Laurel Knob is the largest rock face east of the Mississippi and it is under contract to be purchased by the Carolina Climbers Coalition. Located in Highlands, NC it is 1200 feet of beautiful granite. To purchase it means to secure it for access to climb, hike and camp for the future to come. They have alot of money to Make before the deadline in 2 weeks. Please donate any money that you can for the sake of saving this gem. Here is a link to donate: http://carolinaclimbers.org/?page_id=30

Any Money and All money is Greatly appreciated!!

1/17/2006 4:21:32 PM

Who is it being purchased from and what will it be used for if these climbers don't buy it?

1/17/2006 4:26:15 PM

I think it is privately owned, and if it isnt purchased it will be nothing more than something to look at. Probably will be sold for real estate.

1/17/2006 4:32:01 PM

Here she is.

1/17/2006 4:34:38 PM

Not being a climber, I asked because which ever option would bring more to the local NC economy would seem like the best option.

Do you have any idea whether real estate will bring more or less money in than having it as a tourist attraction to climb?

Although being granite that thing could make a lot of bell towers
(i'm under the impression that the bottom half of the ncsu bell tower is made from granite from north carolina, mt. airy specifically)

1/17/2006 4:41:45 PM

wow is all I can say to that. You are a perfect example of how shitty our generation has become. Go back to business class.

1/17/2006 4:50:03 PM

DONATE! This will be amazing to climb and camp and hike around! ANY MONEY IS MONEY EARNED!

1/17/2006 4:58:22 PM

^^^why don't you try to bring more money to the local NC economy by sucking dick?
You know you're good at it, assdouche.

1/17/2006 4:59:10 PM

i really wouldnt be too upset being called out by an alias named fuckshitfuck. seriously though, the ppl who would be interested enough to donate money arent going to help nearly enough to buy it. it'll need some large private donation im sure.

1/17/2006 5:02:37 PM

Quote :

"wow is all I can say to that. You are a perfect example of how shitty our generation has become. Go back to business class"

wow is all i can say to that. you are a perfect example of how shitty our generation has become. go back to woodstock

1/17/2006 5:05:05 PM

Quote :

"wow is all I can say to that. You are a perfect example of how shitty our generation has become. "

Granite can build parthenon replicas and belltowers and helping the local economy could feed more families or lower tax burdens. There are good reasons to consider all the options, and if you could make the case that yours is the best option you might be able to get donations from a wider range of people.

^^^^^Your reaction was going a bit over board. I didn't mean anything I said as an insult to your cause, and I expect you were just suprised by a response from someone not in your target audience of nature loving climber types.

In light of this (that I'm not trying to attack your cause), I would still be interested in you sharing what kind of tourism money this would bring in comparative to other uses, if you have that kind of information at hand.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 5:06 PM. Reason : added some these ^]

1/17/2006 5:05:29 PM

yea. But seriosly, do you actually care about how much money NC makes in tourism?

1/17/2006 5:09:52 PM

uhm

nc is in the top 5 nationwide for tourism dollars
its an incredible part of our economy
hell, they've sold out our school system for tourism dollars

if you could prove this would have tourism promise, you could definitely secure funding

ever think that maybe you have to look to ways the business world can help your project rather than calling them fuck ups or whatever?

1/17/2006 5:12:53 PM

Not much... although I'd like to think I have some civil connection to the area being born and raised and educated here (and possibly I will end up having grad school and professor position in this state too). But there are some people I imagine who have money who might not get excited about climbing, but would like to help the public good such as politicians or companies that want to look good in the public eye. I doubt many people who use this message board, other than a few professors, have that kind of disposable income. But with posting on a message board I assumed this was open game for the start of a discussion, and not just a flier.

1/17/2006 5:16:47 PM

i don't understand why you and your group isn't trying to petition the nc govt to but it and make it a state park. then it would be safe from development, free to all, less worry about liability (since i don't see how the climbing coalition could open it to the public for climbing), and a great addition to teh state's tourism.

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 5:18 PM. Reason : and i am a rock climber/hiker/camper/etc.]]

1/17/2006 5:17:04 PM

Quote :

"(since i don't see how the climbing coalition could open it to the public for climbing)"

ding ding ding

1/17/2006 5:26:19 PM

what an eyesore. i vote for a walmart in the shape of a castle to be built on it.

1/17/2006 5:32:07 PM

what about that other cliff directly behind yours to the right? is that not worth saving you evil corporate scumbag!!1111!!!11

[Edited on January 17, 2006 at 7:11 PM. Reason : c]

1/17/2006 7:10:50 PM

Quote :

"wow is all I can say to that. You are a perfect example of how shitty our generation has become. Go back to business class."

1/17/2006 7:49:47 PM

It would be cool to save this rock, but I'm poor. Good luck.

