COMP
DETAILS - HISTORY
How the Triple Crown Got Started
In this interview, originally posted on the SCC
website in 2005, series organizers Jim Horton and Chad
Wykle give you the inside scoop - the early days at
Hound Ears, the access miracle at The Stone Fort, the
cold, hard cash raised for the Access Fund and the SCC,
plus a whole bunch more.
SCC: Where did the idea come from to put together a
Triple Crown for southern bouldering?
Jim: The original Triple Crown was... well it was
a series of horse races. In our case it was originally a
group of problems in the Hound Ears Comp - The Pocket
Problem, Court and Spark, and Parley vu Parkway - all on
the Pocket Wall - all super-classic. If a competitor
completed all three, they were given a bonus of 50
points to add their total score - just a fun gimmick to
make the comp interesting.
Chad: It was a really cool thing to have. And
several years ago, completing all three was quite a
feat.
Jim: Yeah, but kids these days! Everyone is
strong. We have been playing around with the idea of
bringing that Triple Crown back...maybe this year.
Rebecca (Wykle) is the Scoring Boss - quite possibly the
most stressful job in the event.
Chad: She may well kill us if we "throw another
monkey" into the scoring wrench.
Jim: Yeah, maybe I better handle that
negotiation.
Chad: That job is all yours!
Jim: Back to the question - I had thought about
the idea of a series for several years, and ironically
so had Chad. As a matter of fact Adam (Henry) and I had
discussed the possibility of a series at the first
Mortal Combat. I just knew how much of a logistical
challenge Hound Ears was - most people would not believe
the amount of work that goes into the organization and
execution of a climbing competition. In fact, I
introduced Chad to the joy of back - to - back 20+ hour
days - a few times!
Chad: Thanks, man.
Jim: You bet. (Jim continues) Chad approached me
about the idea in September of 2002. He was working at
Rock/Creek and felt confident that not only would Adam
(Henry) be psyched about the idea, but we could also add
another venue to create The Triple Crown Bouldering
Series.
SCC: So you guys were confident that you could secure
The Stone Fort? That boulderfield had been closed for
years!
Jim: Uh...no. Chad was convinced we could talk
Pigeon Mountain (Wildlife Management Area) into letting
us have the third leg at Rock Town. But that is another
story.
SCC: What is new for the Triple Crown in 2004?
Chad: For starters, the sequence has changed for
this year's event. The Stone Fort will be the finale to
Triple Crown 2004. We really wanted an opportunity to
celebrate the access at LRC with the climbing community.
The city of Chattanooga, with it's new Outdoor
Initiative, has also been very supportive of this event,
and of course, Chattanooga makes for the perfect venue
for celebration. The website will be more interactive
this year as well. Because the series is really three
months long, we want to take the opportunity to update
the site with new gallery pics from each competition,
and add special news and info as the comps progress.
Justin Goodlett is developing the website for this
year's event and he is really excited about the series.
Like Jim, he also has incredible graphic design and
website construction skills. For the rest of what's new,
I'd say come down and join us. It will be a great time,
for sure.
SCC: Do you have any "big names" coming down for
slide shows and guest appearances?
Jim: TNF is our presenting sponsor, and they will
be "sending" Lisa (Rands) and Wills (Young). Chad spent
some time with both of them a few weeks ago. They were
in Chattanooga for a dealer camp/slide show tour. They
did some bouldering at The Stone Fort, HP-40 and did
some roped climbing at Foster Falls. I haven't seen them
in a few years so I'm looking forward to having them
come down for the event.
Chad: They were excited about the climbing they
did while they were here. It will be awesome to have
them back during "the good season." Maybe they will
decide to stay for a while!
Jim: Bosley is coming back to defend his crown.
SCC: Jim, you have been the main organizer for the
Hound Ears Competition since its inception. Can you tell
us how that event has grown and what the Triple Crown
means to that area?
Jim: Let me give you a little history. It's kind
of cool because The Stone Fort has been very similar. It
will also be good to discuss some history because it
will let people know why these events are structured the
way they are today.
It all started many years ago. Some call it "back in the
day." I started the comp because my then favorite
boulderfield (Howard's Knob) had just been shut down and
was about to be developed. We were looking for ways to
raise some cash to help save the place from the dozers.
