July 20, 2007
The Weather is Always Steep in North Carolina
Photo James Glover collection © 2006
Posted by WiredNut at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2007
NC: Laurel Knob Donations Grow
Photo by Harrison Shull © 2006
North Carolina: Laurel Knob is getting closer to being paid-in-full. The CCC recieved a gift of $2500 made in memory of Doc Bayne from a group of Cashiers locals, some of whom are not even climbers. They wanted to preserve Laurel Knob. A local builder pledged to give $1,000 for each of the next 5 houses he builds in 2007. To donate, visit the Carolina Climbers site.
Posted by WiredNut at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2006
Laurel Knob Management Plan Draft
Cashiers, NC.- The Laurel Knob Management Plan has been published for a public comment period of two weeks (Nov. 16th - Nov. 30th.). The CCC will evaluate all comments in consideration of preparing a final draft of our plan. The board will vote to accept or reevaluate the plan once the comment period has ended.
You can download a PDF copy of the plan here.
Posted by WiredNut at 06:26 AM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2006
Laurel Knob: Access Threatened!
From CarolinaClimbers.org: Some climbers have evidently been drilling new routes at Laurel Knob, despite the imposed new route moratorium. This must cease. No one is above the rules set forth in managing Laurel Knob. Continuation of this behavior could very well lead to access problems.
Again, here are the rules we ALL need to follow:
NO NEW ROUTES!!!
No camping.
No dogs.
No fires.
No guns.
No amplified music.
You must go in through Panthertown!!!
Be quiet and respectful of our neighbors.
Mike Williams at Endless Wall, Photo by Photo by Matt Stark© 2006
Posted by WiredNut at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2006
NC: Chimney Rock For Sale!
NC.- From Save Chimney Rock: The North Carolina State Parks is negotiating with the owners of Chimney Rock Park for purchase of their property. This would then be the centerpiece property for the new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park. The owners of Chimney Rock Park have also decided to list the park with Sotheby's International Realty. The most important national icon of North Carolina is at risk. There is a very real possibility of the park falling into the hands of a private developer with unknown intentions.
Click here for a copy of letter from Todd Morse, president of Save Chimney Rock.
Click here for a copy of letter from Sotheby's
Click here for Sotheby's International Realty's Information about Chimney Rock Park
It is very important to protect this legacy property and to do everything possible to encourage the State of North Carolina to buy Chimney Rock Park.
We Can Protect Chimney Rock Park, here's what you can do to help!
* Send a letter or email to the Governor of North Carolina.
* Write letters to the editor of all papers in the region to support the preservation of the park. Contact your friends, particularly in places like Charlotte and Raleigh, to do the same.
* Send a letter or email to the Director of the North Carolina State Parks.
* Send a letter or email to our North Carolina State Representatives.
Posted by WiredNut at 05:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 04, 2006
North Carolina: Most Peregrine Closures Lifted
National Forest District Ranger Joy Malone has lifted the Peregrine nesting closure on most cliffs in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest. Here are the newly opened cliffs:
Linville Gorge
Big Lost Cove Cliff
Whiteside Mountain
Looking Glass Rock
Please note that Whiterock Cliff is re-nesting and will remain closed until further notice. Note that these magnificent birds of prey and their young will remain in the nest and vicinity and act to protect it. If you notice a nest, view the birds from afar.
Posted by WiredNut at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2006
NC: Get Your Groover On For Laurel Knob!
At over 1200 ft high, Laurel Knob is the tallest cliff on the East Coast of the United States, and it has been closed to climbers for years. Now, thanks to an amazing effort by local activists, it was purchased by the Carolina Climbers Coalition in February of 2006.
The CCC has raised $110,000 toward the total price tag of $250,000.
The Carolina Climbers Coalition now presents a benefit for Laurel Knob:
GET YOUR GROOVER ON
When:
July 15th from 7 to 10 pm
Where:
Inner Peaks Climbing Center, Charlotte NC
Admission:
$10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under.
100% of the proceeds will go to benefit the CCC’s purchase of Laurel Knob.
This party will be BYOB but you must be able to show identification. Inner Peaks will be grilling burgers and dogs for your dining pleasure.
