The sixth annual Yosemite Facelift will be happening from September 23-27. The Facelift is a Yosemite Climbing Association sponsored event that helps to clean-up the park after the high-use summer season.

Meet in front of the Visitor Center in Yosemite Village between 8:00 AM and 5 PM from Sept. 23-27 to pick-up trash bags and litter sticks. Then bring the trash back by 5:00 PM for sorting and weighing. Each participant will receive a raffle ticket and prizes will be raffled off every evening.

The Park entrance fee will be waived for Facelift participants.

On Wednesday Evening 7:00-10:00 PM Peter Croft will be giving a slide show at the East Auditorium

On Thursday Evening 7:00-10:00 PM There will be a showing of the Reel Rock Film Tour at the East Auditorium

On Friday Evening 7:00-10:00 PM There will be a Stonemaster's Show followed by a book signing with John Long and Dean Fidelman at the East Auditorium

On Saturday Evening 5:00-9:00 PM There will be music played in front of the Visitor Center with local band the Mother Hips

On Sunday from 8:00 AM- 12:00 AM There will be a Facelift reception with food, drinks, and music by the Johnathon Evans Band at the East Auditorium

Labels: REEL ROCK TOUR, Yosemite Climbing Assosciation, Yosemite Facelift

Beginning on the 23rd of September, the fourth annual Reel Rock Film Tour will be hitting the Bay Area. There will be gear giveaways, appearances by top climbers, and fundraising for non-profit organizations.

The Tour will also show some of the best films in the industry with the premiere of Progression, the latest film from the filmmakers at Big Up Productions. The exciting new series First Ascent will be showed as well as the With footage of Chris Sharma sending the world's hardest sport route Jumo Love (5.15b), Tommy Caldwell pushing it hard and free in Yosemite on El Capitan, and local Bay Area Boulderer, Kevin Jorgenson pushing the highball limits on the Buttermilks forty-five foot Ambrosia, the show will undoubtably be one of the best outdoor events of the year. Tickets will be available at Berkeley Ironworks for the Albany Theater show and at Mission Cliffs for the Victoria Theater show.


Kevin Jorgenson on Ambrosia

Reel Rock Tour Dates:
Walnut Creek
Wednesday September 23rd, 8:00PM
Pyramid Alehouse
1410 Locust Street
$12 at the door

San Francisco
Friday September 25, 8:00PM
Victoria Theater
2961 16th Street
$12 Advance tickets at Mission Cliffs
$15 at the door

Albany/Berkeley
Thursday, October 1, 8:00PM
Albany Theater
1115 Solano Ave
$12 Advance tickets at Berkeley Ironworks
$15 at the door

Labels: Big Up Productions, REEL ROCK TOUR, Sender Films

I mentioned it yesterday and I'll mention it again today...When something needs help, something needs doing, or something needs some serious volunteer action, it has become abundantly clear that we are a great group to turn to! I just got some great news that the Adopt-A-Crag event held back on October 11th at Rocklin Boulders was not just a success, it was a HUGE success at that.

The event, hosted by Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento (CRAGS), saw a grand total of 44 volunteers showing up for the cleaning, and what's even more impressive, is that all total 172 volunteer hours were logged! When the end of the event finally came, an entire dumpster was filled. What is scary is that it was filled with 14 car tires, 2 shopping carts, a mattress, shelving unit, TV/VCR combo, 20' of chain link fencing and way too much steel strapping and rebar to even mention.

More than anything, we just want to throw out a massive THANK YOU to each and every one of you that participated in the Adopt-A-Crag event, and also to Goodyear Tire Co. for letting us use their dumpster and parking area for the event!

Finally, don't forget that there is a CRAGS Fundraiser this Saturday at Sacramento Pipeworks at 7PM. There will be an awesome screening of the REEL ROCK TOUR and I'm fairly sure you won't want to miss this either. Check out the new CRAGS website for a lot more info on any upcoming events, and once again, Thanks EVERYONE!