I was working at Hound Ears as a bartender and finishing
up my college career. I had been up to the boulders (at
Hound Ears) a few times. I knew there was great
potential. People had climbed there quite a bit, waaay
"back in the day." We'll call it "in the way back"
(probably since the sixties). The place had been pretty
deserted for a while though since it was fenced up and
made part of a private country club. I thought it would
be a great place for an event because no one would have
the place wired. Needless to say most people thought it
was a stupid idea and a complete waste of my time - So I
gave it a shot. I presented my complete plan to the
Hound Ears manager (Chuck Hyatt). I rambled on for about
a half hour or so (kind of like I am here). When I
finally stopped talking he just looked at me and said
"sure." He was a great guy. He unfortunately died of a
sudden heart attack a few years later. I really thought
that would be the end of the comp but they keep letting
us do it. I still don't know why. They make no money on
the event. It just goes to show that not all landowners
are jerks and it's always best to ask.
That first year there was a little more than 100 people
there. I don't think there were many more problems than
that. Now both those number have quadrupled. It was very
casual and fun. For the awards ceremony we just
scattered all the prizes out on a couple of picnic
tables and people came up and picked out what they
wanted to win. Sometimes we'd throw in something extra
if we felt they deserved more. Like I said "very
casual." Of course there wasn't anywhere near the number
of prizes we have these days. That's actually one of the
cooler changes that have taken place. It's much easier
to get sponsors now.
It only took a couple years to realize I'd created a
monster that would just continue to grow. I guess
friends were telling friends. I believe it was the third
year that we started putting a cap on it. We had to
limit the number of competitors and spectators not only
to prevent overcrowding at the boulders for safety and
fun factors, but also to make the whole thing more
manageable. Without the cap we'd have no idea how many
shirts to order, how many buses to get, how much food to
supply, how many registration packets to purchase how
many yada, yada, yada. This list can go on and on. It's
still difficult to turn people away but it's a necessary
evil.
The first year competitors only got a day of bouldering
for their entry fee. You didn't get any T-shirts, swag
bags full of goodies, chalk thrown at you, Clif Bars
thrown at you, T-shirts thrown at you, dinner thrown...
I mean served to you, free beer, free camping, free
slide shows and all that other crap we bribe you with
now. The free camping was a must. Before we had that
people were camping all around Hound Ears. On the side
of the road or wherever they could. It was getting out
of hand. I feared that we were in danger of annoying the
locals. Now everything is much better and much more in
control.
As far as how the Triple Crown has changed things... I
guess it hasn't really changed all that much. We worked
up a new points system that makes much more sense.
There's a lot more work now in getting 3 events
together. I've got a lot more help now that Chad's
involved. I've always had a lot of help in the past.
Let's list a few of those folks. These are the people
who have been the biggest help in the past: Burton
Moomaw, Goose Kearse (Misty Mountain), Mike Trew, Robert
Semple and Chad Oliver. Organizing these events can be
very stressful and I guarantee I've pissed off every one
of these guys at some point over the years and I'm still
friends with them all. They continue to help out in one
form or another. Mike Trew has been my right hand man
with Hound Ears over the past several years. I'm not
sure if I've pissed him off yet actually. Maybe this
year?... he, he!
Eleven years... not bad. Especially when so many people
told me it would never happen. "That place is a gated
community they'll never let a bunch of grungy climbers
go in there to climb" people said. I told them all the
same thing I say today, "the answer is always "no" if
you never ask."
SCC: Chad, the opening of The Stone Fort (LRC) was
one of the biggest access success stories in recent
years. Can you tell us more about that effort and how
LRC became part of the Triple Crown?
Chad: The truth is that originally, Rock Town was
to be the venue. Dawson Wheeler (owner of Rock/Creek
Outfitters) and I had been in negotiations with the
Georgia Department of the Interior to secure the site
(for the comp) from November 2002 until February 2003.
Discussions with Pigeon Mountain Rangers to that point
had been completely positive, but in mid-February
despite our best efforts at negotiation, we were
informed that the competition venue would have to be
moved elsewhere. I was honestly devastated. Sand Rock
was our "fallback," but Jim and I wanted something new.
Sand Rock had been done.
Jim: We were all pretty bummed. Chad and I both
spent some time "brainstorming" for other options. We
were pretty much committed to the Triple Crown at this
point. In fact we already had sponsors. You can imagine
how that added to the pressure. Anyway, we were both
racking our brains in the seclusion of our own offices.
It suddenly came to me: The Stone Fort! Surely they'd
let us in for one day. I mean Hound Ears went for it and
that's a very exclusive gated country club. The funny
thing is Chad was thinking the same thing. I called him
up...
