Colorado Mountain Club

2012-01-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

Sign up today for CMC Conservation's monthly e-newsletter, the Conservation Chronicles, and to get Action Alerts. CMC Conservation works hard to protect the amazing outdoor opportunities in Colorado and to promote volunteer stewardship on our public lands. You don't even have to be a CMC member. Sign up today!

Tell your CO legislators to vote NO to the “OHVs Everywhere Bill”

2012-01-27T12:21:00.001-07:00

SAY NO TO OFF-ROAD VEHICLES (OHVs) ON COLORADO PUBLIC ROADS

State Rep. Kevin Priola, representing suburban Brighton, recently introduced an ill-conceived bill – HB 1066 – that would open all county roads (only exempting the 12 most populous counties) to OHVs. It would also open up nearly all streets in towns with a population of less than 5,000 – over 195 towns including Breckenridge, Manitou Springs, Silverthorne and even urban Glendale, a city of 4,900 completely surrounded by Denver!

The bill permits OHVs such as ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), UTV’s (side-by-side utility vehicles) and dirt bikes to be titled, plated and become street-legal. Any road with a speed limit of 45 mph or under in one of the affected counties or cities is open.

There are many reasons why this bill is bad news for Colorado:

Bad for Conservation – The bill undermines years of land management plans and will lead to unregulated OHV use on national forests and BLM lands aided by 12,000 new miles of county road use, rather than controlled by designated OHV trailheads and routes. This will wreak havoc on Colorado’s national forests and create a law enforcement nightmare. It will bring unwanted noise and disturbance to quiet roads, campgrounds, and neighborhoods throughout Colorado.
Opposed by counties and cities – Both Colorado Counties Incorporated (CCI) and Colorado Municipal League (CML) oppose this bad legislation because it takes away local control and imposes a top-down, one size fits all approach. Right now, counties and towns already have the authority to designate their roads open to OHVs – this bill takes away their discretion to base decisions on local knowledge and preference.
Safety Hazard – create a dangerous mix of cars, trucks and OHVs on public roads at speeds up to 45 mph. National data shows that accidents and fatalities increase with OHV use on public roads. OHV manufacturers have warned against the dangers of operating these vehicles on paved roads and in automobile traffic.
Harmful to the Economy - OHV users make up less than 10% of public land users[1]. The human powered, active outdoor industry generates over $10 billion in economic activity and over 100,000 jobs in Colorado[2]. HB 1066 would drive away visitors looking for quiet human-powered opportunities.

Contact your STATE legislators today and ask them to vote NO on HB 1066!

Click here to find your state legislators

Then enter your address to the left and select the + next to "legislators" under the “Choose Categories” box. Then select “State House of Representatives” and “State Senators”. The results should show up below the map. You can also click where you live on the map to ID your legislative district.

[1] USFS, National Visitor Use Monitoring Report 2010

[2] Outdoor Industry Association, National Economic Impact Report

For questions or more information, please contact:
Scott Braden, Director of Conservation and Education
(303) 996-2768 scottbraden@cmc.org

2012 Stewardship Kick-Off

2012-01-19T13:52:00.001-07:00

Cathedral Spires Adopt-A-Crag, Jan 14th

Conditions were perfect for a trail project. In January. Well, almost.

More than twenty local climbers gathered in the Cathedral Spires turnout on the morning of January 14^th. Joined by staff from Jefferson County Open Space, Access Fund and Colorado Mountain Club, the group was eager to take in one last cup of coffee and start hiking to shake off the frosty morning. This group was brought together to improve the very steep and unsustainable trail leading up to Cathedral Spires, including Cynical Pinnacle and the Sunshine Wall.

