Another great in-person SCC board meeting last weekend, intentionally chosen to occur during the last Triple Crown! We made the tough choice of picking between ~15 applicants for 3 board vacancies, went over the 2026 proposed budget, chose a president-elect, talked about various behind the scenes improvements to the Coalition (from committee changes to comp improvements)...
I wanted to shout out the Board to the triple crown crowd but it didn't happen so I'll say it here. A lot of people don't know the SCC has a board, nevermind who is on it or what we do but we cover all 5 major metro areas under the SCC (Atl, Chatt, Nash, Bham, Hsv) and have perspectives from Trad Dad to Boulder Bro. Our 3 awesome staff do great things and are the face of the organization but there's a lot that goes on behind the curtain and I'm so happy to be involved with this great group.
We're working to bring more rigor, professionalism, process, and documentation to an already-impactful group. We want to do more, raise more, and continually improve. The SCC is already considered a shining example for LCOs around the country and we're only getting better! If you see a board member out and about, don't hesitate to ask us questions, or give us your ideas - we're here to serve the climbing community. See you out there.
MOBB 2025 ups the ante by adding Stone Fort as a second location, and scores are cumulative between both events! Alabama has a 2 year streak to defend but it's going to be a lot harder to win by taking the fight to TN :) Last year Georgia got second place so it's anyone's game.
The rules are simple: your score is one point per climb completed (regardless of grade) plus your hardest Vgrade. 10 V0s = 10 points. 5 V5s and 1 V6: 12 points.
The event is free (except normal entry fee for HP or SF) and comes with free food, free beer, and a lot of shenanigans (we're finalizing the SF equivalent of the HP40 Sandbox challenge and have other thoughts up our sleeves). SCC membership required, but you already have that right?
Show up for your state, go for glory!
Had the first in-person SCC Board of Directors meeting over the weekend with 8 out of 12 of us along with Kate/Caleb. I think a lot of people are unaware of what the board does because so much of it is behind the scenes but at a high level we voted on new members for the board and committees, talked a lot about the 2024 and 2025 budgets, the timeline of Staff changes, lots about membership (my passion), and all the projects that the SCC has going on... We also climbed together on Sat and Sun :)
I've never served on a board before but I'm glad to be working through the issues that climbers in the southeast are facing with such a skilled and passionate team.
I never post about politics but I think there's an election coming up and I wanted to add my 2¢:
If every issue is thought of as "Us vs Them", or you're unable to articulate a good faith reason why "the other side" is doing something... you're a victim of the growing trend of tribalism - the true threat to our country.
Your neighbors are not your enemies and while they might have a drastically different worldview than you do, they deserve empathy and nuanced discussion just like you do.
Get outside your echo chamber. Seek the truth with thorough bi-partisan research, not memes or sources that reinforce what you already think. Stop yelling publicly about how terrible "they" are - you're not going to convince anyone and it only furthers the divide.
Find out what you have in common - it's probably more than you think!
Remember how to love, not hate - we'll all benefit from it. 💪💪💪
Another Trail Daze in the books. Big thanks to Kate at @seclimbers for planning and executing work for hundreds of people this summer, @ontheroadandoff for the swag and psych, and the Huntsville community for SHOWING UP!
At the first MOBB last year, I had the idea of a "Sandbox Competition" - the fastest to climb Sandbox (in the blazing heat after an all-day comp) with a crashpad on your back. Someone did it in ~7 seconds! Way too easy.
This year, I figured we'd up the ante by doing it with TWO crashpads on your back. Turns out that's MUCH harder. Only a handful of crushers (all from hsv😉) were able to do it.
Every year, the winner adds a bit of sand from beneath Sandbox to the trophy...
Alright Alabama, time to show up - we've got a title to defend!! SCC's newest state vs. state battle is Aug 10 and only ~16 people have signed up so far 🥲
Competing at Horse Pens in the summer is hilarious and fun and just...different. we'll sweat it out for a few hours and then chill, eat, and watch Olympic climbing.
Tagging every AL climber I know. If you show up and climb a single V0, you're contributing! 💪💪💪
Here's my high point on Space from a couple weeks ago! I rarely take video so thanks to Jeren for setting it up.
From looking at beta videos, I think I need to get more weight over my left foot before slapping for the next hold (oh and actually try to hold onto it)...
This has been a project of mine for ~13yrs 😅
It's been said that Huntsville climbers are BUILT DIFFERENT and the past 24hrs have reminded me why.
With the kickoff of Citadel fundraising, you can donate to become a "founding partner" - with $2500 you get a (small) logo on the kiosk! I mentioned the idea in the Huntsville Climbers Discord thinking that the $2500 goal was unlikely but maybe people could get their companies to donate some end-of-year funds.
It started with one person saying they could commit to $500 and it snowballed from there (partly thanks to Company matches which are AWESOME), with us blowing by the $2500 AND $5000 targets in less than 24hrs and commitments still coming in.
Consider this a challenge to the other climber towns in the south (Chatt, Nash, Bham, ATL...) - how much can YOUR community pledge???
Found out last night that I got voted to be on the SCC board of directors 🥳
While I haven't been able to climb nearly as much recently as I'd like, I'm glad to expand my ability to promote and grow the coalition. I'm hoping to focus on membership - how we can continue rewarding/incentivizing new/recurring members, so if you have ideas, send em my way! 💪💪💪
Celebrate. Join (recurring!). Climb.
