Access Fund E-News #45
July 2004
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This Issue is sponsored by All Terrain, a Silver Level Corporate Sponsor of the Access Fund, that is committed to supporting their mission of keeping climbing areas open. All Terrain shows its support of the Access Fund by donating 10% from online purchases. More information is available at http://www.allterrainco.com/.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Access Fund Awards $9000 in Climbing Preservation Grants
Reese Martin Killed in Paragliding Accident
"Spring Thing" at Smith Rocks, OR
You're Invited: 2004 Access Fund Annual Dinner
Vertical Times #48 (June Issue) is Now Online as a PDF
NEW Membership Incentive Program Gifts
New Access Fund Affiliates____________________________________________
Access Fund Awards $9000 in Climbing Preservation Grants
The Access Fund has awarded $9,000 in its second round of grant funding for 2004.
Awarded three times annually, Climbing Preservation Grants provide financial assistance for local climber activism and protection of the climbing environment. The grants will be distributed for trail improvements, education and start-up assistance for newly formed local climber organizations.
"The Access Fund is committed to preserving the climbing experience for present and future generations," said Shawn Tierney, access and acquisitions director. "We're proud to fund these important initiatives on behalf of our members and the entire climbing community."
The following grants were awarded:
Gunks Climbers Coalition, New York
The Gunks Climbers Coalition was awarded a grant for campground improvements at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Multiple Use Area. Improvements will include a new and more detailed campground map, signs and clearer designation of camping sites. The free campground, which has been used by climbers for decades, is located adjacent to the Mohonk Preserve.
French's Dome, Oregon
The Forest Service was awarded a grant to help pay for a slope stabilization and belay platform construction project at a popular climbing destination near Mt. Hood. Heavy use at this site has resulted in erosion and vegetation loss at the base of the rock and outlying areas. The project will involve the construction of rock retaining walls, a trail on the northeast side of the formation that will direct use, and revegetation in areas that are no longer in the travel zone.
Washington Climbers Coalition, WA
A grant was awarded to the Washington Climbers Coalition for start-up and organizational expenses. The newly formed group will represent climbers' interests in the state, and will work closely with public and private landowners to address access, stewardship and climbing management issues.
Bolton Quarry Acquisition Project, VT
The Climbing Resource Access Group of Vermont (CRAG-VT) was awarded a grant to assist with the acquisition of the Bolton Quarry climbing area. Bolton Quarry is a locally and regionally significant rock and ice climbing area. CRAG-VT recently negotiated to purchase the crag and surrounding 30-acre parcel for recreational use and protection. Climbing will be allowed and access to the crag will be guaranteed in perpetuity. This grant supplements a grant awarded by the AF in the fall of 2003 for the acquisition.
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Adopt-a-Crag Challenge Update
There is still time to sign up to be a part of this year's Adopt-a-Crag. Our goal is to support 89 Adopt-a-Crags around the country. If we were to climb Yosemite's Half Dome, Northwest Face (23 pitches), The Nose (31 pitches), and Salathe Wall (35 pitches) in a day, we would complete 89 pitches of climbing. As with all dreams and goals, we can't do it alone. We need you to help us reach our goal. To date we have 43 events. We are almost halfway to our goal. We have topped-out on Half-Dome, just sent "The Great Roof" on the Nose and are racking up for "Pancake Flake."
Adopt-a-Crag is an excellent an avenue for building alliances and partnerships and to plan for the future. Be it a crag clean-up of 8 volunteers or a fundraiser, comp, and trail work day with 100 volunteers Adopt-a-Crag is about giving back to those places we love and use on a regular basis Adopt-a-Crag inspires activism, advocacy, volunteerism, and stewardship. In the four years since the inception of Adopt-a-Crag, climbers around the country have built and restored thousands of miles of trails, hauled tons of trash, and completed thousands of conservation initiatives.
This year we have expanded Adopt-a-Crag to encompass the entire month of September. We made this change to encourage organizers to schedule their Adopt-a-Crag event on a day that works best for their community and to partner with other organizations. As in the past, you can get all your Adopt-a-Crag information and register online at www.AccessFund.org.