What makes a trail unsustainable? This trail was user created and therefore not engineered to shed water. When users try to take the shortest route between point A and B, they usually hike straight up or down hill – what we call “fall line” trails. By adding switchbacks, we created better drainage for the trail. This eliminates erosion and gullies and, while it makes the hike longer, it will improve the user experience. We eliminated the dangerous route over rocks covered in decomposing granite (think ball bearings.) Volunteers each hauled two tools up the hill – one to help break up the frozen ground and one to create a smooth finished tread. The toughest part of the day was dealing with frozen soil. As the sun moved across the sky, the ground began to thaw – but not after a few hard swings into ice that reverberated throughout your entire musculoskeletal system. By 2pm, most volunteers were down to T-shirts, enjoying the warmish weather and sunshine. The climbers chatted amongst themselves about local routes, new guidebooks, and getting their kids up to the crags.

After 1300’ of new trail construction (or scuffing where frozen), volunteers gathered to win door prizes from the Access Fund. Local bar and grill, Zoka’s, provided a steep discount on meals for volunteers at the end of the day. The Colorado Mountain Club kicked off the 2012 stewardship season with a great project – many thanks to our professional and well organized partners and our enthusiastic volunteers! Stay tuned for the 2012 Stewardship Calendar!

Lisa Cashel

Stewardship Manager

stewardship@cmc.org

CMCers, BLM needs to hear from you by January 17

2012-01-11T08:00:00.001-07:00

BLM Kremmling Resource Management Plan (RMP)

Dear Member,

The BLM needs to hear from CMC Members right away as they determine how to manage your public lands in the Kremmling Field Office. Resource Management Plan (RMP) revisions are a once-a-generation opportunity to influence how lands are managed, including the care of wilderness character lands, off-road vehicles, quiet recreation opportunities, where oil and gas leasing occurs, wild and scenic river eligibility and other special designations.

Deadline for comments is next Tuesday, January 17. The BLM will accept all comments, but will only consider substantive comments, which means flooding them with form letters will not really work. So what they need to hear is how the proposed plan will affect your recreation and enjoyment of these public lands as a CMC member – be as specific as possible about the places you know and care about. BLM recognizes that CMC members have a long-standing stake in management of these public lands and want to hear from us.

The BLM Kremmling Field Office manages about 378,000 acres of public land from Granby to around Kremmling and in North Park around Walden. This area includes many miles along the upper Colorado River as it wends its way past Hot Sulphur Springs and through Gore Canyon.

The RMP is laid out in a series of four alternatives:

Alternative A: No action alternative – the status quo, included as a baseline

Alternative B: Preferred alternative – this is the BLM’s attempt to apply a “balanced” range of management choices

Alternative C: Conservation alternative – we generally like the stuff in this alternative – our goal is to get the BLM to incorporate as many elements as possible into their Final RMP!

Alternative D: Resource Use – an ORV and extractive emphasis alternative, we don’t like this one…

Link to Kremmling Draft RMP

Please click here to get tips on submitting comments. Send your e-mail comments to co_kremmlingrmp@blm.gov or click here to submit them online.

Potential topics for a comment letter:

Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (LWC) – this is a long-winded way of saying currently unprotected lands that meet the technical definitions for wilderness. These primitive areas are either 5,000 acres or more or adjacent to already protected lands. They offer solitude, naturalness (no roads) and human-powered recreation opportunities. The BLM has found 15,689 acres of LWC, but the preferred alternative would not manage a single acre to protect the LWCs. So, we need to persuade the BLM to protect these LWCs, like in alternative C. These untrammeled lands are irreplaceable, so we should get them protected in the Final RMP!

Drowsy Water – 7,509 acres – about 8 miles northeast of Hot Sulphur Springs, these lands abut Arapaho National Forest and the Drowsy Creek drainage. Should be protected for horse and hiking access.
Strawberry – 5,834 acres – just east of Granby, this area contains Strawberry and Behler creeks just above their confluence with the Fraser River.
Troublesome – 2,346 acres – these two parcels are directly adjacent to the 8,000 acre already-protected Troublesome Wilderness Study Area (WSA) and the even larger Troublesome Roadless Area in the Arapaho National Forest.

