Texas Climbing On a New Course

AAC Austin Chapter members develop a new wall at Continental Ranch

AAC member Andrew Horton climbing Tomahawk, a 5.11- in the Weir Dam area. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

Grassroots: Unearthing the Future of Climbing

By: Sierra McGivney

If you want world-class climbing in Texas, you have to earn it. You’d have to drive down a rugged ten-mile road for an hour with no service while simultaneously opening and closing gates and avoiding ranch animals. Then you’d arrive at the Butt Campground, perched atop a cliff, overlooking the beautiful blue Pecos River that cuts through sweeping limestone cliffs extending for miles. 

Climbers must then trek down third-class trails down to respective climbing areas while hauling gear. Watch out for baby goats and prickly cacti. But the flora and fauna aren’t all you have to worry about at the Continental Ranch. 

“The limestone against your skin feels like the most abrasive sandpaper that you've ever touched, which means you don't need chalk,” says Emilie Hernandez, one of the new route developers at the ranch.

AAC memeber Matt Langbehn. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

Emilie says, if you work with the rock, the rock will work with you. If your moves are haphazard and finicky you’ll bleed. Small huecos, the size of coins, create a wave of ripples in the cliffs. Climbers can either palm the huecos like slopers or sink their fingers into near-perfect handholds. 

“The word pristine is what comes to mind,” says Hernandez.

Fewer cams and hands have left their mark at the Ranch than in other areas in Central Texas. In CenTX, shining limestone is a common sight. Polished routes steer locals away from overused crags. A lack of accessible climbing in Texas has worn down cliffsides and left routes sandbagged. 

PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

Continental Ranch is a private ranch on the Pecos River in west Texas, and it just happens to have some of the best climbing in Texas. Every type of climbing you can imagine exists here: slab, delicate face climbing, overhangs and even a bit of crack, off-width, and bouldering. 

AAC member Sean Moorehead Belying Andrew Horton. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

In the early 2000s, a geologist from the University of Texas was kayaking down the Pecos River studying the different striations in the bluffs at Continental Ranch. The geologist happened to be friends with Jamie McNally, a former Access Fund President and local climber. McNally noticed right away that the 300-foot limestone cliffs contained the potential for climbing. The two approached the previous ranch owners, Marilyn and Howard Hunt, about gaining access to these untouched cliffs.

According to a Rock and Ice article by Jeff Jackson, the ranch was struggling financially due to overgrazing and an infestation of dog cactus, so the Hunts opened up the ranch to climbers in 2004 with a fee of $10 to camp and climb. 

Climbers soon dotted the limestone cliffside, putting up routes like Crackalious, a 5.10 sport route, and Crocodile Tears, a slabby 5.11 sport route with pinchers, slopers, and mirco-huecoes. 

McNally was the first person who developed a relationship with the Hunts and was good friends with the son of the family, Howard Hunt Jr. (aka Mister). Mister, Jeff Jackson, and Scott Melcer were some of the first developers on the ranch. This continued for about four or five years until the ranch closed to climbers due to a liability standpoint. 

AAC member James Faerber teaching participants at the Continental Ranch Round-Up. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

In 2017, McNally approached Heather and Miles Gibbs, the current ranch owners and operators of the Continental Ranch Pecos River Expeditions, with a plan to reopen Continental Ranch to climbers. Climbing leaseholders and guide services now have access to the ranch. The Ranch even hosts a climbing festival twice a year, the Continental Ranch Round-Up. 

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Brian Deitch is a full-time lawyer and a part-time route developer at Continental Ranch. When Deitch isn’t practicing law he spends his weekends in the hot Texan sun drilling bolts into limestone. He arrives late Friday night in Del Rio, works hard Saturday into midday Sunday, until he has to make the trek back to Austin. 

AAC member Guy Tracy climbing in the Painted Canyon Sector. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

“The second we cross through the gates of the ranch it’s like the world melts away,” says Deitch, the AAC Austin Chapter Chair. 

Deitch got involved with the AAC after attending the Red Rocks Rendezvous and connecting with AAC members and volunteers. In 2017 Adam Peter, the former National Volunteer Programs Manager for the AAC, sent out an email looking for members to get involved locally. Deitch responded and started the AAC Austin Chapter. 

About a year later the AAC Austin Chapter and the Access Fund joined forces with Outpost Wilderness Adventures to host the Continental Ranch Round-Up. 

Over drinks and celebration at an Access Fund happy hour in 2019, Deitch met Hernandez. Hernandez, the founder of the Texas Lady Crushers, was interested in the Ranch Round-Up but was unable to attend the previous year. Deitch mentioned he was “the liaison” for the Continental Ranch Round-Up. Hernandez’s interest was piqued.

“Are you interested in mentoring a climber? I heard you climb trad,” says Hernandez. 

The two are now married and route developers at the Ranch.

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Deitch and Douglas McDowell, the events chair for the AAC Austin Chapter, teamed up to work with Heather Gibbs on new route development at the ranch. The two walked around the estimated 30,000 acre property showing her possible climbing walls and explaining elements of route development. As time went on, she herself began to point out areas she thought would be good for climbing. 

On January 8, 2021, they found a wall along the Pecos River that seemed to feature just about everything: jugs, cracks, crimps, aretes, and slabs. Over the course of eight weekends, Deitch and a select group of climbers took on Heather’s Wall. 

AAC member Emilie Hernandez developing Heather’s Wall. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

For the entire month of January, Deitch spent every weekend at Continental Ranch. That’s ten hours of driving each weekend. 

“It's not somewhere I can just go to after work,” says Deitch.

Deitch fell in love with the process of cleaning stone and developing routes. He financed the entire operation. This includes drills, drill bits, anchors, bolts, and mussey hooks. Both Deitch and McDowell studied and met with mentors throughout the process. They wanted to develop routes correctly and be able to educate others; no one-move wonders, no grid bolting, and consistently graded routes.

“There's just something really badass about having a drill in your hand, hanging on a fixed-line and knowing that this is going to be a route that my friends are going to climb and a legacy that I'm literally leaving until that gear wears out or the rock crumbles,” says Hernandez. 

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Heather’s wall. PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch.

Walk past Piranha, a 5.9 route at Painted Canyon's Bone Yard area for about a quarter-mile and you’ll come face to face with Heather’s Wall. Six new routes were developed over the last year with room for more. Flyin’ Brian, a difficult 5.10+, features tricky face moves that will lead you into a corner, below an overhang, forcing climbers into “a pistol squat from hell” in order to pull the roof. Baby Goat, inspired by all the little goats running around the ranch, is a 5.10- face climb through a crack. My Mija, is a well-protected 5.10, and leads climbers to choose their own adventure by providing three variations along and to the sides of the bolt line. A technical 5.11, Matriarch runs parallel to My Mija. Slim Picken’s is a 5.11 developed by Scott Davis. Finally, at the far right of the wall, there is Bree Jameson’s climb, which she onsighted and self-belayed from the ground up—Learning from Legends, a 5.6. 

“It’s the best limestone north of the Rio Grande,” says Deitch. 

Hernandez’s and Jameson’s routes are the only two developed by women of color on the ranch. This inspired both climbers to give other women the opportunity to climb and learn about route development. The Texas Lady Crushers had their first retreat on the ranch last March. 

“You can be anybody you want to be out there as long as you respect the land, respect the people, and respect the people who came before you,” says Hernandez. 

PC: AAC Austin Chapter Chair Brian Deitch

Thanks to Gibbs and her desire to open her mind, Texas climbing is on a new course. Deitch, Hernandez, and other climbers will continue to explore and develop more routes at the ranch. If you get the chance to climb at Continental, make sure to stop and look out at the vast mountainous desert.  

“You feel like a real deal climber out there,” says Hernandez.

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Climbing Through Language

The AAC DC Chapter takes Wilderness Kids Alexandria climbing

PC: Elizabeth Waugh

Grassroots: A storytelling series about cutting edge projects and conversations in the AAC community.

By Sierra McGivney

All Melissa Rojas knew about rock climbing was kids' birthday parties. But once she started climbing, pulling herself up multicolored plastic holds with her long-time climber friend, her mind was free. The stress of working in healthcare melted away. Each move she made was related to each other, connected to the whole route, like piecing together a puzzle. 

“I just got hooked,” says Rojas, the Communications Co-Chair for the AAC D.C. Chapter. 

Climbing engrossed Rojas. She wanted to get involved and give back, so she looked into climbing organizations and found the American Alpine Club. 

PC: Elizabeth Waugh

As Rojas got more engaged in the climbing community, she noticed a sizable amount of Spanish-speaking climbers in the area and saw an opportunity for community. In June of 2021, Rojas founded ¡Escala DC!, a Spanish-speaking climbing club.  

Although not all spanish-speakers are people of color, differences in language, and the culture embedded in language, can be a barrier to feeling fully understood and represented in a community. And when language and racial identity overlap, it can be even harder to see yourself represented.

“If you're not white, it can feel very intimidating going into a gym.” says Rojas, “It's not like anybody's doing anything to make you feel intimidated, you just feel intimidated.” 

Members of ¡Escala DC! feel grateful to have found a group that speaks to them. The club organizes weekly meetups at gyms in the area like Crystal City, Timonium, and Rockville. Rojas has created a space that unites climbers whose identities come from a Spanish-speaking background. 

PC: Elizabeth Waugh

Although spanish-speakers in the US come from a wide range of countries and cultures, there is no denying the way language can bind you together. “It's a different experience when you climb with folks that have the same cultural context,” says Rojas.

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Jerry Casagrande didn’t grow up in a particularly outdoorsy family. He never went hiking or camping. When he was 15 years old his science teacher suggested he look into a summer program that would take him to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, the Bear Creek Mountains in Montana, and Yellowstone. The grand mountains and forests of the West left a lasting mark on Casagrande. 

“It just changed my life completely,” says Casagrande. 

PC: Elizabeth Waugh

In a number of ways, Casagrande has sought to pay that experience forward. He ran a program about 20 years ago that took kids from all over the country to experience the outdoors. In Alexandria, Casagrande’s home, he noticed that there was an imbalance between kids who had access to green spaces and those who did not. In October of 2021, Casagrande founded Wilderness Kids Alexandria. 

WKA believes there are a multitude of benefits to being outside. The mission of the nonprofit organization is to provide life-enriching experiences in nature to teenagers from under-resourced families in Alexandria, Virginia. 

Latino Outdoors is a “volunteer-driven organization that focuses on expanding and amplifying the Latinx experience in the outdoors.” Casagrande posted on the Latino Outdoors DMV—D.C., Maryland, and Virginia—Facebook page looking for volunteers to take kids climbing. A number of people are also a part of the AAC D.C. section. He got an overwhelming response.

PC: Elizabeth Waugh

“We had more volunteers than we could use,” says Casagrande.

Members from the AAC D.C. section, ¡Escala DC!, and the Potomac Mountain Club volunteered to belay kids and teach climbing basics on February 19, 2022, at Movement Climbing gym.

 After a picnic, kids headed to Movement to get fitted for climbing shoes and harnesses. Many looked up at the rainbow of holds that create routes and said, “I can’t do that.” By the end of the day, participants were practically racing up the wall. 

English is not a first language for a majority of the kids who attended. The volunteers were able to speak to kids in their native language. This enabled the kids to easily communicate on the climbing wall and meet passionate climbers who spoke the same language as them. Seeing themselves reflected in this space helped to cultivate a sense of self within the climbing community. 

“It was super cool to be able to talk to them in their mother language and have them feel reassured,” says Rojas. 

PC: Elizabeth Waugh

The AAC, along with PATC took kids climbing at Caderock on Apr 23, 2022. WKA was hoping to get 20 kids in attendance. Ten kids climbed while the other 10 kids went hiking. Mid-day they switched. Volunteers set up topropes and taught kids climbing basics. 

Rojas believes fostering and establishing strong cultural diversity and ability diversity in the climbing community is the keys to true accessibility. It’s a team effort to establish a space accessible to all. Multiple organizations came together to nourish a love of climbing in kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity. 

“We're a really small organization and [the AAC] enables us to have a bigger impact than we could otherwise possibly have,” says Casagrande.

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The Prescription — May 2022

A DEVASTATING HIGHBALL

British Columbia, East Kootenay, Bootleg Boulders

Scene of the accident, with the star marking the spot where a hold broke, causing a leg-breaking fall. The ladder was carried up earlier to help with cleaning new problems.

