands, South Africa for the summer.

Déjà Vous: The New River Rendezvous Hits It Again

The New River Rendezvous is the best climbing event in the country. Of course, this is all a matter of opinion, but I would be willing to bet large sums of money that I’m not the only one who thinks this. After three years in a row at the event I’ve gotten a good sense of how it runs and what it’s truly about, and in three short years I’ve made great friends in the areas, which is (in the end) the most rewarding part.

This was the first year that I taught a clinic, which I love doing, and am psyched to get on the list to do the same next year.

photo: clinic attendees for the Crank Like A Girl Clinic that I taught with fellow Petzl ambassador Andrea Szekely.

Over the past three years, I’ve witnessed climbers catwalk in 70s lyca (a highlight for the 2010 event, which I covered here for Petzl),

arm wrestling contests with hundreds of dollars of swag give-aways, crashpad sumo wrestling and Dessertapalooza, to name a few.

As part of that sugary spread this year, Elissa Williams of West Virginia, made the cake for  the Access Fund (see photo below) to celebrate it’s 20th anniversary.

Also this year, La Sportiva added another event, Run Like Hell — a trail race in which time can be subtracted at the end for each beer that the runner successfully chugs (which must be done in style). Drink up!

While the events get better each year and new activities, festivities, music, booze and fun get added, the organized chaos of the event takes on the feel of a modern-day Woodstock (even the rain).

This year, the event had more than 1000 participants and the New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC) raised close to $30,000. The money raised goes toward preservation and maintenance of the New River Gorge, one of the premier climbing spots in the country, which I wrote about in a Rock and Ice article called ”The New Spot.”  It can be found on my clips page here.

While everyone is recovering from the three-day binge and fun-hogging, the NRR is already looking towards the extravaganza for 2012. Next year will mark the 10th year in existence, and, I’m sure, will be a full-on blowout. Keep checking the Website as the year progresses for information on the 2012 event, and sign up early.

Here are some additional photos from the event:

BrionVoges looking at the camera.

Brion on Quinsana Plus (5.13a), right before the send.

The NRG sky.

Getting served by JT of Black Diamond.

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Amy Pickering, who gave a sample of her little heard, yet unbelievable voice during the Access Fund Happy Birthday song alongside Kurt Smith, climbing legend and music maker extraordinaire.

Devaki Murch, getting her photo on. See her gallery here.

Jennifer Clay. One of the attendees of my clinic who was PSYCHED!

Mountain Hardwear athlete Pat Goodman, looking tough.

The leaders of the Petzl pack at the NRR: Chuck Odette and Brad Dorough.

Elissa’s cake masterpiece.

Photo man from above.

Sean Stewart, men’s arm wrestling champion.

Treats from the sugary spread.

Sean before the win.

Through a new lens

The past month has been a blur, as often happens after a slow, dry spell. My last long post was the equinox, and since then, much has shifted: waxed and waned, and waxed again and now I find myself in a new perspective. Seeing things at a different angle that sometimes only remotely looks the same.

Time is funny: it moves both slow and fast, feeling both like the speed of light and sloth-like, but always at the same ever-present pace. How is it that at different times it can feel so drastically dissimilar, such a spectrum of experience?

The past few months have felt fast, and I have slacked on keeping up, looking back and assessing. It is hard to step back and look at things, to analyze them and mine their larger meaning when there is so much going on to keep you busy. I guess this is the beauty in the slow times. But, regardless, in the midst of moving I have started taking some photos (albeit with a borrowed camera). Here’s a few shots from the past few weeks in Chattanooga, Phoenix and Flagstaff, and the blur that is feels like in my head. Most are mine, but there are a few that others took as well:

Red River Reunion recap, long overdue

On March  26, the devoted climbers of the Red River Gorge once again gathered to show support for their beloved climbing area. As a long-time Red River Gorge admirer and fool-hearted lover of the area I, naturally, had to attend. While there I represented Petzl at the throw-down on Saturday night, and helped collect donations, which topped out at $1200.  I will spare you the gushy details and won’t wax poetic about my love for the Red, however, I will mention the unfaltering support that is ever present in the community. It’s on similar iconic status in the region as Ale-8 and whiskey.

