From the AAC Policy Desk

Photo by AAC member John Glassberg.

The past few months have been a time of transition for the AAC policy team. We are excited to announce that Byron Harvison has taken over for Taylor Luneau as the AAC policy director. Despite this transition, the small-but-mighty policy team continues to punch above its weight.

With the support from members and donors, we look forward to supporting climbers and protecting public land this year. Specifically, the AAC is concerned by an increasing number of land use restrictions and changes to liability practices that negatively affects guide services, volunteer organizations, and land managers.

Given the outsized effects land use and liability changes have on guiding companies, we have organized Summit Register 008 as the “Guide Issue” to further highlight these topics. Read “From the AAC Policy Desk” for a complete policy and advocacy update on these issues and more!

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Summit Register 008

Photo by AAC member Calder Davey.

Are you up to date on the climbing policy world, and how it could shape climbing as we know it?

In this edition of the Summit Register, we surveyed key guides in the community to understand the obstacles they are facing with permits and climbing access. We broke down the potential implications of two transformational pieces of federal legislation: AORA, which is poised to modernize the permitting system on our public lands; and the PARC Act, which will ultimately determine the fate of bolting and fixed anchors in our nation’s Wilderness Areas. To get a fresh perspective, we also interviewed the manager of the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation to understand how AORA could impact recreationists of all stripes, not just climbers. 

Make sure you’re in the know about the hottest topic since the bolting wars, with this edition of the Summit Register.

1. From the AAC Policy Desk
   Updates from your policy team.
   

2. Voices from the Guiding Community
   Tune in to hear straight from guides from across the country about how permitting is impacting the guiding landscape.
   
   
   

3. Lay of the Land: How Two Bills Might Dramatically Change the Guiding and Climbing Landscape
   Two pieces of federal legislation that will impact our climbing spaces have been introduced to Congress. Here’s what you need to know about them.
   
   
   

4. Interview with Phil Powers: Former AAC CEO and Owner of The Mountain Guides
   In this interview, we take an in-depth look at the guiding landscape to understand how critical legislation is to shaping our climbing community.
   
   
   

5. Interview with Patrick Harrington: Manager of the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation
   In this interview, we dig into why AORA is imperative legislation to pass for the outdoor recreation industry at large.

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Lay of the Land: How Two Congressional Bills Might Dramatically Change the Guiding and Climbing Landscape

It’s the hottest topic since the bolting wars, but most climbers don’t know about it yet. Are you fully in the know? The lay of the land is changing—climbing access is changing—and you can help us change it for the better. Two pieces of federal legislation have been introduced in Congress: AORA, which will modernize the permitting system on public lands and increase access and opportunity for guides of all recreational backgrounds; and the PARC Act, which aims to protect the traditional use of bolts and other fixed anchors in Wilderness areas, like Yosemite and Joshua Tree. But don’t rely on hearsay. Get the full breakdown on the implications of these pieces of legislation here, and find out what you can do to get them over the finish line and protect and modernize climbing on our public lands.

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Voices From The Guiding Community

Photo by Jeremiah Watt.

Guides are often the unsung heroes of the climbing community, and being able to offer guiding services is not as simple as it seems. Tune in to hear straight from guides from across the country about how permitting is impacting the guiding landscape. 

Among others, AMGA guide Dale Remsberg weighs in: “For me as an AMGA/IFMGA guide, access to varied terrain is what gives the ability to work and have a successful career. Some of the new legislation could greatly help with guide mobility and the ability to take our guests to terrain that is best for them or the conditions. Currently with access being so restricted it’s difficult to navigate poor conditions and provide quality experiences for our guests.”

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An Interview With: Phil Powers

Photo by Jeremiah Watt.

Phil Powers is the former CEO of the AAC, owner of The Mountain Guides in Jackson, WY, and has 40+ years of guiding experience. He’s seen guiding change and grow, and he knows what’s at stake with the passage of legislation like AORA and the PARC Act. We sat down with Powers to get a more in-depth look at the guiding landscape, and to understand how critical AORA and the PARC Act are to guides and the climbing community as a whole. His tangible details are a really compelling look at why all climbers should be activating to advocate for these bills!

