Joey Recounts Hounds Ears

As promised: a blog about my visit to Hound Ears in North Carolina.

I arrived at the Grandfather Mt. Camp grounds Friday night just in time to grab a BBQ sandwich over at the La Sportiva tent, frown at the floating keg, say hello to Norm and register for the comp. The crowd seemed to have thinned but there was still a party vibe in the air, people milled about from vendor tent to vendor tent arms loaded down with swag. The Carolina Climbers Coalition was holding a meeting there on the camp grounds Friday night as well, and I was interested to hear what they had planned for the upcoming year. The meeting was long and I won’t bore you with the details, but there are some good things on their horizon. After the meeting everyone had moved to their tents to get ready for the comp.

The temps were crisp Friday night and there was a slight chill come Saturday morning. The competitors were loading their crash pads in the Uhauls to be taxied up to the boulder field as we arrived. The people themselves were shuttled from the camp ground by volunteers in vans and one slightly comical short green bus. I can honestly say I have never seen so many climbers in one place standing in line so patiently, a real testament to the organization of the Hound Ears comp.

Once all the competitors were shuttled up to the main lot and completely wired on free Red Bull and Cliff Bars, the comp was started. There was a flurry of bouldering activity the likes of which I have never seen. Eighty pound twelve year old girls were flashing highball v3s left and right. Stronger competitors were pooling underneath the larger steeper boulders, grunting and yelling like they were in a karate dojo. I didn’t get a chance to take a lot of pictures of my friends and me bouldering due to the crowds waiting eagerly to jump back on the problems and me not wanting to slow them down. The vibe was great and I meet a lot of really cool people in the process of having them sign off on my sends. I highly recommend checking out Hound Ears next year for those of you who have never been; even if you are not competitive, it is worth it.

That night there was a band and a party at the campgrounds, I hope everyone had fun. I on the other hand had a dinner engagement at the Grandfather Golf Course Clubhouse restaurant. Come Sunday I was sore as it gets, tips were raw but I was hungry to rope up. So, some friends and I headed up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Ship Rock for my second visit. We each led a climb and then exhaustion set in. Ship rock has a fantastic view of Table rock and various other formations around Linville Gorge. Ship rock also has easy access via the Blue Ridge Parkway, check it out when you are up there. I recommend Edge of a Dream (.7), Boardwalk (.8), and KB Capers (.10).

The day was cut short so I could high tail it back to Atlanta to get ready for a trip to Colorado on that Tuesday, blog to follow.

JW