Watauga Lake Triathlon

Watauga Lake Triathlon from Robert Crews on Vimeo.

Lees McRae Dual Slalom

On September 19, 2009 one of the NCAA collegiate cycling events was held at Lees McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina. The competitors were excited and, in spite of the drizzling rain and threatening weather, the riders pushed it hard on the dual slalom track and checked in with some fast and exciting runs. The event was a blast to watch and the large numbers of spectators at the event were loud and excited to see these college athletes ripping it down the track.

To see the video we shot of the track click to www.highcountryadventures.net or watch it on youtube by clicking Play below.

High Country Adventure Film Fest

High Country Adventures is proud to announce the first annual High Country Adventure Film Festival & Photo Competition. The Festival will take place at the Dragonfly Theater & Pub on December 12, 2009.


Categories for the festival entries will be:
- Snowsports: Snowboarding & Snow skiing
- Climbing and Bouldering
- Canoeing and Whitewater Kayaking
- General Adventure Sports
- Adventure Travel
- Cycle Sports: mountain biking & road cycling
- Skateboarding & other skate sports


The film festival & photo competition will be judged by the audience members and participants. Each individual film & photo will be rated 1-10 and after each category the scores will be averaged and at the end of the night prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded in each category. There will also be prizes awarded for best cinematography, best overall, and best environmental.

Grandfather Mountain State Park

And there's fire on the mountain, lightnin' in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waitin' for me there
Fire on the mountain, lightnin' in the air
Gold in them hills and it's waitin' for me there
Waitin' for me there


Ann Zenkel took Roscoe P. Coltrane for a quick loop around the Boone Bowl, alternatively known as Medicine Valley and I was there to get some great footage of the action. The colors of the leaves in the High Country are nearing their peak -- especially along Grandfather Mountain.

The Daniel Boone Scout Trail to the Cragway is one of the greatest hikes in the entire area and with the leaves lighting up the mountains all around it was an especially awe inspiring day full of fantastic vistas and a beautiful sunset. The clouds were moving across the sky in waves of gray and allowed scattered rays of sunlight to shine through and illuminate patches of brightly colored trees in the deciduous forest below Top Crag.

We took some great photos of the hike that we will be sure to upload at a later date.

Grandmother Mountain Bouldering

Many of the old familiars were back in Boone town last weekend for Matt Hauser's wedding. Some of the old Boonies that made it back included one of the newest Stonemasters to hit the California Trad scene: Sam Fagg. Sam has been cruising some of the classic trad routes in Joshua Tree, the Needles, and elsewhere in the wilds of California but still believes that the boulders of Grandmother Mountain are some of the best anywhere and I believe him. High Country Adventures scooped Sam and Meg up at the Charlotte airport and within three hours we were at the Valley of the Kings sending some of the old classics like Darkman, Haptos, and the crimper line on the tall warmup wall. Christian Drum & Jon Foster showed up after an afternoon recon of a newly discovered trad line in the Pisgah that sounds very promising. In spite of the manky conditions we all had a good time sending some of our old projects in good style. Christian got a personal first ascent one of Grandmother's most classic difficult climbs. Here's a photo by Sam of Christian in the zone.



Sam snapped some great photos of some of the sports action of the weekend. Below, Meg inches statically toward the crimper on the always challenging V5 arete (Joey's Arete) at the Long Wall at Grandmother.

Hound Ears Bouldering 2009

The 13th annual Hound Ears Bouldering Competition was held last weekend and, as usual, the hordes showed up in mass to sample some of the High Country's sharpest stone. We showed up, shot a tiny bit of video, and then high-tailed it to Matt Hauser's wedding.

Overall it was an absolutely beautiful day in the High Country. One of those days that make you glad to be in Boone. The leaves are changing and the conditions for hard rock climbing are finally back again.

Some of the problems featured in the video include Tim Larick climbing Flash or Trash V5, Shane Messer climbing Jaws 2 Direct v8, an unknown Chattanooga Climber sending the problem between Parlay vue Parkay and the Pocket Problem, Sammy Levy sending Pocket Problem Sit v6, and Stuart climbing The Three Star Traverse.

Here's the video we shot of the comp. It isn't much but...it's something.

Hound Ears 2009