2016 Year-End Report

Building Sustainable

Climbing Access Trails

THE  CREW,  above,  left  to  right:  JB  Haab,  Ben  Raiche,  Aaron  

Mojica,  and  Max  Barlerin  (2015)  

From Roger Briggs, Program Director …

Dear friends and supporters of the Front Range Climbing Stewards,

It’s hard to believe that it was just 3 years ago that four of us – Mark Hesse, Bill Briggs, JB Haab, and me – set out to create a mobile, full-time, professional trail crew that would run under the Boulder Climbing Community (BCC) and build sustainable climbing access trails in the Boulder-Denver area. We estimated that it would take about $100,000 to run this for one season, but we had only $8,000 in the bank. JB was ready to give up a well-paying job to lead this crew even though we had no idea where we would get the money to pay him, or the two other crewmembers we needed to hire. It seemed like a very big mountain to climb, and to make things even more challenging, we lost Mark to a climbing accident in late January of 2014.

We knew that after a long and storied career in trail-building and climbing stewardship Mark thought this was the only way to really address the growing impacts on the ground from climbers. So we carried on without him, and for him, and managed to pull off a successful season in 2014 with a 3-man crew costing $120,000. There were many organizations and people who took a risk and believed in us that year, including Eldorado Canyon State Park, the City of Boulder OSMP, individuals from our climbing community who donated generously, and the Access Fund, a critical partner with the BCC in creating the FRCS model.

We have now completed our third season and not only compiled a spectacular portfolio of work, but also demonstrated a model that is attracting attention all over the country. The FRCS program is producing real results on the ground, and there is now hope that we can get on top of the growing impacts that climbers everywhere are having on the ground as they go to and from the crags. Boulder OSMP continues to be a major funding partner for work in the Flatirons, while Jefferson County Open Space and REI Colorado are now providing major funding as well. And we continue to rely on smaller donations and support from businesses, organizations, and individuals. Our funding stream is diverse and community-based.

In 2016 we achieved a major milestone with our three-week project at the Plotinus Wall, funded by REI. This was our first work on U.S. Forest Service land in Boulder Canyon, and it was the result of 5 years of discussion and relationship building, opening the door for many more years of much-needed work in the Canyon. Matt Henry and Sylvia Clark from the Boulder Ranger District really stepped up to help navigate the gauntlet of Federal regulations that apply on Forest Service lands. Also in 2016, our volunteer program continued to grow with the addition of industry and organizational partners, while Owen Silver, the BCC Volunteer Coordinator, helped build our network of volunteers who work side-by-side with the crew. In the pages ahead you can see more details from the 2016 season.

The big news for 2017 is that we have been offered more funded work than our 3-person crew could possibly handle so we will be expanding our crew to five members. JB Haab will continue his phenomenal leadership both in the field and administratively, while Aaron Mojica, who has been with us since the middle of our first season, will lead a small crew for our first winter season at North Table Mountain near Golden, and serve as crew lead during the regular season. We are very excited about our two new hires, Ryan Kuehn, who comes to us from Boulder OSMP, and Beth Liska from the U.S. Forest Service. We are still in the process of hiring a 5th crewmember who will start in March. I will continue to serve as Program Director, focusing mainly on fundraising, community outreach, and being the #1 FRCS cheerleader. An unsung hero on our team has been Scott Rennak, the BCC Marketing Director, who continues to build partnerships and community awareness. We have an incredible team, and 2017 promises to be better than ever (see our 2017 schedule of work at the end of this report).

On behalf of the FRCS team, I want to thank all of you who have supported us. If you would like to make a donation for 2017, please mail a check made to “Boulder Climbing Community” noting “For Trails” to:

BCC 825 7th Street Boulder, CO, 80302

You can also donate through PayPal on the BCC website, www.boulderclimbers.org. Again, please indicate that this is For Trails.