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Reese Martin Killed in Paragliding Accident
It is with a heavy heart that we report that our dear friend, Reese Martin, was killed in a paragliding accident on Friday, July 9th. Reese was an amazing man, a good friend, climbing partner and Access Fund board member, supporter and donor. Reese had an enthusiasm and passion for life, friends, family, climbing and adventure. He will be truly missed.
Reese began climbing in 1971, and had climbed in the Pacific Northwest, California, Alaska, Nepal, Peru, Canada, Europe and Thailand, authoring over 100 new routes. Reese started out as a regional coordinator in California for the Access Fund and then joined as a member of the Access Fund board of directors. He replaced hundreds of bolts for the American Safe Climbing Association and was an American Alpine Club member.
Reese was married to Charlotte Fox of Aspen, also a former Access Fund director. Charlotte and Reese met and married while serving on the board of the Access Fund. Ms. Fox has asked that a memorial fund be set up in Reese's name. Please send donations, in lieu of flowers, to the Reese Martin Memorial Fund, c/o The Access Fund, PO Box 17010, Boulder, CO 80308.
For questions or information please call 303.545.6772 x100.
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"Spring Thing" at Smith Rocks, OR
On May 8, 2004 nearly 150 people showed up at Smith Rock State Park to take part in the 12th Annual "Spring Thing." Although mostly climbers, others such as hikers, Mt bikers, bird watchers, school groups and the boy scouts all volunteered their day to help Oregon Parks and Recreation Department maintain trails and make improvements to one of the most visited parks in Central Oregon.
Work projects included adding erosion control measures, planting native plants in impacted areas, picking up litter and making climbing area enhancements and trail improvements. The big project this year was completing the rock walls at Morning Glory Wall area, which was started last year. Pressure treated timbers and rebar were removed and replaced with dry stacked basalt rock, which is commonly used as landscaping throughout Central Oregon. Due to the popularity of Smith Rock the wood and rebar are just not holding up to the amount of use. The new rock walls create stable erosion retaining walls, large flat areas for climbing gear organization, and look better than the pressure treated wood. Another series of rock walls was started in the Dihedrals in a similar manner.
An amazing amount of work also occurred in Agro Gully and Shipwreck Wall areas. Last winter the high amounts of snow and moisture loosened up the dirt. Much of the work in Agro Gully focused on shoring up some loose rocks and scree slopes. Shipwreck Wall also saw many improvements. The trail to the main part of the wall saw excellent improvements. Large rocks were used to create step and ledges for hiking and climbing. Loose scree was removed from above the trail to prevent dirt and rock from falling onto the trail.
Rope-de-Dope, the main entrance trail and Misery Ridge trail were also cleaned and improved. A split rail fence was installed near the river below the Dihedrals to prevent people from walking on the fragile hillside. A couple of groups worked along the Crooked River shoreline to clean up trash left from high water and pull noxious weeds.
The Smith Rock Group is a non-profit organization, which works with Smith Rock State Park to help maintain the recreation opportunities in the park. Many people in the group live near the park and spend countless hours organizing this yearly event. Although it is only one day there is a large amount of effort that must occur before and after the event to ensure success. The group spends several months lining up the volunteer projects with park staff. About 20 yards of rock was needed to construct the rock walls this year. The rock had to be moved in a truck then by tractor and finally by a motorized wheelbarrow. At one site the ground was so steep that all the rock had to be carried by hand for the last 100feet. All this work had to be done by the Smith Rock Group before the day of the event, due to the limited amount of equipment and congestion on the trails.
In the evening, dinner was served to the volunteers. Recognition was given to "Ranger Dave" Slaght for all his work with the group and climbing community. This was Dave's last day at Smith, since he has been promoted to a Team Leader at Cove Palisades State Park at Lake Billy Chinook. Dave thanked the volunteers for helping, recognizing that the work accomplished saved the park thousands of dollars. Dave introduced the new Ranger, Thad Fitzhenry who had already started work at Smith Rock.
The volunteers were treated with a slide show of everyone working throughout the day. A slide show of a trip to Cuba was given free of charge from Brittany Griffith and Timmy O'Neil, which had the audience rolling with laughter.
