29 Years of Hound Ears - Presented by La Sportiva!
Please read EVERYTHING THOROUGHLY!
IMPORTANT: Stay tuned for the digital copy of the Hound Ears Comp Guide. We’ll post it soon in our social feeds. The guide is being updated now with New Boulder problems! You will download this guide to your phone for comp day. It will allow you to reference the boulder problems and maps. Thanks in advance for helping us to reduce our carbon footprint and waste!
General info
Directions to Hound Ears camping/launch site
Grandfather Campground is the camping/launch site for the Hound Ears Competition. It is located 7.5 miles south of Boone, NC on Highway 105 or 7 miles north of Linville on Highway 105 (125 Profile View Road, Banner Elk, NC 28604). For a map, visit the Grandfather Campground website.
Spectators
Due to limited space on buses and the boulderfield ALL spectators must register and pay the same as competitors.
Campers
You MUST check-in at the Grandfather Campground office when you arrive at the campground if you plan to camp. Cost for camping for Hound Ears Competitors is $7. Make sure to park and camp only in the designated areas—signage will be in place.
Not camping?
If you don’t want to camp-out, there are tons of great hotels in nearby Boone. Call soon for a reservation, though—they will fill-up fast!!
Under 18—are you a minor?
IF YOU’RE UNDER 18, you MUST download the attached waiver form and have a parent fill it out. You must then bring it with you to the check-in at the Grandfather Campground on the day of the event, or at pre-registration on the evening before the competition. You must have someone 18 or older to accompany you as your guardian.
Dogs
Absolutely NO dogs allowed at this event! Please be respectful of the land-owners and leave your animals at home! You will not be allowed to bring them in. NO DOGS.
Parking
There is ample parking at the Foscoe Community Center at Grandfather Campground. However, PLEASE carpool when possible. Please follow the signs and parking volunteers directing you to the parking area. Park only in the designated area and completely off the gravel road, otherwise your car may be towed.
Friday night, October 4, 2024
Preregistration dinner, Pint Night and packet pick up
Location: Foscoe Community Center at Grandfather Campground
Packet pick up, Pizza Dinner and Pint Night will begin at 5:30pm. Pizza provided by our great friends at Mellow Mushroom.
Carolina Climbers' Coalition Meeting
Saturday night, the Carolina Climbers Coalition will be holding their annual meeting at 7:30pm outside the Foscoe Community Center at Grandfather Campground. Come to the meeting and hear the latest success stories of this hardworking regional climbing organization!
Saturday morning, October 5, 2024
Check in/registration
You can check in, get your packet or register starting at 7:00am. You will need to be at The Grandfather Campground NO LATER than 7:30am to check-in. Check-in will take place at the Foscoe Community Center on Saturday morning. To get there, enter the Grandfather campground and follow the signs to the left to the Community Center. Volunteers and signage will direct you to parking.
Getting to the boulders
RIDE THE BUS. ALL competition participants must ride one of the competitor’s buses to the competition. NO ONE will be allowed to drive to the boulderfield. Cars without appropriate passes will not be allowed into Hound Ears. We will begin loading buses at 7:30am and the first bus will depart from the Grandfather Campground once it is loaded. Please board the buses as early as possible so we can begin the event as early as possible.
Competition t-shirts
Registration includes one free Hound Ears t-shirt which you can get the morning of the event (or at pre-registration on Friday). If you wish to buy extra tees they will cost $20 each. Vintage, custom design t-shirts from past comps will also be on sale.
Hydration at Hound Ears provided by Peak Fitness and Physical Therapy. THERE IS NO RUNNING WATER AT HOUND EARS!! MAKE SURE TO BRING YOUR OWN SOURCE OF WATER!! Peak Fitness and Physical Therapy will provide water and Gatorade for us, though! Make sure to bring your own water bottle or if you forget Peak will have branded cups available for purchase. Proceeds will benefit the Carolina Climbers Coalition.
Bring a harness and belay device
Hound Ears has TONS of great problems, many of which require a top rope. Make sure to bring your harness and belay device so you can enjoy all that Hound Ears has to offer.
Saturday afternoon
Hourly shuttles
You can leave Hound Ears by taking one of the shuttles from the gravel road below the water tower at Hound Ears. You will not be allowed to re-enter Hound Ears once you leave. Shuttles will run every hour starting at 1:00pm. If no one is at the shuttle at departure time it will not run until the next hour.
Turn in your scoresheet
You will need to turn in your scoresheet at the water tower no later than 5:00pm in order to place in the event. Any scoresheets turned in later will be disqualified. You are not required to turn in any scoresheet. We draw registration forms in order to give door prizes at the awards later in the evening.
