It's Here: 2024 End Of Year Report

Here it is—our 2024 Annual Report. And trust us, you need to see this.

We don’t just love sharing what we do—we live for it. This year, we replaced over 1,000 bolts, kept thousands of pounds of poop out of the watershed, and tackled challenges head-on. And guess what? You made it possible.

Read this report. Get inspired. And then, let’s make 2025 even bigger. Your Front Range community needs you, and we can’t wait to see what we accomplish together.

2024 End of Year Report

Board Members: the Vision and Mission of the BCC in Action

The BCC Board of Directors is seeking a few 2025 Board class members. As a Board member, you help create the vision of the BCC as it moves forward and ensure its vision is carried out.  Board members are also the fiduciary (financial) stewards of the organization.

The BCC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to having the best cared-for climbing resources from Staunton State Park to Rocky Mountain National Park; we steward a 500-square-mile area and are one of the largest regional climbing organizations in the country. Our five programs are Trails, Anchor Replacement, Human Waste Mitigation, Eagle and Raptor Monitoring, and Advocacy.

Our impact is huge. Since we started in 2010 we have had over 50,000 volunteer hours ($1,674,500.00 in 2025 dollars), completed nearly $3 million in trail work, and will replace our 5,000 bolt this spring!

Board members are expected to attend 4:6 Board Meetings, but we aim for 100% attendance. In addition, we ask them to aim to attend most BCC major events: Soirée, Backyard Climbing Festival, Dirtbag Home Movie Night, and others. BCC Board members also serve on at least one committee.

Committees include: executive (Board leadership and executive director management), finance (financial oversight and budgeting), governance (governing the board), social (finding time for us all to connect), advocacy (keeping tabs on when and where to weigh in on climbing matters), and fundraising (helping plan Soirée and raise funds). Other ad hoc committees exist as needed. 

Serving on the BCC Board is rewarding and important work. 

Learn more and apply here.

10th Anniversary for Trails

This year, the BCC is celebrating 10 years of trail work on the front range and beyond. If you’ve climbed outside on the Front Range in the last 10 years, you have likely stepped on a stone step placed by the BCC. None of the BCC’s trail program's work could have been achieved without help from our devoted volunteers, project partners, Land Managers, and, of course, your BCC trail crew members.

Over the 10 years, the BCC Trail Program has:

• Worked with 7 Different Land Managers

• Worked on 35 Different Projects Across 2 States

• Hosted 22,274.25 Volunteer Hours Worth $745,964.63 Today

• Placed 5114 Stone Steps

New Approach Trail to Blob Rock 2024

The History of the BCC Trail Program

In 2013, Roger and Bill Briggs, Mike McHugh, Ty Tyler, Mark Hesse, and JB Haab developed the concept of a full-time trail crew that could operate an entire season. These climbers worked together to develop a trail stewardship program centered on a professional trail crew managed and supported by the climbing community. Traditionally, stewardship programs driven by the climbing community had been ad hoc and limited in scope just as the early iterations of BCC’s trail stewardship program. It was determined that the sophistication and capacity of the BCC’s trail program would need to be significantly augmented to be able to support such an endeavor. Thankfully the Access Fund stepped in and offered Access Fund’s resources to achieve this level of operations for the BCC’s trail program until 2019.

With this partnership with the Access Fund, the FRCS (Front Range Climbing Stewards) now known as the BCC Trail Program was officially born. The celebration of the agreement between the BCC and Access Fund to collaborate on such an innovative program was overshadowed by the catastrophic flooding of the Front Range area in 2013 as well as the untimely death of Mark Hesse in a climbing accident. The scale of the damage produced by the flooding affected many of the steep and sensitive slopes where climbing presides. This damage caused an immediate need for stewardship of the already heavily impacted climbing resources. 

In 2014 the program took off on its first projects. This humble program was supported by many individuals. Dedicated and tireless crew members, an endless corps of volunteers, BCC board members and funders, local and regional land managers, and many project partners completed what became an impressive maiden voyage and set the stage for what has become a highly innovative community-based stewardship program.

The First FRCS Trail Crew in 2014 Now the BCC Trail Program

Project Highlights From the Past 10 Years

Royal Arch, The Flatirons

The Royal Arch Trail in the Flatirons was the first major project that was undertaken by the BCC. This first year of work helped reroute a section of the trail that was destroyed in the 2013 floods. Since this first project at the Royal Arch Trail, the BCC has performed much more needed maintenance throughout the years, including in 2014 and, more recently, in 2021. This was the BCC’s first project working with Boulder OSMP, which helped earn the trust of what is now one of our closest land managers we work with today.

Darkside Boulders, Morrison

Large Staircase leading to the Darkside Boulders

The BCC’s Trail Program's high standard of trail maintenance became quickly recognized by land managers outside of Boulder and implemented at the Morrison Drakside bouldering area in Jefferson County. Impressive stone staircases were installed between 2015-2016. Before, there was a loose scramble to reach the boulders. Along with a stable trail to the boulders, several flat landing areas were also installed under some of the most popular boulders. This was the first project with JCOS, and it helped instill trust in the BCCs where we work. Since this project, the BCC has worked with JCOS at least once a year on a large project.

Scarface Wall, Indian Creek

The Boulder Climbing Community’s trail program has not only made a great impact on the Front Range with its amazing trail work but has also made an impact in the land of amazing crack climbing in Indian Creek. In 2018, some impressive work was completed at the Scarface Wall in Indian Creek. This project was in partnership with the Access Fund, High Mountian Institute, and the Monticello BLM Field Office. The work in Indian Creek shows the reach of the BCC beyond Boulder and the greater Front Range. The BCC has also done work at the Pistol Whipped area and Mill Creek over the 10 years of trail building.

Upper Dream Canyon, Boulder Canyon

One of the BCC’s Most Impressive Staircases Leading the Oceanic Wall at Upper Dream Canyon 

The Boulder Climbing Community’s Upper Dream Canyon project, which began in 2018, was one of the crowning achievements of the BCC trail program. With over 200 stone steps, this new trail safely guides climbers to the base of the Oceanic Wall. With help from the USFS Boulder Rangers District and the Rocky Mountian Conservancy, the BCC was able to clean up the dispersed campsites and reroute the trail to more stable surfaces while also installing a wag bag dispenser at the trailhead. This project was completed in 2022 and was made possible with support from the Access Fund, CPW, Athletic Brewing, REI, and the American Alpine Club.

Castle Rock Overlook, Boulder Canyon

Stone Staircase Leading to the Castle Rock Overlook Climbing Areas 

In 2019, the BCC began its multiple-year-long project at the Castle Rock Overlook area in Boulder Canyon. Over the course of four years, the BCC placed 281 stone steps and received the Blue Grama Award from the Colorado Open Space Association. This is the BCC’s first trail to be awarded. This project showcases what sustainable Front Range crags should look like.

3rd Flatiron, The Flatirons

Approach Trail to the 3rd Flatiron Through the Satellite Boulders 

It's no lie that the BCC’s Program has spent a lot of time working in the Flatirons, but most of the time and effort has been spent on the 3rd Flatiron trail. In our ten years of trail work, we’ve spent a little over 35 weeks working on the approach and decent trail for the 3rd Flatiron. This trail is steep and well-traveled, as it also serves as access to the Satellite Boulders. Thanks to the BCC, climbers and hikers can arrive safely to climb or to get a nice view of the front range.

Map of Where the BCC Trail Program Has Worked Across Utah and Colorado

2024 Winter Update

A Word From our Executive Director, Kate Beezley:

This November the BCC hosted its 7th Annual Soirée. It was an amazing evening celebrating the community and all the BCC has accomplished over the past 14 years. 

One of the many things we celebrated, was the 10th anniversary of the trail crew, and 5 years of the Anchor Replacement Program scaling up. Just 5 years ago we only replaced 90 bolts a year. For the past 3 years, we have replaced over 1,000. The trail crew completed 21 unique projects in 10 years, many multi-year. Our longest project was the Third Flatiron at 35 weeks. In total, the value of the trail work is over 2.7 million dollars and over 22,000 volunteer hours. 

These accomplishments are staggering! 

While the accomplishments speak to our impact, one thing I talked about at the Soirée and want to reiterate right now is the power of community-powered change. Sometimes we get stuck in our mindsets that change needs to happen in Washington DC or the state capitol. But, the BCC is changing society for the better. As a supporter of the BCC, as a volunteer, or financially, or both, you are part of the solution.  

Here is where the BCC’s work is having an impact for the greater good: 

• The eagle volunteer monitoring eaglets ensures biodiversity, one component of a thriving and resilient ecosystem. 

• The human waste we mitigate via wag bags and porta-potties keeps our watersheds free of e-coli and other diseases, a health benefit for all. 

• By building trails we create climate change-resistant recreation environments, stone steps and walls cannot be undone by floods. The BCC’s trail program originated to address the 2013 floods. 

Humans need the essentials, food, water, and shelter, but we also need community, physical activity, and spirituality to be our whole selves. The BCC provides.