Chad: It was divine intervention. There I was on
a late February afternoon...standing in the upstairs
office of Rock/Creek staring out the window at a cold,
driving rain. I had just finished talking to Dawson
about beginning the hard task of moving the comp venue
to Sand Rock. "Don't throw the baby out with the
bathwater," Dawson said. "Triple Crown will be fine with
Sand Rock as a comp venue. You just have to accept that
Rock Town is not going to happen, right now. Get your
head up and get to work at making the best of a less
than perfect situation."
He then paused and asked, "Do you have ANY ideas about
where else this thing could happen at?" I knew that he
wanted something better too. We both just stood arms
folded and stared out the window. There was another
place - an area within 20 minutes of downtown
Chattanooga that held some of the best bouldering in the
South East – a CLOSED place. "Yeah," I said. "I do know
another place." About that time the phone rang. It was
Jim. We immediately started talking about the situation.
Jim said, "Chad, I don't want to have this thing at Sand
Rock, man...where else on this god-forsaken planet could
we have it? The Citadel is still closed. Asheboro is WAY
closed. Lilly is too small. Rumbling Bald access is
super-tenuous not to mention the location being a
logistical nightmare. Grandmother would be great,
but...you know that's an impossibility." I remember
pausing for a second and then Jim said, "I've been
thinking about a place...but, it's kind of a long shot."
At that moment I knew what he was thinking.
Jim: Yeah, Chad just starting saying "Just say
it. Just say it dude." I stunned myself as I actually
whispered "Little...Rock...City?" Chad immediately got
psyched. He said, "I'll do it, Jim. I'll go up there
right now and talk to Montlake (golf course). You tell
me to go and I am out the door."
Chad: I was secretly hoping that Jim might say "na,
it's too much of long shot...there's just no way," but
that wasn't gonna happen. I was pretty gripped. We both
knew that the SCC had devoted lots of effort to creating
access up there for several years, and here we were
thinking of not only asking for access, but trying to
create an avenue for a full blown climbing competition -
just the thought of all the possible repercussions made
me sick. Jim threw down the gauntlet, "Do it man. You
get up there right now. Make it happen. The answer will
always be no if you never ask. Call me with good news as
soon as you get back." Click. I hung up the phone. "Are
you seriously considering going up there?" Dawson said
after listening to the conversation. "Chad, that place
is closed...has been for years. You're going up there to
ask for permission to have 500 climbers descend on the
golf course?" "Dawson...that is exactly what I am going
to do." "Then put your game face on. You're going to
need it," he said. I snagged a competition packet and
headed out into the raw February gloom. I remember
thinking about how badly I wanted this to happen, and
how much it could ultimately mean for the climbing
community.
Jim: Yeah, best case scenario - a fantastic comp
and potentially some first steps toward legal climber
access at a premier boulderfield; Worst case scenario -
complete shutdown that results in no comp venue and no
chance of ever having access - stressful for both of us
to say the least.
Chad: The drive to the Montlake clubhouse was way
too short. Most of the ride was spent rolling
appropriate dialogue scenarios through my mind. I
quickly found myself walking through the clubhouse doors
and to the front counter where I was met with the first
roadblock. I laid down my best sales job to the manager
and for my efforts I received, "A rock climbing
competition? NO WAY. That's just not EVER going to
happen up here. This is a golf course, son," the man
said with complete conviction. I spent another couple of
minutes trying to discuss liability waivers, the
possibility of renting the property for a day and even
making a donation to the golf course. "There is no way.
Forget it," he said. For a moment I thought about
conceding. The man was two sentences from being pissed
for sure and I didn't want to make an already bad
situation worse. It was clear that there was no avenue
with this guy. "Is there a property manager on duty
today," I asked. He pointed down the hallway and said,
"She's in the back."
I walked down a long hallway and into an office and was
greeted by a very nice lady. "Hey There," I said. "Do
you mind if I sit down?" I handed her the competition
packet and then spent the next thirty minutes talking
about the competition and the wonderful outdoor resource
that lay just inside the woods along the golf course.
She politely listened and finally stated that Mr. Luken,
the owner of the Montlake property would have to give
permission to have a competition and after half an hour
of listening to me wax on about the property and what
climber access could potentially mean for the community
she was more than willing to give me his phone number.