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An Interview With: Patrick Harrington

Patrick Harrington is the manager of the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation. We sat down with Harrington to dig into why AORA is imperative legislation to pass for all outdoor recreationists, and for sustaining the outdoor recreation economy at large. With his experience managing and advocating for recreation in one of the most sought after locations for US sport and adventure climbing, we learned a lot about how legislation like AORA can have a reverberating impact: on rural getaway communities, on the accessibility of climbing, on the economics of guiding, and more. 

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From the AAC Policy Desk

This brief update from your AAC policy team covers lobbying on The Hill, the new make-up of Congress due to the midterms, and some bills that we’re prioritizing in our policy work this year. If you ever wonder….what is the AAC doing in the federal policy realm to help support public lands? This article gives you a quick update on our most recent efforts.

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From Active Duty to Activism

The AAC’s New Government Affairs Liaison Flips the Script on Advocacy

By Gov’t Affairs Liason, Byron Harvison

“My journey to activism wasn’t really about me but rather about continued service to others. Climbing, a “past-time” that helped me discover who I was, became a passion. That passion enabled me to help other Veterans overcome hardship and ultimately led to a career in working on policy matters that impact climbers throughout the country. “ —Byron Harvison

Introducing our new Government Affairs Liaison! Joining the AAC’s policy team is Byron Harvison—a veteran, lawyer, and long-time volunteer with the American Alpine Club. In this article, he shares how he got involved with climbing advocacy, and how he’s seen it grow and explode throughout the years.

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The Power of a Name: Protecting the Dolores River Canyon

by Sierra McGivney

PC: AAC Member John Fitzpatrick (Grumpyhighlander Photography)

“There’s a saying in Colorado that whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over,” says Widen.

The AAC sat down with Jeff Widen, an advocate behind the efforts to preserve Colorado’s Dolores River Canyon, to learn about the climbing, fishing, whitewater rafting and so much more that happens there, and why it needs to be protected as a National Conservation Area. This article delves into the complexities of preserving public land in a way that is helpful for all stakeholders, and what you can do to help preserve the Dolores River Canyon.

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Gathering Place: Tommy Caldwell Reflects on Protecting Oak Flat

by Tommy Caldwell

PC: AAC Member Dawn Kish

“Climbers slipped on tattered Gramicci pants and duck taped down jackets, unzipped themselves from tents or crawled out of the back of pickup trucks. Like cattle coming in for their morning feed, everyone wandered down to the start line. It was 1994, and this ragtag crew represented America’s cutting edge. Despite its scrappy appearance, The Phoenix Bouldering Contest was the biggest bouldering competition in the world and the energy was buzzing. “ —Tommy Caldwell

In this article, Tommy Caldwell remembers the early days of outdoor comps at Oak Flat, AZ, and what it means to take action to protect the places we love. Tommy’s article explores what’s at stake in losing Oak Flat to copper mining, and what we as climbers can do to ensure Oak Flat is protected for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, for the sake of the environment, and for the classic boulders and climbing there.

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Summit Register 007

In our most recent issue of the Summit Register, the AAC’s policy zine:

PC: AAC Member William Woodward

1. Tommy Caldwell reflects on the old days of boulder comps at Oak Flat, and why climbers need to take action to permanently protect Oak Flat from a devastating mining operation;

2. We cover the efforts advocates are taking to preserve the Dolores River Canyon for climbing, whitewater, fishing, and much more;

3. And finally, Byron Harvison (the AAC’s new Gov’t Affairs Liason!) reflects on his journey from active duty to activism within the climbing community.

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Summit Register 006

In this issue of Summit Register, we give you beta on voting as a climber in the 2022 midterms; the Climbing Wall Association reflects on policies and legislation impacting climbing gyms; and the AAC explores the big question: Should climbing be political?

It's In the Air: On Politics and Climbing

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AAC member Dawn Kish

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A Climber's Voter Guide

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Vote the Crag: The Beta for the 2022 Midterm Elections

by AAC Policy Director, Taylor Luneau

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AAC member Jeremiah Watt

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Vote the Gym: The Climbing Wall Association Reveals the Policies that Impact Indoor Climbing

by Director of Standards and Regulatory Affairs at the Climbing Wall Association, Garnet Moore

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AAC member and Twin Cities BIPOC Initiatives Chair Rodel Querubin

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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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Give a Damn

Climbers gather around the Sprinter to talk about how they can be better stewards of climbing areas while climbing at Wall Street during this year’s Moab Craggin Classic. Lands of the Ute, Dine, and Ancestral Puebloan peoples. AAC member Levi Harrell

5 minute read

Summit Register 004—Letter from the Editor

AAC Policy Team

As climbers we have an extraordinarily intimate relationship with our landscapes, whether that be high alpine environments, our local crag, bouldering spot, or our gyms. Since 1902, the AAC has been committed to protecting these spaces. As our definition of what climbing spaces are and what it means to protect and conserve them have evolved, we have come to firmly believe that protecting communities, people, and culture is as important as protecting physical spaces. Our renewed focus on people and communities in concert with protecting and preserving our landscapes is an expression of this belief.