2016 Projects

Dates Location Duration Land Manager

March 11-19 Indian Creek 1.5 weeks BLM - Monticello

Mar 29 – Apr 29 Dark Side II 5 weeks Jeffco POS

May 4 - 13 Turkey Rocks 1.5 weeks USFS - Pike

May 17 – June 3 Plotinus Wall 3 weeks USFS - Boulder

June 7 – Sept 2 3rd Flatiron 13 weeks Boulder OSMP

Sept 6 – 16 Sundance Buttress 2 weeks NPS - RMNP

Sept 20 – 30 1st - 2nd Trail 2 weeks OSMP

Oct 4 – 14 Mill Creek 2 weeks BLM - Moab

Oct 18 – Dec 2 1st -2nd Trail 7 weeks OSMP

2016 Metrics

Project Outputs Trail improved 981 linear feet Rock steps 442 Timber steps 27 Rock structures 4,482 square feet Aggregate backfill 1,322 cubic feet Rocks moved by hand 2,123 Rocks moved by highline 167 Staging areas constructed 190 square feet Restoration 4,743 square feet Transplants 58

Crew Composition 3 full-time, 1 part-time Project Labor 4,124 hours Planning, design, and outreach 802 hours

Volunteers Total days 488 Total hours 2,479 Average day length 5.1 hours

2016 Financial Summary

Expenses

Crew payroll, taxes, and benefits: $132,945 93%

Tools and materials: $4,095 3%

Marketing and services: $5,431 4%

TOTAL: $142,471

Revenues

Land Manager contracts and other fee for service: $102,131 72%

Grants: $22,500 15%

Individual donors: $17,840 13%

TOTAL: $142,471

2016 Partners

Major Funding Partners

Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Jefferson County Parks and Open Space

REI Colorado The Willett Family Foundation

Other Funding Partners

High Mountain Institute Friends of Indian Creek

Colorado Mountain Club American Alpine Club

The Access Fund

Land Manager Partners

Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Jefferson County Parks and Open Space

U.S. Forest Service, Boulder (continued)

U.S. Forest Service, South Platte U.S. Forest Service, Moab

National Park Service, RMNP BLM, Monticello Office

Event Partners

Prana Fjällräven

The A-Lodge ABC Kids Climbing

Neptune Mountaineering Movement Climbing Gym Earth Treks Climbing Gym The Spot Bouldering Gym

Project Partners

The Access Fund Conservation Teams The American Alpine Club

High Mountain Institute Rocky Mountain Field Institute Pikes Peak Climbers Alliance

Colorado Mountain School Kent Mountain Adventure Center

Northern Colorado Climbers Coalition Estes Park Mountain Shop

Volunteer Partners

Salewa Google

Zeal Optics Rab Designs Bridgehouse

The Access Fund September School

Montrose High School The Spot Bouldering Gym Earth Treks Climbing Gym Navigant Consulting Group

Texas Tech, Raiders Helping Others

Equipment Partners

ScarpaAddidas Outdoor

2016 Photos

Above: Damage on the 1st-2nd Trail in the Flatirons near Boulder as the crew begins work. Below: The same section of trail on the last day of the 2016 season. This is what a sustainable trail looks like!

Left to right: Aaron Mojica, Ben Raiche, and Lonnie Veraldi

Below: More finished product on the 1st-2nd Trail.

Below: A challenging build at the Plotinus Wall

See Our Stewardship Film by Brad Clement, Spindrift Films

1:30 Version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjsREcp9Urk

4:52 Version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDgAnIMrTY0

2017 Work Schedule

Jan. 15 - March 3

March 6 – 31

April 4 - Aug. 4

August 8 -18

August 22 - Oct 13

Oct. 16 - 31

Nov. 1 - Dec. 8

North Table Mountain, Golden  

Plotinus Wall II, Boulder Canyon

Clear Creek Canyon: Wall of the Nineties, Independence Day Wall, Highwire Crag

Rocky Mtn. Park Project, or ?

3rd Flatiron II, Boulder

Indian Creek, Utah

1st-2nd Flatiron II, or Turkey Rock, or North Table Mtn. II  

7 weeks

4 weeks

18 weeks

2 weeks

8 weeks

2 weeks

6 weeks