At our Backyard Bivy this past weekend we announced that the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest had decided to “implement a proposal to add approximately 5 miles of access trails to the National Forest Trails Transportation System within Boulder Canyon that lead to existing climbing routes”. This decision memo by the USFS is the culmination of many years of work begun by BCC founder Roger Briggs, JB Habb, BCC staff, board members, and volunteers of the BCC and also represents the next 10+ years of BCC’s efforts to improve climbing access in Boulder Canyon. This is a huge win for the BCC and Boulder climbers and we are excited to detail what this means for the future of climbing in Boulder Canyon.
When our trail program was founded in 2014, our goal was to provide land management agencies with innovative and effective technical solutions to address the impact that climbers have on their land. Over the years, we have taken on large scale trail work projects on land managed by City of Boulder OSMP, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado State Parks, and the United States Forest Service.
In Boulder Canyon, if you have enjoyed the sunny climbing at Plotinus Wall in Lower Dream Canyon or the new approach trail to Oceanic Wall and Avalon, you have benefited from the work that BCC performs in this area. These projects have all been multi-year projects, not only for the actual trail work but also for the years of preparation that goes into the project before our trail crew ever puts a tool in the ground. This decision memo by the USFS to recognize climbing access trails in Boulder Canyon not only legitimizes climbers as an active user group in the canyon, but also acknowledges that these trails are necessary to access our sport and will need to be maintained or rebuilt in order to meet USFS standards. This presents the opportunity for the BCC and USFS to partner on applying for large scale grants to help fund future multi-year projects in Boulder Canyon. The BCC hopes that through our unique partnership with the USFS and our trail work at various Boulder Canyon crags, Boulder Canyon can be a model sustainable climbing area that can be replicated throughout the US.