The event proceeds go towards the Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition (RRGCC). In addition, the event will help reequip pre-hung gear.

Of all the places I have traveled, the community in the Red never ceases to amaze me. The ties that people make standing in the parking lot of Miguel’s are ones you carry with you. Some of my closest friends I met there, and while there are many great areas in the country, none foster the kind of family-like familiarity that I find here. The quality of the climbing goes without saying, and the community has been highlighted times and time again (see my old Rock and Ice story, “The Lode” on the Red), but the Red with all its hype and hoopla and glitzy to-do it has seen recently, is still at the top of my list for best sport climbing area in the country.

I hadn’t been back to the Red since last fall, and my excitement, as I pulled off Exit 33, in Slade was mounted in the back of my throat like a mouthful of Saltines. Since I arrived late in the afternoon, I headed immediately to the event venue, Miguel’s Pizza, to set up then to the beer trailor where a giant “Welcome Climbers” sign is strung above the door.

Back at the venue and after a long day of cold, rainy temps and climbing comp, the generous Miguel’s crew ushered in the night with piles of pulled pork and fixins. Dario Ventura massaged the meat for hours over an open flame, as climbers stuffed themselves silly. Food was followed by FIRE! and the ceremonial lighting of a ten-foot-tall bonfire of epic proportions (sorry, no wax bombs this year).  Music, dancing, bourbon and a raffle quickly unraveled. Emceed by long-time Miguel’s employee and local Red climber, Matt Hughes, the raffle brought in over $500 in donations through a combination of stellar swag giveaway and clever offers. Hughes raffled off Miguel’s apron (yup, the one he wore that morning as he slapped the pizza dough into submission). The lucky winner wore it the rest of the night.

On the drive back later that weekend, the sky, approaching dark, flung one last ray of light across the gorge. Weaving down the road, a single last ray shot directly onto the orange arête, No Place like Home, that stretch up out of the treeline.  It lit up in a brilliant glowing face. Fitting I thought, or at least worth the note.

Here are some photos from the festivities…

the equinox, when all things align

Yesterday (March 20) marked the spring equinox when, for just a split moment, all things night and day are equal and everything falls into balanced in the world. With that and the time change (which makes it that much harder to get up early when the sun is still knocked out), we enter a new chapter: spring. Winter can often offer harsh blows. Hibernation, short days, cold, and introspection — I personally find winter to be one of the hardest seasons.

While, as a climber, I like to say that I love the winter in the Southeast because of the sandpaper stickiness of holds, low humidity, and crystal clear days, I have realized that I also do not function very well in the cold. My body goes numb and locks up, the arthritis kicks up to what I imagine I will feel like at roughly 87 years old, and my psych (sad and hard to admit) is often directly correlated to the direction and intensity of the sun, which is sometimes subpar at best.

In past years, I  thought of winter as a time of dying, a slowing down of both the environment and myself, where I entered into a dark remiss of self-doubt, disillusion, life evaluation and all around discontent: an alley corner that only opened up to light when the temps rose above 50, and I could emerge from my shell. But this winter, though tough in all its typical ways, opened up in a newness much like spring.

I read countless books, wrote more and met a lot of new people like my winter roomies, Joe and Amy Villacci. Some of the two nicest most genuine people I’ve even met, they spent the winter in Chattanooga working short-term contracts as a midway stop on their year-long road trip.  I also got re-psyched on yoga, after a multi-year hiatus, and bouldering, a climbing endeavor that felt new and fresh after too many month wrecking myself on a rope.

Joe showing off his antipasti plate. He claims it’s nothing like his grandmother’s, but I thought it was pretty badass. May your first born child be named Vinni Villacci!

