Whether your local Touchstone gym is where you get the majority of your vertical gains, or you’re an experienced climber that spends the all your time outdoors; if you climb you have a vested interest in keeping our wilderness areas clean and accessible. It’s our responsibility as an outdoor community to minimize our impact and do our part to preserve these amazing places that we climb, hike, and live. We are committed educating our climbers and supporting conservation efforts in our neighborhoods and beyond, and it’s easy for you to get involved!
How can you get involved and support your local crags?
If you live in the Bay Area, joining the Bay Area Climbers Coalition is an easy first step. They are the local Access Fund chapter and a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization run by local volunteers. They are focused on preserving access to our local outdoor areas by actively fostering positive relationships with land managers, hosting stewardship events, and providing educational programming for the climbing community.
“The climbing community in the Bay Area is huge. Imagine what it would look like if each of us volunteered ONE day per year to help clean-up one of our local crags. It would be incredible and I personally encourage each of you to set aside one day this year and join us!” Matt Ulery – President – Bay Area Climbers Coalition
The Bay Area Climbers Coalition will be partnering with the Access Fund Conservation Team to host two events this month: one at Indian Rock in the South Bay and one at Indian Rock in the Berkeley Hills. Both of these events are great opportunities to support your local climbing areas and meet other climbers who are passionate about stewardship and conservation. Plus – free lunch is provided for for all volunteers. Score!
Indian Rock – South Bay – Los Gatos
Saturday, April 18th
10am to 4pm
The Bay Area Climbers Coalition is working directly with the Sanborn County Rangers that oversee and manage this crag to make improvements to climber access trails, remove broken glass and trash in the climbing areas, and construct visual queues to prevent usage of social trails. Besides all the awesome work you’ll will be doing, there will also be tasty free food, VIP/reserved parking, sweet raffle prizes, and post clean-up event sloper crushing.
Volunteer Sign Up
Indian Rock – Berkeley Hills
Wednesday, April 22nd
9am to 2:30pm
The Bay Area Climbers Coalition worked closely with local pillars of the climbing community to write and submit a proposal to the City of Berkeley that directly addressed a number of ongoing challenges and issues in the lower level where the majority of the bouldering is. Volunteers are needed to help with the removal of the existing wood chips, install a crushed rock base to improve the ground level slope and drainage, and install new wood chips to provide a soft landing and to aid in dust control.
Volunteer Sign UpMake sure to join the Bay Area Climbers Coalition email list and give ’em a follow on facebook group to hear about future events and opportunities to support your local crags!