1/17/2006 8:25:01 PM

you people that are saying this business class shit

HAVE YOU EVER TAKEN A BUSINESS CLASS?
DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH A PIECE OF LAND COSTS AFTER YOU FUCKING BUY IT
ALL THE GRANOLA SALES IN THE WORLD AREN'T GONNA KEEP A BIG FUCKING PLOT OF LAND LIKE THIS OPEN

PS, I HOPE YOU'RE NOT HELD LIABLE THE FIRST TIME A CLIMBER FACEPLANTS OUT THERE AND HAS A $14,000 CHOPPER RESCUE, AND DECIDES TO SUE THE "OWNERS"

fucking hippies

GO BACK TO WOODSTOCK

again, perhaps you should contact the state's department of commerce and discuss tourism opportunities
if nothing else they may be willing to provide you a fucking easy tax rate
or a grant

you do know what the fuck one of those is right

its where you ask the government for money instead of expecting a fucking college message board to fund it, and then giving shit to people who look realisticly at something

1/17/2006 9:35:54 PM

"Go back to business class."

Oh and for the reccord, since that remark was directed at me, I've never had a business class... unless you count business ethics (which is a philosophy class... since i'm a phi major) or EC 205H.

"They have alot of money to Make before the deadline in 2 weeks. "

Let us know how it turns out in 2 weeks plz.

1/17/2006 9:41:39 PM

hurry before it goes somewhere!

1/17/2006 10:40:46 PM

Quote :

"I've never had a business class"

neither have i actually

1/17/2006 11:13:55 PM

you gotta wonder about business. they take the simplest shit like algebra and turn it into complex shit for no reason. lay off the jargon prof.

1/17/2006 11:34:46 PM

for anyone that cares (yes, I know... words... you can save your post)

News Flash, the internet rumors are partially correct and partially wrong, same as always. Here is the unvarnished truth:
Plan A was to raise as much as possible by closing and get financing for the rest. We applied for funding through the Open Space Institute. They declined to participate and in doing so lost a chance to make a big splash in the southern appalachian region where they recently opened an office. Their loss.
Plan B was to partner with the local Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy. They are working hard on gathering land for the new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park (Rumbling Bald) and as such are stretched pretty thin financially. They do support our efforts however and recognize this as a monumentally important purchase. Their Board is meeting on Monday and we hope they will be able to help out to some extent. If they can, great, if they can't, we are still their friends and will continue to work with them on the Bald.
Plan C is to continue fund raising and seek bridge loans from individuals to get the closing done in February. The facts are that we have raised close to $50,000 in four months, mostly from grass roots donors. This is phenomenal! We continue to get donations on an almost daily basis. The Access Fund awarded us $10,000. Chaco, with sponsorship from Great Outdoor Provision Company recently granted us $2,300 which was what they had left in their enviro fund at the end of the year. Hopefully their fund will be replenished soon and we can reapply. We have qualified for grants from One Percent For The Planet. This could be huge. John Juraschek, former Executive Director for the Access Fund is helping us apply for grants through his industry contacts. Our fund raising committee is hard at work planning events and preparing grant proposals. The new issue of Climbing Magazine has a perfectly timed article on our efforts. The Outdoor Retailers Trade Show is in Salt Lake this month and you better believe the place will be buzzing about Laurel Knob. The eastern version of the show is next month in nearby Greenville, SC.
We have determined that Laurel Knob is one of the headwaters of the Federally designated Wild and Scenic Horsepasture River. I believe there are grants from the Clean Water Trust Fund we can and will apply for. LK has unique plant communities as listed in the State Natural Hertitage Inventory. These water, forest and biodiversity resources will interest other donors and grant organizations.
The bottom line is this: We can and will raise the funds necessary to complete the purchase of Laurel Knob. We are currently in need of BRIDGE FINANCING. If you, or anyone you know can help with a LOAN please contact me at 800 860 8732 or evenings at 864 472 5678 ASAP! If you wish to make a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation please do so ASAP.
We currently have roughly $40k in the bank. We have a pledge for $10k more. We have loan offers from individuals in the amounts of $50k, $20k and 10k. This is roughly half of the total needed and is an awesome start. If you were thinking of helping out, the time is NOW! Thankyou to everyone who has been so generous to date. We won't let you down.
Sean Cobourn,
President, Carolina Climbers Coalition

1/18/2006 12:02:15 AM

so what happens with that donated money if they fail to meet their goal?

