“Good day, Chris,” Seth Zaharias wrote. “Life is as loopy as ever, and I’m juggling means too many tasks and goals! Simply final week, I hit 40 SoCal climbing gyms in 4 days to advertise the Rock Rumble Royale. I’m fairly positive I set the FKT (Quickest Recognized Time) for this route—800 miles in 4 days.”
Zaharias’s 40-gym, 96-hour link-up is basic Seth. As host of the upcoming Rock Rumble Royale, he’s dedicated to making sure the occasion goes off with out a hitch. This primary-of-its-kind gathering in Joshua Tree is a collaboration between Cliffhanger Guides—the information service he co-runs along with his spouse, Sabra—the Nationwide Park Service, and native conservation organizations.
Scheduled for December 13–14 in 29 Palms, the Rock Rumble Royale combines climbing competitors with conservation efforts. It presents $16,000 in prize cash and focuses on climbing ethics and environmental stewardship to assist help and defend out of doors areas.
The occasion is open to climbers of all talents, from VB to V13, with classes for each youth and masters. Climbers will obtain route lists and scorecards, with scores primarily based on their high seven hardest sends, incomes further factors for flashes. Scores might be self-reported by the KAYA app, with submissions due by 6 p.m. on day two. Seventy p.c of the prize cash will go to profitable climbers, whereas 30 p.c might be donated to nonprofits, together with the Joshua Tree Nationwide Park Affiliation.
First-place winners will obtain $4,000, second-place winners half that quantity, and third-place winners $1,500. Thirty p.c of the winnings might be donated to the non-profits within the athlete’s title. Further prizes embody practically $20,000 of drugs and attire from sponsors, plus a $1,000 award might be introduced for the perfect costume. The assembly level for the occasion is Freedom Plaza on the Park Service Customer Middle, positioned at 29 Palms.
The second a part of the occasion facilities on conservation, fostering group help, and direct involvement from professional athletes who will actively cheer on opponents. Zaharias goals to convey collectively climbers, business leaders, and conservation teams to strengthen environmental stewardship, advocacy, and preservation efforts. He views this occasion as particularly well timed, given the rise in visitation to Joshua Tree and the corresponding improve in environmental affect.
From his perspective, internet hosting the Rock Rumble Royale is a option to unite the climbing group and instill a way of accountability towards the land.
To bolster the “important conservation part” and the “real purpose of teaching the youth,” Zaharias has ensured that the occasion will embody particular schooling initiatives. These will contain interactive workshops and actions designed to teach climbers of all ages on Depart No Hint rules and the significance of defending out of doors areas.
Final yr Zaharias attended the Hueco Tanks Rock Rodeo. “I needed to see what a real-deal skilled bouldering comp appears to be like like on a much bigger scale,” Zaharias says. “The final one earlier than that I attended was fifteen years in the past in Tahoe, and it was a complete grassroots factor.” With the Rock Rumble Royale, Zaharias explains, “We determined we needed so as to add a big conservation part—not simply lip service, however with a real purpose of teaching the youth.”
Zaharias isn’t any stranger to the climbing world or internet hosting occasions. He started climbing in 1990, spending 20 years dirtbagging round Yosemite, Southern California, and past earlier than settling in Joshua Tree. In 2011, he launched Cliffhanger Guides, which now accounts for 40 p.c of the guided rock outings in Joshua Tree Nationwide Park. His core philosophy, “The extra you give, the extra you get,” guides not solely his enterprise practices but in addition his dedication to conservation and group constructing. For Zaharias, creating lasting reminiscences for his purchasers goes hand-in-hand with fostering a connection to the setting.
His house, set on a sprawling desert lot peppered with Joshua Timber, is colloquially referred to as “the Sethspool.” Having visited myself, I can inform you it has that distinctive, out-there inventive vibe synonymous with many excessive desert residents. On the entrance, a child doll in a cage and different salvaged desert artwork greet guests. As for the title, “His mom coined it the day he moved in, drawing the phrases on a board in black paint. In the present day, that board is nailed to the entrance of his residence,” I as soon as wrote in Journey Sports activities Journal.
This 10-acre lot, with classic trailers and clusters of cacti, has change into the setting for his legendary events, which are a magnet for a colourful mixture of creatives, climbers, and hardcore desert dwellers.
Along with his gatherings, Zaharias additionally hosts the annual Lynn Hill Expertise by Cliffhanger Guides, the place he presents guided clinics by El Capitan free-climbing legend and Stone Grasp-era (Seventies) climber Lynn Hill.
