Local climbing organization committed to supporting regional recreation areas

This fall, more than 100 climbers, outdoor enthusiasts and community members gathered in the fall to support two Maryland recreation areas--Northwest Branch recreational park in Silver Spring and the Patapsco Valley State Park north of Ellicott City.

Paul Barringer, a local climber and MAC member who spearheaded planning of the Northwest branch event says that he enjoys the area because it is a little bit of wilderness right in the midst of the suburbs. “As an urban crag, Northwest Branch gets a lot of use--which brings a host of attendant problems like trash, wear and tear on the trail, and graffiti,” he said. Berringer explained that while bouldering at Northwest branch has a low impact on the environment, and access is easy, it is still important for climbers to play a major role in addressing problems in the area. “It's also great to have the opportunity to make a contribution and meet new people.”

According to MAC President Chris Irwin, both Northwest Branch and Illchester rock, the site of the season’s second adopt-a-crag, could be considered urban parks due to geographic proximity to high population areas, and increasingly high strain on the resources including the climbing areas. “Illchester rock in Patapsco and Northwest Branch are both right off of the highway, close to where people live, and they get a lot of use,” he said. “It is important for us as climbers and as environmental stewards to make sure we have the smallest impact on the natural environment possible,” he said describing several of the projects at the Illchester adopt-a-crag including construction of a retaining wall at the base of the cliff and stairway rehabilitation.


Describing the work completed at Illchester rock by MAC volunteers, Patapsco State Park Ranger and volunteer coordinator Robert Eckhardt said, “This kind of project costs me a lot, and for each of you to come out and do a little bit means a lot. The stairs look great, the retaining wall looks great, you really should be proud.”

Berringer, Irwin and MAC are looking forward to playing a major role in the stewardship of Northwest Branch and Illchester rock in the future and the group has several events planned in the coming months.

Mid Atlantic Climbers is in the process of scheduling follow-up projects at both areas, so that local climbers can continue to show their support for local areas.

Thanks and Announcements

To our very dear supporters and friends:

I want to thank you for your continued support through the past four years. We have managed to make an impact in the Mid-Atlantic Region and will continue to do so for some time only through supporters and friends like you.

Over the past couple of months, there have been some changes that I’d like to address. In April, Ocean Eiler, MAC President, decided to step down as president. I will respect his privacy and just let you know it was a hard decision for him to step down as president. While he has stepped down, he will continue to volunteer and support MAC in our future endeavors. I have no doubt that we will be seeing him at many events moving forward with his signature smile. We will miss him in the core leadership group, as he has been the face of MAC for the past two years and one of the faces of DC Metro Climbing for some time before. Best wishes to you, O.

With the departure of Ocean, we started searching for folks to take on new roles to keep MAC going. Starting with the search for a new leader, MAC has selected Chris Irwin, as the new president. Chris has accepted and has started in his role as president, effective immediately. For those that don’t know Chris. He was one of the founding members of Mid-Atlantic Climbers and has been guiding and climbing in the area for quite a long time. He knows the area and knows many of the people in the area and has a general excitement to get people motivated to help the local areas. He's a skilled educator and a great public speaker. He’s also one of the most approachable people I’ve ever met, which makes me very happy that he’s taking the role.

Now that we have Chris in place, we are also seeking folks to fill other roles with MAC. There are core team roles and roles for folks that just want to help every once in a while. There’s plenty to do in the Mid-Atlantic Region and we would like to engage you in accomplishing the goals of ensuring climbing and access to some of the precious places in the mid-Atlantic Region. For more information, please contact us at midatlanticclimbers@gmail.com.

Thanks again for your support and I hope to see you in and around a local crag.
Fred B. Wilson
Board Member-At-Large

Mid-Atlantic Climbers Happy Hour

Attention climbers! Enjoy a happy hour with friends while supporting local climbing. A percentage of food and alcohol purchases (between 5-9pm) will go to Mid-Atlantic Climbers. We'll be raffling off some great gear so stop by and enjoy a cold one!

RSVP at our Facebook event.

