Little River Canyon Rock Climbs by Adam Henry
One of the most extensive sport climbing areas in the south has long been shrouded in mystery, kept secret by those in the know. But even those folk really only knew about a very small percentage of the climbs established on the cliffs surrounding the Little River Canyon in northeastern Alabama. There has been talk of this guidebook happening for the past few years, but recent events have finally spurred longtime canyon developer and historian Adam Henry to start snapping those cliff photos and putting pen to paper. Adam promises that this book will be complete and accurate! Work has commenced, look for this one next winter.

Chattanooga Trails by Randy Whorton
Wildtrails founder and director and the director of the Rock/Creek Race Series Randy Whorton is sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of the trails of the Chattanooga area in this first ever guidebook. Within 30 minutes of Chattanooga there are over 60 trailheads to hundreds of different trails and loops, and Randy has traveled pretty much every one of them. As the number of mountain bike trails in the area continues to grow, and participation in trail races is counted by the thousands each year, there is an ever increasing desire for more knowledge about Chattanooga’s very own backyard. Look for this one around the end of the summer.

Rumbling Bald Bouldering by Chris Dorrity
The first edition of Chris Dorrity’s Rumbling Bald Bouldering guide is nearly sold out. Chris has teamed up with Greener Grass Publishing to rework the guide for a second, larger edition. Luckily, since the first edition came out an entirely new boulderfield has been discovered at Rumbling Bald – the Hanging Chain. This guide will include plenty of updates to the older addition, as well as all the new boulders and problems. Look for this book next spring.

And last but not least:

The Cafe Aion Cookbook by Dakota Soifer
Greener Grass Publishing’s first venture into the non-guidebook publishing realm, The Cafe Aion Cookbook is a collaboration between three long time friends (Dakota Soifer, Caroline Treadway, Andy Wellman) to bring to the public the secrets behind Dakota Soifer’s acclaimed cuisine at Cafe Aion, located on the Hill in Boulder, CO. Featuring incredibly flavorful shared plates crafted from local produce and meats, Cafe Aion has garnered quite the attention and following since it opened two short years ago. The Cafe Aion Cookbook will bring guidebook-style layouts to describe the recipes in a step-by-step manner that should prove to be a genre-bender. Almost a year in the works thus far(!), look for this book by next holiday season.

As part of our mission to give back proceeds from our guidebooks to the non-profit organizations which help preserve those areas for the climbers which use them, Greener Grass Publishing is proud to announce that we were able to donate more money to these organizations this past year than ever before! The East Tennessee Climber’s Coalition was our big winner as we were able to give them $638 this year which came from sales of the Obed guidebooks. We also made a donation to the Southeastern Climbers Coalition of $609, which came from sales of the Stone Fort Bouldering guidebooks. Last but not least, Horse Pens 40 Bouldering guidebook author Adam Henry donated all of the money he earned from sales of that book this year to the Alabama Bouldering Fund, which he created, which is saving for an eventual purchase of some boulders in Alabama, and in the mean time is helping local efforts to replace dangerous anchor bolts at popular Alabama sport crags.

2012 is shaping up to be a big year for Greener Grass Publishing. While we continue to work to bring you new guidebooks to great climbing areas, we are also planning to branch out into new areas with our books, taking our trademark style and employing it bring you titles about Mountains, Trails, and even Food. Stay tuned for updates as our next books near completion!

On another note, in the December issue of Get Out Chattanooga there is a full page article and interview with me (Andy Wellman) about myself, Greener Grass Publishing, and our rock climbing guidebooks. Click Here to read the article online, or pick up a copy on news stands if you live in Chattanooga. A big thank you to the editor Mark Jones for the piece!

A highly successful Access Fund Adopt-a-Crag event went down in the Obed on the weekend of September 10th. The East Tennessee Climbers Coalition partnered with the Access Fund, the National Park Service, the Southeast Climbers Coalition, Del and Marte Scruggs, and everyone who showed up for the event to make this one of the most successful and positive climber work days that I have witnessed at a crag. The above photo shows just a fraction of the total turnout. An impressively large group of climbers dedicated a cool and crisp fall day to helping the NPS treat the Eastern Hemlock Trees in the Obed area to fight off the invasive Wooly Adelgid bugs that are attacking the trees. Many others helped out the park by maintaining trails and cleaning up trash from roads and trails. The day of work was followed up by a fantastic evening of competitions, beer drinking, a raffle, and BBQ.

Greener Grass Publishing was psyched to be able to attend and make the first of many donations to the East Tennessee Climbers Coalition. Greener Grass Publishing has pledged that 5% of all sales from the new guidebook The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic will be donated to the ETCC, and we were very happy to be able to present Rick Bost of the ETCC with a check for $400. Rick was thrilled, saying that the annual operating budget for the ETCC is usually around $500, so hopefully the extra money from the guidebooks will help them continue and expand the already amazing work that they do for the climbers of the Obed.