And then Joe at LRC in the most badass of weather:

Amy getting the try hard face on:

And then the other face:

Andrew Blann getting serious:

After taking all of December and part of January completely off climbing, I came back with a new-found psych. While bouldering is definitely not my forte (much like trad climbing), I signed up to tag along with in a whole new community, which was refreshing and insightful. I learned many new “tactics,” subtleties and ways to beta mine.

I tried and FAILED on plenty of stuff. But I also had my few successes that I will relish in. It only took me until mid-March to feel like I was getting in decent bouldering shape: just in time for the season to end. With the temps getting hot, and spring and humidity encroaching, it’s looking like rope season is pressing near. But with a couple (at best) more days left, and a few things yet on the bouldering tic list, I’m trying to hold out for a few last a muerte pre-summer sends before I completely  shift the focus back to long, pumpy and sweaty-faced.

*Photo credits: Dan Brayack, Amy Villacci, Kyle Kisher and some from myself.

And, of course, Lulu. The ugliest yet most lovable dog around.

Do runners and climbers share anything in common?

I’m not really a runner in any stretch of the term. In fact I suck at it, which is funny that I played midfield in soccer for my epic two-year stint in high school somewhere between quitting gymnastics and discovering climbing. I like to call those my “dark day,” and I’m pretty sure the only reason why they let me on the team was because I was the only left-footed player out there. I wasn’t good at running then and for a long time I said that you’ll only find me running if there’s a butcher knife involved. Last year while drinking a beer on the porch of some friends’ house, I witnessed this type of scenario: an angry woman chased her boyfriend down the street with a butcher knife just before running inside to toss all his stuff on the lawn and set it on fire. Ouch.

But regardless, I’ve always wanted to be good at running. Perhaps because everyone says it’s the easiest sport in the world to get into. You need some shoes and that’s about it. And, if you follow trends, you might not even need these. But that doesn’t much change the fact that I suck at it in ways that are unimaginable, which I was reminded of this weekend in Georgia’s Fort Yargo State Park. The trails are badass, and (the sections I ran) traverse close to the lake. I was there for the XTERRA Thrill in the Hills half-marathon and marathon trail race, to check out the scene, the community and the race series that La Sportiva sponsors. Hosted by Dirty Spokes, there is one more of this six-race series which started back in September last fall. Dirty Spokes will also be hosting some shorter runs in its Dirty Spokes series, which is perhaps where I should start, if I soon get the hankering to go out.

While I’ve been to plenty of climbing events, and know the community well, I’d never, before this weekend,  been to a running event. They’re worlds apart.

To start, runners don’t loiter.

After the winners were announced (which happens when there are enough people back to fill the podium), many people headed out before all the runners were done. Climbers, on the other hand, loiter everywhere: vendor tents at events, boulders, parking lots, Whole Foods.

Runners are focusing on nutrition, timed food/gel intake, and liquids. “Eat, sleep, train, compete, repeat.” Climbers smoke at the crag and often schlep beer and whiskey out and somehow, just barely, make it to noon before the first satisfying psssst of the can (with its newly reinstated popularity after microbrews like Caldera decided that cans really were pretty cool).

They are both relentless, though, in their passions. Similar in that its a vehicle to get outside, engage in the elements, push yourself beyond your own comprehension, and somehow, along the way, learn a thing or two. I’m still in the process of learning lots of things, because sometimes I’m a little slow at the uptake. But, much like running, I’ve come to accept that the key to making it through to the finish is to know your pace.

Say what?!?

I’ll be collaborating with La Sportiva on some content on the trail running side of things in coming months. I know climbing, but as an outsider in the running community, I’m looking to find the fastest, most painless way into the community, especially the ultra- and long distance trail running community. As proven by my attendance at the XTERRA race, I stick out like a sore thumb with my lack of knowledge and wealth of climbing-inspired clothing. Thank you Patagonia.

In fact, I sadly over estimated the amount of time it would take the runners to tick the race and returned from my stroll into the woods with 400 of the 500 participants already charged through the finish line. Ooooops.

Regardless, I’m looking for a glimpse into what it is that makes runners tick, who are the most under-the-radar inspirational footsoldiers, and why the hell they do it in the first place. Got some thoughts or stories? Send them my way.

