Ilchester Adopt-a-Crag Saturday 5/7/11

Straight off of the heels of Shenandoah Rockfest, Mid Atlantic Climbers and Earthtreks are hosting an Adopt-a-Crag at Ilchester crag in the Patapsco Valley State Park.

The focus of this event with be litter removal from the base of the crag, and the hillside down towards the Patapsco River. This is the first event of what should prove to be an ongoing effort to clean up and improve the park area and the Ilchester crag.

Ilchester Adopt-a-Crag

Saturday, May 7th 2011

8am-12noon

Vounteer picnic to follow courtesy of Patabsco State Park

If you are interested in volunteering please RSVP to the Facebook event page or email Mark Webb, the volunteer coordinator, directly mark@earthtreksclimbing.com

Facebook Contest! Win free stuff!

We had a crazy idea. We hope you like it!

Post a picture of yourself or a friend wearing an Adopt-a-Crag, Rockfest or Mid Atlantic Climbers T-Shirt on the wall of our event page on Facebook. Everyone who posts a photo will automatically get a free raffle ticket and whoever posts a photo with the most likes will get our new MAC shirt free!

Help us spread the word about the event by forwarding this email to your friends, sharing the event on your wall and encouraging people to enter the contest. You must be present at Rockfest 2011 to win.

Rockfest 2 Is Almost Here!

We're getting really excited about our upcoming event.

Check out The Rockfest Page for all the details!

Fall 2010 Wrap-up

Fall 2010 has been busy!
Here is some info on what the climbers of the Mid Atlantic region were doing!

Great Falls, VA Adopt-a-Crag 9/25/10
Thanks to everyone who came out! We had over 100 volunteers work to complete many different projects throughout the park. Including:

• Building an historic fence
• Invasive species removal
• Trimming of trails
• Building a turnpike and erosion control measures on a popular trail
• Hauling out lots of trash from the gorge

Some people have asked, "Why are climbers trimming a horse-trail?" The answer is simple. By being good stewards of the land, it shows the park service that climbers are committed protecting these precious resources, not just climbing. Maintaining a good relationship between climbers and land managers is ultimately what keeps climbing areas open.

UPDATE: Check out our friend Jeremy Bradford's Flikr album from the event!

Earth Treks Gear Swap 9/25/10
Earth Treks Columbia, once again showed their commitment to the climbing community by hosting a Gear Swap. Climbers we invited to bring in their used gear and sell it consignment style; donating 10% of the gear swap sales to Mid Atlantic Climbers and the Access Fund. Their efforts raised over $100 which will be split between the two organizations for the purpose of preserving climbing access; locally and across the country.

A big thanks to Earth Treks for continuing to be so supportive of the local climbing community and caring about preserving the climbing resources!

Access Fund Summit, Fayetteville, WV 10/2/10 and 10/3/10
Representatives from Mid Atlantic Climbers attended this two-day conference with other Local Climbing Organizations (LCOs) from across the country. The goal of this conference was for LCO's to share information on how to preserve climbing resources. The topics of presentations, panels and workshops ranged from Conservation Easements and Land Acquisition, to liability and recreational use statutes, to membership and fundraising for LCOs.

There was also time for a little climbing, and networking with other LCOs:

• Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition (RRGCC)
  
• Carolina Climbers Coalition (CCC)
  
• Climbing Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania (C3PA)
  
• Climbers Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento (CRAGS)
  
• Washington Climbers Coalition (WCC)
  
• New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC)
  

Here is a comprehensive list of Local Climbing Organizations from the Access Fund.

The Summit was sponsored by the Access Fund and the New River Alliance of Climbers with the help of the National Parks Service and local businesses.

UPDATE: Check out this very detailed trip-report written by our friend Renee Ross from CRAGS - also has a couple good pics!

Northwest Branch Adopt-a-Crag 11/13/10

Our last Adopt-a-Crag of the season was another HUGE success. On a perfect fall day and under a beautiful blue sky, 79 volunteers from all over came together to show a local bouldering spot some love.

In the end, we hauled more than 30 big bags of trash and over a dozen bags of recyclables out of the woods. Not to mention: four tires, a big pipe and a couple of chairs. After the cleanup, we had an interesting presentation on the geology and flora/fauna in the park from Montgomery County Park Commission biologist Doug Redmond. And of course, the obligatory bouldering sesh.

Thanks to all our great volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning to work hard and give something back to the community.

Thanks also to our sponsors- we couldn’t have done it without you!

• Patagonia
  
• Eastern Mountain Sports
• Earth Treks
  
• REI
• Whole Foods Markets
  
• Starbucks
• Alice Ferguson Foundation

The SCC's $250k Grant proposal on Pepsi Refresh Project

Do you ever wish you had more money to donate to a good cause?
Of course we do! Now you can help the Southeastern Climbers Coalition win $250,000 to open up two climbing areas in the Southeast!



As many of you know, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition has been doing some amazing things to preserve climbing in the South. They've had some huge success with Boat Rock and Yellow Bluff and now they have their eyes on 2 other climbing areas. But they need your help.

The SCC is competing to win $250,000 in grant money from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Help spread the word and get people to vote! You can vote every day!

Not convinced? Check out this awesome video the SCC put together:

Northwest Branch Adopt-a-Crag

Northwest Branch has some great boulders with sharp crimps, quartz crystals and unfortunately some graffiti.

If you haven't been, it’s a beautiful wooded and boulder-strewn ravine, nestled between suburban neighborhoods in Silver Spring, MD.

Come out and help to preserve and protect this local climbing resource as we clean up trash and debris, and do trail maintenance.


NORTHWEST BRANCH
ADOPT-A-CRAG:
Saturday November 13th, 2010
8am to 12:00pm

After a morning of hard work, we’ll give away some door prizes, and have a presentation on the geology of the area. Bring your shoe's and chalk (pad's if you have them) and sample some of the local stone.

What to Bring:
Sturdy Shoes, Work Gloves, Water Bottle, Climbing Shoes for bouldering after Clean-Up

Sponsors:
Mid-Atlantic Climbers, Earth Treks, Patagonia, REI, Starbucks, Alice Ferguson Foundation and of course the Access Fund the people who created Adopt-a-Crags.

Event held in conjunction with the Maryland-National Capital Park Planning Commission

To preregister, please email: adoptacrag@midatlanticclimbers.org

Free Film screening at PATAGONIA store in Georgetown Sun 9/12

Mid Atlantic Climbers would like to invite you to a free screening Magnolia Pictures's "180 South" at PATAGONIA store in Georgetown.




The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

Mid Atlantic Climbers will be hosting an Information Table to provide you with info
about:
- upcoming Adopt-a-Crag projects
- local access issues and,
-opportunities to volunteer
- buy a t-shirt or AF/MAC membership to support the cause.

So stop by, say hello and enjoy the film!

"180 South" by Chris Malloy and Magnolia Pictures
Sunday, September 12th, 2010
6pm

PATAGONIA Store

1048 Wisconsin Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20007