We come together as a community, to participate in physical activities, and we wonder at the sublimeness of nature while being physically active. The work the BCC does is part of an ecosystem of change. 

Please join the community in ensuring our work continues to thrive. We hope after reading this almost end-of-year update you will join the passionate community of Colorado Give’s Day supporters. 

2024 Anchor Replacement: 5,000 Bolts Replaced, 1,000 This Year

You don’t have to clip any of these anymore thanks to our Anchor Replacement Volunteers and Staff

BCC’s anchor replacement has steadily grown over the years. This shows compounding numbers where each year adds to the previous. 

In 2024 BCC volunteers replaced another 1,000 bolts across the Front Range, and we will continue to see that number rise as we finish our 2024 scope of work. Since BCC started working to replace old bad bolts, we have replaced almost 5,000! Of these, a full 40% have been in the last two years. Through our engaged community, we have created a national model for community-driven bolt replacement that preserves the routes and rock. 

 In 2024, we focused heavily on Boulder Canyon, where we completely rebolted Dream Dome, and made significant progress across Lost Angel, both at Upper Dream Canyon. While Boulder Canyon got some extra love this year, we continued working across other Front Range areas including Clear Creek Canyon, Shelf Road, North Table Mountain, the South Platte, and the Flatirons. 

 As BCC checks off more of our highest-density crags, our approaches get longer, and the work to replace bolts increases. In 2024, BCC and FCC collaborated to replace the rap anchors on the Matron in the Flatirons. This Rossiter top 10 Classic had rap anchors that were 20 years ago, and “suspect”. What we mean by “suspect” is sporting self-drilling anchors held in place by only a mix of superstition and silicone. Today these anchors are strong sustainable stainless glue-ins that will outlive us and offer a secure means of descending from this remarkable summit.

2024 Before and Afters

2024 Trail Season

2024 was another stellar year for the BCC trail crew. Four main projects were completed: The Narrow Gauge Slabs Top Access Trail, the 3rd Flatiron Repair Project, The Saddle Rock Reroute Trail, and the self-funded Blob Rock Climbing Access Trail. A highlight of this year's trail work revolved around the Narrow Gauge Slabs Project as it's the first project of its kind where proactive trail work was done before the impacts of human and natural erosion could take place. This project can be used as a model for what new climbing access areas can achieve in the future.

2024 Two Eaglets

We all know baby animals are adorable, and baby eaglets are no exception! From their awkward fuzzball stage, all the way to the day they fledge, our BCC Raptor Monitoring volunteers watch as our resident Boulder Canyon eaglets develop into full-fledged (no pun intended) Golden Eagles. Aside from providing volunteers the opportunity to observe tender moments (like this photo of one of the parent eagles feeding the two little fuzzballs), our monitoring efforts help to protect Golden Eagle nesting habitat and bolster the population of these majestic eagles. Both of these lil eagles ended up fledging and taking to the skies, the first time since 2015 that two eagles have successfully fledged in one year!

The mama and her white fuzzy baby. 

Celebrate Our Newest Wag Bag Station: Lucky #16 Blob Rock

We have distributed over 2600 wag bags free of charge to Front Range climbers/hikers this year; that represents almost 2000 lbs of human waste that has been prevented from marring the beauty of our crags and the quality of our watersheds! That’s a lotta poo! 

You can find our newest trailside station (our 16th across the Front Range!) when you’re headed to Blob Rock/Bitty Buttress! The new box is located right on the approach trail and is there to help when the coffee kicks in at the wrong time. Grab yourself a bag next time you’re out there to enjoy some sunny south-facing climbing this winter!

Wag Bag Station #16 on the Trail to everyone’s favorite, Young and the Rackless

Let’s Go Stewardship 2024!

Volunteer cleaning up graffitti at the Morrison Boulders on an especially cold day: 417 gallons of water were hiked in to scrub the boulders.

Mid-Year Report: Bolts, Trails, Wag Bags, 2 x the eagles, and Climbers’ Voices Heard

When it comes to stewardship and caring for our beloved crags, we have been making amazing progress!

Here’s what we have achieved so far this year:

Trails Program:

It’s our tenth anniversary! We are celebrating by taking on two new projects this year Blob Rock and Narrow Gauge Slabs. Below are before and after photos from the Narrow Gauge Slab project.

Narrow Gauge Slabs: 

In partnership with Jefferson County Open Space, we completed a 10-week project at a new crag at Pine Valley Ranch in the South Platte. This is exciting because the trail was being built as the routes were being developed; this is the more sustainable way to build crags.

Check out the Narrow Gauge Slabs when you have a moment. 

Saddle Rock: 

The City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain called on the BCC’s trail crew’s talent because we safely know how to move massive rocks in a steep talus field to forge a safe path. We had to move some massive rocks during this multi-year project to connect the First Flatiron to Green Mountain by rerouting the Saddle Rock Trail.

Blob Rock: 

The BCC is excited to begin a multi-year project to stabilize and consolidate the web of trails at the Blob Rock Formation. This project will go until the end of September before entering phase II next year. Come out and join us as a volunteer! This project is supported by grants from Athletic Brewing, the National Forest Foundation, and The Access Fund. Also, YOU, the BCC community, support this work by attending events, donating, and becoming members. This project will go on until the end of September so come out and join us as a volunteer; we'd love to see you at Blob Rock!

Anchor Replacement Program: 

The Anchor replacement program is positioned for another successful season of anchor maintenance and replacement as we work to update 1,000 bolts, including 450 in Boulder Canyon. As we pass the middle of the year and season, we are on track to meet our 2024 goals. 

Areas worked: 

• Boulder Canyon: Upper Dream Canyon and Coney Island

• Shelf Road: Contest Wall

• RMNP: the Diamond

• Clear Creek: 12-Pack Area, Cat Slab, Child Free Zone, Coors Light Drainage, Industrial Buttress, Mickeys Ice, Mine Hole Crag, Overhang Area, Primo Wall, and Winterfest Wall

Major Achievements: 

• 528 bolts replaced

• 97% of those replaced went into the original hole with no patching

• 132 pounds of manky old bolts removed

• 163 volunteers

• 12 volunteers volunteered over 40 hours

• All of Oceanic Wall and Coney Island rebolted

Human Waste: 

• 1,400+ WAG bags!

To protect our watersheds and keep our Front Range climbing areas free of human waste, the BCC continues to provide WAG bags free of charge to our community. Thanks to our incredible volunteers, 1,400+ WAG bags have made their way to dispenser stations and into climbers and hiker's packs so far in 2024. This represents nearly 1,000 lbs of human waste kept out of the ecosystem!

Eagle and Raptor Monitoring: 

• Two eaglets

• First time nesting at Bitty Buttress in almost 40 years

In February, in conjunction with Ornithologists Tim Meehan and Rob Ramey, the BCC hosted raptor monitoring training and recruited 19 new volunteers for the monitoring program. These volunteers spent 100+ hours over 20 monitoring sessions observing the nesting habitat of Golden Eagles in Boulder Canyon to discern where the eagles had nested and providing reports on the progress of the chicks once a nesting site was chosen. Due to their efforts, Eagle Rock and the Security Risk Massif were reopened to climbing early on March 27th once it was determined no eagles were nesting on those crags. Block Rock and Bitty Buttress remained closed due to a Golden Eagle pair choosing Bitty Buttress as their nesting site. That pair successfully fledged two chicks marking the first time since 2015 that two chicks have successfully fledged in one year in Boulder Canyon, and the first successful nest at Bitty Buttress since 1986! Blob Rock and Bitty Buttress were reopened to climbing on July 16th shortly after the eaglets were confirmed to have left the nest.

Advocacy: 
The BCC has been actively dealing with access issues involving a wide range of federal, state, county, city, and private land managers. 

Our biggest success was the passage of the revisions to the Colorado Recreation Use Statute, which will encourage private landowners to open their lands to climbers. 

Other notable projects include: (1) dealing with land managers on a potential access issue at the Monastery, (2) working with City of Boulder on designating 2.4 miles of climber access trails in the Flatirons, (3) helping persuade RMNP to retain climber-friendly parking rules at key trailheads, and (4) working with numerous land managers on science-based raptor policies.

It's Here: 2023 Annual Report

We are thrilled to share with you are 2023 Annual Report!

It was a fanatstic year , we replaced over 1,000 bolts, took the Avalon Trail from sketchy to stellar, and had some major wins for Front Range Climbers.

The 2024 Stewardship Season is Here!

Greetings, fellow stewards, and welcome to our 13th season of stewardship! We’ve got big plans for 2024 and we’re psyched to share them with you. And when you’re finished reading, you can help us keep up the best-maintained crags in the country by volunteering or becoming a member today. (Or you could do that now and then read the blog, we’re not picky.)

Did you know: 

• The BCC stewards over 500 square miles of climbing landscapes and represents the entire Front Range corridor

• Over the past six years, we have facilitated more than $1.75 million in volunteer labor

• Out of our thousands of volunteers, we have 13 who have worked more than 100 hours!

