We are excited to announce with the help of the landowner, Matt McBride, and the Access Fund, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition has been able to secure an access agreement to a rad new climbing area in Sequatchie Valley.
When Matt McBride acquired a beautiful parcel of land nestled in a quiet cove in the Sequatchie Valley, he knew he had something special. After peering up at the sheer faces peeking above the tree line, he itched to get to climbing up the bullet hard sandstone.
Photos by TriStar Visuals
Matt embarked on a mission to establish and protect this unique property. Having a background in climbing he was determined to see routes put up on these walls. Matt invited a cadre of developers to the cove to start the labor-intensive process of envisioning and developing new lines in the area.
Photo by Maddi Fultz
They quickly set to work putting up beautiful climbs throughout Pond Creek. These routes range from 5.7 to 5.13 sport and feature a wide range of trad climbs as well. There are roughly 100 routes currently developed, and the cliff still has plenty of space for more. While there are many highlights, some popular areas include a couple different steep roof sections, a gnarly squeeze chimney/off width route that is consistently 2 feet wide for its entirety, and some really stellar arete climbs on bomber sandstone. Matt will joke that he can’t climb above a 5.9, but he has established many classic routes between 5.7-5.11. His developments open up this area for a wider range of climbers. Just beware of Sandbagging since Matt assumes if he can climb it, it must be a 5.9.
Help us give a big thanks to Matt for working closely with the Access Fund and SCC to create a publicly open crag on private property. He built his business, The Canyon at Pond Creek with the ultimate goal of opening access to climbers. We hope that all private property owners see the love and care that the climbing community is able to infuse into an area while creating a mutually beneficial relationship between the landowners, climbers, and the land.
Matt McBride by TriStar Visuals
Matt and his team have done a fantastic job creating access to this mile-long cliff line, but there’s still some big projects to accomplish. We will be hosting a trail day at Pond Creek on August 10th and will work on preparing the area for future visitors. Sign up for our trail day and get an exclusive look at this new spot.
Trail Day Sign Up
We rely upon you, our members and partners to keep us fueled up and running. Without your help new places like Pond Creek might not be publicly accessible. Let’s continue to work together to keep the big wins coming!
Pond Creek is not ready for climbers or developers just yet. We will announce opening day, access details and route development practices in time. For now, let’s celebrate this win and we hope you plan to join us on August 10th at the Trail Day!