Sugarloaf Clean & Climb - 06/18/2011

Our friends the Mountaineering Section of the Potomac Appalachian Mountain Club (PATC) are hosting a cleanup event at Sugarloaf Mountain near Comus, Maryland. The focus of the event will be trash removal from the base of the Boy Scout Ledges and Middle Earth climbing areas. After a morning of good deeds, folks are encouraged to stay and climb!

Sugarloaf Clean & Climb
Saturday June 18th, 2011
9am

This is a great opportunity to give back to a local crag, meet some new friends and get your climb on!

Full Event Details can be found on the event page.
Contact the event coordinator at edwin.bachetti [at] gmail.com to sign up or for questions.

Photo Contest

Mid Atlantic Climbers Photo Contest
with prizes every month and grand prizes!

June 1st - August 31st, 2011

We would like to see your best photographs of the Mid-Atlantic Region, whether doing work, climbing or just hanging around. Help us promote the area and the organizations that want to give back to our climbing community.

Grand Prizes:

1st grand prize – Mounted, matted and framed 8x10 of the winning photo, winning photo featured on the Mid Atlantic Climbers Webpage, and a MAC T-Shirt
2nd grand prize – Mounted 8x10 and a MAC T-Shirt
3rd grand prize – MAC T-Shirt

Monthly Prizes:

1st - Printed shot along with a shot mounted and a MAC T-Shirt
2nd – Printed photo and a MAC T-Shirt
3rd – MAC T-Shirt

Theme:
Mid-Atlantic Climbers is looking to promote the fact that we have a strong climbing community along with our very beautiful and picturesque landscape.

Rules:
You may enter up to five of your best shots, so choose strategically and choose wisely. While one person can win 1st prize in the monthly contest all three months, they cannot win multiple times in the overall competition.

Submissions should be sent to midatlanticclimbers@gmail.com

Judging:
The judging will be by both popular vote and a panel of objective judges. As all pictures will be posted on the Mid Atlantic Climbers' Facebook page, the picture with the most “Likes” will be awarded 5 points; 4 for the second most popular, on down to 1 point for 5th place.

Our panel of judges will also evaluate and award their choices for 1st through 5th on the same point scale. Total points determines winner. If there should be a tie, the judges suggestion will outweigh the popular vote.

Sponsors:
A special thank you goes out to our friends at Erickson & Ripper Gallery for helping with this contest. All panel judging, framing and mounting will be provided by them. Please visit them at their galleries in Old Town Alexandria and Del Ray.

Access Update: Dead Tree Wall and Summit Crag Rock Climbing Closures Lifted

The temporary rock climbing closure of the Dead Tree Wall and Summit Crag climbing areas on Old Rag Mountain has been lifted. The Peregrine Falcons are no longer nesting in this area.

Thanks to everyone's cooperation. Climb hard!

Keepin' The Hits Coming - Ilchester Cleanup Recap

Thank Goodness for Good Weather

Hot off the heels of last month’s epic Rockfest 2011, Mid-Atlantic Climbers enjoyed beautiful weather Saturday May 7th at the first ever Adopt-a-Crag at the Ilchester Crag in Patapsco State Park.

Twenty-five volunteers came together and scoured the hillside beneath the cliff, removing a ton of broken glass and trash. Not content with this, volunteers then trekked down to Bloede's Dam and up Hilltop Road for more; finding such gems as a car door, a filthy mattress and creepy children's toys.

Where and What is Ilchester?

Located just outside of Ellicott City, Ilchester is a popular after work spot. And its preeminent route, Blue Rose 5.8+ is a classic sandbag that is famous in the DC area for spitting people off. Unfortunately, the same accessibility is what has lured late-night partiers, trash dumpers and weak-sauce grafitti 'artists' to the cliff.

So Why are Climbers Picking Up Trash?

Events like this are a way for the climbing community to show Patapsco State Park and other land managers that climbers invested in the outdoor resource. It helps to establish a positive relationship between the park and our user group.

Mid Atlantic Climbers would like to thank our sponsors: Earth Treks and Osprey, our team leaders and of course, everyone who gave up a morning of climbing to give back to the community.!