2024 is also the 10th anniversary of the BCC Trail Crew. The BCC’s Trail Crew is a one-of-a-kind operation that provides up to 32 weeks of technical trail work annually. We take on big-scale rock projects for seven local land managers. 

• In ten years, we have moved over 16,000 rocks by hand and rigging

• Had over 21,400 volunteer hours valued at over $600,000

Volunteers move rocks to build new stone stairs

Here’s what’s coming up in 2024.

The BCC Trail Program

Over the past 10 years, the BCC’s Trail Program has done amazing work building and maintaining trails all over the Front Range. We’ve serviced trails to the Royal Arch Trail in the Flatirons, Castle Rock Overlook in Boulder Canyon, Upper Dream Canyon, Avalon in Boulder Canyon, and various other climbing areas across the Front Range. We’ve even done work in Utah!

The BCC Trail Program was created in 2014 as a joint effort between the Access Fund and the BCC, founded by Roger, Bill Briggs, Mike McHugh, Ty Tyler, Mark Hesse, and JB Haab. These climbers worked together to develop the concept of a trail stewardship program centered on a professional trail crew managed and supported by the climbing community. 

After the 2013 floods in Boulder and the tragic passing of Mark Hesse, the BCC’s Trail Program led an invigorated community to carry on his admirable legacy. In 2019, the BCC fully took over the program from the Access Fund.

Former BCC Stewardship Director, Ryan Kuehn, walking the re-route of the Royal Arch Trail. One of the BCC’s first trail projects was rebuilding the Royal Arch Trail after the 2013 flood. In 2021 the BCC rerouted the trail to make it even more sustainable to climate change, including erosion, flooding, and fires.

Since 2013, the BCC’s Trail Program has worked closely with seven different land managers over the past ten years and has placed over 5,000 stone steps along the Front Range. We have logged over 40,000 labor hours and over 20,000 volunteer hours from the community. Chances are, if you are a climber on the Front Range, you've walked on a trail built by the BCC’s Trail Program. Learn more about our 10-year history here.

This year, the BCC will create an access trail for a to-be-developed crag in Pine Valley Ranch. This is the first project of its kind — we have a unique opportunity to put in the work and mitigate climber impact before it ever becomes an issue!

Thanks to Jefferson County Open Space for being a great partner in this project. After the Pine Valley Ranch project, the BCC heads back to Boulder to pick up where we left off on the new Saddle Rock re-route trail in the Flatirons in partnership with the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. 

Our highlighted project of the year is at Blob Rock in Boulder Canyon. This crag sees thousands of visitors, when not closed for nesting eagles, and the need for a stable trail is high. Popular Routes at Blob Rock include The Young and the Rackless, The Ticket, and Vasodilator. This project is self-funded by the BCC via grants, membership, and donor support. A big thanks to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Conservation Corps for joining us for the first few weeks of the project. 

Find some time this season to come volunteer with us or celebrate the tenth year of the BCC’s trail crew at our events this summer! 

Our Trail Crew this year is made up of these awesome individuals:

• Trail Program Manager: Jeremy Pacheco

• Trail Crew Lead: Grace McMahon

• Louisa D'Amico-Erlandson

• Mike Salmon

2024 Schedule:

• Project in Pine Valley Ranch (April-June)

• Saddle Rock Trail in the Flatirons (June-August) 

• Blob Rock in Boulder Canyon (August-October)

• Boulder Area OSMP (October-November)

Bolt and Anchor Replacement Program

BCC is going into our 11th year replacing bolts across the greater Front Range! In that time, BCC has emerged as a national leader in bolt replacement. We replace more bolts annually than any other group and have developed a unique volunteer-driven model that is now being shared with and replicated by other local climbing organizations (LCOs) around the country. In 2023 alone, we replaced over 1,000 bolts while maintaining a 90% success rate of reusing the original hole! 

In the early years, tools and systems to cleanly remove and replace old bolts were still in their infancy, and many of the bolts were chopped and new holes drilled. Through our ongoing work, BCC members helped develop custom tools that could be used to cleanly extract a variety of old bolt types. In 2020, BCC launched the Anchor Replacement Program to organize and facilitate rebolting efforts and train volunteers on the specialized skills to cleanly replace old hardware. 

Year after year we have increased our capacity. From 285 bolts replaced in 2020 to 1,098 in 2023, our capacity continues to increase! As we gear up for 2024, we are again planning to replace over 1,000 bolts across the Front Range with a special focus on our home areas of Boulder and Clear Creek Canyon. 

We have lots of opportunities to get involved and would love your support as we continue to grow this program. To become one of our rebolting volunteers, check out the Anchor Replacement Program page. 

Eagle and Raptor Nesting Season

Spring is the heart of Raptor season, and the BCC is proud to be once again working in conjunction with the USFS and wildlife biologists Rob Ramey and Tim Meehan to provide accurate information about Golden Eagle habitat and nesting in Boulder Canyon! 

Recently, Tim and Rob hosted a volunteer orientation for the Raptor Monitoring Program where 21 aspiring bird nerds joined us to learn about the history of Raptor monitoring efforts in the Front Range and how they could help. Volunteers will be the driving force that helps us gather information on which nests are actively being used and compile detailed reports as the eagles work to increase their numbers and fledge new eaglets! 

Our efforts to provide real-time data on eagles in Boulder Canyon also help to avoid blanket closures for recreation purposes while protecting areas critical to the eagles’ well-being. Last year, one eagle successfully fledged in the Canyon, and we hope conditions will allow for successful fledging again this year!

Keeping the Front Range Clean with Wag Bags

As the weather becomes warmer and skis start being traded out for harnesses, our Wag Bag program will be revving up into high gear. Last year we dispensed over 2,500 wag bags to local gyms and free distribution boxes across the Front Range! Our aim remains the same: keep our crags and watersheds free from human waste! So far in 2024, we’ve dispersed 160 wag bags to field stations and 225 to restock local gyms. As the crags get busier, we’ll need volunteers to help us get this valuable conservation resource out to the public! If you’re interested in lending a hand to restock our wag bag stations, send an email to aaron@boulderclimbers.org for all the details.

Advocacy and Legislation Updates

The BCC started the year with a big win. SB-58, which we supported, passed both houses of the state legislature and was signed into law by the Governor on March 15th, 2024. This bill was a critical step to fortifying the Colorado Recreation Use Statue to better protect private landowners who allow free use of their land.

Chaos Canyon in RMNP is open again to climbers after a major landslide in 2022. This interesting report reveals that the area was unstable and beginning to move well in advance of the actual event.

The BCC is also working on several other issues, including fixed anchors in wilderness areas, which we will keep you up to speed on as we move through the year. 

BCC Events in 2024

The BCC has two signature events this year:

Backyard Climbing Festival 2024

A weekend of climbing clinics, an outdoor volume climbing competition, and a mega-after party at the Boulder Rock Club, thanks to our partnership with Denver Mountain Guides.

• When: the weekend of May 31- June 2nd; tickets launch early April.

• Where: various locations across the Front Range for clinics and the comp; after block party at the Boulder Rock Club; TBD site for stewardship-trail work

• Why: to build community, teach technical skills, improve safety, foster volunteerism, and educate the community about stewardship opportunities.

• Who: 200 + climbers

• Fundraising Goal: $10,000

 7th Annual BCC Soirée

Our signature gala! It’s the only climbing-centric gala in Colorado in 2024, and it sells out every year!

• When: November 14th, 2024

• Where: Rembrandt Yard, Downtown Boulder one block from Pearl Street.

• Why: to celebrate the BCC’s 2024 achievements. It is also a celebration of community during which we recognize super-stars in our community for their achievements in climbing, philanthropy, and volunteering.

• Who: 150-200 who’s who of local climbers. 

• Sponsorship: See here for all sponsorship levels for this event and others. 

• Fundraising Goal: $45,000

Big Thanks to All Our Sponsors

We cannot continue to exist without support from our community, and the following businesses show up big for us!

We would like to thank the following brands for continuing to support us in 2024 at the supporting or grassroots levels:

Movement Climbing and Fitness

Boulder Rock Club

The Spot

La Sportiva

Truewerk

We’d also like to welcome the following new brands who are joining us for the first time as sponsors in 2024: 

Tension Climbing

Lava Linens

Learn all about all our sponsors here.

2023 End of Year Wrap-Up: Eagles, Trails, Community, and more!

Our 2023 Stewardship Season came to an end just before Thanksgiving, the Trail Program finished up the Lower Tiers of Zion project, and the Anchor Replacement Program hosted its last crag rebolting event of the year at North Table Mountain. It's been a big year for BCC and our community! In 2023, we had over 1,100 volunteers and over 7,000 volunteer hours, that's almost $190,000 in volunteer contribution to taking care of our climbing areas!

BCC Trail Crew and volunteers hard at work on the Saddle Rock Trail.

Trails

Our staff and community have been a part of some amazing projects this year. 

• Over 360 volunteers helped our Trail Program with our four projects this year.

• BCC finished the Avalon trail project by shifting the trail into the talus field to create a durable trail.

