Andrea Hassler didn’t grow up outdoors beyond playing in the woods behind her childhood home—but today, she’s one of the leading voices in climbing stewardship and education. Her journey from a college freshman on an indoor climbing wall to Access Fund’s Stewardship & Education Director is marked by one unshakable theme: connection. To land. To people. To purpose. Whether she’s training a Climber Steward, coordinating with land managers, or picking up microtrash everywhere she goes, Andrea embodies a philosophy that stewardship isn’t just a responsibility—it’s a meaningful relationship. In this spotlight, Andrea shares what drives her, what inspires her, and how we can all do our part.
Q&A with Andrea Hassler
Q: You often describe climbing access and stewardship as a reciprocal relationship. What do you mean by that?
A: Climbing gave me so much—a way to connect with my body, the land, a community of people, and as a meditation practice. But these places we climb don’t stay beautiful and accessible without care. If we use the land—for recreation, art, food—and don’t give back, our use becomes extractive. From Traditional Indigenous Knowledge I have learned about the concept of reciprocity, the act of giving back to that which we take from, I see stewardship as a mechanism for maintaining that balance. We deepen our connection to these places when we take care of them, and in turn, both we and the land reap the benefits. I believe everyone who has meaningful experiences in the outdoors has the capacity to fall in love with them, and once you love something, you ought to want to take care of it.
Q: What does it mean to really take care of the land we recreate on?
A: Think of it like a bike or a car or even your body—if you use something constantly and never maintain it, it breaks down. It’s the same with the land. Recreation is extractive if we use these places and don’t take care of them. If all we do is take, the cookie jar runs empty. To me, giving back isn’t optional—it’s vital. It’s how we protect the future of this planet, our access to climbing and the wellbeing of our communities. Stewardship deepens our relationship with a place, and has the ability to change our perspective from that of a visitor into a caretaker. Aldo Leopold explains this his concept of the land ethic, which basically says that when we treat the land as a community to which we belong, we no longer abuse it as a commodity, but become members and citizens of this vast community that encompasses plants, water, soil, animals, and us. We become a part of nature, not apart from it, and thus stewardship is a process by which we take care of the land, and ourselves.
Q: How do you approach sparking stewardship in others?
A: First, make it fun! Stewardship work is physical, but you’re outdoors, often with the most inspiring people in the climbing community. You can learn a lot—about the soil, the rock, the land’s history, native plants, wildlife, you name it. You might even find a new climbing partner! And most notably you leave a legacy. There’s something deeply rewarding about coming back to the base of a climbing wall you helped stabilize, stepping on a staircase you built, or walking through a canyon you helped clean.
Q: What are some simple actions climbers can take that make a real difference?
A: Microtrash matters—think corners of bar wrappers, pieces of tape, that plastic piece at the end of your rope. Even in the most remote places, if you get eye-level with the earth, you’ll likely see them. Wind makes quick work of snatching these small bits from your fingertips. I challenge everyone: next time you're at the crag, pick up what you see. You can even make a game out of it, see who can pick up the most microtrash in 60 seconds, and the winner gets a beer or a donut! Another way to make a real difference is to bring a friend to a trail day or climber coffee, or share this experience with them through storytelling. We have so many amazing stories in climbing—about mentorship, perseverance, growth. Sharing those stories and experiences helps keep access open and the culture of climbing healthy.
Q: You’ve worked with so many people across climbing and land management. How many folks would you estimate you’ve connected with on these topics?
A: Oh boy…it’s probably in the tens of thousands, maybe more. From my time as a field instructor with Rocky Mountain Field Institute leading volunteers at Shelf Road and Garden of the Gods, to now as Education & Stewardship Director at Access Fund overseeing our Conservation Team and Climber Stewards, I’ve had the chance to speak with everyone from new climbers to federal land managers, and each connection matters.
Q: Are there moments that stand out—when you saw someone’s perspective shift in real time?
A: Definitely. One that sticks with me was at Indian Creek, explaining raptor closures. Someone made a comment, “Why shut down so many cliffs when falcons nest on buildings in cities?” I explained that just like us, each nesting pair is unique. And they come to this place for the same reason: wide open vistas, big warm sunny rocks, and expansive yet quiet landscapes. They return to these same cliffs, year after year. Since climbers have been helping observe and respect closures, more raptors have been born and successfully fledged. That’s a huge win. The shift happened when they saw their role in protecting something bigger than themselves.
