It’s been another productive year for us, and we hope you will support us again by JOINING OR RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY for 2016. Go to www.bighornclimbers.org to renew your membership, and for the latest updates about our current news, events and activities. Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow/tag us on Instagram/Twitter, too!
Our 2015 highlights included:
- Signing a cost-share agreement with the Bighorn National Forest. This formalizes the relationship between the BCC and the Forest Service. The agreement defines mutual goals and outlines steps we would like to take together to achieve them.
- Receiving approval for and then paying for the installation and maintenance of two port-a-potties in Ten Sleep Canyon for public use during the high season for climbing (May through September);
- Financing a dumpster to collect visiting climbers’ trash during Ten Sleep Canyon’s busy season (May through September), located at the Ten Sleep Brewing Company; also, financing port-a-potties at the brewery to help handle increased climber traffic during the climbing festival and the days surrounding it;
- Receiving a $1,500 grant from Sunlight Sports (an outdoor equipment store in Cody, Wyoming), in partnership with Patagonia and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance for the second year in a row. This grant aims to help reduce user impacts in Ten Sleep Canyon; Sunlight Sports also honored the Bighorn Climbers’ Coalition at the shop’s community appreciation night;
- Holding the second official/17th annual Ten Sleep Climbing Festival at the Ten Sleep Brewing Company, a fun and free festival which included vendor booths, live music, and a fundraising raffle of donated gear. This year’s festival attendance was estimated at 500 people. Petzl America stepped in as the title sponsor, contributing $1,500 in cash and gear. Longtime canyon climber and route developer Charlie Kardaleff opened for local musician of note, Jalan Crossland. Other organizations contributing to the event included American Alpine Club, The Place (massages!), and the Bighorn National Forest, with additional support provided by the Crazy Woman Cafe, Canyon Collections, Dirty Sally’s General Store, Native Eyewear, Clif Bar, prAna, Scarpa, and Joshua Tree Skin Care.
- Holding several trash clean-ups that allowed us to formally adopt two sections of highway in this region. These included two Shoshone Canyon Clean-Ups, trash pick-ups of popular climbing areas just outside of Cody, Wyoming; as well as two trash pick-ups required for the BCC to officially adopt miles 40 through 42 along U.S. Highway 16 in Ten Sleep Canyon, an area that encompasses most of the main pullouts used by climbers in the canyon.
In 2016, we anticipate the following:
- The Bighorn National Forest has worked with the Wyoming Department of Transportation to begin a Mondo parking lot expansion. Construction will begin in spring 2016 and is scheduled for completion by summer 2017. This parking area will be up-canyon from the small parking area on the north side of the street, across the street from the larger pullout on the south side. Note that unless you’re climbing at Slavery, parking up higher makes for a shorter approach to Valhalla, Superratic, and French Cattle Ranch.
- Financing a dumpster to collect visiting climbers’ trash during Ten Sleep Canyon’s busy season (May through September), located at the Ten Sleep Brewing Company;
- Financing at least two port-a-potties, maybe four, in Ten Sleep Canyon throughout the summer, with more frequent cleanings than last summer (dependent on member contributions and donations);
- Continuing to work with the Bighorn National Forest service to establish and to help financially back a climbing management plan for Ten Sleep Canyon that will hopefully include workable, long-term solutions for human waste management throughout the high season for climbers, as well as providing signage and improving parking situations and trails in Ten Sleep Canyon;
- Working similarly as needs arise with other public land managers to protect and preserve local climbing areas;
- Holding our annual events for both fundraising and community enhancement/enrichment purposes, including the Ten Sleep Climbing Festival, two Shoshone Canyon Clean-Ups in Cody, and the twice-yearly Adopt-a-Highway clean-up in Ten Sleep Canyon, as well as informal Meet-N-Greets throughout the climbing season in various local communities;
- Expanding our scope to include more opportunities for volunteers and to actively develop BCC committees for notable climbing areas and activities in the Bighorn Basin and Mountain region of north-central Wyoming.
THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT AND FOR HELPING US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Go to www.bighornclimbers.org to renew your membership today!