• Reconstructed the approach to Dome Rock and Elephant Buttress.

• Began a multi-year project rerouting the Saddle Rock trail behind the First Flatiron.

• Gave Lower Tiers of Zion a huge makeover with over 300 square feet of retaining wall built to provide a durable trail and belay pads.

• BCC was awarded the Blue Grama Award for Outstanding Achievement in Recreation Management for our work on the Castle Rock Overlook project in Boulder Canyon. 

• An estimated 1,700 people use this trail each month during the summer months

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Anchor Replacement Program

Two Amazing BCC Volunteers, Elizabeth Flournoy and Taylor, replacing one of 1,000 bolts in 2023.

• 288 volunteers replaced over 1,000 bolts (and counting)

• 339 in Clear Creek Canyon

• 232 in Boulder Canyon

• 144 at Shelf Road

• 170 at North Table Mountain

• 21 in the Estes Park Valley

• 10 at Mount Lincoln

• 12 in the South Platte

• 3 in Staunton State Park 

• 2 in the Flatirons

Trained over 90 new rebolters via our Anchor Replacement Training

• This included the BCC hosting two affinity groups, Latino Outdoors and She Sends Collective

One of 1,000 Bolts Replaced in 2023

Over 280 trained volunteers worked to replace these bolts. This one was replaced at Wall of the 90s.

Other Programs

One eagle was fledged at Eagle Rock and there were no infractions in the seasonal closure areas

Over 2,000 wag bags have been distributed to wag bag dispensers and climbing gyms to keep our climbing areas clean. 

Advocacy

On the advocacy front, the BCC supported some excellent national and local policies to further the  interests of all climbers:

• Protect America’s Climbing Act (PARC and America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA), the BCC partners with, and supports,  Access Fund’s work on the PARC Act–the BCC actively engaged with our local members of Congress to garner support for PARC; and effectively protect existing use of fixed anchors in wilderness.  The PARC Act is currently under consideration by the House of Representatives. 

• The BCC in 2023 supported the creation of Fix-CRUS to advocate for important changes to the Colorado Recreation Statue. 

• BCC raptor monitoring volunteers worked tirelessly and ensured closures were lifted sooner at Lumpy Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park.

• BCC staff have worked with local land managers to put into place policies for easy bolt replacement at all local crags. 

• BCC advocated with public and private land managers to preserve or improve access in Rocky Mountain National Park, Wild Basin, Button Rock Preserve, St. Vrain area, Boulder Canyon, Flagstaff, the Flatirons, and Clear Creek Canyon.

Our Vision: The Best Cared for Crags in the Country

Armed with a new strategic plan, the BCC set out in 2023 to level-up on caring for local crags by: 

• Increase bolt replacement by 60%: from 500 to 1,000 bolts

• Ensure a path to pooping within 20 minutes of every crag: help people understand where to poop in any circumstance

• Increase trail work capacity by 50%

• Earn BCC the reputation as the go-to organization for Front Range Climbing

• Replace 75% of aging bolts in Boulder Canyon within 5-years

• Increase trail volunteers by 20%

Here is what we have achieved so far this year: 

Trails Program: 

It's been another year of big projects for our trail crew. We began the season at Dome Rock in Boulder Canyon, replacing the rotting wooden structure that access the Dome and Elephant Buttress with an updated stone structure that will be around for decades to come.

Once Dome Rock was completed, we began our final trail work session at Avalon. After 20 weeks of work over the last three years, BCC completed the Avalon project! We started work at Avalon to address the major erosion issues occurring at the Middle Wall area as well as on the approach. Our trail crew tackled the trail and base area of the Middle Wall first, building a durable trail through a talus field and constructing retaining walls and belay pads in order to prevent erosion. This year, we began constructing an easier path to follow through the major talus field that sits to the left of where climbers typically hike up towards the Middle Wall. This involved a lot of rigging and manipulation of fridge size boulders in order to stabilize the talus field. With the new approach trail, climbers will be able to access the Middle Wall, Tarot Wall and all the other areas above Avalon via a durable trail that will prevent erosion of the hillside. 

The trail crew has a few more weeks of work behind the First Flatiron on the Saddle Rock trail before heading to the increasingly popular Lower Tiers of Zion in Clear Creek, where we will be working for 3 months, giving the area a major overhaul.

Anchor Replacement Program: 

The BCC is well on its way to reaching its goal of replacing 1,000 aging fixed anchors, to date we have upgraded 760 fixed anchors throughout the Front Range and volunteers have contributed 1,500 volunteer hours rebolting. BCC has hosted entire crag rebolting days at

• Contest Wall, Shelf Road

• Little Eiger, Clear Creek Canyon

• Black Widow Slab, Boulder Canyon

• Sport Park, Boulder Canyon

BCC has been expanding our anchor replacement training program in order to mentor new rebolters and have hosted training and rebolting days with members from She Sends Collective, Latino Outdoors, and Escaladores Unidos. 

In addition to all the on the ground work, BCC has been involved in helping protect wilderness climbing with the American Outdoor Recreation Act and Protect America’s Rock Climbing. The BCC supported legislation introduced by our Boulder House and State Representatives, Joe Neguse and John Hickenlooper that would guarantee the continued use of  fixed-anchors as climbers have always had. This legislation could be passed as soon as September; stay tuned. 

Human Waste: 

BCC continues to provide wag bags to climbers in order to keep our climbing areas free of human waste! So far this year, almost 700 wag bags have found their way to dispensers throughout the Front Range thanks to our awesome group of volunteer restockers.

Raptor Monitoring

In January, BCC staff and volunteers met with the staff of Rocky Mountain National Park to seek changes to to the blanket closures on Lumpy Ridge. The work of a handful of amazing volunteers and the RMNP staff resulted in several closures being lifted early due to no nesting. 

BCC staff also hosted a raptor monitoring training for Boulder Canyon and recruited ten new volunteers who spent 6 months monitoring all the Golden Eagle nesting sites in Boulder Canyon. Due to their efforts, Blob Rock and Bitty Buttress were open early for climbing while Eagle Rock remained closed due to a Golden Eagle pair using it as their nesting site. That pair had one chick successfully fledge and leave the nest and Eagle Rock was reopened for climbing shortly after. To learn more about this years raptor monitoring efforts, check out our recent blog post. 

Advocacy: 

In January BCC staff and volunteers lobbied for legislation that would reform Colorado’s Recreation Statue to guarantee more safeguards for land owners who allow recreation on their property. 

Seasonal Raptor Closures are Being Lifted Early

Each year, the Boulder Climbing Community partners with the US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain National Park, and City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks to help monitor nesting raptor species and get the word out about seasonal closures at popular climbing areas. Via raptor monitoring, the climbing community has been able to build trust and connections with land management agencies that have helped preserve and improve climbing along the Front Range.

Did you know that climbers have been involved in raptor monitoring in Boulder Canyon since 1983. During that time climbers have documented 29 Golden Eagles fledged in the canyon!

Land management agencies have dual obligations to preserve natural resources and promote recreational opportunities. A crag closure process that balances the needs of cliff-nesting raptors and the wants of climbers is ideal, but balancing these competing goals is resource intensive. When resources are limited, a precautionary strategy for resource managers is to have more extensive (in space and time), conservative closures. Conservative closures could be larger or last longer than necessary, but nonetheless provide raptors with the protection needed for successful reproduction. Over the past years, the Boulder Climbing Community, Access Fund, US Forest Service Boulder Ranger District, City of Boulder OSMP and Rocky Mountain National Park have been working together to find ways to allocate more resources toward raptor and climbing management to make closures as effective (for raptors) and efficient (for climbers) as possible.

In 2023, that has resulted in:

1. Climbing areas in Boulder Canyon, RMNP, and the Flatirons being reopened early for climbing. Check out our closure page for up do date closures and see what areas have reopened for climbing.

2. Successful fledging of one Golden Eagle chick at Eagle Rock.

3. RMNP has hired a seasonal wildlife biologist dedicated to bird biology, with a large share of time allotted to raptor management.

4. The community has provided a dozen volunteer observers, some of whom are local climbers, who go out several times a week during the breeding season to determine active territories and nest fates.

5. RMNP has provided climbing rangers who work with the wildlife biologist and volunteer observers to conduct test climbs that confirm observer reports that raptors are not nesting on crags. In 2023, the climbing rangers put more than 100 person hours towards those efforts.

6. The community has provided volunteer climbers who, along with climbing rangers, conduct post-season nest visits to determine specific nest locations and glean more details about nest fate. In 2022, volunteers put approximately 300 person hours towards observation and nest visit efforts.

Thanks to everyone at the the various land management agencies and in the community for contributing to this win-win effort!

Fixed Anchors and Climbing in Wilderness: What do climbers need to know?

Front Range climbers, you may have heard or read varying opinions about fixed anchors in Wilderness areas and be wondering what are the facts.

The BCC put together these frequently asked questions to provide climbers with the information they need to understand the importance and legacy of fixed anchors in Wilderness areas.

The Black Canyon is one of 43 Wilderness areas in Colorado.