On June 16, rock season was in full swing in the East Kootenay region. The sport climbers were sending at Lakit Lake, alpine climbers were planning for the Bugaboos, and the small community of boulderers were finding new rocks to climb. 

I’m Drew Leiterman (age 31), and I’ve been climbing for 13 years. I had just met overstoker Steve on Facebook. He’d been scrubbing a bunch of boulders on Bootleg Mountain and was going to show me the work he’d been doing. We decided to pack only one pad each because this was mainly a recon mission and there was a lot of scrambling on the hillside. After a couple of hours of exploring, we ended up at a nice sector about a half hour uphill from the parking area. We chucked our pads down and warmed up on some easy problems. 

We found a nice unclimbed highball with good holds. It started with 15 feet of incuts on vertical rock, then went into a slight overhang for the last five feet. I climbed with ease to the top (V1-ish) only to get stumped on the final mantel. Above the lip, the rock was void of holds and was still pretty dirty. After trying unsuccessfully to figure it out, I decided to downclimb (it was well within my ability) and check it out from above.

After reversing two moves, as I moved my left hand down, my right handhold broke. I fell and somehow landed a foot away from the crash pads. Steve had been spotting me, but the combination of the height and the sudden fall made things tricky, to say the least. I actually landed partly on him, throwing him back, and he ended up with some pretty bad bruising on his torso. 

Graphic Image Alert

At Accidents in North American Climbing we refrain from publishing gratuitous images of injury. However, to convey the real risks of an activity that many people consider relatively risk-free, we are providing a link to Drew’s Instagram account. Content warning: This page contains very graphic images of injury. We STRONGLY advise discretion.

It felt like I’d sprained my left ankle, so I lifted up my leg to check it out. It was the worst-case scenario—my talus bone had exploded out of the side of my foot. My foot was detached from my lower leg and held on by a bit of skin.    

Like any true millennial, my first reaction was to take a selfie. I made sure the exposed white bone and freshly snapped tendons and ligaments were framed with my (trying to smile) face. We put on a tourniquet. We had no cell service and hadn’t brought a satellite phone on our “casual” day of bouldering. We’d also scrambled up a lot of loose talus, so getting a piggyback from Steve seemed dangerous. It was close to 6:30 p.m., and we decided the best action was for Steve to run to his vehicle and drive to where he could get a cell signal. His car was parked near my van.

Almost a year prior, a friend had severed his finger in a rappelling accident in the mountains. We had called SAR to get him to a hospital to get it reattached, but it took several hours for the helicopter to arrive. With that in mind and it being close to dark, I wasn’t excited to wait around. I waited five minutes (which felt like hours) and then started crawling down the talus toward my van. For the most part it went fine, switching between scooting on my butt and downclimbing using my knees and good foot. My bad foot would flop uncontrollably, and the bone would move in and out of place.

Five weeks after the accident, following two surgeries to repair damage from the fall.

At one point I had to overcome an oven-size boulder. Just as I was getting to the bottom of it, the whole thing started to shift. I got out of the way, but in my haste, I touched my bloody stump on the ground. I sat there for five minutes, feeling lucky I wasn’t pinned, but also looking at all the dirt I had accumulated on my wound. I was mindful that I was probably in shock and could pass out at any moment. I continued to push on. After about 45 minutes to an hour, I made it back to my van.

Steve had gone to call help, and there was no way to communicate with him, as I still didn’t have cell signal. My brain was in full survival mode. Nothing could stop me from getting to the hospital. I started driving. (Thankfully my van is an automatic.) I drove for 15 to 20 minutes toward town when I saw an ambulance coming toward me. I pulled over and waved them down. They were surprised, to say the least, that I was driving in my condition. Steve drove up a little after I waved down the ambulance.

In the hospital I found out that when my foot impacted the ground, my talus bone had dislocated from my calcaneus (heel bone) and broken through the skin; the impact snapped two tendons, blood vessels, nerves, and most of the ligaments on the inside of my ankle. I had two surgeries in seven days. 

ANALYSIS 

Fast-forward ten months and I have 80 percent mobility back. I’m climbing and working, and very optimistic for a full recovery.

Thinking back, I believe Steve and I made the right decision to get me to the hospital as quickly as possible. The doctor later told me that the sooner they can operate, the better their chances for saving a foot after an accident like mine. But I don’t think they would promote “hiking” or driving in that condition. I also knew that a tourniquet could cause serious complications, but I wanted to keep the blood flow to a minimum so I opted to keep it on.

I think bouldering can be more dangerous than most people think. I fell maybe 15 feet and missed my pads by a foot or less. What would I do in the future? Bring more pads and scope the top-out before going for anything that’s too tall for a fall. (Source: Drew Leiterman.)

The author, getting after it.

A Note From The Editor: We don’t publish a lot of bouldering reports in Accidents in North American Climbing, but not because such accidents are rare. With the lower-leg injuries that most boulderers suffer, they usually are able to self-rescue, so no official report is generated. I’m grateful to climbers like Drew who send us their stories, and I encourage other boulderers to do the same, particularly when an important lesson can be shared.

In my first six months on the job, I’ve been very impressed by our contributors and volunteer editors. Without them, the Accidents book would not exist. I also appreciate the courage it takes for accident victims to speak up. To do so might risk criticism or embarrassment, yet reports like these make a real difference to our community, and you might just save a life. Want to share a story? Write to me at [email protected]. — Pete Takeda, Editor

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SPRING AND SUMMER AVALANCHES

It’s peak season for snow climbs in many parts of North America, which means it’s time for heightened awareness of avalanche hazards. Many people consider only backcountry skiing and snowboarding when they think about avalanche danger, but in spring and summer, it’s climbers who face the highest risk. More than 70 percent of U.S. avalanche fatalities in the month of May have involved climbers, and nearly 90 percent in June. Brush up on your knowledge base with guide Matt Schonwald’s in-depth “Know the Ropes” article from our 2020 edition: “Avalanches: Spring and Summer Hazards for Mountaineers.”

Beacon Safety Check

A small number of PIEPS and Black Diamond avalanche beacons have been found with malfunctioning electronic components that may prevent the transceiver from switching between “Send” and “Search” modes. In April, Black Diamond published a list of transceiver models that should be inspected, along with instructions for a home safety check . If you own a PIEPS or Black Diamond beacon, be sure to follow the instructions here and learn what to do if your beacon fails the test.

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THE SHARP END: LIVE AT THE AAC BENEFIT WEEKEND

Ashley Saupe and Adam Campbell

The latest Sharp End podcast, an interview with Canadian athlete Adam Campbell, was recorded live at the AAC’s annual benefit weekend in Denver on March 26. Adam and his wife, Laura Kosakoski, were backcountry skiing with a friend in Banff National Park, Alberta, on January 10, 2020. As they began their descent, Laura went first. When Adam approached the slope, he triggered an avalanche that pushed Laura into a terrain trap and buried her with more than 12 feet of snow. Adam has had to live with the grief and trauma of triggering the slide and losing his wife ever since. His emotional story and candor made for a powerful show in Denver, and now you can hear the full interview at home.

The Sharp End · LIVE w/ Arc'teryx Athlete Adam Campbell (Ep. 76)

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The Prescription newsletter is published monthly by the American Alpine Club. Questions? Suggestions? Write to us at [email protected].

Keep Climbing Clean

The AAC L.A. Chapter organizes a clean-up at Stoney Point

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PC: AAC L.A. Chapter Chair Alex Rand

Grassroots: A storytelling series about cutting edge projects and conversations in the AAC community.

by Sierra McGivney

Thirty seconds off of 118 FWY and Topanga Canyon, Stoney Point welcomes climbers and hikers. Brittle sandstone boulders tagged with graffiti and spotted with white chalk contain almost 100 years of climbing history. Located just north of Los Angeles, this crag provides convenient access to stellar climbing, minutes away from the city. This small climbing destination features various highball boulders with thought-provoking problems and exciting top-outs.

Stoney Point was initially developed in the late ’20s and early ’30s. Glen Dawson, a mountaineer and longest-tenured Sierra Club member, led Sierra Club outings to Stoney Point.  

Big names like Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, and Bob Kamps developed routes on the boulders of Stoney Point. Chouinard's Hole, a V2 boulder problem, is a notable route that requires the climber to execute a grovely mantel into a scoop. Stoney was a practice ground for bigger projects, mainly groundbreaking first ascents involving free climbing, such as the Salathé Wall in Yosemite Valley. 

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PC: AAC L.A. Chapter Chair Alex Rand

Today, Stoney Point is akin to an outdoor climbing gym. A community of local climbers spends their days perusing boulders and climbing top-ropes. Climbers grab hold of textured slopers and in-cut crimps crafted from fine-grain sandstone. Stoney Point is home to just under 300 routes. One of the climbers you’d see milling around is Alex Rand, the American Alpine Club Chapter Chair for the Los Angeles Section. 

“You'll see the same people day in and day out go over to [Stoney Point], climbing their favorite routes, guiding people who are trying to find a boulder that might be a little more obscure, encouraging people or sharing crash pads,” says Rand. 

Amid all of the crash pads and climbers, glass bottles, rusty nails, and other trash litter Stoney Point. The crag is in a prime location for people to discard trash as they drive by on the highway, or to spray paint the rocks these climbers call home. 

AAC member Jennifer Zhu

“It's kind of interesting because it's such a prolific climbing destination, and it is so— what's the word?— it's so unimposing when you get there it is sort of this park that is littered with broken glass, empty bottles, and graffiti all over the rocks,” says Rand. 

On Jan 23, 2022 the AAC’s L.A. Chapter, along with Trail Mothers and Sender One Climbing Gym, organized a clean-up of Stoney Point. Fifty people showed up. A mix of rock climbers, gym climbers, and hikers participated in the event. The large turnout was unexpected. 

“We almost didn’t have enough trash bags for everyone,” says Rand. 

By noon, volunteers collected over 200lbs of trash. Old luggage and motor oil cans were some of the most notable trash collected. 

After the event, a core group of people stayed to climb and encouraged others to join them. Seasoned climbers of Stoney Point gave beta on route-finding to new climbers. Everyone set up their crash pads next to one another, sharing gear and beta.

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AAC member Jennifer Zhu

One of the fundamental parts of the clean-up is bringing people together through climbing. Rand sees this as a great opportunity to expand and strengthen their community while making new friends and climbing partners.  

“You get to meet a diverse group of people who live all over L.A. and who have all sorts of backgrounds and experiences with the American Alpine Club and climbing,” says Rand.

The L.A. chapter does crag clean-ups every couple of months in the surrounding L.A. area. Even with these clean-ups, trash still remains at Stoney Point. More graffiti appears on boulders and rock walls in the weeks afterward. Tiny shards of glass get simultaneously kicked up and buried in the sand.  

“I think that it's essential for the health and well-being of Stoney Point to continue to do these cleanups,” says Rand. 

For the next clean-up, on Earth Day, April 9, Rand and Kristen Hernandez of Trail Mothers are coming equipped with colanders and sifters. The L.A. AAC Chapter, Trail Mothers, and the Stoney Point community will continue working to preserve and rehabilitate the boulders, rock walls, and trails of Stoney Point.  

AAC member Jennifer Zhu

At Stoney Point, people are creating a community built on crag stewardship. Instead of rejecting the new wave of climbers, Stoney Point welcomes newcomers in, while also teaching conservation and safe climbing practices. There is something for everyone at Stoney Point. 

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The American Alpine Club Announces 2022 Cutting Edge Grant Recipients

PC: Priti Wright, K6 Central

March 2022

The American Alpine Club and Black Diamond Equipment are pleased to announce the 2022 Cutting Edge Grant recipients. The Cutting Edge Grant continues the Club's 100-year tradition and seeks to fund individuals planning expeditions to remote areas featuring unexplored mountain ranges, unclimbed peaks, difficult new routes, first free ascents, or similar world-class pursuits. Four recipients have been awarded a total of $37,000 for this cycle, with objectives featuring a low-impact style and leave-no-trace mentality being looked upon with favor. Black Diamond Equipment is a proud sponsor of the Cutting Edge Grant and a key partner in supporting cutting-edge alpinism.