When the guiding season slows down in Joshua Tree throughout the peak of summer time’s blistering warmth, Zaharias heads north to cooler climates in Bridgeport, positioned within the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Relating to his motivation for internet hosting the Rock Rumble Royale, Zaharias shares, “We needed so as to add a big conservation piece to this occasion—not simply lip service, however with an actual purpose of teaching youth. This occasion is about placing our cash the place our mouth is and supporting Joshua Tree in a tangible means.”
With typical hyper-focus and drive, Zaharias says, “The catchphrase we’re utilizing is ‘Come, pull down, and make the world a greater place.’ By collaborating, we’re displaying that, as climbers, we care concerning the land. If we’re going to do that, we must always go as huge as we are able to.” He explains how they partnered with the Mojave Desert Land Belief, the Joshua Tree Nationwide Park Affiliation, and Mates of Joshua Tree to make it a fundraising occasion.
For the tech aspect, Zaharias provides, “We partnered with Kaya, an app particularly designed for bouldering, to deal with scoring for us. A good friend mapped out each single boulder downside in Joshua Tree for the app.”
Discussing the group focus of the occasion, Zaharias emphasizes, “Each professional athlete at this occasion might be anticipated to have interaction with the general public. I desire a 16-year-old woman to be climbing and for a legend like Lynn Hill to stroll up and provides her a spot. That’s one thing she’ll bear in mind ceaselessly.”
On the conservation aspect, he provides, “Our purpose is to teach folks. I need to see the group vote with the setting in thoughts, and for that, they should really feel a real sense of connection to the land.”
On Friday evening, December 13, Stone Masters Rick Accomazzo, Lynn Hill, Dean Fidelman, Mike Graham, and John Lengthy will current, sharing insights and tales from their climbing days in Joshua Tree within the ‘70s. Accomazzo will promote his new e book by Stone Grasp Press: Tobin, the Stonemasters, and Me.
On Saturday evening, December 14, Sonnie Trotter will open with a presentation on climbing in Dresden, Germany, and its 100-year-old climbing tradition. Then, American Alpine Membership Board President Nina Williams will ship the keynote presentation.
Reflecting on his 15 years operating Cliffhanger Guides within the 800,000-acre park, Zaharias notes how issues have modified. The close-knit climbing tradition of yesteryear—the place climbers as soon as gathered round campfires—has, in his view, shifted towards a extra remoted van-life tradition, with folks siloed of their camper vans. He hopes the Rock Rumble Royale will revive intergenerational appreciation and mentorship inside the climbing group.
To attenuate environmental affect, Zaharias encourages carpooling, lowering parking zone overflow, and fostering group connection. He selected 29 Palms because the occasion base, seeing it as a rising different to the busier neighboring city of Joshua Tree. Situated on the north entrance to the park, 29 Palms presents higher infrastructure for occasions and tourism. With the Rock Rumble Royale, Zaharias hopes to determine an annual custom there.
Since taking over climbing 34 years in the past, Zaharias has witnessed firsthand the affect of elevated visitation on the delicate desert panorama. When he first visited Joshua Tree in 1997, “(1990 was the primary yr visitation surpassed a million)”. In the present day, that quantity has surged to over 3 million, with visitation spiking 119 p.c from 2011 to 2022 (the most recent yr for which information is offered). For perspective, when the unique Stone Masters, just like the late John Bachar, had been slicing their enamel within the space, the park noticed solely about half one million guests yearly.
With this inflow of tourists comes a heightened environmental accountability. On the Rock Rumble Royale, Zaharias will deal with Depart No Hint ethics and correct out of doors etiquette. “One in every of my guides, Hobo Greg, goes to carry out on stage the place he fake-poops in a wag bag, turning it right into a comedic skit,” Zaharias says. “We’re educating the general public on how you can use wag baggage, and we’ll even give them out.” He’ll additionally cowl the often-overlooked subject of acceptable urination practices within the wilderness.
By collaborating with native organizations, Zaharias has created an academic scavenger hunt targeted on the flora, fauna, geology, and historical past of the Mojave Desert. He hopes the Rock Rumble Royale will breathe new life into the climbing group, fostering mentorship and appreciation throughout generations.
For Zaharias, the Rock Rumble Royale is about combining humor with schooling and sensible steerage to encourage right now’s and the following era of climbers to undertake sustainable out of doors practices.
“We’re inviting climbers to return out, pull down, and make the world a greater place,” Zaharias says.