I came back to Rock/Creek and later that afternoon made
the call. Mrs. Luken answered the phone and I explained
why I was calling. She had received the competition
packet that I had delivered to the golf club. "This
looks like a very good idea you guys have here, but
Henry (Luken) is concerned about liability. He would
like climbers to be able to use the property, but..." I
described the liability waiver that had been created by
Sean Coburn, an activist and lawyer for the Carolina
Climbers' Coalition, and discussed the legalities around
recreation on private lands. Jim had been down this road
with Hound Ears in the past and had spent quite a bit of
time educating himself, me (and anyone else who would
listen) on the particulars around this issue. She
offered Mr. Luken's contact info that I gladly accepted
and I told her that I would forward the liability
document on to his e-mail address with information about
the competition and our hopes for access. That led to
some very positive e-mail and phone conversations with
Mr. Luken, and within a couple of days he met me at
Rock/Creek to discuss the particulars.
The competition sounded like a great idea to him, and he
wanted responsible people to have an opportunity to
recreate on his land. He had shown the liability
document to his legal counsel, and wanted just a few
additions to be made to the document. We went on to
discuss the possibility of creating year round access.
He wanted assurance that we could create a system that
would require all climbers to sign the liability waiver,
and that there would be clear signage in place to
support the waiver and compliance with a short list of
regulations. I guaranteed him that we would create an
appropriate system and we shook hands. History was in
the making. Little did I know, though that the work had
just begun. Needless to say, there was initially LOTS of
controversy around this. Many well-respected climbers
within the community had big-time reservations about the
competition.
Jim: It's kind of funny. I actually saw a message
board post on the Carolina Climbers' Coalition website
that said, "The Triple Crown is going to get LRC
closed." I thought this is hilarious. How do you shut
down a place that's never been open? I fired back a
fairly sarcastic response. I think it's still up - go
check it out. What made it even better was the fact that
the guy was too much of a... um... wimp to use his real
name. We all know the type.
Chad: Word to the wise; if you're unable to
attach your name to a statement, don't make it.
Jim: Word!
Chad: Several meetings were held at
TBA over the next several weeks that were
primarily open forums for discussion - we worked through
several heated meetings, and some honestly touch-and-go
moments. In the end, the climbing community truly came
together. I wish there was space to recant every
discussion and give props to every single individual
that worked and continues to work to make LRC what it is
today. Truly special thanks goes to Justin Eiseman, Kirk
Brode, Brad McLeod, Dawson Wheeler, Ben Johnson,
Jonathan Clardy, Tom Bowen, Theresa Schlacter, Rebecca
Wykle, Matt Sims, Stuart Chapin, John Dorough, Chad
Fowler, Luis Rodriguez, and Eric Pittman - the climbing
community is certainly lucky to have these individuals.
SCC: It is interesting that all three areas (Little
Rock City, Hound Ears and Horse Pens) were all closed to
the public at one point. What effect does the Triple
Crown have on the access to those areas?
Chad: Wow, that is a great question and it is
more broad than it appears - Jim's efforts at Hound Ears
have allowed climbers to continue to access this awesome
boulderfield at least once a year. Jim was also one of
the first to set the standard for climbers to be
recognized as stewards of the greater community rather
than just stewards of the environment and their own
"green causes." The benefits (to the climbing community)
of this type of gifting are initially subtle. But the
foundation that Jim has created over the years with
success at Hound Ears in conjunction with a willingness
to give back to causes that do not directly benefit
climbing (Red Cross, Watauga Rescue Squad, Watauga Land
Trust, and others) is truly amazing - and simply the
right thing to do. I think it goes without saying that
without the success of Hound Ears, The Triple Crown, the
SCC and the efforts of local activists, LRC would still
be closed today.
As it stands there are over 1,000 registered climbers
that have visited this fantastic boulderfield. There
have been only positive comments from the staff and
residents of the Montlake Golf Club since the opening,
and the local climbing community is credited with
creating a beautiful "green space" that is used not only
by climbers, but by the residents of the Montlake
community as well. The Triple Crown and the SCC have
organized and will continue to organize trail days and
divot repair days (climbers repair golfing divots
throughout the Montlake Golf Course) and as a community,
we will continue to support the Montlake Golf Club in
any way possible.
Jim: The Triple Crown has also definitely supported the
efforts of the Schultz Family (owners of Horse Pens-40).
HP-40 is the only one of the three boulderfields in the
series that is a for-profit climbing area. Chad and I do
everything we can to promote this site as one of the
premier bouldering destinations in the world. The only
pictures to appear in our ads in Rock and Ice are of
this beautiful sandstone climbing area. In addition, the
main pages of our website are from Horse Pens. The cost
for full-page ads in national climbing periodicals, and
maintaining a website is significant. Last year we
created two full-page ads in R&I and this year we upped
the number to three. There are only two reasons that we
spend funds for those ads - to give exposure to our
sponsors and to expose Horse Pens as a worldwide
climbing destination. Hopefully we can get other private
landowners to recognize the success of areas like HP40
and we can gain access to more areas. Once people
actually start seeing that climbers can be good
stewards, and that private land can be profitable for
things other than development or deforestation their
view of climbers might change. What about the prospect
of climbers leasing land like hunters do? We've seen it
work at Asheboro back in NC. Um...OK, I'm off subject.