A new management plan identifies bolts as “installations”—changing how climbers can use the park.

What is a fixed anchor? 

• The National Park Service (NPS) defines a fixed anchor “as any piece of climbing equipment that is left in place to facilitate a safe ascent or rappel. Examples include, but are not limited to, bolts, pitons, and slings.”

• Permits are almost always needed to install a fixed anchor.

• Power drills cannot be used to install bolts as fixed anchors in Wilderness–hand drills must be used.

What is “Wilderness”? 

• These are areas designated by land managers, NPS and United States Forest Service (USFS), as places to be preserved for their immaculate characteristics—our cathedrals in nature. 

• These are our most pristine places—“places where nature calls the shots.” USFS

• Wilderness is “natural, untrammeled, undeveloped”, and provides “opportunities for solitude.” 

What is the Wilderness Act and what does it say?

• It is a 1964 Act of Congress that created a permanent preservation system for Wilderness areas for “the permanent good of the whole people.”

Where can climbers find Wilderness areas in Colorado? 

• Mount Evans

• Rocky Mountain National Park

• Black Canyon of the Gunnison

• 43 Colorado Wilderness areas

• 10 of 43 Colorado Wilderness areas are in the Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest (Backyard for the Front Range)

Where can climbers find Wilderness areas nationwide? 

• Joshua Tree 

• Yosemite

• North Cascades

• 803 Total

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the historic locations that has allowed fixed anchors for the past 100+ years

What is the history of fixed anchors in Wilderness? 

• Bolts and pitons have been historically allowed in Wilderness. 

• Precedent: Pitons existed in Wilderness climbing areas before the Wilderness Act.

What is the fuss about installations? 

• The Wilderness Act explicitly bans “installations.” 

• Fixed anchors have not historically been considered “installations.”

• Federal agencies have recently changed their stance and proposed that fixed anchors are “installations” after all, and therefore illegal.

What are the environmental benefits of bolts as fixed anchors? 

• Much like wooden footbridges used to guide traffic through a pristine meadow in Wilderness areas, bolted anchors used for rappelling facilitate climbers descending without adding erosion and soil degradation via social trails. Routes with “walk-offs” often create unsustainable degraded trails.

• Bolts, unlike tangles of tattered webbing, preserve Wilderness aesthetics. 
  

A tat anchor on Wolfs Head in the Wind River Range that failed, resulting in significant injuries. In 2022 there were three fatalities from tat anchors failing.

What is current legislation trying to achieve regarding bolts in Wilderness? 

• Maintain the status quo. 

• Protect America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act, and America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA) are two Acts of Congress trying to codify the precedent for allowing bolts in Wilderness. 

• PARC is a bill in the House of Representatives supported by Boulder Congressperson Joe Neguse.

• AORA has an amendment that supports bolts in Wilderness, maintenance of bolts in Wilderness, and climbing in Wilderness areas in national parks. 

Why do fixed anchors in Wilderness matter? 

Climbing is one of the best ways to experience the solitude and expansiveness of Wilderness areas. For over 150 years climbers have judiciously placed fixed anchors – first pitons, and now bolts – in Wilderness areas to safely climb and return from climbing objectives. Some of the first technical climbs in the United States only happened because of the ability to place fixed anchors. 

Climbers need the status quo, fixed anchors allowed in Wilderness, to safely continue to climb in Wilderness areas.

Want to Take Deep Dive into Bolts in Wilderness?  Here are some additional resources: 

• “A War on Wilderness Climbing?”

• Will Congress let climbers Bolt in Wilderness? 

Local Land Manager Rules on Bolts and Fixed Anchors:

Each land manager: Bureau of Land Management (BLM),  United States Forest Service (USFS), County of Boulder Open Space (BCPOS), City of Boulder Open Space (OSMP), Jefferson County, Colorado State Parks, National Parks, and others all have their policies on fixed-anchors and bolts.

Respecting Rules and Regulations Regarding Fixed Hardware

The BCC would like to encourage our community to keep multiple topics in mind when placing new hardware in the Front Range. This includes working with landowners to ensure permission, keeping in mind the local ethics of our crags and fostering positive gains from new development and fixed hardware

When installing fixed hardware at climbing areas it is critical to know the rules and regulations for the land manager where the climbing area resides. 

This past week, a two bolt anchor was installed at Castle Rock in Boulder Canyon next to the route “Gill Crack”. The placement of this anchor was such that it would only be suitable for ground school learning. Castle Rock is located on Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS) land and the fixed hardware was placed without the land manager's approval. Furthermore, BCPOS currently has a moratorium on new fixed hardware being installed on climbing areas within their land. As a result, the fixed hardware was removed and the drill holes patched. 

By installing fixed hardware and ignoring land management regulations, individuals are negatively impacting the strong relationships the climbing community has built with various land managers along the Front Range. 

While ground school anchors are an excellent option for teaching and learning, installing bolts at established crags is not the appropriate method. A few areas that have already been established to aid in learning climbing skills are the Classroom at Staunton State Park, The North Quarry at North Table Mountain and the multi pitch route “Trenchtown” at Lower Tiers of Zion. Another readily available option are practice boards which can be placed using traditional anchors or slung around a tree and can be removed at the end of the day. 

The BCC’s Anchor Replacement Program is the leading organization for ethical bolt replacement, and the local stewardship organization for the Front Range. Learn more and get involved by visiting BCC’s website.

Questions can be directed to BCC’s Stewardship Director, Ryan Kuehn ryankuehn@boulderclimbers.org 

Stewardship Season is Here!

The Boulder Climbing Community wants climbers along the Front Range to have the best cared for crags in the country! 

What does it mean to have the best cared for climbing areas in the country? And how do we accomplish that as an organization? It all starts with our stewardship efforts. BCC staff has put a lot of work during this cold and snowy winter to make sure that we hit the ground running once the sun comes out and it becomes t-shirt weather again. 

Trail Program

BCC’s Trail Program is entering its 10th season of working on improving our Front Range climbing areas. Over the last decade, we have established positive relationships with various land managers to make us the go-to organization for climbing area related trail work and are excited to have some amazing projects for 2023. This year, BCC will be working at the following areas:

• Dome Rock, Boulder Canyon

• Avalon, Boulder Canyon 

• Saddle Rock, Flatirons

• Lower Tiers of Zion, Clear Creek Canyon

Our Trail Program is offering lots of ways to get involved, with 16 weekend volunteer and opportunities as well as over 100 weekday volunteer trail days. If you or your organization wants to come out for a trail day, check out our Volunteer Calendar.

Anchor Replacement Program

BCC’s Anchor Replacement Program (ARP) went above and beyond in 2022 replacing 906 aging bolts! We were able to accomplish this due to our awesome community of volunteer rebolters. For 2023, we aim to replace 1,000 bolts all along the Front Range. This will be a lot of work so we are working on teaching new volunteers to become BCC rebolters via our 3-Part Anchor Replacement Clinics. BCC will also be hosting monthly crag rebolting events at popular climbing areas such as:

• Contest Wall, Shelf Road

• Little Eiger, Clear Creek Canyon

• Plotinus Wall, Boulder Canyon

• Jurassic Park, Estes Park

  And more!

If you are interested in becoming a rebolting volunteer click HERE

Raptor Monitoring

Climbers have been instrumental in the success of Golden Eagle nesting in Boulder Canyon and we want to continue to grow this program by training new volunteers to become Raptor Monitoring volunteers. Via BCC’s monitoring and documentation, Blob Rock, Bitty Buttress and Security Risk have all opened early for climbing.

BCC is also getting involved with Raptor Monitoring in Rocky Mountain National Park, working with NPS staff to monitor nests at Lumpy Ridge.

Human Waste

BCC will continue to provide wag bags to climbers via wag bag stations in the Flatirons and Clear Creek Canyon, and gym kiosks at Front Range climbing gyms. BCC is also looking into alternatives at popular climbing areas such as port-o-potties or composting toilets in order to make sure that wherever you are climbing in the Front Range, you will have access to a restroom option within 20 minutes. 

Advocacy Program 

The BCC’s Advocacy Program is our newest program and is quickly becoming one of the best ways BCC works to protect and improve climbing in the Front Range and beyond. In 2022, the Advocacy Program spent 725 hours on initiatives to maintain and bolster Front Range Climbing Areas. You can reach our advocacy team, via our Executive Director, Kate Beezley. 

Here is some of what the BCC will be keeping tabs on on behalf of Front Range climbers in 2023: 

Clear Creek Canyon: 

• The BCC team is  working with the Frei Family in Clear Creek Canyon, west of Tunnel 5,  to secure climbing access long term. (Includes local treasures like the Primo Wall and the Dog House.) 

United States Forest Service: 

• Currently monitoring the  St. Vrain Forest Health Project to assure climbing north of Boulder  will not be affected by Forest Health projects. 

• Monitoring and actively commenting on what is happening in the NPS (see below) because the NPS will drive the direction of USFS land management. 

Boulder County Open Space: 

• The BCC continues to have a positive working relationship with them and is seeking out opportunities to partner more closely in the future. 

