Rock/Creek and The Triple Crown Bouldering Series present a premiere showing of the highly anticipated climbing access film— Heart of Stone— a film by Andrew Kornylak and Josh Fowler.

Rock/Creek invites the general public to their retail location at Two North Shore in Chattanooga for the premiere.

The store will close at 7:00 p.m. on Dec. 5, and doors will open at 7:15 p.m. The show will start promptly at 7:30 p.m.

Heart of Stone investigates a critical point in rock climbing history in the southeast, while celebrating the many fantastic rock climbing resources that the Southeast has to offer.

As Kornylak explains, "The film celebrates what I think is the beginning of a golden age of discovery and stewardship of the amazing treasure of rock we have in the Southeast. The grassroots climbing community here is a miraculous mix of activism, generosity and respect for tradition: the Heart of Stone."

After the presentation of the film, acclaimed climbing athletes/activists Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden-Caldwell, Lisa Rands, and Kevin Jorgeson will speak with the audience about the current state of climbing access in the southeast and across the country.

It's no mystery that the Southeast holds some of the best rock climbing in the country. From uncountable fields of immaculate sandstone, granite, gneiss and quartzite boulders, to fantastic buttresses of steep, single pitch crags, to valleys filled with giant multi-pitch granite domes, the South simply has it all for the rock climber.

However, unlike the Western United States, most of the land of the Southeast is privately owned, with much of the remaining property being managed by State and National Parks.

Rock climbing in the Southeast has become a matter of relationships between the climbing community and land managers.

Historically, climbers as a group have been known to the general public as conservationists...and simply excellent stewards of land.

The number of rock climbers participating in the sport has increased dramatically over the last ten years, however. This increase in the number of climbers and the popularity of some of the rock climbing resources has placed a strain on some of the natural environments where climbers recreate, and as a result have placed the relationship between climber and land manager at risk.

Active local non-profit climbing organizations like the Southeastern Climbers' Coalition, the Carolina Climbers' Coalition, and regional activists are struggling to find a common voice for the entire climbing community—a voice that is steeped in the historical tradition of respect for the environment and the private landowner, but also one that advocates a spirit of adventure.

Please join us at the debut of this film at Rock/Creek's Two North Shore location. For directions and more information on our stores, visit:
http://www.rockcreek.com/customer_service/locations.asp

A trailer for the film can be viewed online:
http://blog.rockcreek.com/archives/heart_of_stone_a_film_about_climbing_access_in_the_southeast.html

If the link is broken, try:
http://tinyurl.com/5eu24k

For more information on the Triple Crown Bouldering Series, visit:
http://triplecrownbouldering.org/