Touchstone Blog Archive
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Cleaning Lover's Leap
Sacramento's local Access Fund affiliate, CRAGS (Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento) is organizing a clean-up of Lovers Leap on Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th this month.
The Line- One of Lover's Leap best climbs
This event is in it's second year and a number of local climbers arrived last year to help with trail maintenance, picking up trash, and cleaning up one of California's best crags.
These events epitomize climber conservation at the local level, showing landowners and land managers that climbers truly care about the places they recreate. This display of stewardship not only gives back to the land, but is paramount to keeping climbing areas open by showing decision makers the passion that climbers have for their climbing areas.
Meet at Sacramento Pipeworks on Saturday June 25th at 8 am to carpool to the event. Lunch, water, and snacks will be provided. Check CRAGS on Facebook to stay up to date on local events.
The Line- One of Lover's Leap best climbs
This event is in it's second year and a number of local climbers arrived last year to help with trail maintenance, picking up trash, and cleaning up one of California's best crags.
These events epitomize climber conservation at the local level, showing landowners and land managers that climbers truly care about the places they recreate. This display of stewardship not only gives back to the land, but is paramount to keeping climbing areas open by showing decision makers the passion that climbers have for their climbing areas.
Meet at Sacramento Pipeworks on Saturday June 25th at 8 am to carpool to the event. Lunch, water, and snacks will be provided. Check CRAGS on Facebook to stay up to date on local events.
Labels: CRAGS, Lover's Leap
¶ Wednesday, June 15, 2011 0 Comments
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Lover's Leap Gets Cleaned
Nearly 40 people show up for Adopt-A Crag at Lovers Leap on June 5th, sponsored by CRAGS (Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento). CRAGS secretary, Renee Ross wrote a great account of the day:
On a sunny Saturday morning, several carloads of climbers drove up from Sacramento to Lovers Leap. A great crowd of more enthusiastic climbers met us there, as many had chosen to spend the night at the campground to get in some more climbing. The park rangers arrived exactly on time and were full of ideas and supplies! We split into groups and began preparing the campsites and some approach areas for the upcoming season.
While we moved from site to site, someone commented how it felt like we were providing room service to the campers. It did feel like that! The campers left their belongings at the sites while they went out to climb or hike, and we came through during the day in a flurry of housekeeping activities, leaving the sites sparkling clean for their returns.
All the picnic tables were scraped of old paint and repainted (mostly by our youngest helpers, who ended up wearing a lot of paint themselves). Apologies to the parents (who were wonderful at supervising and exceptionally patient with the extra paint!). :-) We also had teams of volunteers raking and sweeping all the trails through the campground as well as within the sites. It was incredible how much fresher the sites looked after their careful work!
Fire pits were emptied, and loads of new firewood (from fallen trees) was chopped and stacked. I wish I could have seen the looks on campers’ faces who returned to find a stack of new nice wood waiting in their sites. Our wood choppers did a lot of hard labor and made huge progress in just a few hours.
Another group headed up near the main wall to rebuild a retaining wall. One of those volunteers remarked that he’d been wanting to fix it for ages. With a good team of motivated people, the job was quickly accomplished.
Around 1 PM, the sites looked ready, wood was chopped, steps were built, and everyone was hungry! Our injured leader Brian (CRAGS Chairman Brian Poulsen), eager to participate where he could, manned the grill despite crutches, and everyone enjoyed lunch together while sharing what they had been working on. Several groups hiked off after this to squeeze in a few climbs before sunset.
The Leap is one of the most spectacular climbing areas in northern California, and CRAGS was excited to partner with local park services in this adopt-a-crag event in order to show our support and bring people together in the climbing community. Special thanks to all the new faces that came! We are excited to meet you and look forward to seeing you at more events.
Thanks to all the members of Touchstone and all the climbers who helped clean up one of the coolest traditional crags around.
On a sunny Saturday morning, several carloads of climbers drove up from Sacramento to Lovers Leap. A great crowd of more enthusiastic climbers met us there, as many had chosen to spend the night at the campground to get in some more climbing. The park rangers arrived exactly on time and were full of ideas and supplies! We split into groups and began preparing the campsites and some approach areas for the upcoming season.
While we moved from site to site, someone commented how it felt like we were providing room service to the campers. It did feel like that! The campers left their belongings at the sites while they went out to climb or hike, and we came through during the day in a flurry of housekeeping activities, leaving the sites sparkling clean for their returns.
All the picnic tables were scraped of old paint and repainted (mostly by our youngest helpers, who ended up wearing a lot of paint themselves). Apologies to the parents (who were wonderful at supervising and exceptionally patient with the extra paint!). :-) We also had teams of volunteers raking and sweeping all the trails through the campground as well as within the sites. It was incredible how much fresher the sites looked after their careful work!
