By Coleman Wood - The SCC’s newest board member, Will Eccleston, got his climbing start at Boat Rock, and it’s only fitting that it is also where he first learned about the organization and learned that the SCC’s mission extended well beyond this one crag. A video editor by trade, Will is also involved in the Dirty South Climbing Film Festival. In his new role with the SCC he will also serve as treasurer for the organization. Will says that he is happy to provide additional help to a group that is largely seen as a model for how a climbing activist group should be run. We caught up with Will to ask him a few questions about the SCC as well as climbing in the Southeast.

Will on "Orange Crush" at Yellow Bluff - now climber owned

Will: I have a lot of practical skills. Filmmaking, construction, welding, computer skills, etc. I'm an analytical problem solver. From a political standpoint, I'm becoming more and more diplomatic in my old age. Also, while riding a bicycle, I can turn around and sit on the handlebars and ride backwards, then turn back around without stopping. Dang, I haven't tried that in a long time. That may come back to haunt me.

SCC: What access issues and projects have you worked on in the past?

Will: I have yet to actively participate in events that have opened or kept open a crag, other than offering my opinions and some cash here and there. I have partici-pated in many trail days, and I built the kiosk and trash corral at Boat Rock. I help out with the Boat Rock Comp. I'm chief audio/visual geek for the Dirty South Climbing Film Fest every year. I also created the modern Boat Rock comp guide. (NOTE: In the interest of saving myself some grief, I didn't decide on ANY of the ratings or point values, I just took existing info and put it into the format it's in now). By the way, we're working this year to add any new or omitted routes to the guide as well as trying to make the grades a little more consistent. I'll be starting a thread on the message board soon for folks to submit suggestions (can o' worms, here we come!).

SCC: What do you see as areas in which the SCC can improve?

Will: Making people feel more like "members" and keeping better track of it. I feel like a lot of people give money here and there, and volunteer now and then, but they really aren't sure if their membership is current or not. We're working on this now as well as a possible 'member benefits' program. Doing it on a completely volunteer basis and keeping the administrative cost to nearly nothing makes it challenging, but it will happen soon.

Also, I think we should focus more on finding constructive ways to dissuade the kind of climber behavior that gets crags shut down, and do it without making some folks feel like the SCC are the crag police — because we simply are not. It is a very, very, tough row to hoe.

SCC: What area trail needs the most work in the Southeast?

Will: I haven't been to Steele since we were in the first stages of fundraising for that project, and it's probably much improved since then, but if not, that'd get my vote. I need to get back there before it gets warm.

SCC: If you could open one cliff in the Southeast, what would it be?

Will: That place that's just like the Gunks and 30 minutes from my front door. Oh, wait, that doesn't exist...But seriously? Yellow Creek.

SCC: Favorite cliff and boulder field?

Will: For roping up, I can't decide between T-Wall and Looking Glass. For a day trip, T-Wall is slightly easier to reach from Atlanta, and it's hard to beat the concentration of high quality routes there. But Looking Glass is such a spectacular setting, with such diversity in the climbing, beautiful camping, long routes — I love that place.