02/25/2014

Encouraging News for Sauratown Access

2/26/2014

For years, North Carolina climbers found winter refuge at the steep quartzite of Sauratown Mountain, which hosts a bevy of high quality trad and sport routes (including Sauraballs, which Todd Skinner called one of the best 5.11s in the US). Sadly, in 2005 a fire (unrelated to climbers) resulted in the land owner closing the cliff.

Since the closure, the Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC) has kept in touch with the land owner and worked on re-opening the cliff. In 2013, after a series of meetings and email exchanges, a deal was brokered for three weekends of access during the prime season. CCC volunteers got in before the initial weekend and replaced aging hardware and re-established the trail, prepping the cliff for climbers. So far, climbers have enjoyed two weekends at the crag, and there's still one more to go.

Because of the volunteer efforts and the way in which climbers have self-managed the cliff and access, relations between the CCC and the land owner are excellent, and the long-term outlook is encouraging. With continued diligence and conversations the CCC hopes to restore access to the crag for the current and future generations of climbers in the Carolinas.

Way to go CCC!