In addition to the work day and festivities, Kelly Brown was there selling and signing copies of the new guidebook. Unbeknownst to him, the release of the new guide inspired many of the original developers of the Obed to make a surprise visit for a reunion of sorts. Early Obed climbers and guidebook contributors who showed up to pull some moves on the orange Obed rock included Bob Cormany, Glenn Ritter, Tony Robinson, Brad Carter, Frank Harvey, and of course Kelly Brown. Most of these climbers made it out to Tieranny Wall on Sunday for laps on their old routes. I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend climbing with Kelly, Blue Swan, Jon Decker, Brad Carter, and a few others. Thanks guys!!

On Saturday, Sept. 10th, Kelly Brown and Del Scruggs are hosting a good old fashion bash at Del’s Lilly Pad in the Obed. The Access Fund Adopt – A – Crag event starts at 9:00 am Saturday morning, and the party and fun will last until the end of the day Sunday. Come work on some trails, clean up your favorite crag, and have a really fun time afterwards. Kelly is planning to roast a pig, there will be kegs, music will have you dancing, and of course Kelly will also be signing copies of his new guidebook The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic. If you don’t have one and want one you can buy them there. The event is free except for the $5 per night camping fee at the Lilly Pad.

Greener Grass Publishing pledged that 5% of all sales from the new Obed guidebook would be donated to the East Tennessee Climber’s Coalition. We will be in attendance throughout the whole weekend and plan to personally make our first installment of that donation to help keep the Obed what it is.

We hope to see you there! Check out the event facebook page for more details.

Also, the drawing to win $200 from Greener Grass Publishing for a climbing roadtrip was held this morning. In order to be entered, you must have pre-ordered a copy of the new guidebook. The winner of the drawing was: JACK PIEPENBRING, of Maryville, TN! Congratulations Jack, and thank you to everyone who pre-ordered their copy.

Finally, Kelly and Del are planning a Guidebook Release / Signing / Pig Roast / Bonfire / Kegger Party at Del’s Lilly Pad at the beginning of the climbing season, around the end of August or beginning of September. You are all invited and we hope to see you there! More details will follow…

HORSE PENS 40 Bouldering
Including the boulderfields of Moss Rock Preserve and Palisades Park
By Adam Henry
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

STONE FORT Bouldering
A comprehensive bouldering guidebook to the “Little Rock City”
By Andy Wellman
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

SOUTHERN BOULDERING 2-Book Set
Horse Pens 40 Bouldering and Stone Fort Bouldering together at a discounted rate of $40.95!
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

NOW IN STOCK!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

The Obed Wild and Scenic River is a magical landscape of meandering rivers, dense forests, breath-taking vistas, and for the climber – miles upon miles of sandstone cliffs. Located in Northeastern Tennessee, about an hour outside of Knoxville, the Obed has been a secluded and peaceful climber hangout for more than 30 years. Originally a traditional only climbing area, the early 90’s sport climbing revolution transformed the Obed into one of the finest sport climbing areas in the United States. Known for its unrelenting steepness, the Obed is host to the largest collection of horizontal roofs (equipped for your climbing pleasure) anywhere in North America. The rock at the Obed is a very smoothly textured, but well featured version of beautiful Cumberland Sandstone that many climbers describe as nearly perfect. Combine these amazing attributes with one of the friendliest and easy going climber campgrounds to be found – Del’s Lilly Pad – located mere minutes from an assortment of crags, and you have a  playground that should be a mandatory visit for all traveling climbers.

The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic is the first ever exclusive and comprehensive guide to the climbing at the Obed. Included within are a lifetime’s worth of routes found at six separate crags – The Obed, Y–12, Lilly Bluff, North Clear Creek, South Clear Creek, and Little Clear Creek – as well as a complete guide to the largest and most popular bouldering area in Northeastern Tennessee – the Lilly Boulders. The book is authored by Kelly Brown, a longtime Knoxville local, and one of the primary route developers at the Obed. Kelly has had a life long relationship with the Obed, where many of his most powerful and memorable experiences have taken place, and does a fantastic job of sharing both his love for the area as well as more than 20 years of history that only he knows.