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PC: JThompson

Chantel Astorga will receive a grant for $10,000 to attempt a new route on Lunag Ri (6,895m) in Nepal. Chantel, alongside Anne Gilbert Chase & Jason Thompson will hope to establish a new line on Lunag Ri in alpine style. Chantel recently grabbed the first female solo ascent of the Cassin Ridge in under 15 hours on Denali in 2021. Anne, Jason, and Chantel established a new route on the unclimbed SW Face, Mount Nilkantha (6,500m), India in 2017.

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Jerome Sullivan will receive a grant for $10,000 to attempt the first ascent of Pumari Chhish East (6,850m) in the Pakistani Karakoram. Pumari Chhish East is one of the major unclimbed technical summits of Karakoram. Located on the Hispar glacier, it presents three characteristic granite pillars and a 2,000m face. Jerome will attempt the climb alongside Martin Elias, Victor Saucede, and Jeremy Stagnetto. Recently the team climbed K13 west by the new route Harvest Moon. Jerome & Jeremy did the first ascent of the southeast ridge of Cerro Murallon (Patagonia) and the first ascent of Pyramid Peak in the Revelation Range (Alaska).

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Alan Rousseau will receive $10,000 to attempt an alpine style ascent of the North Face of Jannu (7,710m) in Nepal. Given its aspect, elevation, and sheer scale (3,200 vertical meters), Jannu is considered one of the most complex alpine objectives in the world. The upper north face headwall has yet to see an alpine style ascent. Jackson Marvell will join Alan on this attempt. Jackson & Alan climbed a new route on the east face of Mount Dickey Ruth Gorge Grinder (1,600m, M7, AI6+) and repeated Trailer Park on London Tower (3,000' WI6, M6), both located in the Ruth Gorge of the Alaska Range.

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Priti Wright will receive $7,000 to attempt a new route on K7 in the Pakistani Karakoram. Priti & Jeffrey Wright will attempt the unclimbed peak K7 Central (6,858m) by establishing an entirely new technical route in alpine style. During Priti and Jeff's first Karakoram expedition, they were successful in establishing the first ascent of K6 Central (7,155m) in 2020.

FA of K6 Central, Priti and Jeff Wright. PC: Jeff Wright.

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The American Alpine Club has inspired and supported cutting-edge climbing achievements for over 100 years. From funding the first ascent of Mt. Logan in 1925 and the exploration of the Karakoram in 1938 to the 2006 first ascent of Nanga Parbat's Rupal Face, and the countless expeditions in between, the AAC has stood to encourage climbers to push their physical and mental limits, supported their pursuits, and celebrated their accomplishments.

The Cutting Edge Grant continues this tradition, aiming to fund advanced climbing athletes in pursuit of world-class climbing and mountaineering objectives.

The Cutting Edge Grant is sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment, whose equipment has helped climbers and alpinists to reach their summits for decades. Black Diamond Equipment is an integral partner in supporting climbers of all abilities and disciplines, with a long history of supporting climbers and their dreams through grants like the Cutting Edge Grant.

Applications for the Cutting Edge Grant are accepted each year from October 1 through November 30.

Contact:

Shane Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer: [email protected]
Eddie Espinosa, Community Programs Director: [email protected]

About American Alpine Club

The American Alpine Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose vision is a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes. Together with our members, the AAC advocates for American climbers domestically and around the world; provides grants and volunteer opportunities to protect and conserve the places we climb; hosts local and national climbing festivals and events; publishes two of the world's most sought-after climbing annuals, the American Alpine Journal and Accidents in North American Climbing; cares for the world's leading climbing library and country's leading mountaineering museum; manages the Hueco Rock Ranch, New River Gorge Campground, Samuel F. Pryor Shawangunk Gateway Campground, and Grand Teton Climbers' Ranch as part of a larger lodging network for climbers; and annually gives $100,000+ toward climbing, conservation, and research grants that fund adventurers who travel the world. Learn about additional programs and become a member
at americanalpineclub.org.

Renaming the Robert & Miriam Underhill Award

As Outside Magazine recently reported, the American Alpine Club (AAC) has entered into a process to rename the Robert and Miriam Underhill Award for outstanding mountaineering achievement.

The AAC is a nationwide community of climbers spanning age, gender, race, ability, and religion. A shared passion for climbing and a commitment to fostering an inclusive community and protecting the places where we climb unite us all. We firmly commit to a continual process of examining and shining a light on all parts of our history, including and especially the aspects of that history that must evolve. We are accountable to our community and to ourselves to be open, accurate, and transparent in that evolution.

As we work to rename the award, we want to understand the modern purpose of an award dedicated to "the highest level of skill in the mountaineering arts" and seek to connect it genuinely to the better parts of climbing history. Our goal is to do this in a way that ensures we're awarding meaningful contributions rather than simply being generic and performative.

The AAC will complete the renaming process and better define the award's purpose before presenting it again in early 2023. We will not limit the tools we consider in that process and recognize that no effort will be complete without internal and external perspectives. 

Our Climb United program vision states that “Adventurousness and exploration are not only where I went, but also what did I imagine and what perspectives did I consider along the way.” The renaming of this award presents an excellent opportunity for the AAC to illuminate and explore perspectives.

American Alpine Club and Winter Wildlands Alliance Celebrate Restoration of Key Components to NEPA

Photo by @ofallnationsmedia

The American Alpine Club (AAC) and Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) are pleased to announce that the Biden Administration took an important step towards restoring critical parts of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock environmental law.

Over the past two years, our #ProtectNEPA campaign has fought to protect wild winter landscapes and climbing areas across the country. Together, we sued the Trump administration for gutting NEPA in 2020 and then petitioned the Biden administration in 2021 to take action to repair the law by restoring critical regulatory requirements that were removed in 2020.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality heard our requests, and began a two phase process to reverse the damaging 2020 changes to the regulations that implement NEPA. This week, the CEQ published a final “Phase 1” rule effectively overturning three parts of the 2020 Rule, restoring key pieces of NEPA and requiring that federal agencies:

• Consider the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of a proposed project, including an analysis of how greenhouse gas emissions from an action may impact climate change;

• No longer prioritize the goals of an applicant over the public interest when developing the Purpose and Need or alternatives of a proposed action;

• Give the public a greater voice in the environmental review process for projects on federal lands;

• Consider the regulations as a “floor” and not a “ceiling” when considering the value of more protective regulations.

The final rule announced on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, will take effect on May 20, 2022, but it only restores some of the provisions from the original 1978 regulations. The AAC and WWA encourage the CEQ to act quickly in tackling Phase 2 of restoring NEPA, where they must consider how to correct the broader procedural changes to the regulations. We urge the CEQ to ensure that the voices of communities most impacted by environmental harm, as well as the commitments of the administration to address the climate crisis, are accurately reflected in their final rule.

Photo by Jeff Deikis

“This Phase 1 Rule is an important first step in restoring NEPA”, said Hilary Eisen, Policy Director with Winter Wildlands Alliance. “We look forward to continuing to work with the CEQ as they move forward into Phase 2, to ensure that NEPA continues to give the public a voice in federal decisions and provide environmental safeguards for generations to come.”   

“Efforts from the previous administration to dismantle NEPA left our public lands, communities and climate vulnerable to ill-informed and biased decision-making processes,” said Taylor Luneau, Policy Manager for the American Alpine Club. “This is a significant win for the outdoor recreation community and an important step towards restoring the strength and potential of NEPA to address our nation's most pressing environmental needs.”

We are grateful to the many thousands of outdoor advocates who took action to #ProtectNEPA and look forward to continuing to partner with the Biden Administration to ensure that the interests of the climbing and backcountry skiing communities remain front of mind in federal decision making.

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Contact for more information:

Taylor Luneau, Policy Manager, American Alpine Club, [email protected]

Hilary Eisen, Policy Director, Winter Wildlands Alliance, [email protected]

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2022 Annual Benefit Gala Recap

This event was presented by Arc’teryx and Scarpa.

Mark Hudon and Jordan Cannon sing about the joy of being an El Cap climber “in the morning”. PC: Jim Aikman

From the moment climbers began arriving at this year’s Annual Benefit Gala, the energy was high. AAC members, volunteers, board members, athletes and supporters gathered for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. As climbers—average but passionate, young but absurdly strong, and of course, the legends—brushed shoulders with each other, you could mill around and bump into the person who had invented the quickdraw and perfected the backstep, or youngsters who are pushing the cutting edge of hard bouldering. 

In the milieu of scrubbed up dirtbags and ex-dirtbags, there was a clear duality and connection. The older generation–like mountaineer Arlene Blum and prolific climbing writer Pat Ament–offered wisdom and perspective to the young, reflecting on the roots of climbing. Among the crowd, too, was the younger generation, like MCs Meaghan Martin and Cody Kaemmerlan, and crushers like Drew Ruana, who are each pushing climbing in new directions. This year’s Annual Benefit Gala seemed to particularly encapsulate how the AAC bridges the gap between where we have come from in climbing history, and the future we are striding towards. Even the Keynote speech, by the incredibly dynamic pairing of Mark Hudon and Jordan Cannon, epitomized this sense of the mingling of the past and the future. 

PC: Jim Aikman

Jordan and Mark’s story is about an incredible friendship and climbing partnership, facilitated by Jordan’s fascination with climbing history and Mark’s uncompleted goals from his youth. The night of the Gala, Mark and Jordan were suited up, in Blues Brothers hats, and armed with a suitcase that housed Mark’s step stool (the man is very short). They played with seriousness and humor as they told the story of how they bonded despite their ages and heights over their shared goals to free climb El Cap—for Mark, in any way possible, and for Jordan, in a day. But their friendship and support of each other soon morphed into a story that pushed beyond their climbing goals. 

When Jordan initially came out to Mark as a gay man, he was terrified. Terrified of this friend and father figure not understanding, of what his sponsors would say, and whether the climbing community would accept his authentic self. But his doubts were unnecessary. Just like in their climbing partnership, Mark was there to support him. For months, Mark helped coach Jordan through discovering who he truly was, and finding the strength to share himself with the world despite his fears. The two became even closer through this life mentoring, epitomizing the depths of climbing partnership, and how much our relationships in climbing teach us who we are and what we are capable of. 

PC: Jim Aikman

With such a moving story to frame the evening, it was no surprise that attendees left feeling deeply connected with each other and to the AAC. Hundreds of attendees showed their support for their Club with their generous donations towards the policy, community, and education work that we do every day. 

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The rest of the weekend featured community and thoughtful conversations. At the Friday night Send N’ Social, our community gathered to share in the activity we love. On Saturday, Ashley Saupe from The Sharp End Podcast conducted an incredibly moving interview with Arc'teryx athlete Adam Campbell about the avalanche that took his wife’s life, and the struggles he faced as he blamed himself for it. Other talks on Saturday included a panel on Female First Ascents and how helpful they are to recognizing the cutting edge of women’s climbing, featuring the voices of Lynn Hill,  Madeliene Sorkin, Sarah Leanne Hart, and Arlene Blum. Finally, Jordan Cannon and Patrick Dunn discussed LGBTQ+ visibility and mentorship in the climbing industry. 

The Annual Gathering was a huge success because it brought the AAC Community together and escalated the momentum we have towards building an inclusive, excited, motivated community. We can’t wait for future events, like the 2022 Craggin’ Classic Series that can continue to foster this community!

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If you enjoyed hearing about Jordan's journey, learn more about him and what he's doing to mentor others in the climbing world, highlighted in this film!

If you are interested in hearing the Female First Ascents Panel for yourself, keep an eye out for an episode dropping soon on the American Alpine Club Podcast!

You can listen to The Sharp End Podcast here.

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Advocacy In Action: Reconciliation is Back!

In the midst of the action scoping out the exposure below. AAC member Savannah Cummins

By AAC Advocacy and Gov’t Affairs Manager, Amelia Howe

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

I know what you are thinking, but no, you are not having a deja vu moment. There is momentum building behind the reconciliation package, but this time, it’s focused solely on climate and conservation investments. We need you and the collective climbing community to write to your lawmakers in support of these critical climate investments in order to get this passed and enacted into law as soon as possible.