Posted by WiredNut at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2006
NC: Laurel Knob Mini-Guide Available!
Laurel Knob
Harrison Shull and Pascal Robert have put together a mini-guide for Laurel Knob. First though, remember that countless hours of effort went into securing access, and trail construction, and there is a big mortgage to pay for it all, so please, make a donation to the Carolina Climber's Coalition. A fundraiser is planned for July 15 at Inner Peaks Gym in Charlotte. Stay tuned here or at the Coalition. The Mini-Guide can be downloaded here.
Posted by WiredNut at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2006
NC: New Parking Lot for Moore’s Wall!
Hanging Rock State Park, NC.- Climbers visiting Moore’s Wall can now enjoy a nice parking lot that was recently installed by Hanging Rock State Park. The parking lot was designed specifically for climbers.
Ana on Satisfaction Guaranteed
Photo by WiredNut © 2006
The parking lot can accomodate 15-20 cars, so take care not to overwhelm its capacity and carpool from Torys Den if needed. In the future, the State Park plans on installing an information kiosk, a pit toilet and make final upgrades to the trail that connects the parking area to the existing trails of Moore’s Wall. Continue for directions.
Directions: From Winston Salem take Hwy 52N to exit 122 (Moore - RJR Dr). Head east until you hit Rt 66 and take a left. Follow Rt 66 to Moore’s Spring Rd and take a right. A half a mile later you’ll take a right onto Mickey Rd, then a right onto Charlie Young Rd. Go 3/4 mile (passing the parking area for Torys Den), and take a right onto a dirt road called Hooker Farm Rd. Follow this for 1/2 mile or less and take the first right (no name or sign) Parking is found a short distance beyond the right turn. The parking area is gravel and is on level ground.
Posted by WiredNut at 07:53 PM | Comments (1)
April 21, 2006
POSTPONED: Laurel Knob Trail Day, Now Sat. April 29
Brevard, NC. - Due to the horrible weather forecast, the trail work day is rescheduled for Saturday, April 29. Meet at the Panthertown Valley western parking area at 9am. Car pool if possible. 
Jeramiah off Soul Ram, RRG
Photo by Wes Allen© 2006Bring trail building tools, gloves, WATER, food and a sense of adventure. If you have never been to Laurel you are in for a treat. Once the trail is completed, the Laurel Knob will be open for business!
Map: Download Map
Directions: Take US 64 east from Cashiers, towards Brevard, for 1.8 miles until you reach Cedar Creek Road (SR1120) on the left. Take Cedar Creek Road for 2.3 miles until you reach Breedlove Rd on your right. Breedlove Road winds back towards the valley for 3.3 miles where the pavement ends and dirt road begins. Follow the dirt road to the parking area.
Posted by WiredNut at 07:38 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2006
Laurel Knob Settlement Complete!
Laurel Knob
Photo by Harrison Shull © ShullphotoAsheville, NC.-On Wednesday at 2pm, in a legal office in downtown Asheville, the purchase contract of Laurel Knob was signed. It is now owned by the Carolina Climbers Coalition.
The cliff is not yet open to the public, pending some surveying to establish boundaries, as well as establishing access trails. Please don’t go there yet, as trespessing on neighboring land could jeopardize the deal. Donations are needed! The purchase was made possible through loans that must be repaid, so please consider donating to the CCC.
The CCC Archive for Laurel Knob is here.
The following is a fascinating letter from John Myers that tells the story of Laurel Knob:
"We now own the 1200-foot tall Laurel Knob, the tallest crag east of the Mississippi!
This magnificent cliff contains dozens of bold, long test-pieces following the unique water-carved grooves up the blank face. A number of the climbing legends of the Southern Appalachians stealthily have left their mark on the cliff over the past 30 years..."
For the past 15 years, I have worked with land trusts buying lands for parks and trail corridors. Being a rock climber for nearly 40 years, I decided several years ago to apply this expertise to acquiring privately-owned crags and cliffs to re-open them. My first project was in Kentucky working with the Red River Gorge Climber’s Coalition to help them purchase 800 acres for a new climbing preserve, which they now own and manage.