Fire pits were emptied, and loads of new firewood (from fallen trees) was chopped and stacked. I wish I could have seen the looks on campers’ faces who returned to find a stack of new nice wood waiting in their sites. Our wood choppers did a lot of hard labor and made huge progress in just a few hours.
Another group headed up near the main wall to rebuild a retaining wall. One of those volunteers remarked that he’d been wanting to fix it for ages. With a good team of motivated people, the job was quickly accomplished.
Around 1 PM, the sites looked ready, wood was chopped, steps were built, and everyone was hungry! Our injured leader Brian (CRAGS Chairman Brian Poulsen), eager to participate where he could, manned the grill despite crutches, and everyone enjoyed lunch together while sharing what they had been working on. Several groups hiked off after this to squeeze in a few climbs before sunset.
The Leap is one of the most spectacular climbing areas in northern California, and CRAGS was excited to partner with local park services in this adopt-a-crag event in order to show our support and bring people together in the climbing community. Special thanks to all the new faces that came! We are excited to meet you and look forward to seeing you at more events.
Thanks to all the members of Touchstone and all the climbers who helped clean up one of the coolest traditional crags around.
Labels: CRAGS, Lover's Leap
¶ Thursday, June 10, 2010 0 Comments
Monday, May 31, 2010
Lover's Leap Clean-up
On June 5, CRAGS (Climbing Resources Advocates for Greater Sacramento) will be assisting the park services with preparing Lovers Leap for the new climbing season! CRAGS chairman Brian Poulsen said, “Adopt a Crag is the Access Fund’s signature stewardship program. It exists to unite local climbing communities in partnerships with land managers to conserve local climbing areas. Adopt-a-Crag events typically include activities such as litter clean-ups, trail construction and restoration, erosion control, and invasive weed removal.
These events epitomize climber conservation at the local level, showing landowners and land managers that climbers truly care about the places they recreate. This display of stewardship not only gives back to the land, but is paramount to keeping climbing areas open by showing decision makers the passion that climbers have for their climbing areas.
Adopt a Crag’s continued growth and success over the years is testament to the program’s ability to unite climbers around land conservation and stewardship of our climbing areas.” Join us by meeting at 8am at Pipeworks Climbing And Fitness (116 N. 16th St., Sacramento) to carpool. We look forward to seeing you!
For more information check out yourcrags.blogspot.com
These events epitomize climber conservation at the local level, showing landowners and land managers that climbers truly care about the places they recreate. This display of stewardship not only gives back to the land, but is paramount to keeping climbing areas open by showing decision makers the passion that climbers have for their climbing areas.
Adopt a Crag’s continued growth and success over the years is testament to the program’s ability to unite climbers around land conservation and stewardship of our climbing areas.” Join us by meeting at 8am at Pipeworks Climbing And Fitness (116 N. 16th St., Sacramento) to carpool. We look forward to seeing you!
For more information check out yourcrags.blogspot.com
Labels: CRAGS, Lover's Leap, Sacramento Pipeworks
¶ Monday, May 31, 2010 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Pipeworks' Brian Poulsen Wins Reese Martin Award
Each year the Access Fund recognizes individuals and businesses that volunteer their time and efforts to preserve climbing access and the climbing environment. This year, for his outstanding leadership, the Access Fund's prestigious Reese Martin award was bestowed on Sacramento Pipework's own Brian Poulsen. He is Chairman and a founding member of CRAGS (Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento) as well as the Access Fund regional coordinator for California.
According to the Access Fund: "(Brian) has spent dozens of hours working with local climbers and state land managers in an effort to reopen access to the quarry at Auburn State Recreation Area". They went on to say: "Brian has also volunteered his time to advocate for climbing access to Tuolumne Meadows at National Park Service planning meetings in Yosemite." To learn more about Brian, or to help him in his effort to keep climbing accessible for all of us, visit the CRAGS blogsite. Congratulations on your much deserved award, Brian!
According to the Access Fund: "(Brian) has spent dozens of hours working with local climbers and state land managers in an effort to reopen access to the quarry at Auburn State Recreation Area". They went on to say: "Brian has also volunteered his time to advocate for climbing access to Tuolumne Meadows at National Park Service planning meetings in Yosemite." To learn more about Brian, or to help him in his effort to keep climbing accessible for all of us, visit the CRAGS blogsite. Congratulations on your much deserved award, Brian!
Labels: Access Fund, CRAGS, Sacramento Pipeworks
¶ Wednesday, December 02, 2009 0 Comments
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
CRAGS Reel Rock Film Fest at Pipeworks
CRAGS (Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento) recently hosted the Reel Rock Film Fest at Sacramento Pipeworks as a fundraiser for their advocacy activities. The crowd was estimated at over 150 people and after all expenses, they managed to raise slightly over $1,200. Most of this will go toward hosting the Reel Rock again next year.