The American Alpine Club and other organizations like the Outdoor Alliance spent a lot of time in 2021 educating our members and advocating for the passage of a major social spending package, better known as the Build Back Better Act. While the original package was full of things like universal pre-K and affordable healthcare, the AAC worked to support this package due to the myriad investments that would address the climate crisis and improve public lands infrastructure. Summit Register 004 contains an article outlining how this package fell apart right before the New Year due to Congress’ inability to reach a consensus surrounding the importance of these investments. This political rollercoaster led many to believe that there was no hope for the passage of Build Back Better. Now that lawmakers are back from winter break and diving into a midterm election season, it is clear that hope remains for important aspects of Build Back Better. There is especially exciting potential for the $555 billion to be invested in climate and public lands provisions.

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Some of these provisions include efforts to:

+  Conserve threatened landscapes

+  Create climate adaptation plans within the Forest Service so they can better address how changing temperatures are impacting natural resources

+  Dedicate additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) resources for agencies

+  Better resource wildfire planning and response

+  Address and reform fossil fuel development processes on public lands

+  Fund climate resilience projects on public lands

+  Invest in urban parks and trail systems

+  Increase access to public lands and trails

+  Create a Civilian Climate Corps

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PC: AAC member Calder Davey

Climate change and aging public lands infrastructure should be at the top of mind for climbers when it comes to issues to address and advocate for in 2022. From a climber’s perspective, changes in climate will undoubtedly impact access to climbing and will, in turn, negatively impact the recreation economy. Inconsistent and longer wildfire seasons impact access to outdoor climbing opportunities during the summer and fall, and ice routes that once were classic are now rarely seen. It is easy to identify how our collective inability to act on climate will impact the sport. But the impacts of climate change touch every aspect of life, and these impacts on climbing are only a small piece of why these investments are so important.

An investment of this nature could change the trajectory of the US’ response on climate change, and the impacts will be deeply felt at the local community level. If you are excited about the prospect of these critical investments in climate action and public lands restoration, this is the moment to let your lawmakers know.



Durango Climbers Join Forces

A Cornerstone Conservation Grant Story

By Luke Mehall, Publisher of The Climbing Zine

& Taylor Luneau, AAC Policy Manager

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

Grant Perdue feeling the water below on Close to the Edge, 5.11+ at Cascade Canyon. AAC member Will McKay

The Durango Climbers Coalition (DCC) started with a single issue: we wanted to secure a local beloved sport and ice climbing crag called Cascade Canyon. We had learned that the land—which contains challenging limestone sport climbing, our only local ice climbing, and a beautiful waterfall—was located on private property.

Cascade Canyon is home to one of the most aesthetic climbs in Southwestern Colorado: Close to the Edge. Climbers drop into the deep canyon before traversing under a wide collection of technical roof climbs until eventually reaching Cascade Creek, where the pumpy 11c emerges from the water. In the winter, climbers cross the frozen creek to a small but challenging group of ice pillars and mixed climbs. On the best days, you can lace up your ice boots for a few pitches of ice before crossing the river once more to round out your day with a couple rock routes, basking in the Coloradan sun. Few climbing areas offer such a bounty for the climbing community—no matter the season.

How could we secure this land for public use forever? This question led us down a rabbit hole of climbing activism.

Since then, we’ve realized that the Durango climbing community has several issues that need to be addressed, ranging from trail work needs to organizing cleanups of graffiti and trash. But for local climbing organizations like the DCC to successfully manage these kinds of concerns, they need ample resources. Enter our application for the American Alpine Club Cornerstone Conservation Grant.

As much as Cascade Canyon needs protection, some of our other local climbing areas need some love. Animas Mountain, which contains several different climbing zones, and is a mere five minutes from downtown Durango, is at the top of the list. Bouldering is the main attraction with hundreds of blocks scattered in a zone climbers call Sailing Hawks. On the opposite side of the mountain rests X-Rock, containing an assortment of introductory routes and home to Durango’s local sandstone tower, perched high above the Animas River Valley. Excellent running and mountain biking trails provide access to the mountain’s summit and some of the city’s most aesthetic viewpoints.

Anika Bach enjoying her climb up X-Rock in Durango, CO. Land of the Diné Bikéyah, Pueblos, and Ute peoples. Grumpyhighlander photography

Last year, X-Rock was vandalized with several hundred square feet of graffiti, which led to a mobilization of the climbing community to clean it up. We’d previously teamed up with the City of Durango to clean up graffiti at Sailing Hawks, so we had a little bit of experience. This incident sparked action and built community, and the DCC led the way. After eight hours of effort, we restored the sweeping red walls of this scenic climbing area with the help of 18 local climbers, city and county officials, and a Colorado Springs based non-profit, Keeping Colorado Beautiful.

The problems with X-Rock were not over after the cleanup. Irresponsible public lands users have been trashing the area, leaving behind used needles, other forms of trash, and in one case, a gun.

The need for the grant was clear. Trail work and signage would be crucial as we fight to keep this public land safe and sustainable for climbers and other nature lovers. The 5k grant from the AAC will significantly assist with this endeavor. We will formalize the area with a climbers’ kiosk, reinforce eroded approach trails, and direct new climbers to their day’s objective with additional tail signage. This effort would not be achievable without the AAC’s support, along with the City of Durango and La Plata County.

We’ve had some progress on assisting with securing future access to Cascade Canyon. At the same time, we’ve realized the need for the Durango Climbers Coalition as an organization. This need will outlast any current member, and we are here to do the good work, with a lot of help from our friends at the American Alpine Club!

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Building Skills As A Climbing Advocate

A Sneak Peak at the CAN Education Program

Compiled by Hannah Provost, AAC Content Manager

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

PC: AAC member Francois Lebeau

The Climbers Advocacy Network (CAN) is the new focus of the AAC Policy Team. The AAC envisions a network of empowered, passionate, and educated climbers who apply their love of climbing to protect our natural landscapes and advocate for equitable and sustainable access to the outdoors. Part of building a grassroots network of climbing advocates involves assessing the skills and capacity of our team and building skills where there are gaps. That is why the first step of the Climber’s Advocacy Network is CAN EDU. Below, learn more about the key takeaways from some of our CAN EDU courses and how you can take action!

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Graham Zimmerman

Professional Climber, AAC Board President, POW Alliance Manager 

Climbers and Mountain Athletes are Ideal Storytellers and Advocates

Climbers are individuals who are making long-term investments of time and energy into wild landscapes. We have witnessed and understand the changes that are taking place due to climate change.

I find this particularly true for the high altitude and high latitude parts of our planet where climate change has been evident for decades, but it is also true for any crag or boulder in today’s world.

Our relationships to these spaces make us natural candidates for advocacy. Yes, this work is hard and uncomfortable, but, as climbers, we strive to do hard, intimidating, and frequently uncomfortable things. This means that we are uniquely prepared for this work by virtue of our collective stories about landscapes and our ability to put in the work. When we find ourselves aligned with the solution to a problem, in my opinion, it becomes our responsibility.

Your Climbing Stories are an Asset

I have always kept diligent journals of my climbing expeditions. They occupy a shelf in my office. Within them are hundreds of stories of success, failure, joy, and frustration. Looking back, I can also see stories that can be repurposed into advocacy. It’s been an invaluable resource for my work on climate, and I suspect it will continue to be for whatever the future brings.

So write down what you do, write down what you saw, write down how it made you feel. Your experiences in the mountains are exceptional, and reaching into them will forever be helpful when you are advocating for the protection of those places and the communities that rely on them for a healthy planet.

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5 Tips for Creating Campaigns That Make a Difference

1. Define your goals, both long and short term.

+ Do everything you can to make those goals measurable so that you can provide a definitive assessment of what worked and what did not.

2. Bring along your friends and create room for new ones.

+ We are not in this alone. How can you bring others into the campaign?

3. Lean into opportunities to have your work amplified.

+ Make your goals, progress, and storytelling accessible to partners who want to help amplify your project. Don’t be afraid to leverage your connections.

4. Look for intersections with other campaigns or issues.

+ None of these issues exist in a vacuum. Understand how your work may affect others. At least make sure it doesn’t create harm. Better yet, consider how you can include others.

5. Take care of yourself.

+ Whether it’s social justice, climate, or whatever else, we will not solve these problems anytime soon. The most important thing that we must do is look after ourselves to continue to do the work. Take that break—it will make you stronger for doing more work tomorrow.

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Chris Perkins

Senior Director at Outdoor Recreation Roundtable

Outdoor Recreation Can Be a Bipartisan Lever for Change

One of the reasons outdoor recreationists are so good at leveraging change is that the benefits of outdoor recreation are bipartisan. When we get outside, whether through climbing, hunting, hiking, boating, fishing, or a walk in the park, we feel improved mental and physical health, as well as connection to our public lands and waters. That’s attractive no matter where you are on the political spectrum.

Outdoor recreation has impacts on an economic and community level that are also bipartisan. Investing in outdoor recreation infrastructure, like trailheads or marinas, can be an economic development strategy. For communities that traditionally have relied on extractive economies that are more susceptible to boom and bust cycles, outdoor recreation development can provide a more stable strategy for communities to employ. Such strategies benefit locals and visitors alike. In this way, the benefits of outdoor recreation, including mental health, physical health, and economic benefits, can be benefits we all share.

This is THE MOMENT for Outdoor Recreation Policy

Movements that leverage the power and potential of outdoor recreation are having a moment on the Hill. This is partly due to the public health crisis of COVID and the need for safe, restorative places to gather, as well as the increasing visibility of climate impacts. Momentum is also building because of the need to redress inequitable access to green spaces. Americans of color have access to 44% less greenspace than white Americans, based on a study of park acreage in the 100 most populated cities in America.

Additionally, the outdoor industry is being recognized as a growing economic sector. In 2017, the Bureau of Economic Analysis began to measure the economic impact of the outdoor recreation economy. These impacts are substantial. In 2020, the outdoor recreation industry was a $689 billion industry, contributing 2% of US GDP and 4.3 million jobs.

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4 Habits of a Climbing Advocate

1. Get Specific

+ Focus on three or four issues that are especially important to you. Go deeper into those four key topics and let other people be the champions of the issues you aren’t as connected to. Find a community of like-minded people who are agitating.

2. Be Fluent in the Value of Outdoor Recreation

+ A considerable part of your advocacy power is being able to tell compelling stories about why outdoor recreation, and the lands that sustain it, are important enough to be protected, prioritized, and equitable. If you are fluent in the reasons why, especially if you can identify the perspective of your audience and the kinds of arguments they might find most compelling, you will have more success.

3. Be A Role Model

+ Being a climbing advocate starts with taking care of the crags you frequent. Be conscious of your habits and footprint. The Leave No Trace ethics you practice are replicated by others. When we are good stewards, it is easier to educate other climbers on their own impact.

4. Be Part of the Problem Solving Process

+ When there are opportunities to interface with land management agencies about solutions to manage visitation at your home crags, show up when you can. If recreationists are seen as a group that takes and takes and doesn’t give back, we could lose recreation access. Be part of the problem-solving process.

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Andres Esparza

Grassroots Engagement Director, Conservation Lands Foundation

Identify Key Partners Before Launching a Campaign

A coalition is a group of people or organizations coming together for a mutual cause. You accumulate power and possibility through working with partners, but it is all too easy to default to the same people or organizations.

When we only rely on go-to partners, we can miss out on the perspectives of other partners and communities. You should always ask: whose land is this, and are they being represented? This might include Indigenous communities, ranch owners, farmers, oil companies, climbers, and other outdoor recreationists. Map out where each of these potential partners lies in terms of opposition or support of your campaign. Even if you don’t officially partner with them, ask: What is their influence? What do we have to learn from them?

We all connect to landscapes in some way. For some people, it is a means to financial security, whether by extraction, farming, or ranching. For others, it’s a place to escape and recreate. And for others, it’s a profoundly spiritual and sacred place. You can better understand many of the folks involved in your campaign if you consider that a landscape can mean many things to many people.

Coming from this place of learning ensures you don’t make assumptions about potential partners and alienate them. Don’t assume that the partners you hope to engage have the same needs or desires as you. Instead, ask.

Your Local Climbing and Conservations Organizations are Your Best Friend

Climbers participating in a clinic at the International Climbers’ Festival in Lander, WY. Land of the Cheyenne, Eastern Shoshone, and Apsaalooké peoples. AAC
member Michael Lim

Local climbing organizations (LCOs) tap you into a community of passionate climbers who are advocating for the crags in your backyard. Encourage your LCOs to engage with local conservation groups, like Friends of Cedar Mesa or Utah Diné Bikéyah. They are in the know about resource management plans and threats to the landscape. These kinds of organizations are on the leading edge of what’s possible or what’s coming.

