Chattanooga, TN retailer Rock/Creek, with Triple Crown Bouldering Series organizers, announce that $20,000 in funds were raised in 2007 for various causes benefiting climbing access; $65,000 raised over the five-year history of the Triple Crown. Over one thousand climbers and spectators enjoy a three-part climbing competition.
December 4, 2007, Chattanooga, TN - By the end of the third and final comp in the Triple Crown Bouldering Series, the climbers and sponsors supporting the event- Rock/Creek, Marmot, Chaco, and others- had raised over $20,000 to help secure access to the best climbing areas and to fund hiking trail maintenance in the Southeast. “$20,000 in a single year is an incredible achievement, and it’s hard to understate the value of this money to the outdoor community,” said Scott Howell, SCC representative. The 5th annual event ended in Chattanooga, Tennessee with a slide show at the new Rock/Creek location on the North Shore on Friday, the final bouldering comp at the Stone Fort Saturday, and a subsequent awards ceremony that night at the Coolidge Park Pavilion. The Triple Crown consists of three climbing events: Hound Ears, Horse Pens, and The Stone Fort, taking place on the first weekend of October, November, and December, respectively. Around 200 competitors signed up for all three events, and another 200 climbers competed at each event, making for a total of around 400 competitors at each weekend.
$10,000 of the money raised came from the very popular limited edition Triple Crown sandals, a collaboration between Rock/Creek and Chaco where $20 of each sandal purchase goes directly to access. This money will go to the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC). Raffles and auctions taking place at the events accounted for another $5,000 that will go to the Access Fund and the SCC. Earlier in the year, the Series raised $2,000 for the Carolina Climbers Coalition to cover a year of the lease that the Triple Crown has committed to paying each year for access to the Ashboro Boulders. Event organizer Chad Wykle describes this area as “a beautiful boulder field that had been closed to climbers for years and now will be permanently open for outdoor recreation and protected from development.” The North Face also partnered with The Triple Crown to help raise another $1,000 this year for the Access Fund at the Outdoor Retailer trade show. Kate McGinness gave her entire winnings ($2,400) directly back to the SCC. She won Horse Pens and placed second at Hound Ears and Stone Fort. “This is a wonderful example of an athlete going above and beyond to do the right thing for access, and we’re all very proud to be associated with competitors and friends like her. Kate sets a wonderful example for a younger generation of climbers,” Wykle explained.
Rock/Creek, Chaco, and Marmot have a long history of raising money for climbing access in the region through the Triple Crown Bouldering Series. “We see events as a great way to involve the core users of an area with the fundraising process. If you want to climb in the Southeast, where the vast majority of climbing resources are located on private land, then you have to be involved in the discussions with landowners, the fundraising for purchasing new areas, and the administration of clubs like the SCC that are making the decisions and providing the leadership to organize trail days and secure access,” said Dawson Wheeler, Rock/Creek owner and long-time advocate for access. “If you account for all the money we’ve raised through the Triple Crown, you’re looking back at over $65,000 that’s gone to direct action causes, non-profit donations to the SCC, CCC, and Access Fund as well as Habitat for Humanity.”
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