Q: What are some different forms of stewardship you’ve seen that inspire you?
A: Stewardship isn’t one-size-fits-all. I'm inspired by groups like Rise Outside, who mentor new climbers, facilitate access, and promote stewardship as well as Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps who create career pathways in conservation for tribal youth (and build some of the best retaining walls on our trail projects in Indian Creek!). I’m also inspired by individual leaders from over 130 local climbing organizations across the country who step up to rally support for public lands in their backyards as well as individual climbers who give up a day of climbing to give back to their community, whether that’s using their voice to elevate an important local issue, doing community service, or getting others outside. And I’m continually inspired by people who are going the extra step to give back, whether you’re doing soil science in a national park, sharing a tip about a closure, or planting native species in your local green space—it all counts. What we have in common is where we are standing in that moment and hopefully a shared desire to protect it.
Q: Looking back, what are you most proud of?
A: It has to be the community. I’m really proud of the climbers who collectively, have stepped up and gotten some really awesome sh** done! This work isn’t glamorous, but it fills up your cup. Climbers return to the same crag, year after year, often at the same season, and so we are really in tune with changes in the environment. Over the years I have witnessed our community step up in huge ways to show that we’re not just here to recreate—we’re here to care.
Q: And looking forward—what are you most excited about?
A: Honestly, it can be hard to stay optimistic with shrinking public land budgets, staffing cuts, and growing threats to our environment. But I’d say I’m excited about the opportunity we have to rally together to stand up for what we believe in. I’m hopeful for the growth of our Climber Steward program, for new partnerships, and for evolving how we connect climbers to stewardship. I’m excited to keep learning, to meet more volunteers and climbing advocates, and to keep carrying the torch.
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Andrea’s career in conservation is much like her favorite climbs: long, wandering, and adventurous. While pursuing her master’s degree in Applied Geography at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, she started field work as a research assistant studying post-fire restoration for watershed and native plant restoration, while leading crews and volunteers in the Hayman burn area, a case study she used to inform her thesis. She then served as an Americorps participant on the Rocky Mountain Field Institute Earth Corps program, where she spent 30-days living at 12,000 feet completing technical trail construction while studying alpine geology, botany, geomorphology, public land, wilderness, and wildfire management and policy. On weekends and summers while in school, she would lead volunteers and crews in the Garden of the Gods, Shelf Road, and Pikes Peak implementing social trail closure and climbing access infrastructure. During this time, she also pursued her passion for education and sustainability, working for the Catamount Institute teaching K-12 environmental education and serving as the UCCS Green Action Fund program coordinator overseeing campus sustainability projects. She completed her master’s thesis which integrated GIS modeling of post-fire watershed recovery with qualitative data on stakeholder values to inform motivations and best practices for community based socioecological restoration.
After graduating, she became the Trails and Outdoors Coordinator at UCCS, developing and implementing a campus trails master plan that integrated city and county trail networks and leading campus outdoor trips, workshops, and gear rental programs. She also developed and taught courses on the Geography of Trails and School in the Woods, sharing her passion for sustainable access and environmental education. After looking at spreadsheets in an office with no windows, she bought a van and hit the road for Yosemite, where she made her first attempt on El Cap, then returned to Colorado as a field instructor for RMFI’s EarthCorps, constructing a sustainable trail to Kit Carson in the Sangre De Cristos, and as a Fellow at the Colorado College Teaching and Research in Environmental Education Program, leading college students to teach local 5th graders in the outdoors.
In 2017, her and her best friend, Annabelle McClure (RIP <3) joined the Access Fund Conservation Team, where they travelled the country for 2 years, living out of a jeep and sleeping in a tent, visiting over 50 climbing areas in 20 states leading over 2,000 volunteers in climbing area stewardship. When they’re time on the road was done, Andrea moved to Chattanooga, TN, where she served as the Executive Director of the Southeastern Climbers Coalition, where she led the LCO through the Covid pandemic and equitable access movements in 2020, grew the staff organization and committee structure, and purchased Woodcock Cove in Dunlap, TN. During this time, she also was a founding board member of WeClimb, whose mission is to use rock climbing mentorship as a tool to help under resourced youth become better versions of themselves. In 2021, she returned to the Access Fund stewardship and education team to launch the first ever Access Fund Climber Stewards program in 2021, and has been kicking around the country’s climbing areas, training stewards, conservation teams, advocates, land managers, and volunteers, ever since.