Labels: Adopt-A-Crag, CRAGS, REEL ROCK TOUR, Sacramento Pipeworks, Thank You

Sacramento climbers are hosting two October events to launch CRAGS (“Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento”). CRAGS is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization and the area’s first Access Fund affiliate, started by local climbers interested in protecting climbing access while promoting safe, sustainable climbing practices.

The first event is on Saturday Oct. 11 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. CRAGS and a local youth climbing team, Summit Party, are co-sponsoring their first Adopt-a-Crag event to clean up the Rocklin Boulders near downtown Rocklin. Climbers will remove garbage, prune trees and restore trails, as well as climb. At the same time, CRAGS organizers will teach low-impact climbing practices to participants.

For the second event, CRAGS will bring the hugely popular 2008 Reel Rock Film Tour to Sacramento, helping kick off a membership drive and raise funds for this local non-profit climbing organization. The film is being hosted by Sacramento Pipeworks on Saturday October 25 at 7:00 p.m. and includes a raffle of climbing gear from major climbing product manufacturers. Top climbers, including Chris McNamara, who founded SuperTopo guidebooks and is featured in one of the Reel Rock’s films, is expected to attend in support. The third annual Reel Rock Film Tour includes a climbing feature film, plus short films on climbing and adventure.

To join CRAGS, volunteer for the clean-up or for more information please contact CRAGS Executive Director Brian Poulsen at 916-201-2376 bpoulsenjr@gmail.com or CRAGS Board member/Reel Rock Film Tour Organizer Rob Trelford at 415-640-3332.

Labels: Access Fund, Chris McNamara, climbing, event, REEL ROCK TOUR, Sacramento Pipeworks

The REEL ROCK tour will be swinging by the bay area for four days in October. Walnut Creek is the first to be visited by the tour on October 1st, the show will be at the Pyramid Brewery. On October 9th the tour will stop by the Victoria Theater in San Francisco and on October 15th & 16th, the tour will stop in Berkeley at the Pyramid Brewery. All shows times are 8pm.

The third annual REEL ROCK Film Tour, launching September 10th in Boulder, CO delivers the year's most exciting climbing and adventure films to audiences in over 80 cities around the world. More than just film screenings, REEL ROCK shows are festive events where climbers and outdoors lovers gather to celebrate their shared passion for adventure.

Presented by Windstopper and The North Face, REEL ROCK events feature the latest releases from the award-winning filmmakers at Sender Films and Big Up Productions, plus new thrilling short films, gear giveaways, appearances by top climbers, and fundraising for local and national non-profit organizations.

For the first time in 2008, aspiring producers are encouraged to submit their best three-minute films to The REEL ROCK Filmmaking Competition. Entries will be posted online for public voting, and two winner will rake in thousands of dollars worth of prizes, plus see their films on the big screen as part of the REEL ROCK tour.

For more information check out: http://www.reelrocktour.com/

Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, climbing, mission cliffs, REEL ROCK TOUR

THE REEL ROCK Film Tour brings high-octane climbing and adventure films to enthusiastic audiences across the world. In its inaugural year of 2006, REEL ROCK packed theaters in over 50 cities from Anchorage to New York, entertained more than 10,000 people, and received rave reviews from audiences, sponsors, and local and national media.

REEL ROCK 2007 will feature King Lines -- Chris Sharma’s search for the planet’s greatest climbs -- the groundbreaking new movie from Boulder’s own Sender Films and BigUp Productions. Chris Sharma is the strongest and most famous rock climber in the world. For the past decade he has dominated his sport, and at 25 years old, the Santa Cruz, CA native is just hitting his stride. King Lines documents Sharma’s quest to be the first to climb the most difficult and outrageous rock formations around the world. A segment from Chris Sharma’s King Lines recently won an EMMY award in the category of Outstanding Photography. Sharma will make rare appearances at several of the major REEL ROCK shows in 2007.

