Tennessee Breaking News
Climbing Access Threatened at Sunset Rock (04/15/2008)
By Samantha Christen, Southeastern Climbers Coalition
Climbing at Sunset Park, one of the premier trad areas in Tennessee, is in danger of being nothing but a bittersweet memory, according to representatives of the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC).
Matthew Gant, a member of the SCC board, said the National Park Service was recently on the verge of shutting down climbing at Sunset. “One month ago the rangers had given up on climbers and had made plans for closing Sunset to climbing permanently,” Gant says. He further explains that the park service cited numerous negative incidents involving climbers, including loudness (Sunset is in a residential area), blocking trails with ropes and gear, and unruly dogs. Local climber groups were able to convince the park service not to go ahead with the climbing ban. According to Grant, the rangers want to see more involvement in education, monitoring, and self-policing of the crag by groups like the SCC.
Sunset Park is part of the Chickamauga National Battlefield Park, a major battle in the Civil War. As such, it is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Samantha Christen, the SCC’s area representative for Sunset, points out that this is the only military park in the U.S. that allows climbing, and there is no particular obligation for the NPS to continue this practice. “At any point in time, they (NPS) can come in and shut us down with absolutely no explanation,” she says.
The SCC has been a key organization in maintaining the sometimes uneasy relationship between climbers, the park service, and the residents of Lookout Mountain. Volunteers from the group have put in a tremendous number of person-hours on trail work, erosion control, and installing bolted anchors to spare the trees at the top of the cliff. Christen says the park service appreciates this work, but only to a point. “We are only, in their eyes, fixing what we broke,” she says. “In their eyes, we, at this point, really have done no preventative maintenance, just repair of damaged areas.”
The NPS maintains Sunset as a memorial to the Civil War battle; recreation is a secondary concern. This is especially true in light of recent government cutbacks, which have left the park service shorthanded. If climbers make the rangers’ job more difficult, they may consider it easiest just to get rid of the problem by banning climbing, Christen and Gant say. “The park service does not hate us, nor do they wish to see us go as a user-group,” Christen says. “However, with the decrease in manpower due to federal cutbacks, they are prepared to take necessary measures to ensure that they are able to do their jobs.”
The SCC is currently working on a plan for educating Sunset climbers on the issues involved and on how to deal with people who violate the rules. Some possible steps include fliers to hand out or put on climbers’ cars; letters to climbing gyms, school clubs, and outdoor organizations; and encouraging people to ask their fellow climbers to move their gear off the trail or keep their voices down.
In the end, though, it will come down to whether Sunset climbers care enough about this great destination to do the right thing. All it will take is a few uncaring individuals out of the thousands who climb at Sunset every year to put an end to almost 50 years of great southern climbing. For the latest status of Sunset and what you can do to help, go to the SCC website: www.seclimbers.org/index.php
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.
Sunset Park, Lookout Mountain, TN (11/16/2007)
By Samantha Christen, Sunset Park Representative, Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition
Civil War veterans established the Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Battlefield in the late 1800s to memorialize the catastrophic battles that took place in this region. Spread over two states and four counties, the park is not only the oldest and largest National Military Park in the United States, but also home to one of the most historic climbing areas in the Southeast: Sunset Park.
In recent years there have been numerous, and growing, complaints to the rangers at Point Park about climbers and climbers’ behavior; there have been an equal number of remarks made among the climbing community regarding the rangers. Though we definitely are not the only user-group to enjoy the natural resources of Sunset Park, we are most often the scapegoat due to our high visibility.
In order to maintain the privilege of climbing in this historic area, we must be good stewards of our resources and good ambassadors of our sport. Please help us to foster and maintain good relations with the National Park Service and with individual rangers by honoring park regulations. The following regulations are posted on all kiosks and are available online.
•Observe the One Hour parking spots.
•Observe the posted "out" times. These times change seasonally; take note as you are hiking in.
•Dogs must be on a leash (and you on the other end!) at all times.
•Groups of 10 or more are required to obtain a permit through the Ranger Station (423-821-7788).
•Do not block the trail. Don't make hikers walk over your rope, gear, dog, food, self or pack.
•Observe the "Landscape Restoration" and other posted "Keep Out" areas. The SCC has put in a lot of time and money to re-vegetate these areas; trampled plants equates to wasted SCC money, which equates to less SCC money to buy/lease climbing areas.
•Practice Leave No Trace principles: Pack it in and pack it out.
•Be considerate of your language and volume.
•Most of all have fun and be safe!
As climbers, must do our part to preserve history, not only the history of our country, but also the history of our chosen pastime. It is up to us, the climbers of this generation, to pass along the history of our sacred places.
Feel free to contact your local NPS Ranger with any questions or concerns. The Ranger Station number at Point Park is 423-821-7788. Ranger John Housch may be reached either via phone at 423-298-7137 or email at John_Housch@nps.gov Ranger Doug Briggs may be reached at Doug_Briggs@nps.gov.
You may also contact the SCC directly via info@seclimbers.org, or you may contact Samantha Christen, the Sunset Park representative for the SCC, at s_l_christen@yahoo.com.
Upcoming Changes for Little Rock City, TN (09/21/2006)
Brad McLeod, Southeastern Climbers Coalition
Below are the current parameters for upcoming changes to visitation at LRC (The Stone Fort)-All changes will be in place beginning October 1
2006. These changes are being made by the landowner with the long-term
goal of maintaining access for climbers.
1. Implement a $5 per climber parking fee using an online payment system in conjunction with the current system of registration. To clarify, ALL climbers visiting the boulderfield will be required to pay $5 for each visit to the property.
The number of daily visitors will also be increased to 40.
2. Yearly group/school user fee per institution will be applied. Current schools using LRC as a site for outdoor programs include McCallie, Baylor, and GPS. These institutions will NOT be required to register for visitation during the week (Monday thru Friday). Therefore, these groups will not affect the number of passes during weekdays. However, all participating school programs will be required to register individual climbers during the weekends.
The Triple Crown Bouldering Series will be charged for it's use of the boulderfield as well.
**In regard to all groups and individual climbers, everyone will be required to sign a liability waiver.
3. All climbers will "check-in" at the clubhouse before entering the boulderfield. A Montlake employee will verify each climber by the daily registration page on the SCC (www.seclimbers.org) website. In addition to monitoring visitation to the property, this will also offer a way to educate new climbers to the appropriate visitation procedure.
4. A Montlake employee dedicated to an 8 am to 5:30 pm day will be on duty in the fall.
In addition, the SCC will select 10 representatives from the climbing community. These ten representatives will be required to perform several duties at LRC during each of their visits, and will help maintain and monitor climber visitation to the boulderfield. If you are interested in information regarding one of these positions, please see the SCC message board seclimbers.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=340
5. The name of LRC will be changed to The Stone Fort per the owner's request
6. A yearly pass for climbers who frequently visit the property will be available for purchase beginning October 1 2006. The price for the pass will be $150. Yearly pass holders will still be required to register each day. A yearly pass does not guarantee visitation on high volume days. Once the system has received 40 registrants on a given day, the pass system will close for that particular day-it will still be first come, first served each day for everyone.
Climbers that purchase a year pass will still be required to register for each visit to the boulderfield-all other rules apply to year pass holders as well.
In the meantime, please support Montlake with these upcoming changes; they have certainly supported us.