The Rock/Creek sponsored Triple Crown Bouldering Series, presented by Marmot and the Southeastern Climber’s Coalition, launched the first event of the three-location bouldering series on October 3rd, 2009 at Hound Ears in Boone, NC. Below are Triple Crown Co-Organizer, Chad Wykle’s impressions from the competition. He described it as the “best Triple Crown competition in 16 years…” But before that, a video from Andrew Kornylak wrapping up the day’s events:
“Beautiful weather, seamless volunteer support, a psyched capacity crowd of climbers, a brand new collection of boulders, and amazing support from all of our sponsors combined to launch one of the best Hound Ears competitions in sixteen years!!
Bluewater and La Sportiva kicked-off the weekend with the annual BBQ pre-registration dinner on Friday at the Grandfather Mountain Campground (pork tenderloin, beef brisket, sausage and shrimp skewers) and a perfect micro brew from the Boone Brewing Company. Enough said, huh? Climbers feasted as they caught up with friends; many of which hadn’t been seen since the finale of Triple Crown 2008. They also had a chance to pour over the new Hound Ears Comp Guide with the hopes of laying the best strategy for the comp.
Saturday dawned cold and clear; perfect conditions. Five Ten offered just the right breakfast to climbers- fruit and cereal, and climbers funneled quickly through registration and on to vans and buses for the short ride to Hound Ears.
Competitors gathered at the top of the mountain, made demo selections, received quick instruction, and launched in to the boulderfield for seven hours of bouldering. By all reports (and scorecards) a fantastic day was had by everyone, competitors and volunteers alike. Climbers filled their scorecards and pulled-down until 5pm, and everyone returned to the campground for dinner, music, and beverages.
As usual, the awards ceremony did not disappoint. Thanks to the wonderful support (and prizes!!) from all of our sponsors, we had over 500 climbers, volunteers, and representatives glued to the stage. In our effort to always reward the positive, a Sterling Rope was given to a young competitor who displayed a perfect example of perseverance with an hour long effort at one of the fields best V2s. Ultimately, she found success on the boulder problem and won a great prize for her “never say die” attitude!
Both the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition (CCC) and the Access Fund were at the event in force. Triple Crown is very proud to partner with both of these organizations in our continuing effort to support climbing access in the southeast. Anthony Love, President of the CCC, reported that $690 dollars was raised at the event, and several new memberships were generated.
In addition, Triple Crown delivered a check for $2,000 to the CCC for the Asheboro Boulderfield located in Eastern NC.
Triple Crown continues to support climber access to this wonderful resource by covering the lease on this property each year. Special thanks to all of our sponsors for helping make that donation possible.
Please continue to follow the event at our website www.triplecrownbouldering.org
We will continue to update the site with photos, comp reports, and the awesome ‘Beta Films’ from Andrew Kornylak as we move on through the series.
Next stop……Horse Pens-40!!
All the Best,
Chad and Jim
Triple Crown Bouldering Series 2009
www.triplecrownbouldering.org
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