Here’s some really bad photos from the race that I took. The sunrise that morning was something you read about in books. This is my glimpse into the strange forces of runners. As for the question, do runners and climbers share anything in common…I’ll be looking into that.

For race results of this weekend’s half and full, upcoming races or photos from the race that are actually good, check out DirtySpokes.com. By the way, it took these guys somewhere between 3:40 and 4:20 to run a full trail marathon. That’s almost sickening. Congrats to Sportiva runner, Sean Blanton, who won first in 25-29 age bracket.

Stay tuned with La Sportiva to hear updates on climbing and trail running news, community notes and other stories.

Save money AND live better? Really, Wal-Mart, is it you?

Wal-Mart might have toted, “Save money, live better” for a while, but now it might have something new to bring to the table. Last week the Associated Press released a story on Wal-Mart’s plan to push towards healthier selections in its stores, which includes a revamp of its products to make items that contain less sugar and sodium. This reformulation of store products comes at a time when nutrition is steaming hot in the media and sprouting on Capitol Hill. The announcement coincides with First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against obesity  and the new Let’s Move campaign to help inspire a healthier younger generation, as well as Bill Clinton’s recent agreement with leading food manufacturers to promote healthier school lunches, an announcement that directly followed that of Wal-Mart’s announcement. The impact and timeliness of this statement of the country’s largest grocer, which accounts for 15 percent of the industry in the United States according to the story, is much larger than it appears; when Wal-Mart moves, the rest of the industry responds. But what does this new shift mean on the country’s greening food horizon?

For one, affordability and accessibility to fresh foods. A study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health published late last year confirmed the correlation between socioeconomic status and health and nutritional intake, noting that affordable foods and healthy options were two statement that were not synonymous. The implications of Wal-Mart’s shift is resounding in that it makes once unaffordable options accessible to a new demographic. To add to Wal-Mart’s announcement, it went on to note that it will lower the prices of fruit and vegetables by a whopping $1 billion a year, according to the article. Will Wal-Mart’s shift change the whole landscape of healthy eating in the United States? With programs like the Time for Lunch Campaign–part of the Slow Food Movement–and media attention by food-maven Michael Pollen–author of New York Times bestsellers In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma–nutrition, health, proper diet and the importance of knowing where you food is coming from is getting a completely new flavor. Will these new movements can the once idealized notion of longer shelf life for good?

Deep Creek, Make a pledge

Deep Creek is yet another one of the South’s best kept secrets and recently Cody Averbeck was at the lead of a new purchase to acquire property that provides legal ten-minute access to the crag. Located on the Cumberland Trail, the Cumberland Trail Park Service and local climbers met an agreement about climbing use of the cliff line in this area which extends along the Cumberland Trail. The routes are long, pumpy and feel like a combination of the rock style of the New River Gorge and the Obed. Perfectly sloped holds, long moves, sandbagged grades: this is the new “land of the 5.12″ stacked with five-star routes, and more are still going up at all grades.

Through the agreement of these climbers and the Park Service, climbers are legally allowed to climb on the property, however the access had always been a bigger issue with the two-hour approach on the Cumberland Trail. This new land purchase backs up to a stone’s throw from the cliff line decreasing the hike and providing even more area fertile with opportunity for other use, which Averbeck and partners are eager to get started. A portion of the property is slated to become a campground and community hang, one of Chattanooga’s first, and not a moment too late. With the increase in climbers and climbing areas in this hot Southern climbing destination, Chattanooga had practically been out begging in the streets for one. This, along with the new hostel, The Crash Pad, will be two new additions to Chattanooga that will address the need.

The total amount required for the full purchase runs roughly around $25,000 and the Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition (SCC) along with efforts local climbers have already raised nearly 60 percent, which comes out to around $15,000. This fundraising effort was highlighted in the Access Fund‘s January Beta Newsletter.

Want to do something to help? Check out the SCC Web site and make a pledge.