1/18/2006 12:06:00 AM

i'm so glad fuckshitfuck put this on tww

1/18/2006 12:28:36 AM

^^i'm assuming the large donations/loans would be returned or worked out on an individual basis, the smaller donations would probably be kept for ccc to use for other land acquisitions, you're actually donating to ccc, not technically laurel knob... ccc just happens to be dedicating 100% of their donations to this purchase

if you're really interested and want more concrete information, ask at the ccc forum in this thread http://www.carolinaclimbers.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=241 (or make a new one) and they will be glad to explain to you why and how ccc is able to make this purchase, open it to the public, why it's not a state park, why they'll be all right concerning suits and $14,000 heli rescues

i will say that if you're a climber... which on tww probably isn't a very large population, this is a huge purchase. Laurel Knob is the highest cliff face east of the Mississippi, the chance to secure access to a big wall in your own state and not have to worry about trespassing would be amazing.

[Edited on January 18, 2006 at 12:52 AM. Reason : .]

1/18/2006 12:35:22 AM

My parents have a summer home in Cashiers, NC, and every time I look off of their back porch, I see Laurel Knob. The whole area over there is turning into a huge resort area, with country clubs, golf courses, and neighborhoods with these huge multi-million dollar homes ruining the skyline.

It's good to see that, although it will be privately owned, Laurel Knob will hopefully be preserved for many years to come. The state of NC does have a compelling interest in buying up a lot of land as part of the Clean Water Trust Fund (I think), which guarantees that it will never be developed and could be opened up to the public as a state park, etc. This year they have a huge budget of over $100M.

Edit: I always thought Whiteside Mountain had the highest cliffs in the east...

[Edited on January 18, 2006 at 12:51 AM. Reason : .]

1/18/2006 12:46:33 AM

^^since i'm certainly not going to register over there

how about you just post those questions for me

and label me as a "loudmouth skeptical troll" or something

1/18/2006 12:57:52 AM

So here is my question, what makes North Carolina one of the top 5 tourist attractions in the nation? I would imagine 2 BIG reasons would be the mountains and the beach. So you have to do a cost/benefit analysis on keeping it vs. scrapping it.

Sadly, in my opinion, the 20th Century became one of manufactured needs and unecessary consumption whereby we put a dollar value on everything and measured our sucess in monetary sums, not intangibles. Why? Because the human mind craves simple clarification (or maybe just the Western mind) and that was the shortest route. If a mountain cannot provide monetary profit, some say, it must not be worth standing. For better or worse, the tendency is to look at short term profits and not long term benefits. Sure profits are great, but at what long term overall cost? On the other hand, as Keynes said, in the long run . . . we're all dead.

Personally, I'd pick the mountain, but I'm a dirty right-wing quasi-libertarian hippie in disguise.

1/18/2006 2:52:22 AM

the mtns and beaches are def. a big reason, probably the number one reason has to simply do with location, we're right in the middle of the east coast. it's pretty hard to travel somewhere on the east coast and not pass through nc. compare that to someplace like Maine

1/18/2006 6:46:17 AM

Quote :

"what makes North Carolina one of the top 5 tourist attractions in the nation? "

off the top of my head

coast
mountains
NASCAR
Sports events and history
revolutionary war
civil war
wright brothers
furniture & antiques
hot air balloons
BBQ (both eastern and asswestern)
military bases*
college system*


*remember the nc dept of commerce doesn't just count heads, it counts the money those heads leave behind, so having large out-of-state resident populations located in central areas is like importing money - i.e., when Sgt. Idaho comes home from iraq and his family comes to the welcome ceremony, thats money for gas, lodging, and food that NC gets rather than their home state; similarly for when the Jersey Princess moves in to or graduates from college

if the ccc can prove that these climber/hikers/campers will spend X amount on gas, CLIF bars, and supplies, producing enough benefit to the state and local economies, they would have no problem getting grants/tax breaks/other sources of funding

but excuse me if common sense isn't welcome in this thread

for more information, hit up http://www.visitnc.com/ or http://www.nccommerce.com/tourism/

Quote :

"the tendency is to look at short term profits and not long term benefits"

my key problem with fuckshitfuck and this thread is that they're looking at short term donations and not long term expenses

1/18/2006 11:50:22 AM

1/18/2006 12:24:00 PM

I can't really take anyone serious with a name fuckshitfuck.

1/18/2006 4:32:36 PM

so howd this work out?

1/27/2006 12:23:40 PM

deal went through

On Wednesday at 2pm, in a legal office in downtown Asheville, the purchase contract of Laurel Knob was signed. It is ours!!

The cliff is not yet open to the public, pending some surveying to establish boundaries, as well as establishing access trails. Please don’t go there just yet, as trespessing on neighboring land could spoil our deal. Also, we are still in need of DONATIONS !! The purchase was made possible through a few loans which we will need to pay back, but we still need your help! Please consider donating to the CCC. Also, try to make the Trad-athlon fundraiser in March!

We all owe an incredible amount of thanks to Sean Cobourn, the CCC president, but most importantly to John Myers. For those that don’t know, it was John’s vision, knowledge, and energy that fueled the purchase of Laurel Knob. If is safe to say that without him, this unprecedented event may not have happened.

