Laurel Knob
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Anybody been out to Laurel Knob lately? We're planning on heading out next weekend but I was wondering if there will be any issues with water running this early in the spring. I've only been out there once this past fall and it was dry as a bone. Not sure what to expect in the spring. Hoping to get on F-bomb. |
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Spring is pretty wet at the Knob. There are many other routes that do not go up the long mostly wet main water grooves. Dillard Canyon and other lines stay dry, so do not get locked in on doing a certain route! |
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Many of the face routes dry quickly. Central Pillar is a good one that comes to mind. It essentially climbs a big saddle of rock avoiding the water grooves. It is also good to watch overnight temperatures. If they drop below freezing and then the day warms up, there is often large ice falls from the water grooves. So don't get baited into thinking the grooves are dry and get on one just to have large ice boulders come down on you. I agree about Dillard's being really good. It is steeper than the rest of the mountain. It is a PITA to get over there legally and the upper part of the gully can be frozen. Well worth the effort if you do make it over there. |
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Mr. Caldwell is correct. Local climbers have been caught recently going in from the top! Now, that illegal access, has been gated and posted. Maybe if the CCC reached out to the real locals, those that climb there on a regular basis, we could have an access that did not involve route finding on the approach, a long and arduous hike, and then reverse it at the end of a 1200 foot climb. It was obvious from the beggining that the main goal of the CCC was to limit access and route development. Wayne Roy and myself were the only ones who stood up for the future bad asses like Andrew Mcdowell who went on to continue the legacy of adventure climbing in Western Carolina. If you do not beleive me try to get a transcript of the CCC's early meetings on how to manage your hard earned donated dollars! Why do you think there is no longer a New Route Comittee? What happened to the first President figure head of the CCC? Oh yea, I did give 250 dollars to buy the place, donated hours of trail maintainance and hundereds of dollars worth of bolts, eighteen of which were chopped that I had to replace. Hey anybody see Harrison Schull lately? I hear he is a local. |
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With all your contempt for the ccc, I never understood why you did that ice climbing slide show a few years back at one of their trail days. |
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shannon stegg wrote:Mr. Caldwell is correct. Local climbers have been caught recently going in from the top! Now, that illegal access, has been gated and posted. Maybe if the CCC reached out to the real locals, those that climb there on a regular basis, we could have an access that did not involve route finding on the approach, a long and arduous hike, and then reverse it at the end of a 1200 foot climb. It was obvious from the beggining that the main goal of the CCC was to limit access and route development. Wayne Roy and myself were the only ones who stood up for the future bad asses like Andrew Mcdowell who went on to continue the legacy of adventure climbing in Western Carolina. If you do not beleive me try to get a transcript of the CCC's early meetings on how to manage your hard earned donated dollars! Why do you think there is no longer a New Route Comittee? What happened to the first President figure head of the CCC? Oh yea, I did give 250 dollars to buy the place, donated hours of trail maintainance and hundereds of dollars worth of bolts, eighteen of which were chopped that I had to replace. Hey anybody see Harrison Schull lately? I hear he is a local.I am far removed from the CCC and North Carolina climbing in general, but I tend to perk up when I read negative comments and accusations. I hate having to rap off LK and walk back up the trail just as much as the next person, but I do it because that is the agreement. Before the CCC took action, I wasn't allowed to climb there at all. I have no doubt that there was some shady goings on, some back stabbing, some "disagreements." Quarrels over land and how to use it are sort of an American past time if you will - I don't imagine land for climbing being any different. But if you're just going to come on MP and post tid-bits of information and make accusations without telling us the whole story, you're not going to gain any support from me. |
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They probably burned them and smashed the hard drive! You would think if you were donating money for a non-profit org. you would be able to get minutes of all the meetings, unless your embarassed or trying to protect certain parties. If we learn how we got here, maybe it will stop it from happening again. My so called contempt might be answered in those early transcripts! I help raised money with two slide shows one in N.C. and one in Atlanta. My love of Western Carolina climbing trumps any contempt for the those who know no better! |
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To get into Dillard canyon do we just continue along the main trail at the base? Does it eventually just turn up and right? I didn't get that far down on my first trip. Didn't go any farther than Fathom. |
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Yep, you got it. If you look at google maps, you can see Dillard Canyon, which is the line of vegetation that cuts back right, near the top of this view. |
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cfuttner wrote:To get into Dillard canyon do we just continue along the main trail at the base? Does it eventually just turn up and right? I didn't get that far down on my first trip. Didn't go any farther than Fathom.After you pass Fathom, you drop down through some scree (scene of a major ice fall a few years ago). You will be back at the base of the cliff again. Keep following the cliff and it will start to go up in a dry creek bed. You will pass Groover on your right. Keep going for a while a longer. You'll know your in Dillard's Canyon when you can see the obvious large right facing dihedral on the left side of the cliff. A little ways further and it turns into a gully with some scrambling. It takes about 30 minutes to hike from Manatee Fluid to Dillard's. |
