Access News - May 9th, 2007

Information from the Access Society.
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Access News - May 9th, 2007

Post by Access Society of BC » Wed May 09, 2007 6:29 pm

CLIMBERS' ACCESS SOCIETY OF B.C.

ACCESS NEWS - May 9th, 2007

A. SKAHA

SUMMARY

Access to Skaha is in place for 2007, and The Land Conservancy of B.C. (TLC) and Skaha rockclimbers have been working hard on public access to Skaha for 2008 and beyond, with support from Mountain Equipment Co-op, the Access Society, and others. TLC has agreed to buy 300 hectares of nearby private land (sublot 18 - southeast of Braesyde). When/if the land is bought, and needed work done, it will provide permanent public access to Skaha. All the land, added together, will make a respectable provincial park, valuable for both recreation and conservation. Thanks to TLC’s partners, a generous donation by the current owner, and other donations, much of the needed money has been raised. The climbing community needs to raise the balance of $1 million by June 30th, and we need your help to do it.

BLACK DIAMOND DONATION - $10,000

Black Diamond, the well-known U.S. based manufacturer of climbing equipment (www.bdel.com), has committed $10,000 toward the Skaha project. Many thanks! Other climbing manufacturers and retailers who can help should contact TLC - John Keller, at (604) 733-2313 or john@conservancy.bc.ca

PROGRESS REPORT

So far the following has been raised or committed:

Access Society - $10,000
Mountain Equipment Co-op - $250,000 (plus funding for TLC's work)
Black Diamond - $10,000
Individual donations - $44,745 (as of May 2nd)
MEC matching funds - $42,507 (not all donations qualify for matching funds)
Total - $357,000
We need to raise $1 million - the price is in fact much more. The more we can raise within the climbing community, the more convincing it is to other funders and donors. Solid public and community support can often be leveraged.

MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT CO-OP - MATCHING MEMBER DONATIONS, UP TO $100,000

Mountain Equipment Co-op will match donations by its members, up to $100,000 total ($57,493 to go).

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Make a donation to TLC, and encourage all your friends to also do so. If you're a member of MEC, make your donation at www.conservancy.bc.ca/MEC-skaha, and double the amount.
Join the Access Society, renew your membership, make a donation. Members + resources = more effective. Memberships, renewals, and donations are all helpful - $10,000 is a lot of money to us. See below for the link.
If you can help with fundraising, or have ideas or connections that may help, contact TLC or the Access Society.
Make sure all your friends know what's happening, especially climbers, and that they're helping. Spread the word!
SUPPORT THE LAND CONSERVANCY

Please send all donations to TLC. They also encourage you to become a member.

Donations & Membership: To make a donation, go to www.conservancy.bc.ca, and click on the ‘Skaha Bluffs’ icon. You can also join or donate by mail.
Contact Information: TLC's head office is at #301 - 1195 Esquimalt Road, Victoria, B.C. V9A 3N6, phone (250) 479-8053.
Capital Campaign & Corporate Donors: If you can contribute a substantial amount, or know someone who might be able to, contact John Keller at TLC, at (604) 733-2313 or jkeller@conservancy.bc.ca
If the purchase doesn't work out, TLC will keep aside all money raised, and use it either for whatever other solution is arrived at for Skaha, or for another project of direct benefit to the climbing community of B.C.

B. SKAHA - FUNDRAISING EVENTS

There will be several events over the next month, to help with fundraising for Skaha. So far they include:

May 11th - Concert - Vancouver

Singer Mia Harris and pianist Karen Lee-Morlang will present a concert at St. Andrew's Wesley United Church, at 7:30 PM on Friday May 11th. Burrard & Nelson, Vancouver. Mia and Karen are well known in the Vancouver classical musical community, and Mia is also a climber from the Penticton area. The concert will include a variety of classical, operatic, and traditional songs. Admission $20, and a portion of proceeds will go toward the Skaha campaign. Tickets at MEC Vancouver, The Edge Indoor Climbing Centre in North Vancouver, and Sikora's Records. Howie Richardson will be present, and speak about Skaha, and TLC and the Access Society will also be there. More at http://www.conservancy.bc.ca/news_view. ... odays_news Thanks to the Harris family for this initiative!

May 24th - Presentation - MEC Vancouver

There will be a free presentation on Skaha at MEC's Vancouver store on Thursday May 24th. TLC staff will show slides, maps and pictures of Skaha, illustrating the current campaign. Handouts and information will be available, and you'll be able to sign up or donate to TLC or the Access Society on the spot. 7:00 PM sharp.

June 9th - Party - Howe Sound Inn (Squamish)

This will be a short information session and update, followed by a party and dance, at the Brew Pub in Squamish. Saturday June 9th, doors open 9:00 PM. Admission by donation, minimum $5. The event will include Skaha news and an update from the Access Society, followed by a slide presentation and talk about Skaha, and then a party, including DJ. More information to follow; thanks to Alec Fernandes for the work!

