Thomas Kelley – The Guru
by Bruce Burgess
Most every fan of North Carolina rock climbing knows the name Thomas Kelley as the author of NC’s first comprehensive climbing guide “The Climber’s Guide to North Carolina”. His Second Edition was the only one that included a section for Rumbling Bald due to issues with access. What you may not know is the resistance Thomas met in gathering route information from several of the route pioneering locals of that period. This old guard collection honored and adhered to a word of mouth ethic that had been followed in the south for much of that time. For many routes and several areas, if Thomas wanted route descriptions, he would have to climb the routes and draw the topo himself. And that he did. The exceptional quality of the information in Thomas’s guides is a reflection to his dedication and passion for documenting our rich NC climbing history. As a user of this guidebook, you owe a debt of gratitude to Thomas for laying the groundwork for this and the previous two Shull/Lambert editions.
I got to know Thomas shortly after moving to Asheville in 1987. At the time he worked at Mountaineering South, the South’s very first climbing shop. I lived nearby and stopped there often to hang out, talk about climbing and fondle all the latest climbing gear. It was not obvious when meeting Thomas for the first time that under his veil of a quiet, laid back and well-mannered nature was an individual capable of unflappable focus toward achieving a goal regardless of impending weather, lack of food, looming darkness, or weak and scared climbing partners. My favorite aspects of Thomas’ character are his contagious wit and humor which complements his appetite for climbing adventures. For many up and coming climbers from the area such as Sam Stevenson, Matt Gentling, Mark Owen, Mark Stroud, Pascal Robert and myself, Thomas was your guru if you were seeking a path of adventure. It wasn’t uncommon for Thomas to lead one or more of us on a 12 hour epic journey into the far reaches of Linville, Hickory Nut or Panthertown with burst of spontaneous humor and laughter the whole way.
Around the time Thomas begun working on his Second Edition guide, there were still many fine new route possibilities at Rumbling Bald. The art and craft of establishing first ascents in the North Carolina tradition, is core to Thomas’s sense of adventure. Thomas mentored many of us in this art, or perhaps like a drug dealer handing out free doses, Thomas lured us into the addiction of first ascents by often lending us his entire first ascent kit including his new Bosch Bulldog. Manned with Thomas’s power drill, our motto became “First Ascents at Will”. Other’s adopted the same philosophy and within a few years the majority of today’s mixed lines had been established. By today’s standards, we were far from liberal with our bolts, and we adhered to the ground-up tradition. Thomas, having honed his friction and steep granite skills at Big Green, Laurel Knob, and Cedar Rock, established several masterpieces like Lake View, Snap Crackle and Pop, Instant Surreal, and the phenomenal Wild Hickory Nuts. Together Thomas and I climbed Battle Creek Bulge, Sea Wolf and White Fang.
Sharing a rope with Thomas has always been pleasure and a hoot. His influence may have cut short my simple, minimalist approach to climbing, and I may forever be a corrupt user of the power drill. Thomas, for that I can only say these three phrases: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Few have had the lasting impact on the Bald, and on WNC climbing for that matter, than that of Bruce Burgess. From his impressive ground-up first ascents on classics like Spiders and Snakes, to his continual finds of hidden treasures in Hickory Nut Gorge’s many isolated coves, NC climbing would not be the same without Bruce Burgess. Here at Rumbly, you can celebrate some of his classics like White Fang (5.12c), Home of the Brave (5.11d), Spiders and Snakes (5.12a), Digital Disco (5.12a), Flappin’ in the Breeze (5.10a), Hickory Nut Cracker (5.10+), Orange Peel (5.12b/c), Spring Training (5.10a), and countless others over two decades.