Trip to Obed this weekend

Posted on May 9, 2013 by chuck.parks
Tarantella(5.10a) at the Obed

Tarantella(5.10a) at the Obed

This weekend, May 11 & 12 is our overnight trip to the Obed in Tennessee. About an hour west of Knoxville, the crags along the Obed River and Clear Creek provide excellent single-pitch climbing on sandstone. A majority of the climbs are bolted, but there are a few opportunities for gear-protected leads as well.

The club will be hosting a dinner for members on Saturday night at Del & Marte’s Lilly Pad.  We will be providing the main course (cooked by el hefe, Tim Lacny), but please feel free to bring sides, desserts, etc. And of course… your beverage of choice!

Directions to the Lilly Pad

Camping at the Lilly Pad is $5/person/night, and is recommended! They now also have limited hostel facilities available on-site, which you should book in advance if interested. The Lilly Pad has a communal fire ring and firewood is provided. Bring a camp chair if you have one. If you don’t, there are usually a few resident chairs floating around. Also be sure to bring a rain jacket and bug spray — it’s getting to be that time of year again.

As this is an overnighter, we won’t be carpooling from the usual park and ride. Make your own carpool arrangements if you can, and we’ll see you at the Obed!

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Arno Ilgner speaking at the Harp on May 7

Posted on April 23, 2013 by chuck.parks

The speaker for our May meeting will be Arno Ilgner, founder of the Desiderata Institute. Arno’s mental training program, The Warrior’s Way, teaches students to deal with challenging, stressful and risky situations. The Warrior’s Way books and courses have helped many climbers to improve by focusing on the mental aspects of climbing.

Arno’s presentation will be interesting, so be sure to mark your calendars for this one. We’ll be meeting at the usual time and place: Harp Irish Pub in Roswell, May 7 at 7:00pm.

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Trip to Tennessee Wall this Saturday, April 13

Posted on April 8, 2013 by chuck.parks

This weekend is our club trip to T-wall. Joining us on this trip will be a group of interested climbers from the Atlanta Outdoor Club — a general outdoor club that does a few trips from just about every outdoor activity. Although everyone in the group has climbed before and is interested in more climbing, there are very few trad climbers in the AOC group. Because we will have more top-ropers than we normally do, we want to get an idea how many trad lead climbers are planning to attend. Please let us know if you are attending and can help us put up ropes at T-wall. (We will have extra ropes.)

The carpool is not at the usual location. We will meet at 7am at the Busbee park and ride in Kennesaw. In order to best take advantage of the limited parking at T-wall, we ask people try to carpool together and avoid taking separate vehicles where possible.

This is a great chance to meet new climbers who may join the ACC if they enjoy our trip together and want to do more climbing.

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AAC Rappelling Best Practices Clinic, April 23

Posted on April 1, 2013 by chuck.parks

Nearly half of all climbing accidents occur when descending from a climb. Most of
these accidents involve rappelling. Many of these accidents are fatal. Nearly all are
avoidable.

We are assisting the American Alpine Club in presenting a FREE clinic on rappelling best practices. The clinic will be held on April 23 from 7-9pm at Stone Summit. Instruction will be provided by Appalachian Mountain Institute instructors certified by the American Mountain Guide Association(AMGA) at SPI level or higher. The clinic content is based upon the “Know Your Ropes” material published in the 2012 edition of the AAC publication Accidents in North American Mountaineering.

This is not a “how to rappel” class. It is not appropriate for individuals with no
rappelling experience. It is intended for climbers with some experience rappelling who want to ensure that they are current in their understanding of safe rappelling protocols and equipment.

All climbers are encouraged to attend. Membership in neither the AAC nor ACC is required for participation. However,  pre-registration is required! Those interested in attending should email dthoenen@nc.rr.com before April 18 with name,mailing address, phone number, preferred email address and t-shirt size. (Free t-shirt, woo!)

 

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Meeting April 2 at the Harp

Posted on April 1, 2013 by chuck.parks

This month we will be meeting at our usual time and place — 7:00pm at the Harp Irish Pub in Roswell.

Our evening’s  presenters will be our own Tim Lacny, Denmark Blount and Tom Osborne. They will be talking about their recent trip to Cochise Stronghold & Mt. Lemmon in the high desert of southeast Arizona.

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Warriors Way training in the Atlanta area

Posted on March 27, 2013 by chuck.parks

In addition to speaking at our club meeting in May, Arno Ilgner will be conducting training clinics at local climbing gyms on May 6 & 8. Arno’s falling and commitment clinics are legendary in the climbing community for helping lead climbers improve their abilities.

More information is available on the Warrior’s Way web site.

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Trip to Crowders Mountain, March 9-10

Posted on March 6, 2013 by chuck.parks

This weekend we’ll be taking a trip to Crowders Mountain, NC. Off of I-85 near Gastonia, the summit of Crowders Mountain holds numerous small cliffs. Most of the climbing is single-pitch, with a mix of sport and trad. Many routes can be accessed from the top to set up top ropes.

Getting There

Recommended carpool is at 6:30am Saturday at Indian Trail Park and Ride. Google Maps gives travel time to Crowders as 2 hours 57 minutes, so people driving themselves should show up around 9:30am.

Places to Stay

Camping

  • Crowders Mountain Park expects to have camping available Friday and Saturday nights, but is not taking reservations. There will be no water, so any water you use must be hiked in. (this is due to an ongoing construction project)
  • King’s Mountain Park  is about 15 minutes away and has amenity camping

Hotel

  • Holiday Inn Express Shelby Mountain is less than 10 minutes drive from Crowders
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Meeting in Kennesaw on Tuesday, March 5

Posted on March 4, 2013 by chuck.parks

In lieu of our usual monthly meeting at The Harp, this month we will be meeting at the Kennesaw REI for a presentation on alpine climbing. On Tuesday, March 5 from 7-8:30pm Karsten Delap and Lindsay Fixmer from Fox Mountain Guides will be giving a presentation on their travels and climbing adventures around the world.

After the presentation, we will move things across the street to the Tilted Kilt to discuss club business.

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Banff Mountain Film Festival, March 18

Posted on February 18, 2013 by chuck.parks

On Monday, March 18, the Banff Mountain Film Festival will be returning to Atlanta. Hosted by REI at the Ferst Center on Georgia Tech campus, the festival features films that explore nature, culture and adventure in the mountains. Doors open at 6:15pm, and the show starts at 7:00pm.

Tickets are available in advance at REI Atlanta for $15. Price at the box office will be $17.50. Club Treasurer Jim Allison has arranged to purchase tickets for club members at the group rate of $12. These tickets need to be purchased together in advance. If you are interested, please contact Jim before February 26.

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Trip to Yellow Bluff this Saturday, Feb. 9

Posted on February 7, 2013 by chuck.parks

This Saturday will be our club trip to Yellow Bluff, AL. Located just south of Huntsville, Yellow Bluff’s sandstone is home to some fine single-pitch climbing — both sport and trad.

We will be departing the Thornton Road park and ride at 7am. Due to the long ride and limited parking, carpooling is recommended! For those choosing to meet us there, we should arrive at Yellow Bluff around 9am Central time.

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