« October 2008 | Main | December 2008 »
November 25, 2008
Heart of Stone Climbing Film Premieres at Rock/Creek
Heart of Stone Climbing Film Premieres at Rock/Creek Friday December 5th
November 25, 2008 (Chattanooga, TN) - Rock/Creek and The Triple Crown Bouldering Series proudly present an exclusive premiere showing of the highly anticipated climbing access film-- Heart of Stone-- a film by Andrew Kornylak and Josh Fowler. Rock/Creek invites the general public to their retail location at Two North Shore in Chattanooga, TN for the premiere. The store will close at 7:00 pm on Friday, December 5th and doors will open at 7:15. The show will start promptly at 7:30 PM EST.
Heart of Stone investigates a critical point in rock climbing history in the southeast, while celebrating the many fantastic rock climbing resources that the Southeast has to offer.
As Kornylak explains, "the film celebrates what I think is the beginning of a golden age of discovery and stewardship of the amazing treasure of rock we have in the Southeast. The grassroots climbing community here is a miraculous mix of activism, generosity and respect for tradition: the Heart of Stone."
After the presentation of the film, acclaimed climbing athletes/activists Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden-Caldwell, Lisa Rands, and Kevin Jorgeson will speak with the audience about the current state of climbing access in the southeast and across the country.
It's no mystery that the Southeast holds some of the best rock climbing in the country. From uncountable fields of immaculate sandstone, granite, gneiss and quartzite boulders, to fantastic buttresses of steep, single pitch crags, to valleys filled with giant multi-pitch granite domes, the South simply has it all for the rock climber.
However, unlike the Western United States, most of the land of the Southeast is privately owned, with much of the remaining property being managed by State and National Parks. Rock climbing in the Southeast has become a matter of relationships between the climbing community and land managers.
Historically, climbers as a group have been known to the general public as conservationists...and simply excellent stewards of land. The number of rock climbers participating in the sport has increased dramatically over the last ten years, however. This increase in the number of climbers and the popularity of some of the rock climbing resources has placed a strain on some of the natural environments where climbers recreate, and as a result have placed the relationship between climber and land manager at risk.
Active local non-profit climbing organizations like the Southeastern Climbers' Coalition, the Carolina Climbers' Coalition, and regional activists are struggling to find a common voice for the entire climbing community--a voice that is steeped in the historical tradition of respect for the environment and the private landowner, but also one that advocates a spirit of adventure.
Please join us at the debut of this film at Rock/Creek's Two North Shore location. For directions and more information on our stores, visit: http://www.rockcreek.com/customer_service/locations.asp
A trailer for the film can be viewed online:
http://blog.rockcreek.com/archives/heart_of_stone_a_film_about_climbing_access_in_the_southeast.html
If the link is broken, try:
http://tinyurl.com/5eu24k
For more information on the Triple Crown Bouldering Series, visit:
http://triplecrownbouldering.org/
High-res photography available upon request.
Contact:
Mark McKnight
423.643.1528
mark@rockcreek.com
About Rock/Creek:
Rock/Creek, member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, is an independent specialty outdoor retailer with over two decades of experience in the Southeast. Along with its online shops, RockCreek.com and ClimbingGear.com, Rock/Creek provides quality outdoor clothing and gear for a host of activities including kayaking, rock climbing, camping, hiking, trail running, and adventure racing. Rock/Creek is committed to enacting positive change in the community and for our environment. For this reason, it uses outdoor retail as a platform to encourage outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship and to improve public access to the backcountry. Rock/Creek supports worthy nonprofits such as the Southeastern Climbers' Coalition and the Wilderness Trail Running Association.
###
Posted by Mark McKnight at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2008
Upchuck 50k Report from the Race Director
Race directors: Matt Sims and Chad Wamack
Written by: Chad Wamack
This year was the first official Upchuck 50k on the Cumberland Trail in Chattanooga, TN. The previous two years the event was more of a group run with a very light turn out, namely Matt Sims and I. The word has spread about the Cumberland Trail and this year we had 25 people toe the line. The entry field included racers from seven different states and a good mix of locals. The point to point race as advertised was basically unsupported and marked with the existing blazes.
There were two check-in stations at mile 8 and 18 and a convenience store where racers could fuel up and discuss the disappointing Tennessee football season with the locals. (A couple of years ago Matt and I stopped in and I ate way too much and hence the name Upchuck.) The previous runs on the Upchuck course have been run South to North but due to logistical difficulties we changed the direction. The 2008 Upchuck course started to the North on the Rock Creek segment and traveled south for 31.6 miles through the Possum Creek and Soddy segments of the Cumberland Trail.
