Decision 2013

Yes, Decision 2013, the time when you get to speak up, make your voice hear, and help decide what what events and climbing areas Mid Atlantic Climbers will work on next year!

Mid Atlantic Climbers is starting to put together next year's event schedule and we need you to tell us what is important to you. Have you been to a climbing area lately that you think needs some TLC? Did you witness washed-out trails or access issues during your fall season?

Remember, if you climb in the Mid Atlantic region, you are a Mid Atlantic Climber -- so let us know what you think!

10th Annual Great Falls Adopt-a-Crag 10/20/12

10th Annual Adopt-a-Crag Great Falls

Saturday, October 20th, 2012. 

8am - noon.

This is the area's longest running and largest Adopt-a-Crag events. Volunteers will work on various projects throughout the park in the morning and then be treated to a free BBQ and raffle courtesy of Mid Atlantic Climbers and our generous sponsors.

We also need a dedicated crew of about 25 volunteers to work on a trail near Cow Hoof Rock. This crew will will break for the BBQ and raffles with everyone, but will then return and work until about 4pm.  Please contact the Adopt-a-Crag coordinator Victoria Guido if you are interested in this particular project.
 

Links:
Details and Registration (Please RSVP)
Great Falls Event on Facebook

HERA Climb4Life July 13-15th, 2012

It's 100 degrees outside, it must be time for HERA Climb4Life DC!

Climbers and outdoor enthusiasts from all over the DC area are raising money and awareness to help fight ovarian cancer.

Climb4Life is a multi-day event, that includes climbing, socializing and giveaways.  Teams are also raising money and competing for this pretty pig.

There's still time to join a team or start your own! Check out the HERA Page for a full listing of the events, join a team or start one of your own!

And what about that pig? Here you go.

Access Fund Conservation Team Open House at Northwest Branch

Exciting news! The Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team will be arriving in Washington, DC on May 9th, 2012 to work with the Mid-Atlantic Climbers on access enhancements to the Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park in Silver Spring!

Conservation Team -
Photo Credit Access Fund

The Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team will be at Northwest Branch Thursday May 10th through Saturday, May 12th undertaking park enhancements. Want to see the park upgrades? Come out on Sunday, May 13th, when the conservation team members will provide information about their work at Northwest Branch - and all around the United States - at an open session at Northwest Branch beginning at 2 PM.

The trail project and open session will be at Northwest Branch Park, which is located at 10701 Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20910 - immediately south of the strip mall where Trader Joe’s is located. For more information email midatlanticclimbers@gmail.com.

The Conservation Team is the Access Fund's newest stewardship program, with a staff of two trail specialists who travel the country ten months out of the year helping local climbers and volunteers maintain climbing areas. The team assesses climbing area conservation needs, works with locals to address those needs, and provides training on planning and stewardship best practices to keep those areas healthy.  For more information about the Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team, visit www.accessfund.org/ct.

Rockfest 2012 a success!

This year's Rockfest event at Rocks State Park was a huge success! We had over 60 volunteers who worked all day to complete multiple projects that massively improved the park for all visitors. Despite the dreary forecast, folks came out excited to pitch in and the forecasted rain held off until after our projects were complete!

Thanks to everyone who helped with the projects which included trail work including installing steps on the purple trail and clearing out an ATV emergency access trail, invasive species removal (only one reported case of poison ivy), trash clean up, and construction of a nature center play area.

Building stone steps on the purple trail.

Construction of the natural play area.

Trash clean-up crew getting ready to beautify the park.

We'd like to report that the rangers at Rocks State Park are very happy with the work we were able to accomplish and were very supportive of our event overall. Be sure to thank them for their work the next time you climb at the park!

Lunch was provided by Earth Treks!

Thanks to our generous sponsors, meals for the day were provided to volunteers, and at the end of the day we had raffle prizes for everyone who participated!

Solid Rock Climbers for Christ generously provided dinner for our hungry volunteers!

In addition to the raffle, we normally give a prize for the most unique piece of trash cleaned up. Luckily, the park had less trash than we expected, so we gave the prize of a clean Mid-Atlantic Climbers T-shirt for the dirtiest volunteer. Here's our winner:

We were very grateful that the rain held off during the day on Saturday, but its eventual arrival sent most people home on Saturday night instead of enjoying camping. For the few hearty souls who stayed the night, we were treated with a sampling of short climbing films and good company around the campfire.

Thanks to Mark "Indy" Kochte for taking all of the photos in this blog post. You can see even more photos from the event on Facebook here.

Great Falls Adopt-a-Crag 2010

Welcome to the Fall!

Fall brings crisp temperatures and good friction, the Triple Crown, and of course...

The 8th Annual Mid Atlantic Climbers Great Falls Adop-a-Crag!

This year, the Adopt-a-Crag coincides with National Public Lands day. Our efforts to preserve our local climbing resource will be mirrored by thousand of projects and volunteers all across the country.

At Great Falls National Park, VA we will be focusing our efforts on trash-removal at the climbing sites and along the riverbank, as well as re-blazing (marking) trails.

After a morning of hardwork, we'll get together for a bar-be-que and local climbing legend John Greggory will present a discussion on the history of climbing along the Potomac River. We'll also have some door prizes and a gift for every volunteer (Hint: its not a t-shirt this year).

Make sure you bring work clothes, gloves and water for the morning, an appetite for the BBQ, and climbing gear for the afternoon!


The 8th Annual Mid Atlantic Climbers Adop-a-Crag!
Location: Great Falls Nat'l Park, VA

Saturday, September 25th 2010

Check-in 8am
9-12noon

please RSVP with the number of volunteers in your party to adoptacrag@midatlanticclimbers.org

Free Training Clinic with Paul Robinson

You may have heard that Paul Robinson has been in town throwin down at Earth Treks Timonium...