Increase Quiet Recreation Opportunities - BLM needs to more specifically improve opportunities for human powered recreation such as hikers and horses. This would include designating hiking emphasis or “undeveloped” Special Recreation Management Areas. Also, designation of more miles of non-motorized trails is needed. CMC is a partner with the BLM and through our stewardship work can help the BLM implement and maintain these opportunities!

Off-road vehicle (ORV) management – It’s difficult to advise exactly how to comment on what is open and what should be closed in the area – but as a general rule, ORV use should not be permitted within the LWCs discussed above.

Lands with Wilderness Characteristics – BLM should close Drowsy Water, Strawberry and Troublesome LWCs to motorized use to protect their wild state. Motorized use in these areas would disturb wildlife, could damage riparian and wetland areas, and lead to a loss in primitive recreation areas and solitude.
Wolford Mountain – north of Kremmling, is a 35,000 acre wildlife area that has been colonized by motorized trails. The BLM is deciding whether to further develop the motorized trail system or to keep the status quo which would better protect wildlife. As one of the area’s best wildlife areas – with high concentrations of sage grouse habitat, rare plant communities and winter range for deer and elk – the BLM should manage to protect these wildlife values and to be careful about expanding motorized uses.

Praise the good – BLM is improving many things over the status quo and we need to help them stay strong on these positive steps as we move forward in the RMP process.

Sharply reducing cross country ORV use – currently allowed on 307,300 acres would be reduced to 200 acres of specific ORV play area.
Decreasing unnecessary routes – from 1,739 to 872 miles. This eliminates many user-created, duplicative or resource-damaging routes.

Thank you for your advocacy and stewardship!

Scott Braden

Director of Conservation & Education

(303) 996-2768

CMC to host Backcountry Film Festival Across Colorado

2012-01-04T15:36:00.001-07:00

For the second year in a row, the CMC is proud to host the Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Backcountry Film Festival at several locations around Colorado. The seventh annual world tour of the festival highlights the beauty and fun of the winter backcountry experience. The films comprising the 90-minute program feature some of the most amazing backcountry and extreme winter athletes in the world.

Proceeds from the CMC-hosted screenings will support the work of CMC's Backcountry Snowsports Initiative (BSI), the leading advocate for human-powered winter recreation on our public lands in Colorado.

This year’s program includes nine different films including festival award winners “Solitaire” (festival cut) from Sweetgrass Productions, voted Best of Festival. Two years in the making, this film from the wilderness of South America is worth the wait. The Best Short award goes to “Chalk and Ski.” Produced by Chris Dicky and Purple Orange LLC, it’s a chalk-in-hand daydream about skiing and winter. And the Best of the Backcountry award goes to a “Breaking Trail” (festival cut) from Powderwhore Productions. Known for their amazing ability to capture deep powder and fresh lines, brothers Noah and Jonah Howell remind us why we venture into the backcountry.

Buy tickets for $10 at www.cmc.org/bcffgolden. For more information go to www.backcountryfilmfestival.org.

WHEN and WHERE:

Thursday, January 12, 7:00 p.m.

American Mountaineering Center, 710 Tenth Street, Golden, CO 80401

www.cmc.org/bcffgolden

Thursday, January 19, 8:00 p.m.

Neptune Mountaineering, 633 S. Broadway #A, Boulder, CO 80305

www.cmc.org/bcffboulder

Tuesday, February 7, 7:00 p.m.

Pine Needle Mountaineering, 835 Main Avenue, Durango, CO

www.cmc.org/bcffdurango

Wednesday, February 8, 6:00 p.m.

Evergreen High School, 29300 Buffalo Park Road, Evergreen, CO 80439

www.cmc.org/bcffevergreen

Wednesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m.

Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, 100 Puppy Smith Street, Aspen, CO 81611

www.cmc.org/bcffaspen

Flyfishing School Registration is now OPEN!

2012-01-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

If you enjoy exploring the lakes and streams of the Rockies, this is the school for you. Basic information regarding gear, knots, streams, bugs, fish behavior and casting is covered in three evening classes and two field days. Flyfishing School sold out last year....IN ONE DAY at MountainFest. Don't miss this school.