There are many features to this guidebook that make it great besides just Kelly’s historical perspective and witty descriptions. Knoxville photographer Mark A. Large shot an unbelievable amount of photos for the book and his action photography is featured within. Joining his photos are many others taken by professional photographers Andrew Kornylak, Jim Thornburg, Lynn Willis, Dan Brayack, Chris Brundige, Sean Leeder, and Luke Laeser. Many climbers contributed historical information and essays about the area including Brad Carter, Chris Jones, James Gose, Frank Harvey, James Litz, Glenn Ritter, Stan Wallace, Rob Turan, and Del Scruggs. The book is also full of the features you would expect in a Greener Grass Publishing guidebook – lots of super detailed maps, intensive photo-topos, tick lists, and clear and concise beta – all in full color of course.

In keeping with our tradition of giving back to areas featured in our guidebooks, Greener Grass Publishing has pledged to donate 5% of all proceeds from this guidebook to the East Tennessee Climbers Coalition, a group dedicated to preserving climbing in the Obed.

Click here to view sample pages from The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic.

Book Details:
The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic
Including the Lilly Boulders
By Kelly Brown
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 978-0-9833820-0-3
Release Date: July, 2011
216 pages, Full Color

The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic fully describes the sport climbing, trad climbing, and bouldering found at the confluences of the Obed River and Clear Creek. It does so with descriptions of every route or problem, color photos of the routes, tons of topo maps, recommended routes lists, pages of history and contributor essays, tick lists, and tons of action photos to get you psyched.

To read Kelly Brown’s story about the Obed in the March edition of Deadpoint Magazine, click here.

Check back at GreenerGrassPublishing.com for more updates about the release date as that information becomes available, or follow us on Facebook!

When Greener Grass Publishing released the new Stone Fort Bouldering guidebook last year, we pledged that 5% of all sales of the book would be donated to the Southeastern Climber’s Coalition for use in and around the Chattanooga area. When we heard that the SCC was working with friends of ours to acquire a sustainable parking area for the Deep Creek sport climbing area, located just a few miles from the Stone Fort, we decided it was time to pay it forward and tally up that donation money. After a series of unrepeatable and indescribably complex mathematical calculations, Greener Grass Publishing wrote a check to the SCC for $588.27 to be used for this purchase. I can’t tell you how proud we are to be able to do so!

For those of you that don’t know, there are big changes taking place in the realm of Chattanooga climbing, and Deep Creek is just the start. A few years ago Chad Wykle, John Dorough, and a group of their friends discovered Deep Creek on the northern margin of Mowbray Mountain, above Soddy-Daisy, and began developing what would soon become a classic southern sport crag. They did so in the traditional southern style, that is, secretly. But, the goods were just too good, and soon word had trickled out. Before they knew it, droves of climbers were showing up from various corners of the south to sample the impeccable overhanging sandstone. But, while the crag itself lay on land owned by the Cumberland Trail, the access and parking to the crag were on private land, which was soon shut down. Climbers were given the option of walking many miles to the crag, but we all know sport climbers, and a new option had to be worked out.

Although my facts and timeline may be a bit iffy here, the long story short version is that Chad and John, along with the Triple Crown Bouldering Series, managed to donate the money and time to secure an understanding with the Cumberland Trail to allow climbing in Deep Creek and the surrounding canyons. All that was missing was an easy approach. Enter Chattanooga climbers Cody Averbeck and Trevor Childress, who looked at the private and closed trash dump where climbers used to be able to park and envisioned something else. They managed to negotiate with the landowner to purchase 40 acres of land with access to Deep Creek and the Cumberland Trail, and partnered with the SCC to guarantee that there would be sustainable parking for climbers. They plan to use the 40 acres of land to open Chattanooga’s first climber’s campground and gathering area called The Rockery. Although a project still in the works, you can check on their progress and the details of the campground at www.CampChatt.com.

Have you ever wanted to take the ultimate climbing roadtrip to Chattanooga but not felt like dealing with the difficult camping situation? Scared of camping out at the T-Wall, don’t have a friendly couch to crash on in town, can’t stand “camping” at Walmart? Well, very soon my friends you will be in luck! The Rockery is located merely 3 miles from the Stone Fort, 5 miles from Leda, a 10 minute walk from Deep Creek, and only 30 minutes from downtown Chattanooga. Stay tuned for more updates!

As long as I’m at it, let me tell you what we have in the works here at Greener Grass Publishing. We have been hard at work on The Obed: A Climber’s Guide to the Wild and Scenic, by Kelly Brown. This will be a new guidebook to the sport climbing and bouldering of the Obed, in northern Tennessee. Look for it here and in stores around May 2011. We are also about to begin work on a guidebook to the sport climbing and bouldering of the Little River Canyon, in Alabama, written by Adam Henry. Look for it here and in stores in the fall of 2011. Both of these books will be the first ever comprehensive and dedicated books to the best and most popular, not to mention largest, sport climbing areas in the South! And of course they will be done in the Greener Grass style – hitting you in the face with climbing psych!