Trail Day Details

Help us celebrate our new crags!
October 26, 10am
Mothers Buttress trailhead

Trailwork for a few hours, then a potluck picnic lunch followed by some climbing!

Bring work gloves, water, some lunch fixings to share.

PRIZES!

Thanks, all, for helping us secure the Lower Mothers Buttress and Television Wall for climbers and hikers!

WCCC in the news!

Recent stories have appeared in the local press:
KREXTV.com:   http://www.westernslopenow.com/story/d/story/unaweep-cliffs-saved-for-climbing/52239/sWBJdWqfF0Gc2vXuRSFTZA

GJ Free Press: http://www.postindependent.com/news/grandjunction/13331648-113/access-wccc-cliffs-fund

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/pair-of-unaweep-cliffs-bought-to-preserve-access (A password may be needed to read this one. It was published on Saturday, October 22.

UNAWEEP CLIFFS SAVED!

Grand Junction, Colorado. October 9, 2014 - Western Colorado Climbers’ Coalition (WCCC) and the Access Fund are pleased to announce the purchase of two major cliffs in Unaweep Canyon that secure permanent public access. Acquisition of the Television Wall and Lower Mothers Buttress culminates a 25-year history of conservation and public access along this portion of the Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic Byway. 

This purchase adds 40 acres of land that hosts more than 50 high-quality granite climbing routes to previously protected lands. Public access to these walls was closed three years ago when the property owner sought to sell the property. After two years of negotiations to purchase or lease the cliff line, WCCC and Access Fund reached an agreement to obtain the properties.

“It is very exciting to have this long-term project come to fruition,” says Jesse Zacher, WCCC President. “After many years of negotiations and planning, it is fantastic to see it all finally coming together. Public access to these previously closed cliffs is a great asset for present and future public recreation groups.”

These two major crags are adjacent to the Sunday Wall, which was purchased by the Access Fund in 1991 in partnership with three local climbers, and the Upper Mothers Buttress, which was secured in 2010 by WCCC with the help of Colorado climbers John and Marti Peterson. With much of the canyon privately held, WCCC, Access Fund, and local climbers have worked diligently to purchase the unique granite cliffs of Unaweep over the last two decades.

Steve Johnson, chair of the Access Fund Loan and Acquisitions Committee and Regional Coordinator for western Colorado commented, “This land acquisition is important for climbers across the region and the nation because it unlocks access to great multi-pitch granite crags in a really scenic location. Acquisition of the Lower Mothers Buttress and the Television Wall consolidates free public access to the major cliffs in Unaweep.”  

With a narrow window of time to protect the properties, Access Fund awarded WCCC with a Climbing Preservation Grant to defray closing costs and an Access Fund Land Conservation Campaign low-interest loan of $134,200 to acquire the threatened climbing area. Access Fund and WCCC have applied for a significant grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), a lottery-funded open space grant program. The project provides a unique opportunity to preserve conservation and recreation values in the geologically unique canyon of the Uncompahgre Plateau. The GOCO application comes with additional support from Mesa County’s Board of County Commissioners, Mesa Land Trust, Conservation Colorado, the American Alpine Club, and National Outdoor Leadership School. If WCCC is unable to secure sufficient funds from grants or private donors, it will pursue an alternative plan to subdivide the cliffs from the total of 40 acres, and will sell two home sites, while preserving the cliffs in perpetuity.

WCCC now needs the support of climbers, recreationalists, and the people of western Colorado to pay back the loan and fundraise for stewardship of Unaweep Cliffs. Donations are encouraged and can be made to WCCC at www.westernslopeclimbers.blogspot.com.

WCCC is extremely grateful for the important role of its partners and volunteers. Significant funding was received from the Aspen, Colorado-based Alpenglow Foundation, the family foundation of climbers John and Laurel Catto, and Shaw Construction in Grand Junction. As a Telluride-based real estate attorney, Steve Johnson provided pro bono legal services to WCCC in connection with the purchase. Dave Foley provided pro bono survey work, and the appraisal work was also donated.

