WNC Climbers Weekend Shindig!

If you weren't in Pisgah this weekend, then you missed one heck of a good time! This past weekend was the Western North Carolina climbers weekend up in Pisgah/Looking Glass...with all proceeds to benefit and help pay for the Rumbling Bald Boulders purchase. I, unfortunately, was not able to attend the trail work, but the evening shindig was a lot of fun. Most of the folks I talked to about the trail work thought that there was a major impact made on many of the problem areas along the many climbing trails that lead to Looking Glass. Many mentioned the hard work they put in on reclaiming the trail out to the Hidden Wall, and that the North Side trail was in the best shape it has been in a while.

Fox Guides new house, which will eventually become a climbers camping area and guide facility, provided a great place for climbers from NC (and many of the neighboring states) to get together and powwow. The festivities included some great burgers and brats fresh from the grill, a silent auction with numerous prizes and gift certificates, Misty Mountain's harness and climbing goods sale, and an ice climbing slideshow/video presentation by Shannon Stegg and Greg Berry. The food was great and the beer seemed never ending! I put a few bids in on several items in the auction, but I only walked away with a signed copy of Arno Ilgner's newest book "Espresso Lessons From The Rock Warriors Way" (which I plan on reviewing here in the next week or so). I didn't hear any dollar totals mentioned for how much was raised, but just a quick look at the prices bid on the auctions, and how much $$$ was taken up by Mike Grimm's Misty Mtn sale...I think its safe to say that at least $300 was raised. A Big thanks to Fox Mtn Guides, Misty Mountain and the many other sponsors that donated time, money or goods to help out with this event...the Bald boulders thanks you! A note about the pictures...I tried my best to take a few pictures (a little too late in the evening), but this is the best I could muster...and it kind of follows the evening too, dark and confusing in the first picture and then more and more blurry in the second (thanks Fox for all the beer!)