The first of what will hopefully be many such events is taking place on Thursday, April 26th at Dos Gringos Burritos in Carbondale at 7:30pm. The focus of the event is to inform climbers about the Roaring Fork Climbers’ Coalition and the situation at Thompson Creek. The RFCC has been working with the BLM for over 6 months to arrive at a compromise for the short term management of the area while the new Resource Management Plan is being formulated. It’s an important time for climbers in the valley to make their voices heard. There will also be a slide show of local climbing areas and some gear giveaways.

Come join us for a good time with good people!

The Glenwood Springs and Kremmling BLM offices are currently revising their resource management plans. This is an important time for local climbers to voice their opinions to this agency and could affect the future of climbing on BLM lands in the area, including Thompson Creek. From their website:

“RMP revisions are necessary if monitoring and evaluation findings, new data, new or revised policy, or changes in circumstances indicate that decisions for an entire plan or a major portion of the plan no longer serve as a useful guide for management. There is a need to revise the RMPs based upon a number of new issues such as increased recreation demand and use and rapidly expanding urban interface areas; and new policy issues such as new guidance on recreation and comprehensive travel management and transportation.”

They are in the initial stages of this process, and are taking comments up until May 2nd for this “scoping” phase. For more information visit their official website.

To submit a comment, visit this page on their site.

It should go without saying, but comments like “CliMbing rOCKs dOOd!” wont really go very far in bettering our relationship with the BLM. Be as clear and concise as possible about what climbing means to you and why continued access to our crags is important.

If you aren’t already a member of the Roaring Fork Climbers’ Coalition, be sure to sign up today. They’ll keep you updated on the latest developments and how you can help.

I think I’ve finally found the perfect pair of climbing pants. I’ve tried thin cotton, synthetic, regular jeans, always feeling like something just wasn’t quite right. The nylon thing seemed to be in for awhile, until you realize than when you throw your hip into a corner you’ll just slide right off. Jeans are better, but they can often be a little limiting in the movement category. Enter the Patagonia Aimless Jeans. These things have a good fit, and the organic cotton denim with built in stretch is perfect for high stepping and other big moves. They’ve held up pretty well so far, and I’m curious to see how things go for the rest of the season. I had some other Patagonia pants I once liked, but the material was so thin it wore through rather quickly. These seem to have just the right combination of durability, flexibility, and of course, style.

Climbing.com just posted the first article in a series about a great trip Mike Brumaugh and Rob Pizem did back in 2005. The idea was to hit as many of the famous “Astro” routes as possible in 7 days. These routes are considered the best of the best at their respective areas, and their list included Shune’s Buttress in Zion, Cloud Tower in Red Rocks, Astroman in Yosemite, Astro Dog in the Black Canyon and Astro Monkey at Smith Rock. Due to the timing of their trip in May, they were unable to hit up Astro Elephant, Astro Hulk or Astro Yam. Of course it was still an impressive outing, and that just leaves the door open for someone to come along and do the complete tour. Read all about the first part of the trip in Zion and Red Rocks at Climbing.com.