Discuss the Future of Climbing in the Roaring Fork Valley

For those who aren’t aware, the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign seeks to preserve and protect wilderness quality land around the Roaring Fork Valley. As climbers, we welcome protecting the land from things liking mining and oil and gas exploitation, but in this case there is a possible conflict of interest. The nature of most of the rock in this area dictates that power drills must be used both to create and maintain the safety of existing routes, and as such new wilderness designations could not only severly limit the potential for any new routes, but also create rotting graveyards out of existing sport crags that couldn’t be properly maintained in 30 or 40 years.

In response to this potential situation, the Roaring Fork Climbers’ Coalition has been meeting with Wilderness Workshop, who has graciously agreed to work with local climbers to make sure our cliffs are outside the boundaries of these new proposed wilderness areas. We have a fairly good idea of what needs to be excluded, but we’d like to open it up to public comment. Please join us Wednesday August 5th at 5:30pm at Dos Gringos in Carbondale for a meeting to discuss the Hidden Gems Wilderness Proposal and how it will affect climbing in the lower Roaring Fork Valley. We’ll have maps showing the areas we’ve identified, and there will be a representative from Wilderness Workshops on hand to answer any questions.

Please come out and show your support for climbing in the Roaring Fork Valley!