Yellow Bluff Climbing

Apart from being a great climbing area, Yellow Bluff is the latest triumph of ownership by climbers of once-closed crags. As of March 2009, a sizeable chuck of this cliff is owned by the Southeastern Climbers Coalition (SCC).

Located near Huntsville, Yellow Bluff is a long (about 1500') unbroken hard sandstone cliff. Development began in the 1980s with the discovery of the cliff by Atlanta climber Shannon Stegg. Numerous trad lines were established by Stegg and other pioneers, including James Dobbs and Curt and Betty Jo Merchant. Later, local leaders like Jesse Guthrie began putting up sport routes, including Guthrie's Rainbow Warrior (5.13a/b), the first 5.13 in Alabama. The quality of climbing at Yellow Bluff attracted attention from as far away as NY; climbers flocked to sample the excellent sandstone crack lines.

Unfortunately, this growing popularity was Yellow Bluff's downfall. The crag was on private property, and the owner was tolerant as long as climbing was a low-profile affair. But when articles extolling the cliff appeared in national climbing magazines, the owner reacted negatively to the increased traffic. Yellow Bluff was closed to climbing.

All that changed in late 2008 as long-standing efforts by the SCC finally bore fruit. In early December, the SCC announced that it had secured a contract to purchase the right half of Yellow Bluff. Fund-raising efforts to secure the money for the purchase quickly gained steam, and the $34,000 purchase price was quickly raised through grants and donations from individuals. The contract was finalized in March 2009 and Yellow Bluff is now open for climbing.