Chad, help me out here. What were we talking about?
Chad: How Triple Crown affects access...
Jim: Oh yeah... let's wrap this up.
Chad: The Triple Crown, in conjunction with the
Schultz Family has also made donations directly to the
town of Steele, Alabama, and I think that is extremely
important. As I mentioned earlier, at some point,
climbers as a group have to begin giving back to the
greater community. Hank McCann, owner of Urban Outpost,
donated funds from the Recent Bouldergrass Festival to
The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. To me, it is
imperative that our climbing organizations and events
continue to give back particularly to direct action
causes that do not necessarily benefit climbers.
Jim: That should do it. Good job Chad!
SCC: Favorite problem at all three areas?
Jim: I hate questions like this. Here are a few
of my favorites at each area. Ask me later and I'll have
a whole new list. My opinions change and I don't care
how hard or easy they are. Just give me the classics!
Hound Ears: Alfred Hitchcock, Mother's Milk, The Heretic
(probably the best), Flash or Trash, Monster Truck,
Strange Agent (even though it's an oddball), and Parlez
Vu Parkway. Horse Pens 40: I like some of the unusual
ones. Trick or Treat, The Red Arrow (I think that's what
it's called, you know out by Slow Hand), The Crown,
Grooverider, Man With A Slow Hand, Squeezeplay, and Moon
Arete. The Stone Fort: Hulk, Super Mario, Tennessee
Thong, Space, Shotgun, Funkadelic (A.K.A. Galaxy 500),
White Trash, and Heroin.
Chad: Damn! That's a hard question, for sure!!
I'll go out on a limb though and name a few favorites,
though: Hound Ears: The Heretic, Flash or Trash, Monster
Truck, The Tourist, The Proud, Air Jesus to name a few.
Horse Pens 40: The Crown (of course), Step Child, The
Flow. The Stone Fort: Incredarete, Cinderella-Cleopatra
Traverse, The Crescent, Cardinal Sin...I could keep
going.
SCC: The Triple Crown has the best prizes of any comp
we have seen. Can you tell us about your sponsorships?
Chad: Jim and I love that. We both really enjoy
being able to award hard-working climbers with awesome
prizes. But our primary goal is gaining and maintaining
access to climbing areas, and I think we have a good
formula for accomplishing that goal. It is very
important that climbers begin to understand that our
sport is primarily supported by the Outdoor Industry
(retail shops like Rock/Creek Outfitters, Marmot,
Diamond Brand, Alabama Outdoors, and Urban Outpost; and
vendors like The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Black
Diamond, Rock and Ice, Trango, E-Grips, Bluewater, Five
Ten, La Sportiva, Misty Mountain, Montrail, Chaco, Clif
Bar, Prana, Metolius, and Oakley). The largest
contributors to organizations like The Access Fund and
The Southeastern Climbers' Coalition come from the
Outdoor Industry - hands down. Without their support,
there would be no money to support trail days, bolt and
anchor replacement and certainly no money to support
access. Because of this fact, it is imperative that
climbers support this industry.
To that end, Jim and I do everything that we can to
support our sponsors. This year we had three full-page
ads in R&I promoting the sponsors of The Triple Crown
Bouldering Series. We have a website (designed by Justin
Goodlett) that is constantly updated and fully supports
our sponsors with text, galleries, and links to sponsor
websites and web stores. The venues, campsites, and
award ceremony sites will be full of vendor/retailer
booths and sponsor banners. We will produce posters for
the comp that will appear throughout the US and will
sport sponsor logos and names. We will make over 2,000
of the coolest, Jim Horton-designed tees on the planet
that every competitor will receive and wear for years to
come that showcase all of the Triple Crown supporters.
Jim: We just went to the Outdoor Retail Show in
SLC to get sponsors for 2005. Next year will be even
bigger.
SCC: Where do all the proceeds go?
Jim: All of the proceeds will go to the Access
Fund and of course the SCC. Some proceeds will also go
to local Rescue Squads and direct action causes.
Chad: Triple Crown is an SCC event this year!
SCC: Thanks Jim and Chad!
Jim and Chad: Thank you SCC! |
|