We just got word that Paul will be hosting a Free System Board Training Clinic, next week! Its free to ET members, but its going to fill up VERY FAST! This will be a great opportunity for some local climbers to see what it takes to bring their climbing to the next level.

The best part is that Earthtreks is actively encouraging Donations and all proceeds will go to the Access Fund!

More Details:
Tuesday 6-29-10
Wednesday 6-30-10
At Earthtreks Timonium.
Earthtreks blog
These clinics are free, but only open to Earthtreks members.
It will fill VERY FAST, call to register.

Mid Atlantic Climbers is participating in the 5th Annual HERA - Climb4Life Event and you should too!

Last year, the Greater Washington DC community brought together over 450 climbers who helped raise over $60,000 to support Ovarian Cancer Research.

This year HERA Women's Cancer Foundation is bringing the Climb4Life Event to DC - March 13th -19th. With a goal to promote awareness and raise money.

How can I get involved?
Join our team Eyes In The Sky and come out to the HERA events .

From the HERA website:

"Registration Fees:
Your $30 registration fee is a donation to HERA and includes:

• Admission to Kick-Off and Climbers' Festival


• A goodie bag filled with coupons and gifts


• Four days of free climbing at Sportrock: 2 at Sterling, 2
  at Alexandria (valid 3/14 - 3/21)


• Discounts on classes and memberships at Sportrock


• Expert unlimited Power Yoga at Dancing Mind Yoga, (valid 3/13 – 3/21)


• Clinics with pro-climbers,


• Discounts with REI Outdoor School


• A special slideshow presentation by a guest pro-climber


• Global Mala Event – 108 Sun Salutations - celebrate life!"

Challenge yourself and help the HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation fight ovarian cancer!

By participating in HERA Climb4Life, you can help save lives.

Fall Adopt-a-Crags - Another Huge Success For MAC!

7th Annual Adopt-a-Crag

For the past 7 years, local climbers, outdoor enthuasists, the Access Fund, Earth Treks, Sportrock and the National Park Service have come together to support our local crags with a day of volunteer work that aims to unite the outdoor community and preserve our precious natural resources. This fall, Mid Atlantic Climbers organized well over 100 volunteers and completed more than 10 individual projects.

At Great Falls Nat'l Park, VA:
On Sept. 5th, 2009 more than 50 volunteers came out in support of Mid Atlantic Climber's mission for the first Adopt-a-Crag event of the season. Four teams of volunteers tackled projects identified by National Park Service.

Projects included:
-brushing-in of a major social trail

-trail maintenance in a high-traffic area

-building a slit rail fence and,

-re-grading the path to Overlook 1

After the projects were completed volunteers were treated to a BBQ compliments of Sportrock Climbing Centers and a gear raffle from Mid Atlantic Climbers and the Access Fund.

Carderock, MD

Completed Projects from 2008 and 2009

At Carderock Recreation Area, MD:
On Sept. 26th, 2009 more than 70 volunteers including climbers, hikers and many from the Armed Forces took on several projects in prominent areas of the park. paying special attention to long term park preservation. In collaboration with the US Navy and the National Park Service's Volunteer Coordinator Kyle Anderson,

Projects included:

-Trail maintenance

- re-mulching of heavily trafficked trails

- Erosion control

- Brushing-in of significant social trails

- Replacing the retaining wall below Hades Heights.

After projects were completed, volunteers were treated to a BBQ hosted by EarthTreks Climbing Centers and a gear raffle from Mid Atlantic Climbers and the Access Fund.

A Huge Success deserves a Huge Thank You!

Mid Atlantic Climbers would like to thank this years Adopt-a-Crag partners including:

the Access Fund

REI

Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS)

Sportrock Climbing Centers

Earthtreks Climbing Gyms

Mid Atlantic Climbers would also like to extend a very special thank you to REI for their continued support of the Adopt-a-Crag events throughout the last 7 years! Definitely committed to the outdoor community!

Lastly, none of this would not have been possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of the individual volunteers.

To everyone who has ever participated in the Adopt-a-Crag series, Mid Atlantic Climbers would like to thank you for helping, and to say that we look forward to working with you in the future!

Timbering in Coopers Rock State Forest!

The Division of Forestry has announced a public tour to review proposed timbering in Coopers Rock State Forest.

You can have input on this if you attend a public tour on Saturday, July 25th at 10am.

Meet in the Day Use Parking lot of Coopers Rock State Forest. This is the very first parking lot on the right. The tour will involve a one to two mile hike on trails, old roads and on uneven ground in the woods. Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing. If you have been to Coopers Rock in the past 3 or 4 months you have seen timbering.

This timbering was done for the purpose of clearing an electrical line pathway. There has been significant cutting for this project. Many times the gravel placed on the roads for this project was large and very difficult to travel by foot or bike. Some of the roads built for the purpose of getting to the timber were daylighted eliminating any tree canopy for shade. We don't want this kind of practice to continue in future timbering projects in the forest.

This public walk through is to review a plan for a true timbering project. Please come for a walk in the woods and have your presence felt and your voice heard by the Forest Service.

WHEN: Saturday, July 25th 10am

WHERE: Meet at the Day Use Parking Lot of Coopers Rock State Forest

QUESTIONS: Adventure's Edge 304.296.9007
MORE INFO: www.wvforestry.com

Please don't miss this opportunity to have an impact on the how the forest will be managed.
See you in the outdoors,
Jan Kiger
Adventure's Edge