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.