The Realtor assisting both parties in the transaction, Christi Reece of Bray & Company, also generously donated $5,000 of her commission. “I want to show [our local leaders] what a group of committed citizens can do for our community. My dad, William C. Hall, was a Realtor and was instrumental in preserving the Hartman Rocks area in Gunnison (CO) when it came up for sale, in similar fashion, and I can’t imagine Gunnison without it. I didn’t want to see these properties lost to owners who would not allow the climbing to continue.”

The WCCC plans to partner with Access Fund to host a trail day on October 26th to link existing trails to the new cliffs.

Contacts:

Eve Tallman

Secretary
Western Colorado Climbers’ Coalition

evetallman@gmail.com  

435.259.5639 

Joe Sambataro

National Access Director

Access Fund

joe@accessfund.org

425.218.8234

UNAWEEP TRAIL DAY NOW OCTOBER 26

SAVE THE DATE! So that more folks can attend, we've changed the date of our Trail Day and Celebration Party to October 26. We'll meet at our Mothers Buttress parking lot at 10am. Our main goal is to link existing trails to our new crags at TV Wall and Lower Mothers Buttress.  We'll have an "after party" to celebrate our new land acquisition and hopefully get a pitch or two in, to boot. Help us work on our trails and have a blast! Watch for details and follow us on Facebook. Thanks for all the support!

Donate to WCCC by PAYPAL or CREDIT CARD

Help us raise money for the Unaweep Cliffs Project! Our Fall 2014 goal is to raise $8,000 from members and friends, and we're more than half way there. Thanks!

Indian Creek Adopt-a-Crag

I wanted to let you know about an Adopt a Crag event happening in Indian Creek. Where: Pistol Whipped Wall - Indian Creek, UT When:  Saturday, Oct 11 and Sunday, Oct 12 Hosted by:  Rocky Mountain Institute, Access Fund, American Alpine Club, Boulder Climbing Community, Friends of Indian Creek and the BLM Details:  If you're planning on heading to Indian Creek next weekend, Oct 11 & 12, we'd love to put you to work for a few hours helping to construct the new approach trail to the Pistol Whipped Wall! Volunteers are going to be crucial in assisting us to gather the necessary rock material for the extensive structures needed along this new & steep approach trail. Volunteers should plan on meeting on Saturday at 8:30am at the latrine; junction of Beef Basin Road junction and Rd 211. We will then carpool to the project site. The American Alpine Club will be providing dinner & brews Saturday evening for all volunteers who participated and Movement Gym in Boulder has donated day passes as well. Jim Donini will be on hand Sat evening, cooking dinner and sharing stories of his climbing history around the fire at the Creek Pasture Group Campsite. The Pistol Whipped Wall is one of Indian Creek's most popular walls and has been in need of a new approach trail for several years. The Rocky Mountain Field Institute has worked hard to get the trail to its current state, but climbers are going to be crucial in wrapping the trail up and making it sustainable for years to come. Hope you can come and lend a hand! Please register with Molly at RMFI: molly@rmfi.org Every hour of time you donate to a crag helps show land managers that climbers are responsible stewards. Grab some friends and a pair of work gloves and spend a day giving back to the sport you love! We hope to  see you there. Thanks for your support, Ty TylerStewardship Director Access Fund The Adopt a Crag program is brought to you by:

Welcome new board members!

The WCCC board is pleased to announce the addition of two new board members. Chris Bak has been active with the WCCC for about four years, and Bradley Edwards seeks to represent boulderers in the Coalition. Welcome Chris and Brad!

Lost Goats

You may have seen a "Lost Goats" sign out at the Sunday Wall trailhead. I'm happy to report the goats were spotted by WCCC members and we called the owner and now the goats are safely back home. They enjoyed two and a half weeks at the TV Wall.

WCCC joins forces with coalitions

WCCC is now a member of the Land Trust Alliance and the Grand Valley Trails Alliance. Go team!

WCCC is under contract for Lower Mothers and the TV Wall!

Thanks for all your encouragement as we worked hard all these years to get to this point! We have some major stipulations to close, but we're on our way. Of primary importance is acceptance of our loan application by the Access Fund Land Conservation Committee. The Access Fund should have a decision on or around August 10. We are candidates for a few grants, from the American Alpine Club Cornerstone Grant program, the Access Fund, a private donor's match grant, and GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado). Stay tuned for more information about these exciting opportunities!