Shortly after this, I joined the Board of the Access Fund and worked to strengthen support for local climbing organizations. I also researched and compiled a list of significant climbing areas across the country in private hands.
Upon moving to North Carolina in 2003, I began exploring whether any major crags might be available to be purchased. The name Laurel Knob came up several times in conversations with local climbers as some huge, mysterious, secret crag. Not knowing where it was and never having been there, I went on line and searched maps until I located it. On the Jackson County website, I found the name of the current owner.
In March 2004, I called him up at his home in South Carolina. As luck would have it, the timing was perfect. He had been discussing with the Nature Conservancy about a conservation easement, but they had not shown much interest. I expressed to him the importance of Laurel as a magnificent climbing resource and that we might be interested in buying, if he was willing to sell.
A little later, we met in person for the first of numerous meetings to discuss the project. He was a retired doctor but liked the idea letting us buy it to keep the cliff open for climbing. I then contacted Sean Cobourn to see if CCC might be interested in becoming the owner of the property. Not surprisingly, he was very enthusiastic. After all, this was an opportunity to buy and protect something as magnificent as Whitesides or Cannon Cliff or a major granite dome in Yosemite!
Over the next 12 months. I made several more visits to the owner’s house on top of Laurel. I researched local land values and made an offer, which he eventually accepted. Then for another 6 months, we continued negotiations over the details of the deal: where exactly would be the dividing line along the top of the cliffs, how wide would be the trail corridor, what activities would be permitted on the land, how would climbers get down after a climb, etc.
Then we discovered that the large landowner below was planning a major housing development. We met with them to share our plans and learn about theirs. Eventually we reached a verbal understanding that they would support our climbing plans and in the future might even be willing to consider climbing on Cow Rock on their property.
Then came the big hurdle of how to finance and pay for the purchase. Up until now, CCC has been a small organization that only recently got federal tax exempt status. Our bank balance has been typically only a few thousand dollars. How were we to raise $250,000 by December 2005 to pay for Laurel?
My first attempt was to arrange a large loan from the Open Space Institute in NY, who I have worked with in the past. For a long time they seemed interested in making a loan to us, but at the last minute they changed their mind. We then turned to a wealthy individual that the Southeastern Climbers Coalition had worked with in Georgia and Alabama. That too looked promising for a while, but eventually did not work out.
By now we were already a month past our scheduled closing date and starting to sweat bullets. Through Sean’s and other folk’s efforts we had raised about $50,000 in donations, but we were still $200,000 short in necessary loans. At this point, feeling desperate, we sent out a plea to everyone we knew who was a climber anywhere in the country to ask them for short-term loans. We got an article in the Access Fund’s Vertical Times newsletter. Climbing Magazine did and article on Laurel. Rockclimbing.com put up website posts. We hit the trade shows for corporate gifts. The response was truly amazing! We began getting in gifts from all over the country and even 3 foreign countries! We found about a dozen individuals who were able to consider making loans to CCC for up to 3 years. I managed to get the seller to give us another month of time to raise the money. Finally we were able to get commitments from 9 individuals who loaned us a total of $205,000. We also brought in another $10,000 in donations. We finally had enough to money to close.
With the help of our attorney, we prepared all the loan documents for the closing. In addition we had already completed the appraisal, and survey and environmental assessment. Finally on February 15, 2006 at 2 pm, after nearly two years of work, we signed the closing papers and Laurel Knob is ours!!
In my 15 years of buying land for conservation, I have helped purchase over 20,000 acres. This deal, however, means the most to me. Having been a climber for nearly 40 years, this was truly a labor of love and a great opportunity for me to “pay it forward” for the next generation of climbers.
Thanks to all of you for “stepping up to the plate” and making this amazing purchase possible. We could never have done it without you. A big, big thanks to everyone who helped!!
And now the next task for all of us is to continue reaching out to our friends and the climbing community, so we can pay off our loans over the next 2-3 years. I know we can do it!