Photo by AAC member Bryan Miller

Over the last few months, we’ve reflected on our strengths and most pressing needs as a Club. These conversations have led to restating our policy and advocacy vision: We envision a future in which 5 million climbers are united in protecting the climbing places we love for current and future generations.

The foundation of our policy and advocacy strategy centers on actively engaged climbers. This is reflected both in our community organizing work and in a government affairs approach, which elevates climber experiences and stories. Climbers are our lifeblood and our work is member-centered and volunteer-powered. We will engage local and national issues with the collective voice of our 25,000 members and thereby activate the climbing communities that surround them. Our community gives a damn. And because we know that politics, policy, and advocacy is predominantly local, we’re building the Climbers Advocacy Network (CAN) to activate the most effective advocates to inform local issues such as climbing management plans and permitting. We plan to feature the work of the CAN in upcoming issues of the Summit Register.

Building the CAN has already started, with a small, passionate group of member-volunteers raising their hands to lead their regions. As we build the network and empower the CAN with information, we’ll lean into supporting 30x30 legislation, land policies impacting climbers, equity and inclusion, and amplifying work of non-profit partners and community groups, among other pressing issues. In our conversations with AAC members, land managers, lawmakers, adjacent non-profits, and community based organizations, there’s been great enthusiasm for this vision.

Our collective voice has the strength to create new ideas, move conversations, and give direction to the climbing community. As we educate and begin funneling resources to building the CAN, we take time in this issue of the Summit Register to consider some key issues for climbers at the national level, and steps we can each take to support national legislation. But with the CAN as inspiration, it is clear that advocacy goes beyond Capitol Hill.

This issue of our quarterly policy zine explores the nuances of advocacy, and the many creative ways individuals and local climbing organizations (LCOs) can advocate to protect our communities and physical spaces. In one feature article, AAC policy manager Taylor Luneau considers the role of local climbing organizations and local climbers in fostering effective and accessible climbing management plans for our overcrowded public lands. In another article, climber and advocate Kate Rutherford describes the power of eating local organic foods in the regions where you climb. Advocacy has many avenues, and we know our work ahead will ultimately lead to further engagement with lawmakers and change makers who can broaden our impact. We are looking forward to working side by side with all of you towards this future.

The New Era of Climbing Management Plans & Regulations

Climbers gazing up at Middle Cathedral from the floor of Yosemite Valley. Yosemite was recently the scene of a new permitting process for big wall climbers. Lands of the Central Sierra Miwok peoples. AAC Member Bryan Meyer

5 minute read

The New Era of Climbing Management Plans & Regulations

Taylor Luneau, AAC Policy Manager

Across the country, people are flocking to recreate on our nations’ public lands in record setting numbers. Calico Basin, found within the world famous Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, experienced a 340% increase in visitation over the past decade. Across the West, peak season campsite occupancy rates have risen by an estimated 47% since 2014. The phenomena, which Colorado State University’s Public Land History Center is aptly calling “the Public Landemic” has been widely reported on and our climbing areas are feeling the pressure like everywhere else.

While the pandemic pushed people out of climbing gyms and up to our local crags, the climbing communities’ massive growth can also be attributed to, among other things, the explosion of climbing gyms across the country, the emergence of climbers at the Oscars, and the long awaited appearance of climbing in the Olympics—outcomes that naturally, we would all celebrate. But with growth comes growing pains. The flood of climbers into the outdoors is creating a tipping point for land managers who, due to lack of sustained funding and staff capacity, struggle to mitigate the increased stress on infrastructure caused by overcrowding. In response, the climbing community is experiencing a notable uptick in new regulations such as permit programs, timed entry and fee systems as well as other restrictions to our favorite climbing destinations.