Don’t Be the Asshole Local

As climbers and skiers, we can get protective of our local places—but we need to welcome visitors. By being those asshole locals who are unfriendly to visitors, nobody wins. Yes, there is an increased impact on the landscape, but we can manage that. We can build trails and infrastructure. By being welcoming, you’re building love for a place across the larger community.

Through this love and the partnerships it creates, we will win when we need to protect a local area. We can’t be the asshole locals and alienate our potential allies.

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4 Questions to Ask To Build Strong Campaigns and Coalitions

1. Start with: WHY?

+ Simon Sineck writes that we should always begin with: Why are you doing what you do? Too often, we jump into the how and what before we fully establish why we are participating in a project. We need to soul search, as individuals and as organizations, and determine if campaigns or coalitions we are joining align with our own goals. We don’t have to say yes to every campaign. In fact, that’s not very strategic. Starting with “Why?” allows us to assess when we need to walk away and other times when we need to dive in.

2. What perspectives are you missing?

+ Always ask, “Whose land am I on?” to think expansively about all the stakeholders in any given campaign.

3. Do you have the power to accomplish your goal?

+ Thoroughly conduct a campaign viability assessment. Is this the best time? Who are the decision-makers that have an impact on this matter, and who has power over the decision-makers? Do we have the tools at our disposal to influence the people who have power in this matter? If the answer to these questions is discouraging, you don’t necessarily have to back away. Frequently, the campaigns that look the least likely can be the most transformative. However, a realistic assessment of your power is crucial.

4. What support will you need—and actually have access to—to do this work?

+ This includes people power, but crucially it also raises the question of how the campaign will be financially supported. Be realistic. And most importantly, be mindful of how you utilize your volunteers and staff in order to be respectful of their time and mental labor.

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It’s 2022: Stay Current and Take Action!

Focusing on footwork, Rannveig Aamot takes on Tabula Rasa 5.10c, at The Monastery outside of Estes Park, CO. Land of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute peoples. AAC member Nathan Welton

Keep an eye on these upcoming opportunities to support policies and initiatives that matter to climbers.

Graham Says...Vote in the Midterms

In 2018 the country had its largest midterm voter turnout in four decades, with a dismal fifty-three percent of the citizen voting-age population voting. Voting is our most straightforward and most important tool for driving change in the United States. So show up and make sure that your community does as well. If we do, we can change the country.

Chris Says...Ask Your Senators to Support the Upcoming Recreation Package

This bipartisan recreation package encapsulates many of the bills that the AAC policy team has been advocating for over the years, including the SOAR Act, SHRED Act, Recreation Not Red Tape, and new Outdoor Recreation Act. Take action by calling or writing your senators, especially those who serve on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee.

Andres Says...Advocate for the Outdoors for All Act and the Transit to Trails Act

These two acts combined could massively change the accessibility of outdoor recreation for historically underserved communities. The Outdoors for All Act would create a dedicated source of funding for projects that overcome obstacles to practicing outdoor activities. In the climbing world, that might mean funding public gear libraries and guided trips run through community centers. The Transit to Trails Act compliments this by funding projects that make public transportation to green spaces and public lands more accessible.

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Updates From Your Policy Team: The Climber's Advocacy Network

By Advocacy and Gov’t Affairs Manager, Amelia Howe

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

Warming light near Sedona, AZ. Land of the Hohokam, Hopitutskwa, Yavapaiv Apache, and Jumanos peoples. AAC member Jeremiah Watt

At the American Alpine Club, it is no secret that the power of our policy and advocacy work is fueled by passionate climbers from across the country. They may be the policy chair of their local chapter, long-term AAC volunteers taking initiative to get involved in a climbing management plan, an AAC member flagging an issue happening at their local crag, or a climber hoping to learn how to create impact in their community. Regardless of who the individual may be or how they are connected to the Club, climbers are deeply engaged in policy and advocacy. We believe that change happens when everyday climbers unite around a shared cause and are positioned to advocate for the interests of their community. Therefore, over the past several months, the AAC policy department has been cultivating the inaugural Climbers’ Advocacy Network (CAN).

There has been a lot of impactful policy and advocacy work happening in AAC chapters across the country. We hope to be better allies of these individuals and provide them with the education and resources they need to be more effective in their local communities. To kickstart the program, we observed where this work was already happening and where volunteers were most excited to engage in policy and advocacy efforts. Through interviews with climbers and gathering data from our Annual Climber’s Survey, we landed on these initial hubs: California, Colorado, D.C., Georgia, New England, Utah, and Washington.

We are in the process of recruiting volunteer teams and creating a Climbers’ Advocacy Curriculum. This curriculum will enable our climbing advocate volunteers to enhance their policy and advocacy skillsets and ultimately take on projects in their local communities.

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The Ultimate Dream for the CAN:

Meadows in Yosemite National Park, CA. Land of the Me-Wuk and Numu peoples. AAC member Jeremiah Watt

+  Each AAC section and chapter has a CAN Chair or Policy Chair that will work closely with their local chapter, the AAC HQ, their local climbing organization, and other coalition partners to build conservation and climate capacity on a local level.

+  They will create campaign plans to address issues that matter most to climbers in their regions.

+  Campaigns + projects will be different from place to place because each community is unique and has its own strengths and weaknesses.

+  Projects could look like rallying climber support for a new Office of the Outdoors in your state or hosting voter registration nights at their local gym.

What ideas do you have for building local impact in your climbing community?

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From our office in Golden, we know that we don’t have adequate context to tell our members what issues they should care about in their communities. It is critical that we listen to folks on the ground to find out how to best support critical climate and conservation work across the country, and that’s where you come in. Do you live in one of our CAN kickoff states and want to get involved? Let us know here.

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Climber’s Advocacy Network Crag Tour

Stunning ambiance of Dead Horse Point, UT. Land of the Ute people. AAC member Jeremiah Watt

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Damon Yeh

CAN Hub: California

What are your local climbing spots?

I currently live in San Diego, CA, and you can usually find me at the Mesa Rim climbing gyms. On weekends, I try to make my way out to Joshua Tree NP, but if I only have a half-day free, Mt. Woodson is one of my favorite spots.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

Climbing has provided me with many opportunities and helped me build a lot of meaningful relationships. I am less interested in pushing grades. Rather, I find joy in exploring nature and hanging out with the people I care about.

If there was a book written about you and climbing, what would it be called?

“Never Too Proud to Top Rope!”

Are there any particular issues you think your region will be focused on at this point?

Shingo Ohkawa bouldering in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. Land of the Western Shoshone and Serrano peoples. AAC member Andrew Burr

There is a lot to cover in the state of California! Fifty-two percent of the state is public land, and the vast majority is federal land. I am most concerned about making sure everyone has equitable access to nature. Not everyone feels they have a place on our public lands or that they have a voice in how we manage them. My goal is to break down barriers for everyone to get more involved with our public lands.

Why should climbers in your region volunteer with you to build CAN Capacity?

Climbers should volunteer with me because I want everyone to have a seat at the table. California is a big state, and we need all hands on deck to build a sustainable and equitable future!

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Elliot Becker

CAN Hub: Washington D.C.

What are your local climbing spots?

I’m living in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C. My home crags are Seneca Rocks and the New River Gorge.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

I really love all aspects of climbing. While my favorite is long rock routes, the advent of COVID and the arrival of a new baby have turned me into a more dedicated boulderer of late.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

I’ve long taken the view that whatever you care about, you should organize to improve. I care a lot about climbing, so I want to do what I can to enhance the situation here. I’m particularly looking forward to increasing my ability to talk to elected leaders.

The New River Gorge. Land of the Moneton, Tutelo, Yuchi, and Shawandasse Tula peoples. AAC member Francois Lebeau

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

The D.C. area has a lot of people and not a lot of good rock, so we need to do what we can to improve and maintain access throughout the region. We need to be alert to any opportunities to expand access and any threats to access while also improving organization and infrastructure to support higher numbers.

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Reese Rogers

CAN Hub: Georgia

What are your local climbing spots?

I live in Decatur, GA, just east of Atlanta. I boulder at Boat Rock in Atlanta and enjoy the crags around Chattanooga like Tennessee Wall and Foster Falls. I also climb at Stone Summit gyms in the Atlanta area.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

For me, climbing is a way to experience landscapes from a new perspective and a reason to explore my local region and learn more about it. I was an avid backpacker before I was a climber, and climbing initially appealed to me when I realized I could go up mountains instead of just walking around them. This exploration aspect of climbing is essential to me and part of the reason I enjoy everything from bouldering to ski mountaineering.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

Squeezing their way up Bumboy (V3) during the Float the Boat compeition at Boat Rock in Atlanta, GA. Land of the Muscogee and East Cherokee peoples. Kate Okenatez-Mahoney

I’ve worked on energy and climate issues throughout my career. It has always been difficult to disentangle discussions around energy production, climate change, public lands management, and, increasingly, outdoor recreation. I am glad to see the AAC wrestling with these larger issues that affect this passion of ours, and I want to contribute to these discussions more. The opportunity to learn advocacy skills alongside others who share a passion for climbing is a big motivator. Climbing definitely heightened my awareness of local public lands management issues and specific climate change impacts globally.

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

Access and awareness of climbers as a user group seem to be perennial issues in the Southeast. We don’t have large swaths of federal public lands in the South (at least with climbing), so much of the climbing is in state-managed parks or on private lands where access has been negotiated with the landowner. Fortunately, we have amazing LCOs in the Southeastern Climbers Coalition and the Carolina Climbers Coalition. They do great work creating and maintaining access and promoting stewardship. As climbers grow as a user group, we will need to ensure that state and regional policies and resources match the increasing use of these typically under-resourced areas.

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Alma Baste

CAN Hub: Utah

What are your local climbing spots?

I just moved to Salt Lake City! So I guess Little Cottonwood Canyon would now be my local crag.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

Complicated. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship somedays. Overall though, I really love the sport. I love the community, and the way you can meet new people and make friends regardless of where you live. I’ve met so many new people during my solo sessions at Rocktown. Beyond that, I love the mobilization climbers have in terms of stewardship and advocacy. When we’re really passionate and care about something, we go for it with the same intensity that we have for pursuing climbing objectives.

If there was a book written about you and climbing, what would it be called?

“The Ghost at Nose Candy”—I’ve had several people recognize me from working that boulder so much this past season; it’s almost embarrassing, but it is a magnificent boulder. And I love spooky stuff.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

My first trip to Indian Creek was shortly before it became part of Bears Ears National Monument. After the monument was rescinded, I became more and more aware of the need for advocacy surrounding climbing areas. Since then, I’ve pursued a master’s degree in Environmental Policy. The Climber’s Advocacy Network seemed like an excellent opportunity to gain even more skills, especially outside of a university, and focus on more local issues—like getting climbing included in management plans for different wilderness areas.

Jimmy Keithley, Vultures are Waiting 5.8,
The Cobblehorn, City Creek Canyon, UT. Land of the Goshute and Eastern Shoshone peoples. AAC member Andrew Burr

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

I’m still learning the SLC issues and building connections with local stakeholders like the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance, but I know the threat of a gondola or road expansion projects in Little Cottonwood Canyon has been a big subject lately. Both projects result in the destruction of popular bouldering areas throughout the canyon. Neither of them does much to improve the issue they intend to solve.

Why should climbers in your region volunteer with you to build CAN Capacity?

Because I can’t do this alone! And while I am incredibly obsessed with Utah, I’m by no means a local and would love to have the expertise of someone who’s been here far longer than me.

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Daniel Kroth

CAN Hub: New England

What are your local climbing spots?

I live in Cambridge, MA. Brooklyn Boulders Sommerville is my local gym.

How would you describe your relationship with climbing?

I think many climbers like to solve puzzles on and off the wall, test themselves physically, and explore the edges of their comfort zone. Like most of us, I feel as though my life can largely be divided into intellectual, physical, and emotional or expressive pursuits. One of the things I love most about getting outside to climb is combining these three facets of myself to approach new challenges.

Why are you excited to gain more advocacy and policy skills?

A beautiful day to boulder with Kai Lightner at the Gunks in New York. Land of the Munsee Lenape People. AAC member Chris Vultaggio

I’m excited because this stuff matters! I was able to build a meaningful connection to the outdoors in large part because easy access and low costs made it possible for my family to get outside. I want to build the skills necessary to help preserve this access and expand it to others.

