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zao479
Nov 1, 2005, 8:31 PM
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Who cares about Arkansas? I can't say that Arkansas ranks with Utah, Colorado, and California but we have some better than decent sand stone crags. In addition to our published locals, Arkansas is covered by national forest that may prove to have even more great rock. Our climbing community is growing, but when you look on the web the pages on climbing in the natural state the numbers are few and the quality of content is bad.
My question to you is in two parts:
1. If there was a for climbers by climbers page on Arkansas would you be interested?
2. Any Suggestions on possible formats and or content you would like to see?
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tgreene
Nov 1, 2005, 8:36 PM
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I moved to Jonesboro 2 months ago, so I'm very interested! ;)
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keinangst
Nov 1, 2005, 8:54 PM
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Climbing in Arkansas sucks, it rains all the time and the bugs and snakes will eat you alive. Please don't go to Arkansas, there is nothing to see there. Sharma only stayed so long because he had a sprained ankle.
(you guys are welcome, now keep quiet if you know what's good for ya! :D)
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fowler214
Nov 1, 2005, 9:48 PM
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"What's Arkansas? Is that a state?"
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jamma
Nov 1, 2005, 9:59 PM
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I care
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jamaica
Nov 1, 2005, 10:04 PM
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In reply to: Climbing in Arkansas sucks, it rains all the time and the bugs and snakes will eat you alive. Please don't go to Arkansas, there is nothing to see there. Sharma only stayed so long because he had a sprained ankle. (you guys are welcome, now keep quiet if you know what's good for ya! :D)
Well, the secret's already out on Horseshoe Canyon, but yeah, if you want to go climbing in Arkansas HCR is the only crag immune to vicious man eating spiders and snakes, watch yourself out there!!! ;)
jamaica 8^)
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jamaica
Nov 1, 2005, 10:06 PM
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to answer your question:
I care
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dingus
Nov 1, 2005, 10:10 PM
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What language do they speak in that country anyway?
DMT
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climbfourteenk
Nov 1, 2005, 10:15 PM
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Growing up in Colorado, I never thought I would care, but here I am... and I do!!!
For all of you who are thinking about coming... the climbing here in the fall is HORRIBLE!!! Wait till July!!!
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hedgehawg
Nov 1, 2005, 10:26 PM
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I'm interested.
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pendereki
Nov 1, 2005, 10:31 PM
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I am certainly finding some entertainment in AR! An Arkansas related site might help locate some of the secret bluffs I keep hearing about!
Chad
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zao479
Nov 2, 2005, 7:45 AM
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We are going to hcr this weekend to try to start our first piece on bouldering in the canyon. I'll probably wright about my onsight of tang, and then send it to sharma so that he can make use of the beta.?
Seriously we are going to start collecting info and put up a new article each month. If you have a local crag and want us to come and check it out pm. The problem with Arkansas is that the climbing is so underdeveloped that most places have limited access.
And for the jerk talking smack... you just don't know what your doing. You probably came out in July, and you didn't get any local beta. If you want to climb in the summer you have to have special chalk. I buy it in the 25lb bags. The best that I have found is called "7 dust". It keeps the hand dry and the bugs away.
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jj
Nov 2, 2005, 2:18 PM
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Yeah, if you're going, go in the summer. No good in the fall. I know I won't be at HCR this weekend. :wink:
Seriously though, I'm from Oklahoma. A high elevation is about 10 feet. Arkansas has some great climbing.
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talons05
Nov 2, 2005, 3:25 PM
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You should definitely not waste time climbing in Arkansas. Ever seen deliverance? [**insert banjo music here**]Especially don't climb at HCR, Sams, or Mt. Magazine -- There are radioactive chickens from NWA that can blend into the rocks. The last sound you'll hear is your own evisceration...
Last time I went to Sam's Throne, I saw the following sign:
Trespassers
will
be shot.
Texans will
be Shot AGAIN!
Ya, you'd better not come to Arkansas...
Cheers,
A.W.
Fayettenam, AR
P.S. Also there are Chupacabras... Muchos....
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noshoesnoshirt
Nov 2, 2005, 4:03 PM
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In reply to: If you have a local crag and want us to come and check it out pm.
Umm, yeah, I'll get right on that.
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ww
Nov 2, 2005, 4:18 PM
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If you're looking for a site to post on why not use the one you're posting on now? There have been a few web based climbing forums for the state that have come and gone for lack of interest. RC.com is good, but here is another link that seems to get little use:
www.arkansasclimbing.com
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talons05
Nov 2, 2005, 4:31 PM
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Ok, for 10 grand I'll take this guy out...
:idea: Let me get beyond all of the sarcasm and jokes for a moment:
1. Access and climbing community aren't going to appear overnight.
This kind of growth takes place slowly. If one were to try and force it, several problems would arise. Mainly, a rapid increase in the number of climbers in the area can lead to overdevelopment, crowding, and tension with locals and landowners. As an area grows normally (word of mouth, experienced climbers letting in the newer members of the community) landowners and locals have time to adjust and things like trails, campsites, and parking can evolve to accomodate more and more traffic. Also, ideally, an informal climbing "community" is one that is cohesive, shares the same goals, and has members which generally respect one another and the natural areas in which they recreate. This can be difficult to achieve, and more so when the number of non-local climbers is increased significantly.
2. Also, mass exposure of sensitive and/or unknown areas isn't the best way to promote the areas.
This just ties into what I am attempting to illustrate above. Landowners and locals need time to adjust to the idea of people climbing on or around their land. The process of gaining access is very slow and tedious -- all it takes is one outsider ignorant of the "status quo" to set back efforts by years, sometimes forever.