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You all sound like Dillard Canyon is somewhere else than Laurel Knob, too funny! Oh, by the way the first president of the CCC gave Wayne and I permission to climb in Dillard Canyon, he thought the CCC did not own that. Imagine a president not knowing his own land! |
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The hike in and all the way across is no big deal. The key is to get in early, stash rations at the CCC sign before the trail drops, hustle across the base and do your thing....to the sign, one hour. To the base of Manatee should only take an additional 20. You can hump across the base in 30 minutes if you know where you are going. On the way back, organize your kit, load up on calories, and hike steadily the whole way out. Have a good headlamp. 2 hours if you keep moving. The reward is a big climbing and cardio day. Have the black and bleu burger at Mica's! |
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I was out at Laurel knob for the first time right before Thanksgiving. We got a little lost looking for the start of Fathom and ended up farther down the trail which seemed to be trending away from the cliff. I wasn't sure whether there was another trail back up into Dillard Canyon. I've seen the aerial photos so I guess we weren't to far off. Ended iup bush wacking back up a gully to the cliff and we came out right at the base of Fathom. |
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cfuttner wrote:I was out at Laurel knob for the first time right before Thanksgiving. We got a little lost looking for the start of Fathom and ended up farther down the trail which seemed to be trending away from the cliff. I wasn't sure whether there was another trail back up into Dillard Canyon. I've seen the aerial photos so I guess we weren't to far off. Ended iup bush wacking back up a gully to the cliff and we came out right at the base of Fathom. Shannon, we actually ran into you that weekend. You and your crew fed us that Saturday night. I can still taste those short ribs.Sounds like you missed where the climbers trail turns up (and away) from the wide path at the junction just below Seconds. F bomb will very likely be dry this weekend. Enjoy! Also, if you make it over to Dillard, Funky Chicken is a must-do! Lastly, I'd like to say that Dillard Canyon (left wall) feels like a completely different cliff even though it is part of the same monolith. The routes are steeper and with bigger holds. |
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Hey Tom while defending the CCC, did they send you the transcripts you were curious to see? I have been getting several E-mails from past board members asking for me to stop beating this dead horse, but I like you do not believe a L.O.C. would not want to be transparent, after all this circus debate, not one past board member has stepped up to the plate to defend themself's, or answer the the very serious question of how a group of grown men sat down at a meeting and decided as a group to change how climbing is done down here! One past board member told me it was just a curious experiment. I thought if it was, then what have we learned from it? I guess we have only learned that this tragic episode will happen again, hopefully at a crag near and dear to your heart and then just maybe you will be able to understand. |
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I never cared to ask for the transcripts. What happened is over. I don't want any ill feelings towards that group or you. Things in the past are better left there. Laurel Knob had plenty of time to be developed post bolt moratorium, none of which was I involved. I did however have a good conversation hiking up to the Bald with the current CCC president before we parted ways this weekend. He was very receptive to my questions about Ghost Town, a crag that I did lose and is dear to my heart. After talking to him, I understand there is extenuated circumstance for it not being open and I respected that. Anytime you have to deal with a large state run bureaucracy, there will always be a lot of red tape. I will continue to donate money to the CCC and the SCC despite not getting everything I want. I choose not to take a heavy handed approach dishing out name calling and finger pointing. I'd rather encourage and remind those involved that there are still people out there interested in these somewhat fringe topics. |
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Lest someone get the impression that Mr. Stegg's latest campaign of vitriol and slander are even remotely related to the events as they happened allow me to interject. The reason that no board member, past or present has chimed is not, as Mr. Stegg suggests, because they have something to hide, but rather because this issue has been bandied about ad nauseum way back in 2007 when it was relevant. I'm not sure if Mr. Stegg recently discovered the internet, but this is a dead horse and we have stopped beating it effective 7 years ago. |
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Sorry Mr. Medina just defending myself against being called disengenuous. I hold no campaign against the CCC, there is a reason why they have all new board members, and a reason we no longer have a new route comittee. I am however still wondering why climbers more prolific and more local were left off your list of the magnificent seven! Did I get left out because I live in Ga! Do not mind being the scapegoat in this whole debacle. There are a lot of people peeking under this circus tent watching this clown show. I hope I get a chance to see a few of them at Panthertown or Whitesides and continue to share my knowledge and love of climbing for the area! |
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Oh yea, while you were making the rules for a new ball game, Wayne and I were presently playing the old game at Laurel excited about the news that we soon would see a larger group of climbers enjoying the same pleasures as us, putting up lines and shooting the shit around the fire, but it was not to be, very sad! |
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FWIW, |
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OK, I reached out to Shannon politely and privately and was basically called stupid, an egotist and a liar, and he demanded a public rehashing of his misdeeds so without much further ado, here are the answers to his oh so important, and dead for five years "Million Dollar Question": But first let me correct his twisting a small bit of history: the CCC was founded by concerned climbers in 1995. Bill Webster was the first president. I was the president when the CCC acquired LK in 2006. My term ended in 2008. I do not speak for the CCC. |