The following is a letter from John Myers that tells the story:

We now own the 1200-foot tall Laurel Knob, the tallest crag east of the Mississippi!

This magnificent cliff contains dozens of bold, long test-pieces following the unique water-carved grooves up the blank face. A number of theclimbing legends of the Southern Appalachians stealthily have left their mark on the cliff over the past 30 years.

For the past 15 years, I have worked with land trusts buying lands for parks and trail corridors. Being a rock climber for nearly 40 years, I decided several years ago to apply this expertise to acquiring privately-owned crags and cliffs to re-open them. My first project was in Kentucky working with the Red River Gorge Climber’sCoalition to help them purchase 800 acres for a new climbing preserve, which they now own and manage.

Shortly after this, I joined the Board of the Access Fund and worked to strengthen support for local climbing organizations. I also researched and compiled a list of significant climbing areas across the country in private hands.

Upon moving to North Carolina in 2003, I began exploring whether any major crags might be available to be purchased. The name Laurel Knob came up several times in conversations with local climbers as some huge, mysterious, secret crag. Not knowing where it was and never having been there, I went on line and searched maps until I located it. On the Jackson County website, I found the name of the current owner.

In March 2004, I called him up at his home in South Carolina. As luck would have it, the timing was perfect. He had been discussing with the Nature Conservancy about a conservation easement, but they had not shown much interest. I expressed to him the importance of Laurel as a magnificentclimbing resource and that we might be interested in buying, if he was willing to sell.

A little later, we met in person for the first of numerous meetings to discuss the project. He was a retired doctor but liked the idea letting us buy it to keep the cliff open forclimbing . I then contacted Sean Cobourn to see if CCC might be interested in becoming the owner of the property. Not surprisingly, he was very enthusiastic. After all, this was an opportunity to buy and protect something as magnificent as Whitesides or Cannon Cliff or a major granite dome in Yosemite!

Over the next 12 months. I made several more visits to the owner’s house on top of Laurel. I researched local land values and made an offer, which he eventually accepted. Then for another 6 months, we continued negotiations over the details of the deal: where exactly would be the dividing line along the top of the cliffs, how wide would be the trail corridor, what activities would be permitted on the land, how would climbers get down after a climb, etc.

Then we discovered that the large landowner below was planning a major housing development. We met with them to share our plans and learn about theirs. Eventually we reached a verbal understanding that they would support ourclimbing plans and in the future might even be willing to consider climbing on Cow Rock on their property.

Then came the big hurdle of how to finance and pay for the purchase. Up until now, CCC has been a small organization that only recently got federal tax exempt status. Our bank balance has been typically only a few thousand dollars. How were we to raise $250,000 by December 2005 to pay for Laurel?

My first attempt was to arrange a large loan from the Open Space Institute in NY, who I have worked with in the past. For a long time they seemed interested in making a loan to us, but at the last minute they changed their mind. We then turned to a wealthy individual that the Southeastern ClimbersCoalition had worked with in Georgia and Alabama. That too looked promising for a while, but eventually did not work out.

By now we were already a month past our scheduled closing date and starting to sweat bullets. Through Sean’s and other folk’s efforts we had raised about $50,000 in donations, but we were still $200,000 short in necessary loans. At this point, feeling desperate, we sent out a plea to everyone we knew who was a climber anywhere in the country to ask them for short-term loans. We got an article in the Access Fund’s Vertical Times newsletter. Climbing Magazine did and article on Laurel. Rockclimbing.com put up website posts. We hit the trade shows for corporate gifts. The response was truly amazing! We began getting in gifts from all over the country and even 3 foreign countries! We found about a dozen individuals who were able to consider making loans to CCC for up to 3 years. I managed to get the seller to give us another month of time to raise the money. Finally we were able to get commitments from 9 individuals who loaned us a total of $205,000. We also brought in another $10,000 in donations. We finally had enough to money to close.

With the help of our attorney, we prepared all the loan documents for the closing. In addition we had already completed the appraisal, and survey and environmental assessment. Finally on February 15, 2006 at 2 pm, after nearly two years of work, we signed the closing papers and Laurel Knob is ours!!

In my 15 years of buying land for conservation, I have helped purchase over 20,000 acres. This deal, however, means the most to me. Having been a climber for nearly 40 years, this was truly a labor of love and a great opportunity for me to “pay it forward” for the next generation of climbers.

Thanks to all of you for “stepping up to the plate” and making this amazing purchase possible. We could never have done it without you. A big, big thanks to everyone who helped!!

And now the next task for all of us is to continue reaching out to our friends and the climbing community, so we can pay off our loans over the next 2-3 years. I know we can do it!

John Myers

http://www.carolinaclimbers.org/

3/1/2006 5:16:32 PM