National Park Service: 

• RMNP- our backyard national park. 

• The BCC continues to work with the park to build a more robust and flexible raptor monitoring system, especially to get closures lifted if nesting has not occurred. 

• Monitoring reservation and parking policies to ensure climbers have a voice. 

• Bolts in Wilderness-the BCC is actively weighing in on management plans, to date the Black Canyon and Joshua Tree National Park, to ensure the spirit of recreation in the Wilderness Act is maintained. (Learn more about Access Fund’s work on this below)

• Protect America’s Climbing Act (PARC)- The BCC partners with, and supports,  Access Fund’s work on the PARC Act–the BCC actively engages with our local members of Congress  to garner support for PARC. 

• There is a good summary of PARC in a recent episode of the Runout Podcast. 

City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks: 

• Flagstaff Parking Permits: BCC is working with the city to find a solution to the nighttime parking closures on Flagstaff so climbers can continue to use the resource in the late evenings. 

State of Colorado:

• Eldorado Canyon State Park-reminder that permits are needed to park on weekends and holidays starting May 15th. 

• Colorado Recreation Statue (CRUS)- In March the BCC went to the state Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on behalf of the Front Range and Colorado climbing communities on a  bill to change language in the CRUS to increase protection for land owners who let us recreate on their lands, it died in the committee but the BCC is supporting a coalition focused on reforming CRUS over the next 18 months. 

Jefferson County:

• Monitoring the plans for the Plains to Peak Trail, to minimize any effect on climbing.

• Closely following parking developments at North Table Mountain to assure that resident complaints do not result in any loss of access.

We hope you all are as excited about the work the Boulder Climbing Community will be doing this year as we are! If you want to get involved, consider volunteering, becoming a member, or donating to our fundraising campaign.

Sustaining the Momentum: 2022 End of Year Report

“The flywheel, when properly conceived and executed, creates both continuity and change. On the one hand, you need to stay with a flywheel long enough to get its full compounding effect. On the other hand, to keep the flywheel spinning, you need to continually renew, and improve each and every component.” Jim Collins, Turning the Flywheel.

Building off of the momentum of previous years, the BCC continued to turn the flywheel in 2022. The BCC continued their stewardship work: multi-year trail projects, human waste mitigation, and eagle monitoring. While these core components of the organization continued to thrive the BCC took on new directions and initiative in the Anchor Replacement and Advocacy programs.

A 5-Year Strategic Plan was developed to continue to evolve, refine, and optimize every program to ensure the BCC continues to provide the most well cared for climbing areas in the nation.

The BCC had an incredible year for trail stewardship, bolt replacement, and local climber advocacy. You can read about all of the accomplishments in the 2022 End of Year Report.

If you are psyched on what we do, we would love you to support us monthly by becoming a sustaining member.

We hope you’ll join us at Neptune Mountaineering on April 6th from 7-9 PM for an opportunity to learn more about what the BCC has planned for the future, have your voice heard on key initiatives, and connect with other members of the community. Get your tickets here.

BCC Advocacy: Protecting Access to Local Climbing By Supporting Land Owners (SB-23-103)

The BCC team leaned in hard the past couple of weeks on State Bill 103 (SB 23-103). This Bill was in response to a Colorado Springs lawsuit (James Nelson and Elizabeth Varney v. United States of America) that instilled fear into local land owners by threatening their legal protections under the Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS). SB-103 would have removed the world “willful” from the Colorado Recreation Statue if passed and made it harder to litigate against landowners for accidents occuring on public or private land accessed without a fee.  

The BCC’s chair, Anneliese Steel, wrote an excellent summary of the Bill and its importance to the outdoor community and the climbing community. 

The BCC’s staff and board supported the legislation as a protection for climbing on private access. The BCC drafted a letter to the Colorado State Senate Judiciary Committte in support–it was co-signed by 14-recreation organizations, including the Access Fund and American Alpine Club. 

In total, 30 organizations representing outdoor recreation, local municipalities, landowners, farmers, and water districts came together to support the bill. BCC Execuitve Director, Kate Beezley, and former Access Fund Executive Director, Brady Robinson, testified in favor of the Bill on Wednesday March 1st, 2023. The only opposition came from the Colorado Trial Attorneys. Unfortunately, the bill was rejected by the Judiciary Committee on a partisan 3-2 vote due to sentiment that the CRUS was strong enough as it is. As a result access to popular 14ers, Lincoln and Democrat, on private land was lost within hours of the decision. Lincoln and Democrat saw 30,000 visitors in 2020 and mountain tourism generates an average of $5 million dollars annually to Alma’s local economy. 

The BCC will continue to monitor the situation and advocate for climbers. Questions can be directed to advocacy@boulderclimbers.org

Kate Beezley, BCC Executive Director (Center Left), and former Access Fund Executive Director, Brad Robinson (Center Right) , testifying before the Colorado State Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1, 2023.

Assessing Bad Hardware While Climbing; the Do’s

Ever clip a bolt, move past it, and then wonder if it will really hold if you blow that next move? Playing it safe doesn’t hurt, and bolts shouldn’t be blindly trusted, but thankfully, even most of the spinners and crusty bolts are still strong. Most rusty bolts BCC replaces are still safe, and are replaced before rusting prevents removal, rather than because they are about to fail. That said, here are some suggestions on what to do if you spot a bad bolt, and some things to look out for.

The best ways to support replacement of old, bad, and unsafe hardware in the front range is donating to BCC’s Anchor Replacement Program (ARP), becoming a member, and volunteering with the ARP. We’ll even teach you the skills to be a rebolter! In addition, you can report bad and questionable bolts to BCC and one of our volunteers will get out to check it. Including pictures is always helpful.

Spinners: These are the most common “bad bolt” but thankfully tend to be more inconvenience than safety hazard. They can usually be remedied by gently snugging down the nut or bolt head either by hand, or with a short wrench. Snug is good enough if you don’t have a torque wrench or know the proper tightness.

Rust: As mentioned above, rust does not automatically indicate an unsafe bolt, especially if just on the metals surface. However, it is difficult to know if the bolt has been compromised, and they should be reported and replaced.

Homemade hangers and shuts: While many of these have been replaced, there are still routes with old or home-made hardware, such as cold shuts, or angle-iron “bedframe” hangers. Many of these are quite strong, but with inconsistent quality when new, and now being quite old, this hardware should be reported and replaced.  

Homemade angle iron

Cold Shut.

Bolts near edges and fractures: These bolts deserve some skepticism even if newer. Over time, the outward pressure mechanical bolts exert can fracture the rock, as seen in this picture from Clear Creek. This bolt was near failure when replaced and was removed by hand without special tools.

Overly protruding bolts: These should also be reported and used with skepticism. This is often a sign of poor placement, inappropriate bolt type, or erosion of the hole. They likely do not have sufficient embedment, and may create a levering action on the bolt. This bolt from the South Platte was loose in its hole, and only about 1.5” into the rock. This newer bolt in Shelf Road was poorly placed and creates a levering action on the bolt shaft.

South Platte

Shelf Road

Buttonheads, Star Drive, and other old bolts: These are now quite rare, but may be encountered in backcountry areas, and less frequented crags. Any button head or start drive should be used with caution.

Button head

Star Drive

Power-Bolt+: These newer bolts were unfortunately inadequate from the time they were first installed. Introduced as a replacement to the very common 5-piece bolts (power bolt, sleeve bolt), the 3/8” version of these only has a 1/4” core and does not meet modern standards. These bolts appeared at several crags in the last several years and should be reported to be replaced. These are easy to identify as the head is stamped PB+. The larger 1/2" versions will need to be replaced eventually as they rust but are safe in the near term.

RMNP Visitor Use Management Strategy

In late 2022, Rocky Mountain National Park requested feedback on elements of its re-examination of its visitor use management strategy, and especially its timed-entry reservation system. In January of 2023 the BCC (Boulder Climbing Community), in partnership with the Access Fund, solicited feedback from the community. We used the results of this survey to inform a feedback letter that we sent to Rocky Mountain National Park on behalf of Front Range climbers. 

The BCC/AF joint letter addressed the following topics utilizing survey data: 

• General Climber Access to Rocky Mountain NP 

• Climber Access to Longs Peak

You can read the letter in its entirety, here.

Don't Let Hip Pain Stop You From Climbing!

Article by Dr. Evan Ingerson of BCC Partner Mend Physical Therapy

Hip pain and dysfunction is common in rock climbers. Learn about what causes hip pain and how you can fix it so you don’t have to miss a day of climbing.

As rock climbers, we tend to focus most of our training and injury prevention on the upper body. But as many of us have found, the lower body (especially the hip) can have significant impacts on our climbing injury risk and climbing performance. We have previously discussed how the hip can lead to upper body pain/dysfunction and in this article we’re going to learn more about the most common diagnosis affecting climbers’ hips: Femoroacetabular Impingement.

Femoroacetabular impingement (aka: FAI, hip impingement) is a common condition experienced by many rock climbers that is characterized by pain to the front of the hip or groin, experienced when the climber moves their hip toward the end of its range of motion.

