Save Climbing Areas

“The Access Fund is the national advocacy organization that keeps U.S. climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment. Founded in 1991, the Access Fund supports and represents over 2.3 million climbers nationwide in all forms of climbing: rock, ice, mountaineering, and bouldering.”

Taken from http://www.accessfund.org. Check them out to learn how you can help to save our climbing areas.

Access Can Be A Struggle

Acquiring and retaining access to any recreational area can be tricky. Often land owners and land managers are apprehensive about people taking risks on their property or potentially damaging the fragile ecosystem. They have to think about liability issues, environmental impact and how other users are affected.

Often inappropriate use or use without going through the proper channels can lead to closure of access to an area. Local users, such as climbers, are generally aware of these issues and work hard to maintain healthy relationships with owners and managers. The also strive to mitigate their environmental impact as much as possible. Whether a visitor, a student living in the area or a local, it is important to understand that our access to these great areas is always at risk.