The classes are as follows:

Monday April 2, 6:30 – 9:15 pm at the CMC
Wednesday April 4, 6:30 – 9:15 pm at the CMC
Wednesday April 11, 6:00 – 8:30 pm at the CMC
Saturday April 14, 7:30 am – 3:00 pm at Lake Lehow
Saturday April 21, Senior Instructor’s choice of time, location and duration

Cost is $140 for Denver Group members and $150 for non-Denver Group members. Students receive a 100-page handbook, many accessories and 24 flies. In addition, several retailers offer rentals or member discounts. Students supply their own rod, reel, line, waders, boots and license.

To sign up, go online at http://www.cmc.org/events/schools.aspx (Member Education). Scroll down to the "2012 Fly Fishing School" entry. Make sure that you have signed in as a member. Contact school director Jorge Dominguez with any questions at 720-675-8740 or at cmc.flyfishing@gmail.com. Visit www.cmcflyfish.org for more information.

The North Face Explore Fund Awards Grant to CMC's Youth Program

2011-12-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

Contact: Rachel Scott

Colorado Mountain Club

303.996.2746

rachelscott@cmc.org

Jessica B. Lange

The North Face

510.618.2734

jessica_b_lange@vfc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE NORTH FACE EXPLORE FUND AWARDS GRANT TO COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB’S YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAM

CMC’S Youth Education Program supports a national effort to increase outdoor participation among Front Range youth

GOLDEN, Colo – December 5, 2011– The North Face has awarded a $2,500 grant to the Colorado Mountain Club’s(CMC) Youth Education Program to help children and families explore the outdoors. CMC's Youth Education Program facilitates the understanding and respect for mountain environments, fosters well-being through self-awareness, physical activity, and teambuilding, and stimulates interest in academic topics through mountiain-related recreation. The Colorado Mountain Club was selected from hundreds of applications. In the final grant cycle of 2011, The North Face awarded $125,000 Explore Fund grants to 51 projects helping more than 30,000 kids to connect to nature.

“The Colorado Mountain Club is honored to be a recipient of The North Face Explore Fund grant. We are proud partners of the national movement to inspire youth to explore the outdoors by using the power of nature to awaken a child's senses, curiosity, and desire to learn,” said Colorado Mountain Club CEO, Katie Blackett. “At the CMC, we believe that a key piece of engaging youth and their families with nature is by combining outdoor learning with their every day lives and current school curriculum.”

The CMC’s Youth Education Program was established in 1999. Since it’s founding, the program has introduced over 58,000 youth to Colorado's mountains.

“We believe in the importance of bringing youth together from diverse backgrounds and providing them with opportunities to get outdoors,” said Ann Krcik, director of Outdoor Exploration at The North Face. “We support organizations that work to create these opportunities for youth because we’ve seen firsthand how these programs can ignite a passion for the outdoors and teach them the importance of protecting the places we play for generations to come.”

The CMC's Youth Education Program continues to provide opportunities for over 5,000 kids annually to experience the natural world through active learning adventures--essentional opportunitites to help combat childhood obesity and prevent "nature deficit disorder." To learn more about the CMC and its Youth Education Program visit www.cmc.org. To learn more about all of the Explore Fund grantees and to keep up on their progress visit www.planetexplore.com/explorefund and www.twitter.com/coloradomtnclub.

About The Colorado Mountain Club

The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to adventure, education and preservation in Colorado. Established in 1912 by mountaineering enthusiasts, CMC now has more than 7,000 members statewide who explore and protect the wild areas of Colorado. CMC offers hundreds of events and classes for all ages and abilities. Throughout its history, the club has been instrumental in landmark achievements such as the designation of Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and the passage of the Wilderness Act. To become a member, visit www.cmc.org.

