Trussville boulders project completed
The Trussville Sports Complex has a new feature for those seeking a day outdoors.
Work was completed in September on a boulder trail, which opens up rock climbing opportunities on five boulders tucked beyond the ball fields, in the tree line next to the disc golf course and mountain biking trail.
“It adds yet another layer of recreational activity that can speak to someone in the community. There’s now a host of sports that people can do outside in Trussville,” said Ty Tyler, stewardship director at Access Fund, a Colorado-based climbing advocacy organization.
The municipal cooperation project, approved by the city earlier this year, was paid for by a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. The grant helped fund three years of work by Access Fund and the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC) to improve climbing areas in Central Alabama, known as the Greater Birmingham Climbing Resource Improvement Project.
Kate Johnson and Chris Wu, who make up the Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team East, spent two weeks in Trussville to lay out trails to the boulders and create basic pad platforms to limit deterioration of the site and erosion. Once complete, the team explored the boulders to get chalk on the rocks and help create multiple climbing routes, known as boulder problems.
“While the boulders aren’t as plentiful as Alabama standbys like Horse Pens 40 or even Moss Rock, the climbing at the Trussville Sports Complex is definitely high quality and worth checking out,” said Johnson. “There are opportunities to find overhung lines, technical face climbing and varied traverses, from beginner problems to super-hard, all with relatively friendly landings and easy access.”
Cody Roney, the executive director of SCC, said each boulder has between one and 10 boulder problems. She estimates there to be at least 25-30 at the new Trussville location and something for everyone.
“As things start to develop it will be a place where the beginner climber can go and climb their first rock and an advanced climber can go out and have a great day out climbing,” Roney said.
Zachary Lesch-Huie, Southeast regional director of Access Fund, said climbers like to go to different places all the time, which can make Trussville’s boulders an attraction for not only local residents, but climbers around Central and North Alabama
“I think when people think about climbing, they think about going to exotic places or maybe out in California, but the truth is we have great climbing areas right in our backyard and sometimes those are just as valuable,” said Lesch-Huie. “For local Alabamians, it’s a great climbing resource you can go to after work, [and] its real family-friendly. You can go and park and have a short walk, take your kids, knock out a few hours and head home.”
The Southeastern Climbers Coalition will manage information about the boulders on its website, seclimbers.org, under climbing areas. SCC will also work to organize volunteer days, beginning with a graffiti removal day this fall.