The morning of the race everyone met at the finish area at the base of the mountain and boarded the "Magic Bus" to the start. The bus ride was filled with nervous energy like the first day of school. The previous two days had dropped two inches of rain which brought down the brightly colored leaves and had caused the creeks to swell, making the course even more technical. When the race started and everyone headed up the mountain, it started to rain again. The weather proved to fluctuate as much as the elevation going from rain to sun to sleet. The high for the day was 50 degrees at 7 am and by the finish it was in the 30's.
The Cumberland Trail Conference recently finished construction on two new bridges at Rock Creek and Big Possum Creek. The runners were spared these creek crossings but the remaining 6 creek crossing added a lot of character to the course. The last 5 miles of the course goes right through the Deep Creek Gorge, a course that highlights the effects of the controversial surface rock mining that has devastated the Cumberland Plateau.
The winner was our own John Wiygul of Chattanooga, with a time of 5:25:29. John Brower of Jackson, MS gave him all he could handle and was just 2 seconds back. Natalie Sims, also of Chattanooga, brought in the Women's best time at 6:52:38.
Many thanks to the volunteers and rangers who braved the weather and helped to make the event possible. Rock/Creek once again came up big. This locally-owned retailer's support really made this race a reality. Other important sponsors were: SmartWool, Mountain Hardwear, and Hammer Nutrition. The Cumberland Trail is an incredible trail network that we are all very fortunate to have. The race is the second to last race in the Rock/Creek Trail Series. The Lookout Mountain 100k & 10k will close out the season on Lookout Mountain in Tennessee and Georgia. For more information on these races, visit http://www.rockcreek.com/trailseries/
Here she talks about those notorious creek crossings:
Then came a series of creek crossings that I knew would leave my shoes and socks soaking wet! Argh.... I had to toughen up and take the plunge. The first one was ankle deep. The second one was calf deep. The third one was knee deep and in order not to fall further in I had to put my arms in up to my elbows! After that nasty crossing.... I had to regroup on the other side as I seriously thought to myself "Oh my god.... I'm going to get hypothermia!". I was shaking and downright COLD. Fortunately... I had stashed a vest and Smartwool gloves in my pack and I took a minute to put these items on. Thankfully the extra clothing helped warm me up and I was able to slowly press forward. The last creek crossing had a rope to help guide you across.... I did not get wet anywhere above the ankle there. [Continued]
Posted by Mark McKnight at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2008
Upchuck 50k Trail Race Report & Photos
John Wiygul and John Brower fought hard for the win at this past weekend's Upchuck 50k. Wiygul, from Chattanooga, came in seconds before Brower, a former Chattanoogan living in Jackson, MS. Wiygul captured first after almost five and a half hours of tough trail running. Stephen Smith of Chattanooga took third. Wiygul has raced many of our trail races and will be joining the Rock/Creek race team for 2009.
This first annual (official) Upchuck 50k took place on the Cumberland Trail and was presented by Rock/Creek and The Boonies. We had 23 finishers on this rather difficult course; the cold temperatures and off-and-on rain certainly contributed to the difficulty of the course. Several stream crossings ensured that the runners were going to be wet even before the rain.
Mark took a few photos from the finish line >
Robert took photos on the trail >
See full race results online >
We'll have a full race report from Chad Wamack in the next couple days, but in the mean time I thought I'd share Matt Sims' recollections of the first (much less official) Upchuck:
History of the Upchuck 50k (as told by Matt Sims)
Chad and I run together all the time. I am well aware of his dietary habits, running pace, what he likes to talk about when he runs, etc. This particular day we headed out to run 36 miles of the continuous Cumberland Trail segment that has recently been completed outside the Chattanooga area.
We did the normal car drop off at the "take out", and then shuttled the car a LONG way to the beginning of what would be a very memorable trail for us both. Chad likes to plan the route and is very methodical in what he might need. Lucky for me really, because I am not a good planner and I typically rely on Chad to figure it all out. We decided to run South to North, which now the official Upchuck 50k course runs North to South.
I won't bore you with the detail of the actual trail description and what we saw and how we felt and how many times I stopped to pee, etc. I will simply say, the Cumberland Trail is ridiculously well done. We are really fortunate to have the trail system and to have such a thoughtful group of planners and volunteers to make it happen.