The most common ways you will experience pain from hip impingement:

1. Lifting your knee to your chest: such as in a high step, perch, or high heel hook

2. Lifting your knee up and across your body: such as a through-flag or twisting your hip into the wall

3. Rotating your hip outward: “frog position” or getting your hips as close to the wall as possible with your leg at your side

4. With hip internal rotation: drop-knees.

Normal hip mobility is crucial for climbing performance and injury prevention. If you have normal hip mobility you should be able to”

1. Pull your knee all the way to your chest (with your knee bent)

2. Rotate your foot outward (hip internal rotation) to 45 degrees

3. Rotate your foot inward (hip external rotation) to over 70 degrees

Try this self assessment in the pictures below. To have adequate hip range of motion for rock climbing you should be able to:

Touch your thigh to your chest for high stepping. This should feel like a muscle stretch, rather than a pinch or hard ending to the movement.

70 degrees of hip external rotation so you can get your hips close into the wall.

45 degrees if hip internal rotation to be able to perform drop knees.

One of the trickiest aspects of reducing hip pain is that the presence of pain can directly cause impairments in the hip such as weakness or stiffness of the hip joint.

• Pain can inhibit the activation of specific muscles such as the gluteus minimus and maximus.

• Pain can also cause irritation of the joint structures, leading to decreased hip mobility.

• Both of these impairments are also likely to cause increased pain.

Many people find themselves in this downward spiral of pain → dysfunction → pain

Pain and range of motion deficits from hip impingement can limit your climbing performance and limit your ability to climb overall. Many surgeons will recommend surgery as the first line treatment, especially if there is a cam lesion or pincer lesion present at the hip. But the research supports a different plan of treatment for rock climbers with this type of hip pain.

The rates of surgery for FAI/hip impingement have skyrocketed in recent years. Recent studies have shown that both Physical Therapy and surgery are effective at reducing pain and improving function in people with hip impingement. In our Boulder County Physical Therapy practice we have frequent conversations with patients about this evolving body of research and how it should guide their care.

Just recently, 3 meta-analyses (Gatz et al 2020, Bastos et al 2020, Dwyer et al 2020) were published with the aim of answering the question “is Physical Therapy or surgery more effective for femoroacetabular impingement?”. Depending on how you interpret the data, the answer remains unclear. Two of these analyses (Gatz and Dwyer) report better outcomes in patients undergoing surgery whereas Batos et al found no difference at 6, 12 and 24 months between physical therapy and surgery. The studies are riddled with limitations including:

1. Short term follow-up (longest 2 years)

2. Lack of description or consistency in “Physical Therapy” or whether Physical Therapy was consistent with current best evidence

3. No report of how the intervention impacted pain

4. Lack of meeting minimum clinically important differences in reported outcome measures (which essentially means the data showed a trend towards improvement, but those numbers might not have resulted in a noticeable change in function for subjects in the study!)

So, if you are experiencing symptoms related to hip impingement, where does this leave you?

There is strong evidence that BOTH Physical Therapy and surgery can help with symptoms and activity limitations related to hip impingement in younger active individuals without joint arthritis. At Mend, we recommend working with a physical therapist that can assess contributing factors to your symptoms and design an individualized program as your first line treatment option to get you back to rock climbing as quickly as possible. At Mend we commonly find impairments in both strength and mobility in patients with FAI and have excellent results with a multifaceted approach targeting these impairments. Surgery should be reserved for those individuals that do not achieve their goals with Physical Therapy until further data indicates the efficacy of one management strategy over another.

Should I get a cortisone injection for my hip?

FAI is the one of the fastest growing hip diagnoses due in part to greater utilization of imaging including MRI and more surgeons being trained in FAI procedures. Significant research questions remain in the diagnosis of FAI since many individuals without hip symptoms or loss of function demonstrate FAI and/or labral tears on imaging. In addition, the optimal treatment pathway is yet to be established to determine which patients require surgery and which will improve with conservative treatments including injections and Physical Therapy. To date, Physical Therapy remains the go to first line intervention for this condition for rock climbers and a recent review of the evidence documents which treatments are most effective for this condition.

Mallets and colleagues in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy reviewed the available evidence on outcomes after short term treatments for patients with impingement (2019). Authors included 7 studies on Physical Therapy or injections for this condition. They found conservative interventions such as activity modification, education, joint mobilizations and strength training are effective in the short term for reducing pain and improving function in this patient population. Physical Therapy exercise interventions demonstrated moderate to large effect sizes on pain and function. In comparison, joint injections alone demonstrated small to moderate effects on pain and function. The authors concluded Physical Therapy treatments “may hold more promise for recovery than joint injections alone.”

Mend Recommendation: since the outcomes look to be about the same either way, we strongly recommend doing 12 weeks of physical therapy prior to considering surgery.

What if I have a labrum tear in my hip?

As we have discussed in prior blogs on imaging of musculoskeletal conditions MRI tests are highly sensitive and can identify pathology in many patients with and without pain.  This may lead to unnecessary and costly tests and procedures including surgery if the patient’s MRI is not accurately placed in the context of their clinical examination.  These MRI changes are well established in pain free athletes including rock climbers and high level throwing athletes’ shoulders.  A recent review of the medical literature reports on the high incidence of hip pathology in both asymptomatic and symptomatic athletes. 

The journal Sports Medicine published a recent article on the prevalence of hip pathology in active athletes (Heerey et al. 2019). Consistent with prior research around half of all PAIN FREE athletes had a labral tear upon MRI testing.  Hip cartilage defects were also prevalent in both groups, but identification of hip arthritis was rare.  This study adds to our existing understanding on hip FAI and labral tears in asymptomatic athletes.

Mend Recommendation: work with your physical therapist to ensure your MRI findings are interpreted with your current injury history and clinical examination in order to receive the optimal treatment.

Should I do dry needling or injections for my hip pain?

Dry needling is an effective Physical Therapy intervention for the treatment of muscle pain and injury. Our previous post described a recent review article supporting its use for the reduction of short term pain and disability in multiple body parts including the spine and hip. A recent study compared the effects of dry needling and steroid injections for the treatment of hip pain. Brennan and colleagues in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy compared the effects of steroid injections to dry needling for patients with lateral hip pain (2017). 50 hips were randomized to one of the two treatments including either dry needling or steroid injection for up to 6 weeks based on provider choice. The study showed similar results between groups for either dry needling or steroid injection at short and long term follow up. The authors report dry needling is a viable treatment alternative for hip pain.

Mend Recommendation: dry needling is effective in the short term for hip pain and should be tried before a steroid injection.

If you have limitations in your hip range of motion or have pain in your hip when climbing, try the exercises below to both improve hip range of motion and don’t forget to strengthen your hips too. Don’t let your hips limit your climbing performance!

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If you are interested in learning more about how to improve your climbing movement and how it could help you with injury prevention or recovery from a current climbing injury please contact Dr. Evan Ingerson at Mend Physical Therapy in Boulder at Evan@mendcolorado.com. Mend is a physical therapy and sports medicine clinic that treats all body regions and people of all athletic abilities, with a specialty in rock climbers and return to climbing programs.

Mend is committed to the health of climbers and our climbing areas and shares the vision of the Boulder Climbing Community. BCC members get their first appointment free and their second appointment 25% off!

Looking for more evidence-based content specifically for climbers? Visit the Mend rock climbing blog, the physical therapy for rock climbers home page, and you can sign up for monthly newsletters to receive the latest evidence-based content about climbing injury prevention, treatment, and training.

BCC Awardees 2022

Each year the BCC awards outstanding members from our community at our annual Soirée. This year we presented awards to Alex Mandrila (The Steward), Michael Gapuz (The Steward), Kevin Capps (The Pioneer), Aubrey Runyon (The Partner), and Mike & AnneWorley Moelter (The Champion).

Read stories and interviews below for all of our Awardees!

The Steward - Alex Mandrila

The Steward Award is awarded to outstanding individuals who have an impact on our community by going above and beyond by enthusiastically dedicating time & energy to Front Range Stewardship.

Alex was nominated by BCC Bolting Coordinator, Peter. These words come from him:

“Alex has become an integral part of BCC's anchor replacement program. After completing the Rebolt training in August 2021, Alex has become a prolific rebolter. He has independently replaced 190 bolts across the front range, mentored many new rebolters, become a rebolting instructor with BCC, and attended almost every rebolt event BCC has hosted in the last year. Alex has provided over 250 hours of volunteer service in the last year, and gives freely of his time and experience in support of BCC and the larger climbing community.”

The Steward - Michael Gapuz

Photos by Gabe Linderman and Zach Joing

The Steward Award is awarded to outstanding individuals who have an impact on our community by going above and beyond by enthusiastically dedicating time & energy to Front Range Stewardship.

We interviewed Michael and this is what he had to say about his role as a steward in the Front Range.