Climbers at a busy crag at Calico Basin in Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area. These popular sport climbing areas outside Las Vegas, NV have seen some of the highest increase in use over the past 10 years. Lands of the Southern Paiute, & Newe peoples. AAC member Jon Glassberg

While I do not openly welcome any limitations on our communities’ access to climbing, I do understand that there are certain limits of unacceptable impacts to ecological and cultural resources as well as the recreational experience itself, that land managers are tasked with monitoring and mitigating. In the best case scenario, agency officials will make management recommendations that are supported by authentic community engagement, grounded in science, and adaptable to new information and recreation trends. Where in some areas a timed entry program may be a useful management tool, in others, that tool may be totally misapplied. This gets to the heart of why the AAC continues to fight for the public process and transparency embodied in the National Environmental Policy Act—the Magna Carta of environmental law and the legal basis that allows the public to comment on the management of our public lands. The land management programs that are being proposed to address overcrowding on our public lands must be tailored to the needs and specifics of the given landscape and its affiliated communities; this public comment process allows this to manifest.

Over the past year I’ve witnessed our community lean into this reality in a big way. Climbers stepped up to engage in difficult discussions on how to establish route development ethics in Ten Sleep (a plan that was recently abandoned due to US Forest Service staffing shortages), they provided critical insights on how our community interacts with wilderness climbing resources in Joshua Tree and Yosemite, they shared feedback on use patterns in Calico Basin, and they offered valuable knowledge on access points to Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park – just to name a few.

Advocacy doesn’t just happen on Capitol Hill. You
can always get involved with a trail maintenance or clean up day at your local climbing area. Here, climbers give back to the crags they love during the Smith Rock Craggin Classic. Lands of the Tenino peoples and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. AAC member Luke Humphrey

At several recent public hearings regarding management plans for climbing areas across the country (such as the Calico Basin RAMP/EA where hundreds of climbers showed up to share their thoughts) I’ve heard comments regarding these rules as stifling the spontaneous nature of climbing and limiting the freedom we’ve experienced as a user group for decades. These are valuable and important concerns that must be communicated to land management agencies. Climbers must actively engage in these regulatory discussions and call attention to when agencies can be doing better. In doing so, we can emphasize a deep understanding of our user groups’ distinct needs, movement patterns, and cultural values. When appropriate, we must hold decision makers accountable, and request they go back to the drawing board to reconsider their plans and evaluate their intentions.

We must also understand that growth in our sport is a great thing. Consider the many wild adventures and profound relationships that you’ve developed through your own climbing experiences. It’s well documented that recreation outdoors supports public health and wellbeing, not to mention endless economic benefits for local communities. As the AAC reflects on our own history, we’re challenging ourselves to be more inclusive and welcoming to a broader, bigger, and more diverse community of climbers. Welcoming a bigger community of climbers to the outdoors will undoubtedly make our advocacy for access challenging and nuanced, but our community will be more vibrant, rich, and dare I say more politically powerful because of it.

The era we live in as climbers is a unique one and represents a significant departure from the past. With management plans popping up across the country, we have an opportunity to ensure that our climbing areas are properly cared for, that access to these spaces is more equitable, that local Tribes have better opportunities to guide the management of their ancestral lands (there is still much room for improvement), and that the character of these important places continues to offer unique experiences for generations of climbers to come. The great thing is that climbers have done this before. We’ve worked hard to educate each other about respecting culturally sensitive sites, we’ve observed and successfully self enforced raptor closures, and we’ve stewarded the trails and local infrastructure at our climbing areas. We need to carry these successes forward.

Right now, a local climbing organization or AAC chapter in your area can undoubtedly use your help, your unique experience and your voice to protect our climbing areas. Many of these local advocacy groups have developed strong relationships with land managers and are currently assisting them with the management of local crags and public lands. I encourage you to seek out these groups, offer your time and professional expertise, join public meetings with land managers to share your insights, submit substantive comments on management plans, and look for action alerts from national organizations like the Access Fund and American Alpine Club. Through your efforts we may see our climbing areas change in positive ways, like newly graded roads, parking lots, bathrooms and more sustainably built trails — not to mention acknowledgement as an important user group and thought partner in the stewardship of our public lands.

The times are changing, but we don’t have to simply accept it for what it is. We can play a critical role in coming up with creative solutions alongside land managers. Your voice matters: get involved.