I have gone through times of being very disciplined with what I eat and what I drink. I don't typically get caught up in all the fancy powders that are available today, although certainly I should because I bet I would be a real superstar runner. We do have a couple of really incredible runners in town and they are fanatic about Heed, an electrolyte replacement drink. They put the "hard sell" on Chad and I think Chad bought a couple of gallons of this stuff and probably stock in the company at the same time. So there we are running along with hydration packs. Mine was filled with water and Chad's was filled with Heed. Keep in mind this was the first time he had really used it, which typically isn't the best idea when you are pretty much committing to an all day run. But, oh well. Chad knows what he's doing.
We get about 18 miles into the run when we cross the Hwy 111, Jones Gap Road Crossing. This is unfortunate in some ways because you actually have to run on a bit of pavement to join the next trail segment, but in doing so you run right by a convenient store. Chad and I stopped in there to re-fuel and talk about Nascar with some of the locals.
Chad comes out of the store with a Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Water, Snickers, Cheese Crackers and a Fig Newton. I remember observing his carefully planned out purchase, and I have to admit I was a little jealous. Chad has a "go big or go home" approach to things, so I just figured he would carry what he didn't eat in his pack and eat it as we go. I was wrong. Chad dug in to what I comically refer to as "the last supper".
Off we go and off go the wheels. It took about 3 minutes of running before I heard Chad say, "I don't feel so good". I proceeded to turn around and see this bloated bellied figure start puking all over the place. I ran ahead so I didn't start puking myself. For the next 10+ miles Chad would puke occasionally and then start running again, all the while that Heed was keeping him company.
All in all I had a great run and Chad had a terrible one. It's funny now and I think he thinks so too. Just remember not to get carried away this year at the Jones Gap Road Convenience store.
Learn more about the Upchuck 50k >
Posted by Mark McKnight at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2008
Marmot Sale: 20% Off + up to 50% Off Closeouts
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Posted by Mark McKnight at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2008
21% Off Coupon for our 21st Anniversary!
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted by Mark McKnight at 4:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 6, 2008
Chris Sharma Photos and Slideshow Report
Chris Sharma made it to Rock/Creek last night for the final stop of his southeast slideshow tour. Beginning with his early ascent into climbing at the ripe age of 14, Chris talked about his life as a full time rock climber with incredible photos and videos of his proudest and most memorable achievements. The crowd was audibly amazed while watching Chris on some of the hardest boulder problems and sport routes which Chris climbed with amazing ease and grace.
With ascents like Mandala (v12) in the Buttermilks, or a young ascent of Necessary Evil (5.14a) where he easily stops mid send to take off his sweatshirt, Chris shows us that we are far from his caliber of climbing. Chris is nothing but humble and soft spoken about his achievements, a fact which made each climb he showed us more inspiring, and even tangible. The audience was in awe of the beautiful pictures taken by some of the best photographers in the world. The photography and video clips portrayed Chris in some exceptionally beautiful places- deep water soloing in Mallorca, Spain, hard sport climbing in Ceuse, France, and the first ascent of a new route at the amazing Clark Mountain, California.
The highlight of the slideshow was towards the end. Chris showed us his new route, Jumbo Love, located in Clark Mountain, CA. This new, super long, intimidating route in the Mohave Desert is now more than likely the hardest route in the world (5.15a) and after seeing the pics, believably so. Jumbo Love is a monster of a pitch, climbing 250 feet up a sweeping, blank wall of limestone with numerous hard cruxes along the way. Sharma explained that for a number of bolts, stopping to clip was too difficult, so he would skip them while routinely taking 60-100 foot falls.
Chris finished with shots of climbing in his new home in Spain and photos of his girlfriend Dila who climbs 5.14a consistently, and is a sweet and very strong woman climber. The slideshow was great, the photos were world class, and Chris did a great job taking us through his amazing life as a sponsored climber.
Chris recently signed on with Evolv to be a part of their shoe development and to create his own series of shoes, and just signed on with Sterling Rope as a new member of their team. Chris is an absolute climbing ambassador with his quiet demeanor, humble attitude and of course his incredible talent that inspired us all while we watched the show. Rock/Creek is proud to have had Chris here and we look forward to the next time he will be back in town.
See the photos from the Chris Sharma Slideshow >
Posted by Mark McKnight at 1:18 PM | Comments (0)