Q: If your friends were visiting the Front Range what iconic things would you take them to do?
A: Trad climb in Eldo, sport climb in Upper Dream, and boulder in RMNP

Q: Favorite crag snack?
A: Peanut butter filled pretzels and donuts, or PB&J tortillas

Q: If your last meal was at Southern Sun what would you order?
A: Five of everything, invite friends, and drag the meal out

Q: What is your motivation for volunteering your time with the BCC?
A: Haha I think I just like being outside and playing in the dirt! But actually, what motivates me is the desire to preserve the awesome climbing throughout the Front Range. It's special to have such easy access to a huge variety of quality climbing, and I want people now and in the future to be able to enjoy it as much as I do.

Q: What draws you to stewardship work? How do you feel rewarded?
A: I love being able to have a tangible, positive impact on a place that I really care about. Seeing a problem, like an eroding trail or bad hardware, and fixing that problem yourself is one of the most rewarding feelings I can think of. It's also immensely satisfying to walk a trail or climb a route that I've worked on and know at least part of the story behind it.

Q: When did you start volunteering with the BCC?
A: I started volunteering with the BCC in 2020 a few months after moving to Boulder. Basically I stumbled upon a WAG bag box in Eldo and started stocking WAG bag stations for the BCC. Soon after that I started volunteering with the Front Range Climbing Stewards a fair bit, and this past summer I've also started rebolting with the BCC.

Q: What has been your most memorable experience with the BCC?
A: I don't know if I have a single most memorable experience, but seeing the development of the new Cynical Pinnacle reroute is probably my favorite collection of memories. It was the first trail I had ever worked on, so it's been really cool to see the whole thing get built and recognize sections I've worked on.

The Pioneer - Kevin Capps

The Pioneer Award recognizes Kevin as a community leader, a mentor, and someone who has greatly contributed to the history of climbing in the area.

We interviewed Kevin on his role as a pioneer in the Front Range Community - this is what he had to say:

Q: Avocation?
A: Climbing guide, business owner, guidebook author, dog lover

Q: What's your background of climbing here in the Front Range?
A; I began climbing on the Front Range around 15 years ago, and was specifically drawn to the variety of climbing so close to the city. With Golden as a home base, I was able to get pretty much anywhere within an hour or so, and started to grow a deeper passion for route development as time went on. Still to this day, I enjoy the development side of climbing almost more than climbing itself. The creative process is addicting for me, and the Front Range has a lot to offer since there's so much rock out there for us all to climb on and explore.

Q: What draws you to stewardship work? How do you feel rewarded?
A: What draws me to stewardship work is the self-fulfillment I feel after working on an area, like updating bolts, adding anchor material that's sustainable, and helping with trail work. I take pride in the areas where I climb, and have a drive to give back to the community.

Q: Favorite crag snack?
A: Welch's fruit snacks are a classic and all-time favorite, but recently I have been eating @sendbars

Q: What do you value most about the community we have in the Front Range?
A: What I value most about the climbing community on the Front Range is the energy! There are so many psyched climbers out there of all ages and that do all types of climbing, it's really a contagious thing when you have that many strong and psyched climbers in one place.

Q: If your last meal was at Southern Sun what would you order?
A: the biggest plate of nachos on the menu

The Partner - Aubrey Runyon

Aubrey was awarded The Partner award for being a mentor & role model in the community and for her unending willingness to help those around her.

We interviewed Aubrey to share with our community her motivations for her involvement in the climbing community. Here are the answers from the Mayor of Eldo:

Q: What is one of the things you enjoy most about the climbing community in the Front Range?
A: Regardless of the fact the front range climbing community is one of the larger in the country, it still feels close knit. At the end of the day, we are all climbers, and we are all in this together. That & the acceptance of weirdos like me.

Q: As a mentor and role model in the climbing realm do you have anyone that you look up to yourself?
A: There are so many folks I look up to! Really anyone doing the hard work to leave this community better than they found it. Kate Beezley, Nikki Smith, Marcus Garcia, Eddie Taylor, Brent Bingham, and so very many others. Also, anyone doing search and rescue work. Having spent over a decade in volunteer S.A.R. I am fully aware the personal cost of leaving at any time day or night to help someone on their worst day.

Q: Favorite route anywhere?
A: Tough one! Levitation 29 in red rock has always been a favorite. Then again, rewritten in Eldo literally makes me smile ear to ear every time I do it

Q: How are you rewarded or feel the drive to keep giving yourself to your community in the LGBTQ community and climbing community?
A: When I entered the climbing community 23 years ago, I was the only queer climber that I knew. What makes me feel rewarded is helping build local communities of LGBTQ climbers so they will feel the community that at the time, I didn’t have. Within the climbing community at large, this community was my family when I didn’t have one. Giving back and being able to do work that actually means something within the community, has been the honor of my life.

Q: What was the seed that led to you climbing 10,000 pitches in Eldo?
A: Well mainly, I love that canyon! I love huge climbing days. Doing dozens of pitches as quick as possible in a day. I needed a goal to help pull me out of what, at the time, was collapsing mental health. Something so big it would take up a lot of my brainpower.

Q: If any one of us were to have a climbing accident we would hope that others would act as samaritans to help when we are in need - what are your thoughts as to your involvement in the response in Eldo?
A: As you said, any one of us hopes that on our worst day, help would be on site quickly. I am grateful that I had the experience and calmness to act when others in the area weren’t in a position to do so. Another reason to practice our rescue skills. You can never know when they will come in handy, and you’ll maybe even save a life. I will also say that responding to that accident was the most traumatic experience I’ve had happen in my adult life to this point. Without the climbing community, my friends and family I wouldn’t have made it through. If you are in mental anguish, reach out and get the help you need. Silence on the subject is crushing.

The Champion - AnneWorley & Mike Moelter

AnneWorley and Mike were awarded the Champion award for being tireless advocates for the BCC.

Our Executive Director, Kate, nominated the Moelters for the award - this is what she had to say:

“Their leadership, mentorship, and investment in the BCC set the us up for success as climbing continues to grow in popularity and impact. Anne- Worley and Mike have been working in the climbing industry for 20+ years. From running the US national governing body for climbing competitions USA Climbing, to bringing the first bouldering World Cup to US soil and hosting the 1st roped World Cup in 25 years at the gym they founded in 2009 Movement Climbing + Fitness. They are active climbers and members of the larger Boulder community, volunteering their time and resources while raising their children, Adelaide and Charlie.”

Wrapping up 2022

Let me introduce you to our youngest volunteer, Graham Beezley.

When we build stone steps and belay pads we use drill bits to split rocks into pieces. Once the trail is constructed those holes are exposed to the elements. In order to prevent the freeze-thaw cycle from breaking the rocks, a volunteer needs to fill in the holes: an excellent task for small-seven year old hands. 

This season Graham Beezley volunteered his time to fill these holes. 

In the climbing community we talk a lot about ethics and crag behaviors. The goal is to maintain climbing access by making climber behaviors align with sustainable recreational use practices. At the BCC we have keenly observed that the best way to change behaviors is through our volunteer program. When BCC staff teach folks WHY: why you should stay on trail, why you should utilize a wag bag in fragile environments or heavy use areas, why eagles and raptors need space to thrive, why substandard bolts need to be replaced, then we change their behaviors. The best way to teach “why” certain practices is by showing not telling; that is exactly what we do during a volunteer day.

Photo by Zach Joing

In 2022, we had over 700 volunteers and over 7000 volunteer hours, and the year is not done yet. We are changing the behaviors and ethics of the climbing landscape one volunteer at a time. 

In addition to changing behaviors BCC staff and volunteers also get a lot of stewardship work done!

BCC Staff and volunteers in 2022: 

• Finished the Upper Dream Canyon, Cathedral Spires, and Castle Rock Overlook Trails

• Advocated for climber’s interests all along the Front Range: 

  • Submitted comments on behalf of Front Range climbers to the Joshua Tree and Black Canyon Management Plans (will likely impact RMNP)

• Created a new 5-Year Strategic Plan outlining how to increase our impact

• New wag bag station at Upper Dream Canyon 

• Replaced 861 bolts: 

  • 348 in Boulder Canyon

  • 322 in greater Estes Park Valley

  •  91 in Clear Creek Canyon

  • 70 in Shelf Road

  • 18 at North Table 

  •  9 in Morrison

  • 2 in Eldorado Canyon

  •  2 in Flatirons

• 73 volunteers provided 1,455 volunteer hours total for the Anchor Replacement Program

• Finalized the BCC “Don’t Be Sh$tty” in conjunction with the Access Fund

• Trained 39 new rebolt volunteers

• Our Executive Director, Kate Beezley, received a Local Leader and Stewardship Award from the Access Fund

• Hit over 1,000  BCC + AF Joint Members

• Advocated for climbers during the finalization of the Eldorado Canyon State Park permit parking system. 

Photos by Zach Joing and Peter Thomas

At the BCC our mission is simple: to care for Front Range Crags from Clear Creek to RMNP, ensuring they are the most well cared for crags in the nation. 

We are asking you to make the BCC the most well cared for climbing organization in the country: help us meet our financial goals so we can continue to care for our crags.