The SLCA has been quite busy lately. Please read on to find what we've be doing and how you can get involved.
SLCA Board changes
After 8 years at the helm of the Salt Lake Climber's Alliance, Steve Downes is stepping down as Chairman. As one of the Alliance's original founders, Steve was instrumental in getting the SLCA off the ground and making it an important and recognized organization representing climbers' interests in the Wasatch and beyond. Next time you see him at the crag, please thank him for the tireless work he's done for all of us.
Replacing Steve as Chairman will be Jonathan Knight. Jonathan previously held the Projects position on the board and has been active member of the climbing community for years. We welcome his guidance and experience.
Additionally, Mike Beck will be stepping down from his position of Access Coordinator and will move to the Advisory Board (see below). He has been a dedicated member of the board and has played a crucial role in access issues and building strong relationships with land managers since the Alliance's inception.
We're proud to announce the following other changes/additions to the Board:
Dave Budge - Vice Chairman
George Poulton - Access Coordinator
Jeff Porucznik - Projects Manager
Gwendolyn Adams - Community Outreach and Education
Zac Robinson - Sergeant at Arms
Please feel free to contact any of us if you have questions or suggestions about how we can make the SLCA a more effective advocate for climbing in the area.
Advisory Committee
In an effort to provide a broader perspective, supplement our resources and augment the skills and expertise of the Board of Directors, we have decided to appoint an Advisory Committee. This committee will be made up of members of the greater community and will to provide advice and support on issues that affect the climbing in the area.
The committee is still in its early stages. We will have more information regarding the Advisory Board very soon.
SLCA Liaison Program
In order to stay abreast of the multitude of issues that concern the various climbing areas in the Valley and beyond, the SLCA has launched a new Liaison Program. It has been created to monitor and advocate for often overlooked, yet important climbing areas. We've divided the valley into different geographical zones and will appoint interested activists for each of them. These volunteers will monitor and report on access issues in their zone and work with SLCA Board members, land managers and others to ensure access and strong relationships.
This program will also allow us to stay connected and work with groups and individuals outside the SLCA's typical areas of activity. We hope to encourage communication and work jointly in areas such as Provo (see below for information on Rock Canyon), Joe's Valley, Moab, St. George, etc. where groups may or may not exist and where we can lend a helping hand.
We will be sending an update soon to announce details of the Liaison Program, zones and the liaisons themselves.
Bad Bolt Message Board
You don't have to climb long in the Wasatch to come across bolts of varying quality - from bomber to downright terrifying. To help ensure that there are more of the former and less of the latter, the SLCA (through your generous support) and our local American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA) representative have been working hard to replace bad bolts and anchors throughout the canyons. This is a gargantuan job and we need your help to locate the miscreant bolts. You can help by posting up your bad bolt sightings on our newly created Bad Bolt Message Board. This will aid the ASCA in locating the offending anchors and replacing them. Note: the ASCA will only be replacing existing sub-standard bolts and will not be retro-bolting routes.
Know of a bad bolt or a suspect anchor? Please go to forum and post up the details. We'll get to it as soon as possible.
Photo: SLCA Rebolting Coordinator and ASCA representative Mike White replacing bad bolts in Little Cottonwood Canyon on June 2, 2009. Photo courtesy of Andrew Burr.
Projects & Feedback Forum
In an effort to communicate with you more effectively, we have also created a "Projects & Feedback" forum where we will post details about upcoming projects, discuss issues, post announcements. The forum works both ways - we also want to your ideas, feedback and questions about access in the area. This way we can all work together to help ensure the future of climbing access in the Wasatch.
Little Cottonwood Mini-Projects: one down, one to go
SLCA board members Mike White and Jeff Porucznik, along with Kandice White completed a mini-project in Little Cottonwood Canyon on May 23. As you may recall, a boulder at the intersection of the Crescent Crack trail and the new SLCA-built Egg trail was vandalized with directional arrows and writing chipped into it. Due to the extent and depth of the chipping, patching the offending marks was not effective and the decision was made to roll the boulder onto its side. The SLCA strongly disapproves of all types of vandalism and has spent many hours removing graffiti from boulders and cleaning up local climbing areas. Please let us know you see any type of vandalism and help us keep the canyons as clean as possible.
On June 13, 2009, we will be sponsoring another mini-project in LCC to remove graffiti at the Beer Can Cave boulder and around the Park-n-Ride, along with much needed trail maintenance for erosion mitigation on the Syringe Boulder access trail. We will also do some touch-up work on the Egg Trail we built last fall.
We will be meet at the LCC Park-n-Ride at 7:00 am and the work will probably continue all day or until the main projects are completed. We need volunteers! Come for the entire time or just a couple of hours! Please register your username at our forum and post in this thread to sign-up to help.
Save Rock Canyon
As you may have heard, Rock Canyon just outside Provo is under threat from mining interests. Please get involved and participate in this weekend's National Trail Day to clean up, repair and beautify the trails in Rock Canyon.
For more information, go to http://preserverockcanyon.com/
The 2nd Annual Craggin' Classic
When: October 10-11, 2009
Where: Salt Lake City, UT
Mark your calendars! The American Alpine Club, with the support of the SLCA, is bringing the Craggin' Classic to Salt Lake City. Drinks, food and entertainment are provided. It's going to be a huge event. Stay tuned. We should have more information for you very soon!
Logan Canyon Clean-up! The Northern Utah Climbers' Coalition is hosting a trash clean-up day in Logan Canyon on Saturday, June 27. The day will kick off at 9:00 am at First Dam with coffee and juice, followed by groups venturing into the canyon to collect as much trash as we can. The clean-up day we hosted last fall resulted in almost 150 pounds of garbage being removed from the canyon, though unfortunately this is an effort we must make regularly to keep our climbing, camping, and other recreation areas clean and beautiful. Once we are finished with the trash clean-up we encourage everyone to hit the crags and spend the rest of the day climbing and enjoying our freshly cleaned canyon! Please send questions or membership inquiries to northutahcrags@gmail.com.