The Southeastern Climbers Coalition - Curt Merchant Interview

If you pick up the Dixie Cragger’s Atlas while looking for a route to get on, many names are frequented throughout the guidebook with the two little letters that are fixated under the route’s name: FA. Throughout the south you will find that the likes of Rob Robinson, Eddie Whitmore, Shannon Stegg, the late Jim Okel, Robyn Erbesfield, Johnny Arms, and Forrest Gardner are only a few among a large group of climbers who have helped make southern climbing what it is today. Among this group is someone who you may not hear about often, but if you look through the guidebook, you will see that a Huntsville climber, Curt Merchant, has left his mark on climbing history in the deep south.

With first ascents at Tennessee Wall, Jamestown, Sunset Park, and Yellow Bluff, Curt has helped make sure that the crags are not void of hard gear routes and sport routes. The one thing I enjoy about talking with Curt is that his knowledge of local climbing history is extraordinary. But the one thing that I enjoyed about talking with Curt is he is a climber’s climber. He does it because it is fun. Curt’s enthusiasm for climbing is inspiring. Period. His enthusiasm is still as strong as a newbie who just came back from their first road trip. Isn’t that why we got into it in the first place? - Paul Morley
SCC: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Curt: I’m 45 years old. I start climbing when probably around 1982, I think. Took a little introductory class where I used to live, Prattville, down near Montgomery. I took a little introductory class and went to a dam (Jordan Dam in Wetumpka, AL) and climbed there, and I have been climbing pretty much ever since. Met some people, Mark Cole, who lived in Montgomery and we used to go up to Steele about every weekend which was a two and a half hour drive. We used to drive there on the weekend and climb together, and ever since then, I have been climbing pretty steady.

SCC: Who were your mentors back then?

Curt: The people I looked up to who were better climbers were Les Hutchenson, who was from Birmingham who put up a lot of routes at Steele, AL. Ken Pitts, who is from Birmingham, AL, and I think he actually lives in North Carolina now. Then after that, it was probably Gene Smith. He was here from New York. He was in the Army in Anniston, AL. He was responsible for some of the harder routes here in Alabama. And I guess I would say Mark Cole. Mark and I were always more of a partner relationship rather than a mentor relationship though.

SCC: Who do you normally climb with nowadays?

Curt: My wife Betty Joe Ratchford Merchant.

SCC: You name is associated with many first ascents in the south. Are there any that really stand out to you?

Curt: There is one at Jamestown as a matter of fact called “Bone Roof.” I doubt it was done that much. It was a 5.12a. Gene Smith and I went there to do it and I guess we kind of did it with a siege tactic back then. We’d try it and come down. The Gene had this bright idea and he stripped down to his briefs, because you know, to be the lightest weight, and he finally got it like that. So that was a pretty cool little route. There is another one that Gene and I did at Griffin Falls, way down to the left, called “Lost Humanoids.” I always liked that name!! It was one (I don’t we really were supposed to be there), so we parked and bushwacked in really quick, did the route, and then bushwacked back out. It was pretty cool.

SCC: Tell us about Yellow Bluff and some of the early routes that were there.

Curt: Yellow Bluff: some of the best face climbing I have ever done. Very nice orange rock. Nice, small, crisp holes. The rock is very good and it is not fractured or anything like that. Jesse Guthrie put up the majority of the routes there. He put up the states first 5.13, “Rainbow Warrior.” When we heard about it, Marc and I went up there, and it was definitely a level above anything that we had ever tried. I still have not done that route. It is one of the harder routes. I think Scott Franklin did it. Chris Gore did it…people like that. A lot of the guys from New York (the Gunks) came down. However, Lynn Hill never came (to Yellow Bluff). Russ Rapha came. Jeff Gruenberg, Mike Freeman. Jeff actually did a route at Yellow Bluff called “Catscan” when we were just starting to establish it. We brought in some small wires and (he) went up about 20ft and I think a little hold broke. He hit the ground and had some short term memory loss. His mother had died the week before and he didn’t know that his mother had died so we took him to the hospital, stuck him there overnight, and he got up the next morning and went back to Florida so we named the route “Catscan.” He was hardcore. He used to live in Jacksonville, FL and he traveled…he’d leave Florida Friday afternoon and arrive about 12pm and would climb up to Sunday at about 1pm and drive back to Jacksonville.

SCC: What is the nature of the routes there?

Curt: Mostly face climbing; mostly bolted sport climbing. There is some trad stuff but most of it was high end face climbing.

SCC: I heard that there are a lot of mixed routes there as well.

Curt: I’d say that there are some. Back then, most of the routes were hand drilled, so it wasn’t as quite convenient as having a Bosch. They weren’t bolted with power drills like they are nowadays. But I would say the majority of the routes in the main area are bolted.

SCC: And that is mostly the left side (facing the cliff). Can you tell us about the right side?

Curt: The right side has some good routes also. There is one called “Orange Crush” that James Dobbs put up that is very nice. 5.11. A dihedral. I think it was a mixed route. There was one called “Tilt -a -World” that was pretty good. There were several other routes in the trad range but I can’t remember the names or grades. Mostly in the 5.10/5.11 range. Not much in the 5.7/5.8 range.