Are there any particular issue areas you think your region will be focused on at this point?

Here in the Northeast, I think we have an excellent opportunity to advocate for equitable access to outdoor recreation. Of course, climate change awareness will be of paramount importance across the Club. With popular support for both initiatives in our region, we’re well-positioned to make an impact.

Why should climbers in your region volunteer with you to build CAN capacity?

Whether you’re in the area for school or grew up with a local crag, this group can help you build the skills and connections to advocate for issues important to you. We’re looking for teammates to think through the issues, keep a finger on the pulse of the local climbing community, and connect ideas to advocacy.

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The Seed of a Story: A Conversation with Nina Williams

By Nina Williams, Professional Rock Climber and AAC Board Member

& Hannah Provost, AAC Content Manager

This article originally appeared in Summit Register 005.

Nina Williams enjoying Lizzard the Gizzard, 5.11d in the Cayman Islands. Land of the Taino people. AAC member Andrew Burr

Communication is key. It’s a trite saying in climbing, let alone most other realms of life. We’ve heard countless retellings of accidents that would have been avoided if a belay partner had been paying better attention or everyone had been on the same page about the intricacies of a descent. While the complexity of communicating about policies and advocacy initiatives is a little different than yelling “Off Belay,” the lessons we’ve learned about the importance of communication in climbing carry over to communicating as a climbing advocate.

Nina Williams, professional rock climber and AAC Board Member, believes that effective communication skills are the groundwork for all of our other advocacy skills.

In this issue of the Summit Register, we’ll introduce you to our Climbers Advocacy Network (CAN) volunteers and offer a look at the curriculum and skill sets our volunteers are learning in the CAN EDU program. These include skills such as becoming fluent in the value of outdoor recreation, identifying key partners for a campaign, building strong coalitions, and keeping advocacy sustainable. But throughout the articles that follow, there is an underlying thread: the power of transparent and meaningful communication.

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Beginnings

Nina’s personal experiences as a young climber set the stage for how important communication would become in her career as an athlete and advocate.

During her early years it was rare for Nina to see other women or people of color at the crag. As a biracial Chinese-American, she did not see herself or her story represented in the climbing community. Nina felt compelled to prove that she belonged. This mindset, while motivating in some ways, was also isolating and lonely.

Author Nina Williams, dancing on Flying
the Colors 5.11c, Sector Sea Horse, The Northeast Point, Cayman Brac, The Cayman Islands. Land of the Taino people. AAC member Andrew Burr

“As a young person, I was usually one of the only girls in the gym. It was always about keeping up with the boys. But as an adult, I started to see other women and hear the stories of other climbers of color and started to realize that I was not alone in this–there are people like me that are experiencing the same things. It created a sense of lightness. I didn’t feel so alone.”

The realization that came from the power of exposure and deeper feelings of community led Nina to believe that there is immense power in storytelling and making space for others’ stories. Ultimately, this experience guided her into the path of advocacy.

Nina was emphatic: “We need to speak up for those who feel they do not have a voice or a presence in the spaces where we climb.” And that includes the land and natural resources we are trying to protect and the surrounding communities that are likewise impacted by climate change and inequitable access.

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Communication as Space

Nina’s personal experiences with the transformative possibility of storytelling pulled her to pursue a degree in Communication. This background informs the powerful strategies she uses in advocacy settings to ensure that advocating doesn’t just become yelling into the void.

Nina explains that the traditional understanding of how we communicate is transactional: you say something with an intended message. Ideally the other person understands your intended message, processes it, and responds with their own message in kind. With this traditional understanding, the literal message being conveyed—the words themselves—is the only element under consideration when making meaning. This model views communication as a back-and-forth transmission of information. However, if you broaden your view of communication just slightly, you are much more likely to get your message across.

Bouldering at Rumbling Bald,
NC. Land of the Catawba, Eastern Cherokee, and Yuchi peoples. AAC member Forest Woodward

Nina argues that, by looking at communication with a wider lens, we can see the expansive and colorful spaces that exist within each person. These spaces are our life experiences, joys, biases, personal traumas, and more. One person’s space (i.e. everything they have lived through) is separate and unique from yours. This creates subtle differences in each individual’s communication styles. Communication is the process of navigating both the similarities and differences in each person’s space. Our spaces influence the way we speak, our body language, and how we communicate with others. Ignoring our own experiences, or the experiences of those we are speaking with, oversimplifies the many elements of our lives that infuse our ability to hear another’s message or to be compelled by it.

With this model of communication in mind, Nina recommends the following tips for communication that respects and acknowledges the complexities that each person brings to any given encounter.

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Nina’s Top 3 Tips for Effective Conversation

1. Acknowledge and Recognize Someone’s Life Experience (someone’s space):

+ You don’t have to agree with them, but once someone feels they are seen, they are more likely to relax their initial defensive barrier.

2. Validate and Affirm:

+ Find a common thread and validate the commonness between you. You can always find something that you share, and affirming this connection aligns you and the person you are speaking with.

3. Genuine Active Listening

+ Let someone tell their story and create their space for you. Listen without giving advice or offering your own opinion. Let go of your agenda for a moment and really hear what they care about and how their story gives insight into what motivates them.

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Build Your Personal Narrative

"Climbers are powerful storytellers just purely based on how powerful climbing is as a sport and as a community! There are so many parallels between the way we approach climbing and the ways we approach life," Nina says. Climbing is a part of your communication "space," but it is not a part of everyone's. Bridging that gap is imperative for articulating why you are motivated to advocate and why these issues matter.

When identifying storytelling opportunities that connect to climbing, Nina encourages people to look past the individual moves or grades and think about how the act of climbing is impacting their everyday life or their way of being.

"If I am describing how small the holds are, or how many pull-ups I am doing in the gym, or how I put a rope down to practice the top out, nonclimbers may not really get it."

Instead, Nina suggests we communicate how climbing is a vehicle for experiences and values that many of us share.

"For example, I might touch on the beauty of the landscape and how the process of climbing pushes me to learn more about things outside of climbing like human anatomy, new ways to calm the mind through meditation, or the Indigenous connection to a place."

These are more universal concepts that people, climbers and nonclimbers alike, can take away from the story and implement into their own life. In Nina's eyes, that is the key to storytelling, figuring out how to relate your experiences and what you learned throughout the experience to someone else.

"When storytelling, I like to think about the gift or the thing that is embedded within my story that someone else will take away and utilize in their own life. That is how you spread the seed of a story and give others the tools they need to build out their own story."

Stories that resonate can be the tipping point for action or inspiration for another climber to join with us in advocacy. They can open the way for an inclusive community and persuade lawmakers that these issues matters. So dig in—what's the seed of your story?

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PROTECT: Joshua Tree Climbing Management Plan

Episode 04

PROTECT: Joshua Tree Climbing Management Plan

Joshua Tree National Park is going to ban bolts? Hold up now. The conversation around land management and climbing management plans (CMP) can get a little tense when climbers feel like our access to the rock is under threat. But what is really going on with J-Tree NP’s proposed management plan? It’s not as simple as the banning bolts rumor would have it. AAC Policy Manager, Taylor Luneau, and former Joshua Tree Superintendent, Mark Butler, sit down with us to talk about the need for the CMP, the tricky land management paradox of bolts in designated Wilderness areas, and how you can get involved to protect Joshua Tree and promote responsible climbing.

The Prescription — April 2022

Ground Fall | Rappel Failure

The Apron, Squamish, British Columbia

On the afternoon of September 3, 2021, Dany Dalpe (29) suffered a 200-foot ground fall from several pitches up on The Apron in Squamish. At the time, Dalpe was a climber with five years of experience. Though he consistently climbed 5.13 sport routes, his multi-pitch experience was limited to two years, mainly on bolted routes around Squamish. His partner (female, 29) was a beginner climber using borrowed gear. This was her first multi-pitch outing.

Around 12:30 p.m. the pair started up Born Again, a link-up combining sections of established routes with new pitches to create “the best protected 5.10 on the Apron.” Its copious protection, bolted belays, and generally forgiving angle made it a fine choice given the team’s limited experience.

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Red line shows the first two pitches of Born Again. Instead of continuing up this route (red arrow), the climbers traversed left and climbed the second pitch of Dream On (yellow line). When their attempt to rappel (yellow arrow) failed, the leader tumbled to the ground. Photo by Kris Wild

To avoid a party climbing above, Dalpe decided to traverse left near the end of the second pitch. After joining Dream On, he found the climbing changed character. The next pitch was less forgiving and had only one protection bolt. At the top of his third lead, Dalpe recalls thinking, “This was not the day I had in mind.” The climbing above appeared even more demanding. “I looked up the next pitch and decided it was not worth it.”

At 1:30 p.m., his climbing partner arrived at the belay, and Dalpe told her they would be descending from there. The partner carried a traditional belay/rappel device, though she was not experienced enough to rappel. Dalpe planned to use his Grigri to lower her and then make a single-line rappel, using her weight at the opposite end of the rope as a counterweight anchor. He untied his partner, threaded the rope end through the rappel rings, retied her, and then used his Grigri to lower her to a prominent ledge. Once there, she traversed to a tree anchor and connected to it with a personal anchor system (PAS). Before lowering her, Dalpe said to his partner, “Go to the tree anchor, clip in, and do nothing.”

Dalpe set his Grigri up to rappel and started down the single strand. Halfway to the tree anchor, the rope became suddenly unweighted and Dalpe fell. He recalls, “I was tumbling and everything went black. Then I hit something…and went black. I hit something again…black. I hit another thing…black. I was probably screaming for five seconds.”

While falling, the rope through Dalpe’s Grigri went slack and, “I saw the rope swirling orange and I kept asking, ‘When am I gonna stop?’ ”

Dalpe hit the ground, rolled a distance, and came to rest at a tree. Climbers approaching the cliff rushed up to help. One called for an ambulance at 1:45 p.m. Another team that was on Born Again rappelled to Dalpe’s partner and lowered her to the ground. At 3:45 p.m., Dalpe was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

He escaped with relatively minor injuries considering his 200-foot tumble (He was not wearing a helmet.) He suffered a broken sternum, two broken bones in the right foot, plus multiple abrasions to his scapula and back of his head.  He spent one month on a couch, and four months later he was climbing 5.13 again. (Sources: Interview with Dany Dalpe and report from British Columbia Emergency Health Services.)

Analysis

It appears the rappel failed when Dalpe’s partner somehow managed to untie her knot as he rappelled the single strand. Later, her half-tied figure-8 was discovered to be cinched tight; her end of the rope with the half-tied knot had pulled through the rappel rings—no doubt slowing Dalpe as he tumbled toward the ground. It seems likely she began to untie as soon as she clipped into the anchor, and that some element of the system temporarily held Dalpe’s weight until he had already committed to the rappel.

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Dany Dalpe, on the road to recovery.

Counterweight systems—simul-rappelling, counter-ascending, or the descent method chosen by Dalpe in this incident—are for experts only. (In fact, accidents involving such systems have claimed even very experienced climbers.) The entire team needs to understand the necessity and process of maintaining a closed system until both parties are on the ground or securely anchored. Given his partner’s limited experience, Dalpe could have made better choices involving the route, equipment, and rappel method.

The transition from single-pitch sport to multi-pitch—even on a mostly bolted climb with solid chain anchors—presents many challenges. First was equipment. This pair was equipped with a single rope and only one belay/rappel device, which necessitated a complex counterweighted rappel when they decided to bail. Another issue was experience. Dalpe’s partner, through no fault of her own, was clearly in over her head.

Dalpe’s physical climbing ability might have contributed indirectly to the accident. Climbing 5.13 after only a few years is an empowering—and often misleading—experience. In a multi-pitch or trad environment, a metric like a sport climbing grade is an inadequate substitute for proper tools, training, and experience. To his credit, Dalpe chose to descend when he recognized they were over their head on this long route. It takes years of practice to develop the skills and judgment to safely lead an inexperienced partner up a multi-pitch climb. (Source: The Editors.)

