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.