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By Clay Wright. Learn more about Clay.

April 4, 2006

Headed down to Chattanooga for the TVF competition awards and party and wouldn’t you know, it rains!

The TVF is a competition organized by Steepcreeks.com to see who can drop the most Total Vertical Feet in the month of March. Just like last year – the rains did not attend – which around the South East is a requirement for the steep stuff.

Nonetheless, teams battled it out – mostly lapping up the Tellico – many dropping over 6000 feet per day. Competition was tight and on March 31’st the ‘Stanley Steamers’ put on the Little River at 1AM with headlamps and continued paddling laps on it till sundown – earning 8667 vertical feet! The Mid Atlantic Team GDBSMU had led for weeks, but Jeff West (Ace Funyaks) proved once again to be the toughest, sneakiest competitor in the comp.

The "Weekend Warrior” class prize was a creeking trip to Panama courtesy of NOC and while Team Earl put up quite the fight, the full-blown Tellicosis of Team Southeast WW Militia blew the rest away.

As if on cue, thunder heads rolled into Chattanooga at midnight on April 1st and the SteepCreekers gathered for the party were in for a treat: steep creeks! While a small local crew headed for the 1000’mile of Middle Creek, everyone else gathered at Suck for series of high water laps, bumper-ride shuttles, and solid class 4-5 whitewater. Here are some pictures from the hung-over day after TVF party runs at a lower level but with 80 deg temps and spring foliage all around – it was awesome. Here are some picts:

Clay

 

 

 

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Team DC’s Joe Stumpfel shows C-1 style at ‘Pinnacle’ on ‘Suck’

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‘Sucks Slow and Low’ meets Rock Creek’s Mo

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Rock Creek’s Mo grabs him some ‘Slow and Low’

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Taft’s truck was the MVP – social shuttle scene on ‘Suck’

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This Sucks: the rarely run ‘Knuckle Head’ gets no love, but lots of looks. A rock in the landing rolled makes the likely meltdown quite unattractive.