John Myers
Posted by WiredNut at 09:57 AM | Comments (1)
November 13, 2005
NC: Gear Sale to Benefit Laurel Knob Purchase
Alex Fitzner on Under the Milky Way, 11d,
at Summersville Lake. Photo by Matt Stark, © 2005Brevard, NC.- Looking Glass Outfitters will sell donated used gear at their store just outside the entrance to Pisgah National Forest, in Brevard, NC. People can bring in used gear to sell at the store, and proceeds from the sales are going to help with the purchase of Laurel Knob. A previous WiredNut item regarding the Laurel Knob purchase can be found here
For more information, contact Looking Glass Outfitters.
Looking Glass Outfitters
90 New Hendersonville Hwy
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
828-884-5854
info@lookingglassoutfitters.com
Posted by WiredNut at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2005
NC: Carolina Climbers Coalition to Purchase Laurel Knob
Cashiers, NC.- The Carolina Climbers Coalition has contracted to purchase what has been called "the biggest hunk of granite east of the Mississippi". Laurel Knob resides in the infamous Pantertown Valley, just outside Cashiers, NC. Closing of the $250,000 contract is in December 2005.
Please note that Laurel Knob is private property. Visiting there before the contract is settled will endanger access.
Shawn Tierney, Access and Acquisitions Director of the Access Fund, says, “The purchase of Laurel Knob by the Carolina Climbers Coalition is one of the most significant land acquisitions of a climbing resource in the country. Besides opening up a phenomenal area, the purchase ensures access for future generations. The CCC deserves a huge amount of credit for their hard work in making this purchase a reality, and the Access Fund is proud to contribute to the effort with an initial $10,000 grant, and further assistance with fundraising.”
Funding has been acquired from various donors, including the $10,000 award from the Access Fund. More donations are needed! Check CCC's website for details on Laurel Knob, as well as how you can help donate to the cause. In the meantime, JOIN the CCC, or RENEW your membership today. Get all your friends to do the same!
Posted by WiredNut at 11:09 PM | Comments (4)
September 23, 2005
Hanging Rock AAC Event, Sep. 24
Sunny winter day at the Oswald...
Photo by Derek Good © 2005Hanging Rock State Park, NC.- Hanging Rock State Park and Carolina Climbers Coalition request volunteers in conjunction with National Public Lands Day to assist in constructing the climbing access trail to connect the new parking area to be built off Hooker Farm Road, north of Moore's Wall. Meet at Tory's Den Parking Area at 9:00 am and plan to work until 1:00 pm. Bring work gloves, water, picks and shovels. Bring a lunch if you would like to work later. Plan on getting dirty this day. For more information contact Jason Anthony, Park Ranger Hanging Rock State Park at 336-593-8480. Check the Carolina Climber's Coalition website for more information.
Posted by WiredNut at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)
August 31, 2005
North Carolina Events
Ahhh, the Red.
Photo by Dan Brayack © 2005NC.- 09/10 Looking Glass Rock, NC. Looking Glass Rock Adopt-a-Crag
hosted by Pisgah Commercial Climbers Association contact Adam Fox
09/10 Linville Gorge Wilderness, NC. Table Rock Adopt-a-Crag hosted by (Boone Climbers Coalition, contact Ron Dawson
09/10 Person County, NC. Hager's Mountain Adopt-a-Crag hosted by the American Alpine Club contact Roger May
09/24 Hanging Rock State Park, NC. Moore's Wall Locals Day hosted by the Carolina Climbers Coalition contact Sean Barb
Posted by WiredNut at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2005
Carolina Climber Coalition Donates $6000 For State Park
Water Soloing, Summersville Lake, WV.
Photo by Dan Brayack © 2005Lake Lure, NC.- In July, the Carolina Climbers Coalition presented The Nature Conservancy with a generous $6,000 gift for land acquisition for the new state park in Hickory Nut Gorge. This is an important step that will help secure and protect an important natural and recreational resource for an area that includes Rumbling Bald.
Posted by WiredNut at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)
Carolina Climber Coalition Donates $6000 For State Park
Water Soloing, Summersville Lake, WV.
Photo by Dan Brayack © 2005Lake Lure, NC.- In July, the Carolina Climbers Coalition presented The Nature Conservancy with a generous $6,000 gift for land acquisition for the new state park in Hickory Nut Gorge. This is an important step that will help secure and protect an important natural and recreational resource for an area that includes Rumbling Bald.
Posted by WiredNut at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)