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Flying Cams

Ancient Art, Fisher Towers, Utah

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Jeff Weinberg on top of Ancient Art. Photo by AAC staffer Robert Hakim

Mo Leuthauser, a climber from Colorado, was starting the last pitch of the Stolen Chimney route on Ancient Art, the spiraling sandstone formation in the Fisher Towers of Utah, when she noticed a soft spot on one of her harness gear loops. She mentioned it to her partner but kept climbing. As she was being lowered from the top of the tower, “I heard a pop and saw my cams and nuts fly off the left side of my harness and hurl hundreds of feet down the tower, toward hikers below. I screamed ‘rock’ as loud as I possibly could, and luckily the hikers were able to get out of the way in time.  No one was hit or injured.”

Leuthauser was using an all-around harness that was about four years old. Although harnesses generally are safe to use for considerably longer (depending on the amount and style of climbing you do), this is a good reminder to inspect all the components of critical gear regularly for wear or damage. Dropping cams this way not only creates a hazard for anyone below, it also could be very expensive! 

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The Sharp End: Episode 75

The Sharp End · Bad Fall, Broken Face (Ep. 75)

It’s the diamond jubilee of Ashley Saupe’s Sharp End podcast, which the AAC helped launch back in 2016, after Ashley approached the club about transforming stories in Accidents in North American Climbing into an interview format. In this month’s show, Ashley interviews climber Joe Lovin about a nasty tumble he took while leaving a Colorado crag, just after sending his first 5.12! As always, it’s an educational and entertaining look at the type of accident that could happen to any of us.

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The monthly Prescription newsletter is supported by the members of the American Alpine Club. Questions? Suggestions? Write to us at [email protected]. 

The AAC Offers Insights into the proposed Joshua Tree NP Climbing Management Plan

Alex Honnold, Factor Figure (5.13b), Joshua Tree National Park, CA. PC: Andrew Burr

March 13, 2022 

NPS Joshua Tree National Park 

RE: Scoping Comments on Joshua Tree Climbing Management Plan 

The American Alpine Club (“AAC”) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments for the  scoping period on the climbing management plan (“CMP”) currently underway in Joshua Tree  National Park (“JTNP”). JTNP is a world class destination for rock climbing and attracts many  of the AAC’s 25,000 members nationwide to climb and enjoy the Wilderness resources in the  JTNP. For more than a decade, the AAC has engaged in climbing management in the JTNP and  values the efforts of the National Park Service (“NPS”) to steward the abundant and unique  resources of JTNP. The CMP will be critical in managing the ecological, cultural, and natural  resources of the JTNP, especially as more people recreate in the outdoors and the population of  climbers continues to grow. The AAC looks forward to working with the NPS to steward these  important resources for generations to come and support their endeavor to create an informed  CMP. 

I. The American Alpine Club 

The AAC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Golden, Colorado, with over 25,000  members nationally. Founded in 1902 to support the research and exploration of mountainous  regions, the AAC remains committed to supporting the climbing and human-powered outdoor  

recreation communities over a century later. Grounded in community and location, the AAC’s  mission is to share and support members’ passion for climbing and respect for the places they  climb. Through education, community gatherings, stewardship, policy, advocacy, and scientific  research, the AAC strives to build a united community of competent climbers and healthy  climbing landscapes. 

II. Comments and Concerns 

The AAC’s volunteer base are large contributors to the success of the AAC. Across the nation,  the AAC engages hundreds of volunteers in policy, advocacy, and education through the 25  sections and 56 chapters of the organization. The AAC comments and concerns mentioned here  are informed by volunteer leaders of the AAC’s San Diego Chapter and the Sierra Nevada  Section.

A. The AAC is concerned with the NPS’s understanding and treatment of the Wilderness Act of 1964 (“Wilderness Act”). 

The AAC supports the efforts by JTNP to thoughtfully balance the needs of the American public  to access and enjoy primitive and unconfined recreation with the protection of Wilderness  characteristics and other natural resources found within JTNP. With more than 6,500 individual  climbing routes, a long and rich history of climbing, and a unique but fragile high desert  landscape, JTNP is a world renown climbing destination attracting climbers of all abilities 

The AAC is concerned with JTNP’s understanding and treatment of the Wilderness Act’s  meaning and particularly their definition of "fixed anchors” as “installations.” Fixed anchors  (which include bolts, pitons, nuts, slings, or any other equipment) are necessary climbing  equipment and fundamental for the safety of the climbing community, both on the ascent and  descent of technical climbing terrain. 

In crafting the Wilderness Act of 1964, Congress established the National Wilderness  Preservation System.(1) The plain language of the Wilderness Act protects and manages for those  places which have “outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of  recreation.”(2) Additionally, the Wilderness Act requires that such areas “shall be devoted to  public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.”(3)  As one of the federal land management agencies tasked with overseeing the management of  wilderness areas, the NPS must “administer[ing] such area(s) for such other purposes for which  it may have been established as also to preserve its wilderness character.”(4) Therefore, Congress’  objective was to administer wilderness areas “for the use and enjoyment of the American people  in such a manner as will be unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.” (5) 

The AAC encourages the JTNP to use their existing authorization under the 2013 Director’s  Order # 41 (“DO#41”) for the appropriate management of Wilderness climbing rather than  changing its understanding of the Wilderness Act’s definition. DO#41 is an order written to  guide servicewide efforts for the NPS in meeting the requirements for the Wilderness Act (16  U.S.C. 1131-1136).6 DO#41 recognizes climbing as “a legitimate and appropriate use of  Wilderness” and noted that “[t]he occasional placement of a fixed anchor for belay, rappel, or  protection purposes does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of Wilderness or violate the  Wilderness Act.”(7) 

Therefore, the DO#14 does not prohibit fixed anchor installations, nor does it require Minimum  Requirement Analysis (“MRA”) for the placement, removal or maintenance of fixed anchors for  recreational climbing. A new Wilderness Act interpretation, akin to the current scoping CMP, does not align with the United States federal policy and practice, and lacks public participation and political process. 

To both preserve the wilderness character8 of Wilderness Areas and to accommodate necessary  opportunities for primitive and unconfined type of recreation, tangible and intangible qualities  should be considered. Intangible qualities include biophysical environments, personal  experiences, and symbolic meanings, whereas tangible qualities include natural, undeveloped,  untrammeled.(9) These components have inherent tension and require balanced management  strategies that are challenging to develop and implement. In recognition of this complex  mandate, the AAC supports climbing practices that minimize the human impact on the  environment and, in addition, promotes Wilderness climbing as an appropriate and suitable use  of Wilderness. These practices are aimed to reduce the human influence on the landscape,  preserve the Wilderness visitor experience, and to promote appropriate (and not undue)  regulation of climbing in accordance with the Wilderness Act. 

The AAC is concerned that the new interpretation of the Wilderness Act by JTNP unnecessarily  frustrates historical use patterns of climbing in the JTNP, confuses Wilderness climbing  management policies, sets a concerning national precedent, creates serious safety concerns for  the climbing community, and erodes the climbing communities’ ability to support future  Wilderness designations. For these reasons, we encourage JTNP to focus on implementing  current NPS management policies, support more robust climber education programs, engage in  further resource stewardship, and capitalize on more opportunities to work with non-profit  partners to resolve climbing-related management issues. 

B. JTNP’s interpretation of the Wilderness Act departs from national policy guidance and  sets concerning precedent for Wilderness climbing resources. 

The use of fixed anchors to facilitate climbing in remote backcountry locations predates the  enactment of the Wilderness Act by several decades. More importantly, both federal agencies,  the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture, as well as notable Wilderness  advocacy organizations, have long understood fixed anchors to be appropriate in Wilderness.  The AAC has long supported the consistency between federal agencies regarding the  management of fixed anchors in Wilderness. For the NPS, DO#41 provides consistency and  predictability for the climbing community within the NPS Wilderness Areas. 

The JTNP’s CMP proposal is in opposition to decades of management policy regarding fixed  anchors in various federal areas, including in other NPS managed Wilderness Areas. This is in direct contrast to the public process and stakeholder input approved by the Director of the NPS in  2013, who issued DO#41 “to provide accountability, consistency, and continuity in the [NPS]  wilderness stewardship program, and to guide servicewide efforts in meeting the requirements of  the Wilderness Act.” (10)

It is also important to note that in the past the NPS has not questioned or misinterpreted “fixed  anchors” to be “prohibited installations” under the Wilderness Act, Section 4(c).(11) The 1993  Joshua Tree CMP(12) and the 2000 Joshua Tree Backcountry Management Plan(13) have also  explicitly considered fixed anchors, and chosen not to define them as prohibited installations nor  to necessitate an MRA use for purposes of placement or replacement (although it does require  MRA for administrative purposes such as search and rescue). 

The AAC has partnered with other national climbing organizations and wilderness groups to support this policy and has acknowledged the necessity for fixed anchors in Wilderness Areas to  provide foundational safety for climbers. As stated in the DO#41, “[t]he occasional placement of  a fixed anchor for belay, rappel, or protection purposes does not necessarily impair the future  enjoyment of Wilderness or violate the Wilderness Act.”(14) Importantly, the AAC appreciates  DO#41’s focus on the impacts of high use levels, the types of impacts those use levels cause, and  the resulting effects on wilderness character. This approach focuses management solutions on  the measurable and objective impacts of climbing routes on wilderness character. This approach  is preferable to a blanket determination that fixed anchors are installations. 

C. The AAC supports the JTNP’s efforts to protect and promote appropriate use of  Wilderness. 

The AAC supports efforts by the JTNP to thoughtfully balance the needs of the public to access  and enjoy primitive and unconfined recreation with the protection of Wilderness characteristics  and other natural resources found within the JTNP.  

In partnership with the Access Fund, The Wilderness Society, National Parks Conservation  Association, and the American Mountain Guide Association, the AAC shared comments and  support for the development of DO#41, as well as Resource Manual #41 during thier creation.  The AAC supports appropriate regulations and restrictions on fixed anchors in Wilderness,  including the principle that fixed anchors should be “rare” in Wilderness. Furthermore, the AAC  supports the JTNP’s authority to manage fixed anchor placement in the Wilderness, including the prohibition of bolt-intensive climbs that exhibit high levels of use and measurable impacts to the  JTNP resources and social conditions.(15) 

The AAC supports the prohibition on the use of power drills in wilderness, mandatory  authorization (per DO#41) for the placement of fixed anchors, and management of other aspects  of recreational use like trails and human waste management. NPS can do more to protect  Wilderness character by focusing its limited resources on these management issues rather than  reviewing every existing fixed anchor within wilderness. 

D. The ACC agrees with DO#41, Section 7.2, stating that climbing is a legitimate,  appropriate, and historical use of Wilderness. 

The Wilderness climbing experience is unique, as it provides opportunities for solitude,  primitive, and unconfined recreation. Climbing and the use of fixed anchors is a legitimate,  appropriate, and historical use of Wilderness that is compatible with the Wilderness Act. 

a. Climbing is a “historical use” in the JTNP. 

The Wilderness Act requires that Wilderness Areas “shall be devoted to public purposes of  ….historical use.”(16) The JTNP has a long and rich history of climbing dating as early as the 1940’s.(17) Early trips organized by the Sierra Club’s Rock Climbing Section and the Boy Scouts  brought young adults to the JTNP to experience the vastness of the recently designated Joshua  Tree National Monument (“National Monument”) and to practice the craft of rock climbing in a  group setting.(18) 

Figure 1: Dick Webster completing the most challenging moves in the route (also known as “crux” moves) along the Southwest Corner of Headstone Rock, a climbing route that was first completed in 1958 by Mark Powell. Note the  bolt used for protection in the foreground.(21) 

Photo: Wolf & Dominick, 1976. 

By the 1950’s, more advanced climbers and mountaineers (including notable individuals like Royal Robbins and Yvon Choinard) began taking frequent trips to the National Monument to  climb. It was in this decade that notable first ascents of many of the National Monument’s  formations occurred, including the West Chimney of Intersection Rock in 1953 by Jerry  Gallawas and Barbara Lilly, as well as the Lost Pencil by Don Cornell and John Merriam, the  Popes Hat by Don Cornell and Rod Smith, and the Wedge by Bob Boyle, all in 1956.(19) Applying interesting tactics, Bob Boyle and Rod Smith managed to first reach the summit of  Headstone Rock in 1956 by climbing a rope which they had successfully thrown over the top of  the formation.(20)

By the time President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-567 in 1976, designating the bulk of the National Monument as Wilderness, several hundred climbing routes, and at least 101 routes  which utilized the placement of fixed anchors, were already established in the National  Monument following nearly 30 years of use from climbers. (22,23)

As climbing grew throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, so to did the tools and techniques of modern climbing practices. While many climbers continued to apply aid climbing techniques  (placing pitons, small chocks, and nylon ladders to ascend the rock face), the emergence of free  climbing (only using their hands and feet to climb while placing some pieces of traditional gear  or clipping bolts for protection) revolutionized the sport. The use of bolts and fixed anchors, however, were deemed a necessary and accepted tool by the climbing community. Although, the placement was considered a “grave responsibility” and local ethics dictated that some routes  should be completed without bolts, or with as few as possible. (24) 

Figure 2: A climber uses a hand drill to install a bolt on a route called Duchess at the Feudal Wall. First ascent  February 1974 by Chris Gonzales and Rob Stahl. Photo: Wolf & Dominick, 1976. 