Of issues the group is working on, CRAGS Chairman Brian Poulson writes: "Right now, most of our energy is focused on re-opening climbing access in the Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA). Climbing was banned in the park in 2003 when a climber died there performing a rope jumping stunt. The Auburn Quarry, located within the ASRA, is a spectacular place with about 50 established routes, and potential for over 100 more. The entire area sits just above some amazing swimming holes in the American River and for a backyard crag, is an impressive place. It is truly a tragedy that we lost climbing access to the area, though to date, CRAGS has made some progress. The Auburn City Council recently adopted a resolution drafted by CRAGS, admonishing the ASRA administration and the United States Bureau of Reclamation, to re-open the park for climbers. Both the Auburn City Council and the Mayor were whole heartedly on our side. CRAGS also drafted and adopted a climbing management plan that it submitted to the ASRA administration to guide it in its development of a updated general management plan. Aside from our efforts to improve climbing access, we also hope to continue to help bring the local climbing community together for events that promote friendship and camaraderie like the Reel Rock."
Of issues the group is working on, CRAGS Chairman Brian Poulson writes: "Right now, most of our energy is focused on re-opening climbing access in the Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA). Climbing was banned in the park in 2003 when a climber died there performing a rope jumping stunt. The Auburn Quarry, located within the ASRA, is a spectacular place with about 50 established routes, and potential for over 100 more. The entire area sits just above some amazing swimming holes in the American River and for a backyard crag, is an impressive place. It is truly a tragedy that we lost climbing access to the area, though to date, CRAGS has made some progress. The Auburn City Council recently adopted a resolution drafted by CRAGS, admonishing the ASRA administration and the United States Bureau of Reclamation, to re-open the park for climbers. Both the Auburn City Council and the Mayor were whole heartedly on our side. CRAGS also drafted and adopted a climbing management plan that it submitted to the ASRA administration to guide it in its development of a updated general management plan. Aside from our efforts to improve climbing access, we also hope to continue to help bring the local climbing community together for events that promote friendship and camaraderie like the Reel Rock."
Labels: ASRA, Auburn Quarry, CRAGS
¶ Wednesday, October 28, 2009 0 Comments
Friday, October 24, 2008
Rocklin Boulders Clean-Up A Huge Success!
I mentioned it yesterday and I'll mention it again today...When something needs help, something needs doing, or something needs some serious volunteer action, it has become abundantly clear that we are a great group to turn to! I just got some great news that the Adopt-A-Crag event held back on October 11th at Rocklin Boulders was not just a success, it was a HUGE success at that.
The event, hosted by Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento (CRAGS), saw a grand total of 44 volunteers showing up for the cleaning, and what's even more impressive, is that all total 172 volunteer hours were logged! When the end of the event finally came, an entire dumpster was filled. What is scary is that it was filled with 14 car tires, 2 shopping carts, a mattress, shelving unit, TV/VCR combo, 20' of chain link fencing and way too much steel strapping and rebar to even mention.
More than anything, we just want to throw out a massive THANK YOU to each and every one of you that participated in the Adopt-A-Crag event, and also to Goodyear Tire Co. for letting us use their dumpster and parking area for the event!
Finally, don't forget that there is a CRAGS Fundraiser this Saturday at Sacramento Pipeworks at 7PM. There will be an awesome screening of the REEL ROCK TOUR and I'm fairly sure you won't want to miss this either. Check out the new CRAGS website for a lot more info on any upcoming events, and once again, Thanks EVERYONE!
I mentioned it yesterday and I'll mention it again today...When something needs help, something needs doing, or something needs some serious volunteer action, it has become abundantly clear that we are a great group to turn to! I just got some great news that the Adopt-A-Crag event held back on October 11th at Rocklin Boulders was not just a success, it was a HUGE success at that.
The event, hosted by Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento (CRAGS), saw a grand total of 44 volunteers showing up for the cleaning, and what's even more impressive, is that all total 172 volunteer hours were logged! When the end of the event finally came, an entire dumpster was filled. What is scary is that it was filled with 14 car tires, 2 shopping carts, a mattress, shelving unit, TV/VCR combo, 20' of chain link fencing and way too much steel strapping and rebar to even mention.
More than anything, we just want to throw out a massive THANK YOU to each and every one of you that participated in the Adopt-A-Crag event, and also to Goodyear Tire Co. for letting us use their dumpster and parking area for the event!
Finally, don't forget that there is a CRAGS Fundraiser this Saturday at Sacramento Pipeworks at 7PM. There will be an awesome screening of the REEL ROCK TOUR and I'm fairly sure you won't want to miss this either. Check out the new CRAGS website for a lot more info on any upcoming events, and once again, Thanks EVERYONE!
Labels: Adopt-A-Crag, CRAGS, REEL ROCK TOUR, Sacramento Pipeworks, Thank You
¶ Friday, October 24, 2008 1 Comments
