Little Lost Cove

Students traveled to Little Lost Cove for a weekend-long climbing excursion. The area boasts many beautiful rock faces, the perfect place to teach students some real-rock climbing skills. When students first arrived at the campsite, they worked with the staff to set up a base camp and were taught different knot-tying techniques as well as how to successfully put up a tent. The first evening was spent in lighthearted fun, with the students making dinner and playing games all evening before getting some much needed rest.

When students woke up the next morning, it was time for some climbing! For some students, it was their first experience with climbing on real rock and everyone had an amazing time getting to the beautiful view at the top of the cliffs.

Disc Golf

Last week students went on a marvelously creative adventure to Mtn. City, TN where they participated in a somewhat newfangled sport known as disc golf. While disc golf has similar rules as contemporary golf, it played with very different materials. The students had a lot of fun learning the unorthodox rules of the game, and even though they often lost discs in the wet grass, the consensus was that the day was a huge success!

Personal Outdoor Discovery Series

This semester, Mountain Alliance has started new programs called the Personal Outdoor Discovery Series (or PODS). These are geared to students who have an interest in an in depth learning of different outdoor skills and activities. PODS are a five week commitment, in which a student goes on one trip a week pertaining to their specific interest. At the end of each Personal Outdoor Discovery Series there is an two day weekend trip in which all the students participating have a chance to utilize and practice their newly taught skills. We have 5 PODS going out this semester; a climbing POD, two backpacking POD's, a mountain biking POD, and an outdoor photography POD. We will keep you updated with separate blogs going out for each trip of all the PODS.

This is a picture from the Climbing POD's second trip to Footsloggers, Boone's local climbing wall.

Breakfast and Yoga

This trip was originally meant to be a climbing excursion at Holloway Mountain, but due to unexpected weather the plans were changed. Instead of climbing, the group headed out for a delicious breakfast at Boone's local Sunrise Grill.

After this, the students embarked on a lovely afternoon of hiking, games and appreciating the day. Our hike led us to the beautiful Cascade Falls along Waterfall Trail in Valle Crucis.

After some relaxing, student-led yoga we were free to play and explore in the Valle Crucis Park.

"At first I was a little dissapointed that we wouldn't be climbing like we had planned, but that change made me realize that its important to not worry too much and that sometimes you should go with the flow; because things never really turn out how we expect them to."

-Camille Zimmerman, Mountain Alliance Student

Elk Knob Trail Crew

Mountain Alliance students have been involved with the Elk Knob Trail creation project for nearly four years. They work closely with Appalachian State University's trail crew attempting to make a trail reaching the top of Elk Knob, the second highest peak in Watauga County and part of Elk Knob State Park. Students spent the day in good spirits, despite the unexpected rain.

Humane Society 10/20

The Humane Society is an organization in Boone which offers a shelter to abused and homeless animals and tries to find new and caring homes for them. The students that visited on Tuesday participated in several service acts including walking and washing the dogs and showing the animals some much-needed love.
After talking to some volunteers at the Humane Society about the different problems faced by abandoned animals, the students realized what a responsibility the society was, and were eager to help.

"This is the first of the humane society trips that I've been on. I had a pretty good time. One of the leaders, Jim, demonstrated excellent problem solving abilities when three fellow students had an altercation. Also, I completely fell in love with a very fat black cat that purred like an extremely large car. It was awesome.You could hear it purring halfway across the room."


-Destry Jones, Mountain Alliance Student

Hospitality House 9/14

Students spent the afternoon at a local non-profit which seeks to benefit those in need by offering meals and assistance. We spent some time talking with other volunteers and learning about a regular day at Hospitality House and about what they were trying to offer to the community.


The students then created a menu as a group, and then made and served "Breakfast for Dinner" at the Hospitality House.

Alpine Tower Project

On Monday the Alpine Tower began its journey to its new home on the site of the new Watauga High School. The tower will be a great teaching tool for students of Watauga County and represents an additional opportunity made possible by the new Watauga High School. The first step was to dismantle the climbing structure with help from Phoenix Experiential Designs. In this picture two climbers are cutting the bolts and freeing up individual pieces of the structure to then be lowered to the ground by the crane and fork lift.

The Tower Experience provides three distinct program opportunities. Group problem solving initiatives can be accomplished in the Tower base which focus specifically on leadership objectives.

The Tower can be used for individuals and presents the same challenges as rock climbing and high ropes course elements. This programming option addresses the same objectives as the group initiatives (due to the climber/belayer relationship) as well as enhancing self esteem.

Finnaly the Tower provides an intense partnering experience which dramatically highlights objectives of teamwork, cooperation, trust, communication, adventure, and probably most important of all - compassion. It is sometimes difficult to design educational activities that foster the values of compassion and respect. The pairings concept on the Alpine Tower is an extension of the popular successful event of rock climbing. Not only does it include the climber/belayer relationship, but the added variable of partners, physically connected and naturally needing to work together to ascend the Tower with all its obstacles. The true potential of the Alpine Tower experience is reached when partners develop compassion, care, respect, and understanding of each other due to the fact that their safety depends on working together toward a common goal.

The rain and mud made the task a little more challenging but it was nothing Robbie, Tom, Allan, Katie and Carleton couldn't handle. Below the 60 foot swing by choice pole is removed from the ground. This element connects to the Alpine Tower and lets individuals swing off the tower after being raised by the group.



Around noon on Tuesday the truck arrived at the site of the new school.



The poles were then unloaded from the truck and will be prepared for rebuilding and construction hopefully to be complete by spring of 2010.

Big Sweep

The Big Sweep is a regional effort of North Carolina to clean up the New River. Mountain Alliance has been involved in this project for years, and once a year sends a group of students to the New River to pitch in. Upon arriving at the site, students met with staff of New River Outfitters who were a great help in preparing them for the day ahead.

The students then spent the rest of the day in the New River on canoes, picking up all the trash they could find. By the end of the day students were exhausted but proud of the work they had accomplished. Students not only made a big impact on the river pollution problem, but also learned the value of a clean, healthy community.

Hike and Swim!

Students embarked on a short hike with a beautiful view up to Huntfish Falls. Once there they could enjoy the spectacular waterfall and swim in the last warm days of summer. Shamwows were a definite plus to this trip, and student learned that they are a useful tool when sliding down rocks. The students and staff got along very well which lent to the friendly atmosphere of the trip.

Membership Meeting Video 9/24