In designating the bulk of the National Monument as a new Wilderness Area, Congress  recognized the primitive and unconfined recreation opportunities that existed in the National  Monument, not the least of which were the abundant and well-known rock climbing resources.  Climbing would continue to grow in the National Monument throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s  as the climbing community recognized this special landscape as a national treasure. In 1994,  Congress took another step to protect the National Monument with the passage of Public Law  103-433, adding 234,000 acres to the National Monument and changing its status to a National  Park. (25)

Today, the JTNP has over 6,500 individual climbing routes scattered throughout the nearly  800,000 acres and the climbing community is full of staunch supporters of the stewardship and  protection of this unique and historical climbing resource. 

b. Climbing is “a legitimate and appropriate use of Wilderness” in the JTNP. 

DO#41 explicitly mentions climbing as “a legitimate and appropriate use of wilderness.”(26) It defines climbing management, allowing for the use, maintenance, and replacement of fixed anchors in Wilderness Areas. Fixed anchors are necessary for safe Wilderness climbing when ascending a route, descending from a summit, or responding to an emergency. Fixed anchors are also resource protection tools that minimize climbing impacts, such as facilitating a technical  descent rather than walking an exit trail causing erosion and impacts to vegetation. 

E. JTNP’s proposed CMP raises serious concerns for the wellbeing and safety of the  climbing community. 

Climbing in the Wilderness long predates the passage of the Wilderness Act. Values of solitude,  challenge, primitive, and unconfined recreation, and self-reliance are born from Wilderness  climbing experiences. In the human mind, Wilderness climbing symbolically represents  challenge, perseverance, humility, restraint, and interdependence with the natural world. These  are the values that define Wilderness experience, the symbolism that surround it, and epitomize  the human dimensions of the Wilderness Act. The AAC deeply values the protection of  Wilderness, as it provides the lifeblood of true traditional climbing and vertical adventure. 

During the JTNP’s February 8, 2022 CMP meeting, planners opposed fixed anchor replacements  for bolt-intensive routes because they believe that are unacceptable in the Wilderness. While the  AAC agrees that Wilderness should not be sport climbing arenas and that bolt intensive climbs  may facilitate unacceptable impacts on wilderness resources, caused by the aggregation of  human use, they strongly disagree with the NPS conclusion regarding bolt replacement. It is  very dangerous and misguided to leave aged fixed anchors in place because they have the  potential to lead to life-threatening results (see Exhibit A). The AAC does, however, support  that if a climbing route is unacceptable in Wilderness because it threatens sensitive cultural or  natural resources and/or attracts unacceptable use-levels, it may be considered for closure to the  public. The JTNP should consider other options to manage Wilderness climbing, as the current  CMP proposal threatens the climbing community’s safety, not only in the JTNP, but across the  country. 

The AAC opposes any policy that creates obstacles for the Good Samaritans that volunteer time,  effort, and resources to replace antiquated or unsafe hardware (see Exhibit A: Figures 3-6).  Ultimately, this would have the effect of restricting climbers’ access to many of the most iconic  climbs in JTNP and other park units across the country, cause significant uncertainty for  climbers who have historically relied on such anchors, and send the message that climbers are  not welcome in Wilderness. 

III. Conclusion 

Climbers and members of the AAC have advocated for the protection of Wilderness for more  than 60 years and were even advocates for the very creation of the Wilderness Act itself. David  R. Brower, alpinist and lifetime member of the AAC who served as the organization's Vice  President from 1956-58, contributed substantially to the establishment of sound global  environmental practices and the conservation of many of America’s wild landscapes. Brower  epitomizes the conservation ethic shared by many in the climbing community to conserve  Wilderness areas, like Rick Reese, Peter Metcalf, Yvon Choinard, Rick Ridgway, Doug Thompkins and others. 

The AAC is concerned that JTNP’s proposed CMP will deter climbers from supporting critical  conservation initiatives and alienate climbers from their Wilderness roots. Many of the greatest  conservation gains during the 21st Century are a direct result of the collaboration between the  human-powered outdoor recreation and conservation communities. 

The proposed JTNP CMP will affect the public’s opinion of the need for conservation and have a  negative and direct impact on the future of public lands. Undoubtedly, the newly proposed fixed  anchor policy by JTNP will have implications for other Wilderness climbing areas across the  country. This will undermine the support from climbing communities with future Wilderness  designations and inherently frustrate their ability to enjoy Wilderness experiences through  primitive and unconfined recreational climbing. 

Furthermore, place-based management is the most appropriate in NPS Wilderness due to  diversity of wilderness resource, climbing resources, visitor preferences, motivation, skill, and  amount of visitation. (27) 

We hope that the JTNP will reconsider its CMP proposal and, instead, determine the best path  forward is to manage recreational climbing in accordance with DO#41 - to protect wilderness  character utilizing the many policy tools available today. The AAC is ready and willing to assist  the NPS to deliver on their dual mandate of conserving Wilderness characteristics while also  ensuring the benefit and enjoyment of the JTNP for the broader public.  

We welcome further discussion as your process moves forward.

Respectfully submitted, 

Taylor Luneau 

Policy Manager, American Alpine Club 

CC: 

Jamie Logan, Interim-CEO, American Alpine Club 

Amelia Howe, Advocacy and Government Affairs Manager, American Alpine Club

Shane Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer, American Alpine Club

Damon Yeh, California Advocacy Network Chair, American Alpine Club

Erik Murdock, VP Government Affairs and Policy, Access Fund

Katie Goodwin, Policy Analyst and California Regional Director, Access Fund

EXHIBIT A 

Figure 3: An old ⅜ inch plated steel bolt that was  removed and replaced by a climber in Western  Colorado. Note the rust on the bolt sleeve. 

Figure 4: A dangerous old homemade aluminum L stock hanger used on the first ascent of a climb in  Southwest Colorado. These types of bolts are in need  of a safer replacement with new age ½ inch steel  bolts. 

Figure 5: Hanger associated with bolt in Figure 3.  The work of local climbing organizations to replace  these requires an abundance of knowledge, time, and  passion. Local climbing community experts are  instrumental in the upkeep of bolts and other fixed  anchors. 

Figure 6: A bolted belay station on a climb in Red  Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Note the  older bolts adjacent to the three new ones.

---

1 The Wilderness Act, 16 U.S.C. ch. 23 § 1131. 

2Id. 

3Id. at §1133(b). 

4Id. 

5Id. 

6 2013 NPS Director’s Order #41: Wilderness Stewardship. 

7Id.

8Id. at Section 6.2. 

9 Mchugh, Katherine. (2019). Wilderness Rock Climbing Indicators and Climbing Management Implications in the  National Park Service. Graduate Student Thesis, Dissertations, & Professional Papers.

10 Director’s Order #41. 

11 16 U.S.C. ch. 23 § 1131 et seq. Section 4(c). 

12 NPS. Joshua Tree National Monument Climbing Management Plan. 1993. Available at:  https://www.nps.gov/jotr/getinvolved/upload/JOTR_ClimbingManagementPlan1993.pdf. 13 U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service. Superintendent’s Annual Report. 2001. Joshua Tree National  Park. Available at: http://npshistory.com/publications/annual_reports/jotr/2001.pdf. 

14 Director’s Order #41.

15 Id. 

16 16 U.S.C. § 1133(b). 

17 Kane, Jenny. 2017. Landscape of Belonging: Joshua Tree’s Climbing Legacy. Available at:  https://mojaveproject.org/dispatches-item/landscape-of-belonging/. 

18 Kane, Jenny. 2017. 

19 Wolf, John & Dominick, Bob. 1976. A Climber’s Guide to Joshua Tree National Monument. Desert Rats  Uninhibited Publication. 

20 Wolf & Dominick. 1976.

21 Id. 

22 Public Law 94-567, October 20, 1976. 

23 A cursory review of John Wolf and Bob Dominick’s 1976 guidebook, titled “A Climber’s Guide To Joshua Tree  National Monument,” revealed that 101 total routes (which included at least 1 bolt or fixed anchor) were established  prior to the 1976 Wilderness designation and rappel anchors were installed on at least six of the National  Monument’s popular rock formations. This number would likely grow with additional data collection from the 1979  edition and other publications, such as Randy Vogel’s “Joshua Tree Climbs: 1,000 of the Best Climbs in Joshua  Tree National Park.”

24 Id. 

25 Public Law 103-433. October 31, 1994.

26 Director’s Order #41.

27 Murdock, E. (2004). Understanding Recreation Flow to Protect Wilderness Resources at Joshua Tree National Park, California (Masters thesis). Available from Working Papers of the Finnish Forest Research Institute 2, Rovaniemi, Finland.
Murdock, E. (2010). Perspectives on Rock Climbing Fixed Anchors Through the Lens of the Wilderness Act: Social, Legal and Environmental Implications at Joshua Tree National Park, California (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona.

Barnett, Eve S. (2016). Beware of the Cold, Clammy Hand of Consistency: Rock climbing policy and the surprising success of the National Park Service. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University.
Sullivan, Kerry E. (2018). Interpretation and Implementation of Director’s Order #41, Section 7.2: Determining best management practices for Wilderness climbing in National Parks. Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 11139.

Legacy Series: Steve House

Legacy Series: Steve House’s Brush with Death on Mount Temple

In this episode of the AAC Legacy Series, alpinist Steve House recounts his traumatic fall on Mount Temple, a fall that pulverized several of his ribs, fractured his back, and punctured a lung. Thanks to rescue efforts, Steve was able to narrowly escape death, but such a close call led Steve to think about the need to reprioritize contributing to his community and building meaningful relationships. Despite dramatic injuries, Steve would go on to climb Makalu less than a year later.

Legacy Series: Yvon Chouinard

Legacy Series: Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia, Muses About His Early Days of Climbing

Yvon Chouinard is a well-known figure in climbing history, especially known for his innovative gear developments for the sport, like the ice axe and crampons, and his founding of Patagonia, one of the leading brands in the outdoor industry. Yvon’s stories reveal the early years of vision and dedication that shaped climbing as it is today, and ridiculous tales of the true dirtbag ways. In this episode, Yvon shares tales of eating expired cat food, selling pitons out of the back of his car, and shiver bivvies where his partners insulated their coats with crumpled pages of a novel.

Legacy Series: Irene Beardsley

Legacy Series: The First American Ascent of Annapurna, Through the Eyes of Irene Beardsley

On a 1961 expedition to Makulu, Edmund Hillary forbade Irene Beardsley to step foot on the mountain, despite her impressive mountaineering resume, including ascents in the Tetons and Peru. But Irene was hungry for summits, regardless of being relegated to the “wives camp.” She knew a woman’s place was on top. This hunger would drive her to be part of the first American, and all-women’s, expedition to summit Annapurna I.

The AAC Supports UIAA Decision on Russian Events and Athletes

The American Alpine Club (AAC) stands with other UIAA members in fully supporting Ukraine. Like the UIAA, the AAC fully condemns, in the strongest possible terms, any and all use of state or individual violence to settle perceived or actual disputes, as in the case of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The AAC joins our voice to the calls for international peace and an immediate end to the war. In the meantime, we support the UIAA's decisions to signal this support by canceling upcoming and future UIAA events in Russia and restricting access to UIAA events. While we know that not all Russian mountaineers and climbers support the war, these actions function to pressure the Russian Federation to stop their aggressive actions.

We hope to continue to see the solidarity from within the climbing community and an immediate end to the war.

Sincerely,

Kevin Duncan

Jamie Logan

Interim CEO

American Alpine Club

Board President

American Alpine Club