About The North Face Explore Fund

The North Face® Explore Fund^TM is a grant program committed to supporting non-profit, community organizations that break down the barriers preventing children and families from experiencing the outdoors. The Explore Fund, administered by The Outdoor Foundation, finds, engages and provides funding for new partners that help further the mission of inspiring the next generation of explorers and conservationists by helping them discover nature's playground.

About PlanetExplore

PlanetExplore is an online community founded by The North Face, powered by partner organizations that share a passion for the outdoors, and designed to help individuals and families learn about and participate in outdoor activities and events in their area. PlanetExplore is a portal to the outdoors designed to inspire and enable people of all ages to become regularly active outside, and to enjoy the benefits gained through a connection to nature.

For more information, please visit our websites:

The Explore Fund www.explorefund.com

Planet Explore www.planetexplore.com

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Learn Basic Mountaineering from the Pikes Peak Group School Modules!

2011-11-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Come learn safety in mountaineering with the Pikes Peak Group on one of two tracks in Basic Mountaineering School (BMS). The Pikes Peak Group BMS program offers both a technical track, focused on Rock Climbing, Alpine Snow Mountaineering and Ice Climbing, as well as a Wilderness Trekking track. Classroom sessions are offered in Colorado Springs with field sessions in and near the Colorado Springs area.

The 2012 schedule includes five classes: Wilderness Fundamentals, Wilderness Navigation, Colorado Alpine Snow Mountaineering, Colorado Rock Climbing and Wilderness Backpacking. The sixth class of the BMS series - Colorado Ice Climbing - is taken as the final module in the winter of the following year.

Registration will be available soon and this program fills quickly! There are no pre-requisites to the Pikes Peak Group BMS program.

For further information please contact BMS Directors Collin Powers at powerscollin@yahoo.com or Dave Anderson at danderso@uccs.edu.

BMS Colorado Wilderness Fundamentals
Thursday	March 15	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Monday	March 19	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Wednesday	March 21	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Saturday	March 24	7:30AM	2:00PM	Field Session Red Rock Canyon Open Space
Sunday	March 25	7:30AM	2:00PM	Weather Makeup Date - RRCOS

BMS Colorado Wilderness Land Navigation
Tuesday	April 10	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Thursday	April 12	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Saturday	April 14	7:30AM	4:00PM	CMC Trip - Lovell Gulch, Woodland Park
Sunday	April 15	7:30AM	4:00PM	Weather Makeup Date - Lovell Gulch

BMS Colorado Alpine Snow Mountaineering
Sunday	April 22	8:30AM	2:30PM	Instructor Training Day
Tuesday	April 24	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Thursday	April 26	6:30PM	10:00PM	City Rock Field Session
Saturday	April 28	7:30AM	3:00PM	CMC Trip - Glenn Cove
Sunday	April 29	7:30AM	3:00PM	CMC Trip - Glenn Cove
Saturday	May 5	7:30AM	3:00PM	Weather Makeup Date -Glenn Cove
Sunday	May 6	7:30AM	3:00PM	Weather Makeup Date- Glenn Cove

BMS Colorado Rock Climbing
Saturday	May 12	8:30AM	2:30PM	Instructor Training Day
Wednesday	May 16	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Thursday	May 17	6:30PM	10:00PM	City Rock Field Session
Saturday	May 19	7:30AM	3:00PM	CMC Trip - Red Rock Canyon Open Space
Sunday	May 20	7:30AM	3:00PM	CMC Trip - Castlewood Canyon
Saturday	June 2	7:30AM	3:00PM	Weather Makeup Date -RRCOS
Sunday	June 3	7:30AM	3:00PM	Weather Makeup Date - Castlewood Canyon

BMS Colorado Wilderness Backpacking
Wednesdsay	June 6	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Wednesday	June 13	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Wednesday	June 20	6:30PM	9:00PM	Lecture
Wednesday	June 27	6:30PM	8:30PM	Gear Check
Saturday	June 30	7:00AM		CMC Overnight Backpacking Trip
Sunday	July 1		5:00PM	CMC Overnight Backpacking Trip