Various climbing gear companies donated product or services, which was raffled or auctioned to raise over $3,000, for supplies and materials for next years project. Support for the event was excellent. Salomon provided the largest contribution with gear for the auction. Metolius, Evolv, Entre Prises, Black Diamond, Patagonia, and Redpoint/First Ascent all made substantial donations. Other significant contributions were received from Sunset Realty, Inclimb Gym, Michael Geisen, Bluewater, Metabolic Maintenance, Stone Age, Portland Rock Gym, Eagle Crest, Solid Rock Climbers for Christ, The Greens at Redmond, Five Ten, Crooked River Ranch, Petzl, Chaco, Kelty, Courtney Lower, Misty Mountain Threadwear, Wild County, Red Chili, Cascade Designs/MSR, Clif Bar, Athletic Club of Bend, Liberty Mountain, SmithRock.com and Rockhard.
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You're Invited: 2004 Access Fund Annual Dinner
Our annual dinner is a vital tool for building financial support to advance our mission; keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment.
We rely solely on membership fees, corporate sponsors, individual donors and foundations to fund our mission. This year's dinner will contribute resources for our key initiatives. We hope you will join us for a wonderful evening of sharing adventures with friends about climbing in Yosemite.
Event Details
When: Thursday, September 23, 2004
Where: San Francisco, Golden Gate Club, On The Presidio
Who: Allen Steck, Hans Florine, Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden; Access Fund board members, staff and friends.
What: An evening of dinner and conversation with speakers from three generations sharing their climbing adventures in Yosemite.
Invitations for the event and registration will be made available on the Access Fund website.
For more information, visit https://www.accessfund.org/events/annual_dinner.html
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Vertical Times #58 (June Issue) is Now Online as a PDF
The June issue of Vertical Times (volume 58) is online as a PDF file for downloading. The issue offers additional news and photos (not included in the Access Fund E-News). It can be downloaded directly (700K file) at https://www.accessfund.org/pdf/VT58.pdf
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NEW Membership Incentive Program Gifts
Access Fund is proud to announce updated Membership Incentive Program items.
Members contributing $50 or more will earn exciting new benefits. To check out
what's in store for the next year, visit https://www.accessfund.org/secure/joinnow/join_indiv.php.
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New Access Fund Affiliates
The Access Fund would like to welcome the following 30 climbing organizations that have joined or pledged to join the Affiliate Partnership. We are very excited to formalize our relationship with the climbing organizations that perform such great work at the local and regional levels. In joining together, our goal is to not only strengthen the Access Fund's relationship with local climbing organizations, but also to strengthen all of our advocacy efforts, as well.
There truly is strength in numbers and, through our unified effort; we can make a difference for the preservation of climbing access and conservation of the climbing environment. We are looking forward to a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.
Access NJ
Appalachian Mountain Club - Boston Chapter
Arizona Mountaineering Club - Land Advocacy Committee
Black Hills Climbers Coalition
Boise Climbers Alliance
Boone Climbers' Coalition
Carolina Climbers' Association
Central Texas Mountaineers
Climbers Access Society of British Columbia (CASBC)
Colorado Springs Climbers Alliance
CRAG-VT
Eastern Iowa Climbers' Coalition
Eastern Sierra Climbers Coalition
Flatirons Climbing Council
Gunks Climbers' Coalition
Kootenai Climbers
Las Vegas Climbers Liaison Council
NMCRAG
Northern Tucson Climbers Coalition
Ohio Climbers Association
Pennsylvania Alliance of Climbers
Pisgah Commercial Climbs Association
Ragged Mountain Foundation
Salt Lake Climbers' Alliance
San Diego Climbers Coalition
Southeastern Climbers Coalition
Southern Sierra Climbers' Association
Tucson Climbers' Association
Western Massachusetts Climber's Coalition
Wichita Mountains Climbers' Coalition
If you are a climber and your home crag is located in one of these areas, be sure to check out their website and find out when the next stewardship project occurs. Getting involved at the local level is the first step in preserving your climbing future. For links to these Access Fund Affiliates and other Local Climbing Organizations, visit https://www.accessfund.org/whoweare/who_lco.html.
If you are a grassroots, volunteer-based climbing organization, association, or access committee working primarily or exclusively to keep climbing areas open, conserve the climbing environment, promote responsible climbing, and act as the liaison between the climbing community and the land managers and owners for the crags within your region, we encourage you to sign up as an Access Fund Affiliate. For more information, please contact Deanne, grassroots coordinator at 303-545-6772 ext. 112 or Deanne@AccessFund.org.
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