Tickets:
SF: Mission Cliffs & www.victoriatheatre.org, & at the door.
Walnut Creek: Touchstone Concord, & at the door.
Berkeley: Ironworks & at the door.

For more information, and to view the trailer, please visit:
www.reelrocktour.com.

Labels: Chris Sharma, climbing, Climbing Movie, event, REEL ROCK TOUR

Big Up Productions and Sender Films have teamed up with Windstopper® to produce the first-ever nationwide rock climbing film tour. On October 3-5, the 2006 REEL ROCK Film Tour comes to Walnut Creek, Berkeley, and San Francisco.

REEL ROCK features two groundbreaking new climbing films by the top producers in the industry: Dosage Volume IV, by Josh Lowell, and First Ascent, by Peter Mortimer. Events are being held in September and October 2006 at roughly 60 venues of all sizes across the United States, with additional tours in Canada and Europe. Reel Rock shows are high-energy events for climbers and mountain enthusiasts to get excited about, incorporating gear give-aways, athlete appearances and signings, fundraising for The Access Fund and local causes, and DVD sales.

This three-day event takes place at:
The Walnut Creek Pyramid Brewery -- October 3rd at 8pm; advanced tickets are available at Ironworks Climbing Gym.
The Berkeley Pyramid Brewery -- October 4th at 8pm; advanced tickets are available at Ironworks Climbing Gym.
San Francisco’s Victoria Theater -- October 5th at 7pm; advanced tickets are available at Mission Cliffs Climbing Gym.

Advanced tickets for all venues are $10, or $12 the day of the show. Climbers Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden and Klem Loskot will be in attendance. For movie trailers and tour info visit: www.reelrocktour.com.


About the Films:

First Ascent
The latest and greatest release from Sender Films (www.senderfilms.com) and director/producer Peter Mortimer, creators of the multi-award winning Return2Sender and Front Range Freaks.

First Ascent features today’s top rock climbers as they lay siege to steep faces and soaring alpine walls in pursuit of climbing’s pinnacle achievement – the First Ascent. Mortimer brings us on this globe-trotting journey to capture the hopes, fears, and truly radical feats of men and women on climbing’s cutting edge.

The film takes us from high Himalayan peaks to deep water soloing on the coast of Thailand, and from the sobering heights of the Black Canyon to Timmy “Urban Ape” O’Neill’s monkey business on the buildings of Hollywood. A preview segment from First Ascent premiered in January, 2006 at the Alpinist Film Festival in Jackson, WY to a capacity audience of 900 members and won the festival’s Grand Prize and People’s Choice Award.

Dosage Vol 4
Big Up's Dosage series is the definitive annual portrait of climbing's state-of-the-art. Volume IV follows the biggest names in sport climbing, trad climbing, and bouldering as they make historic ascents at spectacular locations around the world. Highlights include: Tommy Caldwell's marathon El Capitan linkup, free climbing both The Nose (5.14a) and Freerider (5.12d) in under 24 hours; Chris Sharma's first ascent of Dreamcatcher (5.14d) in Squamish, BC; Dave Graham's first ascent of Coup De Grace (5.15a) in Ticino, Switzerland; Lisa Rands’ first female ascents of scary grit routes in England's Peak District; Sharma and Graham opening a new level of hard bouldering in Hueco Tanks, Texas; and much more.

Director Josh Lowell is a leading creator of climbing films. His company, Big Up Productions (www.bigUPproductions.com), has released seven films, including the top-selling titles in the industry. Lowell has worked extensively with the legendary climber Chris Sharma for years. His Dosage Volume II was the winner of six international film festival awards and was featured in Sports Illustrated and National Public Radio.

REEL ROCK TOUR Film Sponsors:
Petzl, Climbing Magazine, Mountain Gear, Montbell, La Sportiva, Prana, Osprey, Nikwax, and Entreprises

Labels: Access Fund, Berkeley Ironworks, Chris Sharma, climbing, Climbing Movie, El Capitan, event, mission cliffs, REEL ROCK TOUR, The Nose