C. UPPER MALAMUTE - LOGGING

Much of the upper Malamute at Squamish was logged during the last week of March 2007. The land, about 10 hectares, is owned by Malamute Holdings Ltd. The District of Squamish issued a stop work order as soon as it heard what was happening.

Anyone visiting the upper Malamute in the near future should be aware of unstable and dangerous logging debris. The downed trees were left in place, pending discussions.

The logging occurred without notice, or a required municipal permit. Neither the Ministry of Transportation & Highways nor the Sea-to-Sky Highway Project contractor was responsible for it. About 1,500 trees were cut, as defined in Squamish's bylaw. The District is now considering what to do, and discussions continue.

The goal of the Access Society has long been that the upper Malamute, at the heart of Squamish, should be protected for the benefit and use of all the public, particularly for climbing, walking, nature viewing, and sightseeing. As with Skaha, the area has great value to the entire public.

Climbers have been visiting the upper Malamute since the mid 1970s, very actively since the mid 1990s. The land has long been privately owned, and the climbing community can be grateful that the former and current owners have allowed climbing there.

D. MISCELLANEOUS
1. Brokeneck Mountain - Brad Zdanivsky Fundraiser - May 11th

Brad Zdanivsky plans to be the first quadriplegic to ascend Yosemite’s El Capitan, in September 2007. Brad resumed climbing after his injury, and in 2005 ascended the Stawamus Chief’s Grand Wall. There will be a fundraiser, which Brad calls Brokeneck Mountain, on Friday May 11th at the Buffalo Club - 1161 Granville Street, Vancouver. Doors open 8:00 PM, tickets $10 in advance, cash bar. The first 100 to arrive will receive one free drink ticket each. More information at www.verticalchallenge.org, or contact shirleychiu@shaw.ca or vertical@intergate.ca.

2. Squamish Mountain Festival 2007

The 2007 Squamish Mountain Festival (SMF 2007) will be on July 13th - 22nd. The presenting sponsor is Arc'Teryx, with partners the Access Society and the Squamish Access Society ("SAS"), and other sponsors including Black Diamond, MEC, and Gripped. Proceeds will go to the Access Society and the SAS. SMF 2007 will involve clinics, speakers, films, yoga, pancake breakfasts, events for the general public, a dyno competition, fundraising, prizes, and lots of fun. And Adopt-a-Crag stewardship events both weekends. More information at www.squamishmountainfestival.com. We hope to see you there!

3. Adopt-a-Crags 2007

The usual range of volunteer crag stewardship events will be held in 2007, from spring through autumn. The first was on May 4th - 6th at the Eldred Valley (Powell River). Others include Fleming Beach (Victoria), Squamish & Cheakamus Canyon, Skaha, Crest Crags (Campbell River), and more. Some are large and very organized, others less so. Let us know if you want to know what's happening, or can help out.

4. U.B.C. High Altitude Study - Sierra Nevada

Meaghan MacNutt, a PhD student at UBC, is studying the process of acclimatization to high altitude, in particular how it is altered by moving up and down. She needs research subjects for a seven week program in the White Mountains near Bishop, California this summer. Volunteers must be healthy, fit, non-smoking males. They will live at 3,800 m with the study team. All travel and living expenses will be covered, and an honorarium of $1,000 paid on completion of the study. Participants will be monitored at rest and during exercise, and will have to give multiple blood samples. However, they'll have a great deal of free time to explore the mountains of the area, and relax. For more information, contact Meaghan at mjmacnutt@hotmail.com

5. United States - Access Fund News

See the Access Fund website for what's happening in the United States - www.accessfund.org. You can also subscribe to an e-newsletter.

6. On-Line Memberships, Renewals & Donations

You can now join the Access Society on-line, renew your membership, or make a donation. Go to www.access-society.ca/getinvolved/membership.aspx, complete the form, and pay via PayPal. (Credit card needed, and donations also very welcome.) If you have problems joining, renewing or donating on-line, please e-mail info@access-society.ca, so we can fix it. (If you complete the first page, click "next" and get a page of gibberish, try clicking on "refresh".)


NOTES

The Access Society faces many challenges in our pursuit of public access to B.C.'s cliffs and mountains, and conservation of them. Please support the Access Society in any way you can - become a member, make a donation, or volunteer! We believe the Access Society is doing an important job. We represent the entire climbing community of B.C., and all those who support public access to, and conservation of, the cliffs and mountains of B.C.

We hope this message is useful. Please forward it to all your climbing friends. Our apologies if it is unwanted! If so, please let us know and we'll remove you from our list. If your e-mail has changed, please let us know. (In a few cases this message is a duplicate, due to overlapping directories.) Also, we welcome information and contributions - please send to info(at)access-society.ca.

Climbing and related activities are dangerous, and can injure or kill you. The Access Society tries to ensure that this information is accurate, but you rely on it at your own risk!

copyright (c) Climbers' Access Society of British Columbia, 2007.
Box 72013 - Sasamat R.P.O.
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada V6R 4P2
(604) 228-1798
info@access-society.ca; www.access-society.ca

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