3. We're all tempted to "explore" and lay bare every pebble and stone worth laying chalk and rubber to, but ponder this:
As I said above, an ideal community would involve a passage of sorts, whereby the older members would guide the younger members to the less trodden locales. This is a part of respecting those who have come before and put in a lot of time and effort into keeping certain areas protected for future climbers.
With that said, I do agree that there is a great deal of potential for new development, but I fear that many people hunger for the "glory" of developing new lines, rather than the simple pleasure of disovering a pristine environment in which to exercize our unique art.
A few clarifications, before my flogging:
By older climbers, I do not mean myself. I would consider myself one of the younger group of climbers. I am talking about those who made the first ascents of Red Rock Point, Sam's, Mt. Mag, Spy Rock, Busby, etc. etc. etc. These are folks that have been around since the 70's and there are few left. Then you have the more recent generation, who also led development of several areas in the late 80's to early 90's. Many of these folks are not climbing anymore, but several are.
Just because a route or area is not published on this site or anywhere, doesn't mean that it is ripe for first ascents. Many areas were privately and secretly explored years ago.
The "passage" that I describe is not to imply that a select few should "pick and choose" who gets to climb and who doesn't. However, I believe that climbers with knowledge of "unknown" or sensitive areas should act as stewards, slowly and responsibly bringing in other climbers whom they feel are trustworthy. These newer climbers should be willing to respect the wishes of others to limit or slow the growth of certain areas.
Sorry for the sermon,
Cheers,
A.W.
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arostecrux
Nov 2, 2005, 4:44 PM
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great, another useless thread full of turds spraying about some choss way the f-out in the middle of nowhere....now back to the rest of the climbing world...
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zao479
Nov 2, 2005, 4:57 PM
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talons05 :shock:
Man! That was huge! I was just about to start my plans for a starbucks at sam's throne and a super center at fern.
I think you are looking at this from all the wrong angles. The idea is to have just a couple of friends travel around our state and do an article a month. Not articles about us or about our attempts on the "prophet". (I was so close dude. But I did nail a wicked 5.3 that I think was a little under rated.) We want to talk about the people that started it all, and the people that are coming up behind them. I don't think that our page is going to kill the scene in New Zealand, and I don't think that el cap is going to be overlooked for orange crush. This is just a small group trying to see how other small groups do their thing.
As far a sensitivity to the areas. We don't have to give guides and directions to every wall. In fact I wouldn't give directions to my local wall. And why you might ask. I don't want to ruin access for everyone else. I may not be the greatest climber, but I'm not a punk. We don't want a tourist community (as you can tell from the posts by other Arkansans) we just want to get to know "every body else" and give them a place to tell their stories.
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ikefromla
Nov 2, 2005, 5:12 PM
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I care about Arkansas. I'll be there this winter.
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speedywon
Nov 2, 2005, 5:40 PM
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Hey man, I love Arkansas. But to be honest, it's only because I don't live closer to Colorado. :wink:
Speaking of HCR, anyone still have a copy of the bouldering guide they distributed at their comp. last year?
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talons05
Nov 3, 2005, 3:47 PM
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In reply to: talons05 :shock: Man! That was huge! I was just about to start my plans for a starbucks at sam's throne and a super center at fern.
That would be cool, I guess... :)
Well, here's another angle that I see, in favor of publicizing climbing areas.
Has anyone been to Mt. Mag recently? If so, you will notice the new lodge site (a PRIVATE HOTEL built in a STATE PARK!!! WTF!?) being built directly above the old climber's trail.
http://www.rockclimbing.com/...p.cgi?Detailed=51633
The place is trashed, with all of the shit that the construction workers throw all over the place (skoal cans, styrofoam lunch containers, etc. etc.) We don't want this to happen to any of our other areas, like Sam's.
A.W.
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carrotclimber
Nov 3, 2005, 5:19 PM
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I am one that does care about Arkansas. My first climbing outside was at Sam's and my friends and I are going there for a Thankgiving trip.... with the turkey and all that (hope we can climb after gorging ourselves). For those of us in the midwest, we are used to the outdoor elements which one poster spoke of.... although I am lucky enough to not have encountered a snake while climbing in the midwest.
My suggestion to the original poster is that if you want to see more on Arkansas climbing destinations, make use of this site. Post more info here... I know that some of the guidebooks are out of print for the area. I am guessing that most people travel, for other various reason (family, friends, work) and sometimes find themselves in parts of the country that they wouldn't have expected to previously.... and then look to climb (because we are addicted). Maybe some people that put down the midwest climbing locations will become pleasantly surprised when they find that there are things worth climbing in places other than the west (though, I agree that if I lived in another locale, I probably wouldn't have gone looking to plan a big trip to the heartland). Putting stuff on this site would give more people an opportunity to know what is out there in Arkansas than making your own new site or newsletter.... but that is just my opinion and I admit that I could be wrong... and I am far from a local.... being 6 hours away.... so I don't know how much weight you should count my comments for.
Good luck though. I for one, appreciate your efforts. :)
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zao479
Nov 3, 2005, 7:36 PM
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:shock: talons05 :shock:
That's it!
Now you understand the ideas that we are going for. That "hotel" is pointless to climbers in West Virginia, but in Arkansas we see that it covers one of our original public climbing sites. "The Natural State" "Keep Arkansas Beautiful" :?: These are their slogans and here they go, developing in our state parks. This is a perfect story. You may not want to, but if you do want to wright it we will be more than happy to publish it. Just let me know.
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talons05
Nov 3, 2005, 7:40 PM
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Zao,
I have been thinking about writing a small piece on the tragedy that has become Mt. Magazine. Time is scarce for anything extra right now, though.
I still think it wise to steer clear of areas with sensitive access, for now.
A.W.
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