Getting back to the campground
Buses and vans will begin transporting everyone back at 4:00pm. If you’re done climbing please help speed this process by turning in your scoresheet and loading the vans and buses as soon as possible. If you’re done, and have turned in your scorecard, get on the bus and LEAVE EARLY.
Saturday night
The Access Fund, Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition and the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition
There will be an Access Fund, CCC and SCC raffle after the competition. Sign up and take a chance on walking away with even more booty, and support “The Cause” at the same time. There will also be an opportunity to join the Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition, the Carolina Climbers’ Coalition and The Access Fund. If you are not a member, stop being just a lame chach and join! Yearly membership is around $25-$35. Make it your goal to become proactive this year.
Dinner
We’re excited to announce that Pedalin' Pig BBQ is back this year to provide dinner. Triple Crown will provide a $5 meal ticket for all competitors. Dinner will be served as soon as the shuttles return to the Foscoe Community Center.
PLEASE BRING $5 CASH FOR YOUR MEAL TICKET!
Awards ceremony
The awards ceremony will begin immediately after dinner. There will be door prizes! So if you didn’t do so good at the comp don’t miss it. You could still win BIG! We give out many more door prizes than we do competitor prizes. This event will be a ton of fun. We hope everyone has a safe trip and that you find your visit with us to be a good and memorable one. Keep checking the website for updates as well. New photos and competition results will be posted on the Triple Crown Facebook page and website shortly after the event.
Triple Crown green initiative
Do your part to keep the trash to a minimum. In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of this event, we are asking all competitors to bring their own durable water containers for drinks. Please do your best to avoid bringing disposable water/sport drink containers! Bring your Nalgene, Hydroflask, Yeti, etc. While there will be disposable eating utensils (forks, plates, etc) available, we strongly encourage everyone to bring their own durable utensils. We will also be recycling paper, plastics, aluminum and glass at the event. We ask all competitors to do their very best to help us reduce our overall impact at Hound Ears!
Once again, La Sportiva is the presenting sponsor for the 2024 Triple Crown!
Drop by the La Sportiva booth to pick up a raffle ticket for some FANTASTIC prizes! Proceeds from the raffle tickets will benefit the Southeastern Climbers' Coalition! Come by the booth, score a chance at a great prize and let these guys know how much you appreciate their support of the Triple Crown and your climbing access!
Other points of interest
Make sure to check out www.triplecrownbouldering.com or Triple Crown Facebook for up-to-date information, articles, and great pictures from each of the competition venues in our galleries. Check out our beta films (see the homepage of the website) to get the ‘skinny’ on how to complete some of the sweet problems at Hound Ears! Also see the great national and local climbing organizations we support. Access Fund – www.accessfund.org - American Alpine Club – www.americanalpineclub.org - Carolina Climbers Coalition – www.carolinaclimbers.org - Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition - www.seclimbers.org.
Now for the really important stuff
Climbing is dangerous
REMEMBER CLIMBING/BOULDERING IS A DANGEROUS SPORT. CLIMBING and BOULDERING is inherently dangerous.
There is nothing we, or you, can do to eliminate all the risks. You are ultimately responsible for your own safety. DO NOT do anything you feel is hazardous to your health. Make sure you have a competent spotter or belayer before you begin to climb any boulder problem or route. Spot other climbers. Exercise caution when hiking as well. There are many dangerous drop offs and other hazards that may endanger you while simply walking around the boulderfield.
Emergency response
In the event that you or a friend is injured and needs help, please notify the closest judge (in a pink shirt) or rescue squad member.
Judges
Judges are volunteers roving the boulder field wearing high visibility shirts that say “judge” on it. They can help, just ask. If a judge sees you attempting something they feel is dangerous or outside the bounds of this friendly competition they have the right to disqualify you from the event. You can even be banned from any future events. Please remember that while the judges are there primarily to help all the participants they are all just volunteering their time.
Hound Ears Club
Also remember that Hound Ears is a private, gated community. They are allowing us to use their private club out of the kindness of their hearts. Please be respectful and as quiet as possible whenever you’re near any of the homes at Hound Ears. This is a rare opportunity to climb at a great boulderfield that is closed to the public every other day of the year. Hound Ears Club residents may visit the competition and hike through the boulder field. Be sure to give them a friendly introduction, and say thanks for letting us climb here!
Final important message
All that said, we hope you have a blast at Hound Ears. This is an event about having fun and preserving climbing areas. Make it happen.
Thanks,
Jim Horton and Chad Wykle (The suckers who are putting this together… again!)