SCC: So if you climb at Yellow Bluff, make sure you climb the grade?

Curt: Yeah, back then when we were climbing there, we were focusing mostly on the harder stuff. We didn’t mess around with much else. Why bother?

SCC: So how did the area get closed?

Curt: I don’t really know everything that caused it. Articles were published in magazines that got a little bit too much traffic. All of the people parked around there. The land owner supposedly had problem with buzzards breeding there and he didn’t want to disturb the buzzards. That and then he said he was eventually going to build a house which I guess he did. Then he said if we would take the bolts out and we could just toprope there. That lasted for a very short time and then after that it was pretty much closed permanently. So I think it was just over exposure. We had a good area and we wanted people to know about it.

SCC: Do you think it is worth trying to re-open Yellow Bluff?

Curt: I definitely do. I think it has very good quality routes and it was world class back in the days. You wouldn’t have had Scott Franklin or Chris Gore coming over from England if it wasn’t good quality.
SCC: Where do you climb these days?

Curt: Mostly Foster Falls. Sunset. T-Wall. Palisades. Sometimes the Canyon. Sometimes Jamestown, but mostly Foster Falls.

SCC: Do you have any big roadtrips planned coming up?

Curt: Not that I know of. I’m in school now.

SCC: What are in school for?

Curt: I want to be a math teacher or a science teacher for high school or college. I might go ahead and get a Master’s Degree.

SCC: Outside of climbing, going to school, and putting up hard routes, what else do you like to do in your time?

Curt: I work around the house, read. You know, other stuff! I used to bicycle a lot but I’m not bicycling much anymore. I used to race a little bit with the Spring City Cycling Club. I was into the smaller races as opposed to the centuries.

SCC: What do you think of the state of modern climbing right now?

Curt: It seems like everyone who is getting into climbing, especially these young kids who train, are doing 12s all the time. Back a few years ago, that was really something to do and you looked up to, doing a 5.12 or a 5.13. Climbing walls have definitely helped get people exposed to climbing and helping train and get stronger and the mindsets. Nowadays, everyone knows you can do 5.14s. I think the numbers will keep going up.

SCC: Any advice for new kids starting out?

Curt: Always use your feet. Be self reliant. Know the risk. Know the falls. Accept those consequences and just go for it. Relax, follow your instincts. But the main thing is to use your feet. It makes a huge difference.

SCC: What’s your favorite color?

Curt: Blue.

SCC: Last movie you saw?

Curt: “The Country” with Gregory Peck, Charleston Heston, Chuck Conners, and Gene Sims. It is pretty good.

SCC: Last book you read?

Curt: Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time”

SCC: Wire gates or spring gates?

Curt: I think they are cool, the wire gates.

SCC: Music you jam to?

Curt: John Coltrane. That is about all I have on my cd player.

SCC: What do you think of the Huntsville climbing community?

Curt: It seems like there are a lot of climbers here but it never really comes together. I think there is more in the gym than ones going outside.

SCC: What are your three wishes?

Curt: Oh come on! I need another cup of coffee. I need a haircut. And I need to fix my leaking tire .

SCC: Thanks Curt for your time. The SCC appreciates it.

More Yellow Bluff History By Betty Ratchford Merchant
Yellow Bluff is not only for 12/13 climbers. It is a great place for all levels. I would like to share a bit of my experience there in the beginning of its development.

To my knowledge Shannon Stegg was the first climber who put up a route at Yellow Bluff. He put up a couple of 8/9 routes and possibly a 10. There is also a classic 7 route at the Southern access. I don’t know who did this first ascent.

Shannon told James Dobbs, who has done many first ascents at Little River Canyon, Jamestown, Griffin Falls, Yellow Creek, Sand Rock, and other places, about Yellow Bluff. James and I were constant climbing partners at the time, so I belayed him on his hand-drilled climbs, which included several 10+ and 11 routes. I usually had a few hangs before mastery; so couldn’t claim any first ascents. Some of the names of the climbs were: Dirty Face, Mantle Up Right, Wind Rider, Orange Crush, Astral Projection (12), and Tree Hopping (8/9)

Since my house was only twenty minutes from Yellow Bluff, it became the climber’s hotel to many climbers such as Russ Clune, Al Diamond,(N. Y.) Louie B. (Canada) J. R. Hambley (Destin Fla.), Mike Freeman (N. Y.) Jeff Gruenberg (Jacksonville, Fla.)Mark Cole and his wife, Jennifer, who climbed on the first World Cup Tour with Lynn Hill, and many others who were my guest. My door was always open to climbers looking for a place to stay.

Some local climbers who left their mark were Roy Simmons, Mark Thompson, Bill Sommers, Chris Berg, Jessie Gutherie and his wife, Gina.

Just a little more of the Yellow Bluff History for whatever it is worth from someone who has great memories of the place and would love to see it open again to climbers!!!.

Note: Thanks to Paul Morley for the interview!