THE CLIMBING

Eventually, we met Del and Marti after they insisted on having us over for southern barbeque that night. After declining several times, and insisting we had brought our own food for the week, we all sat in their cozy abode with very full plates in front of each of us. The food was delicious and I still remember to this day the lingering smells of the quality ingredients, most of which were either grown on site or from local famers. A few close friends of the Scruggs were hanging out, having supper, and we chatted for hours about Del’s ocean adventures and how he’d been involved in recovering a few thousand Columbus-era gold coins. Specifically, it was part of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha find, one of the most famous Spanish shipwrecks of that era. He also has his masters in physical geography and water resource, and is still an avid sailor amidst the landlocked Tennessee hills.

Del and Marti profess that the community has been nothing but kind and even claim their children were raised by the climbers. Eventually, after answering a few questions about Canada and its At the Obed, just like other sport-climbing-on-sandstone venues, you can expect the angle to be somewhat overhanging to very overhanging. The main draw of the Obed and Clear Creek is the incredible roof encounters which are unlike any other venue. Oftentimes, due to the fierce angles encountered, locals (The East Tennessee Climbing Coalition) have perma-drawed most roofs for safety and ease of use. The only extra piece of gear to bring is a stick clip, the first bolt is often high and climbs sometimes have pretty bad landings. Grades wise, you’ll have the most fun enjoying the mid to harder 5.11s and all the 5.12s the Obed has to offer. The nature of the angle lends itself best to those with power endurance in the higher grades. However, grades start at 5.7 and top out in the mid 5.13 range. For the 5.12 climber, projects and onsights are everywhere and climb the best features available. Bouldering is a different story, where there are a slew of problems from V0 all the way to V13, the sweet spot being in the V3 to V10 range. Many climbs feature the distinctive, upside down staircase feature, which seems to be present on a macro-scale in the sport climbs. There is some single pitch trad climbing to be done, but if you’re only at the Obed for a week, leave your rack at home. There are other, better trad venues nearby, such as the Tennessee Wall, which have been developed with trad in mind that are worth visiting if you prefer placing pro. At the Obed, just like the Red, bolts are king. different provinces, we toured the beer room and saw how much fun the Lilly Pad owners must have being part of the community. Not only does Marti make a great supper, Del makes great beer with his own locally grown hops. In fact, every year on Easter weekend, beer is hidden around the campground and climbers hunt in hopes of being crowned champion. Kegs are brought out after the competition and a southern potluck is had to celebrate another year of climbing at the Lilly Pad. After a very welcoming first day, we made it out to try the climbing. I had heard the phrase, “biggest climbable roofs in North America,” but wasn’t convinced until we first arrived in the Stephen King Library. It seemed that for 10 metres of initial climbing you gained access to a 15- metre jutting roof climb that was at a perfect 90- degree angle. Truly unbelievable, my jaw dropped to the f loor. We toured the classics such as Solstice and Equinox, both different in their styles but both five-star climbs. Solstice is a tiered roof system that ends in about eight metres of straight, horizontal climbing.