​Recently, NRAC was awarded a grant from the 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥 to help us install and stock Wag Bag boxes at popular crags.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗴?
Plainly put, a Wag Bag is a bag that you poop in so that human waste doesn't end up polluting our precious climbing areas. They are easy to use and convenient, and they contain a waste treatment powder that counters unpleasant smells.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗴?
Once a climbing area gains a certain level of popularity, it inevitably reaches a critical mass of CRAP. At this point, there are too many people trying to use limited space, and well, the results are quite shite. This problem is exacerbated at Summersville Lake where there is often very little dry real estate for climbers to occupy. This is why you should always pack out your waste and never dig a cat hole at Summersville.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗼 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁?
The stations have instructions on them, but there is a large bag with litter inside of a smaller sealable bag. Take your dump in the large bag, wriggle that turd around until it's coated in the litter, and then seal the whole thing in the sealable bag and throw it in a trash can.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?
You can find one at Sandstonia, Whippoorwill, Summersville Main at the bottom of the steps, and Orange Oswald.

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘖𝘕𝘈𝘛𝘌 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘘𝘙 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘹!

​Nina is one of the 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀, and we are super excited that they are here.

"Nina(they/she) hails from Baltimore, Maryland where they were recently working as a rock climbing team coach for Movement Gyms. They were introduced to climbing in 2014 when they stumbled upon a Via Ferrata in Docksta, Sweden on a hiking trail and it's been history ever since. Forever hooked now, Nina is passionate about sharing their love for the sport and the outdoors in this position with Access Fund. Their background is strong in building a strong group culture and character curriculum, Nina is very excited to dive into creating fun new ways to get folks involved in stewardship. When not climbing, Nina has a recycled rope business "Take Up" they enjoy working on as well as getting out on the water and in the air on their slackline or silks."

Be sure to grab a ☕ this Friday at Kaymoor and say hi to Nina! Bring your own coffee cup and stop by the Access Fund tent.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿.

​We are excited to introduce you to one of the 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯!

"Grisha (they/them) is from Richmond, VA where they spend their time studying Environmental Science and Outdoor leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. Grisha was first introduced to climbing at the New River Gorge during their first year in school where they pursued leadership positions in their Outdoor collegiate program. After pursuing climbing instruction, their passion for climbing was catalyzed, and the beautiful places that climbing would take them. After involving themself in outdoor educator roles across the nation, the New River Gorge called back to them and they're excited to fill this position with Access Fund as a New River Gorge Climber Steward. Grisha is most excited to meet all the new and returning climbers at the New and to get a chance to share resources for climbers to understand what crag stewardship looks like and how we can all take care of places we love to climb at!"

𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 9𝘢𝘮 - 12𝘱𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢!

Check out our previous post to learn more about what the Stewards will be up to this season and where they will be!

​In late October, 2013, large boulders blocking the road appeared on Propp’s Ridge Rd. and the old railroad grade that parallels the Meadow River on its south/west side. These boulders have effectively blocked vehicular access to the Meadow’s Southside Crags including Area 51, The Other Place, Orange Wall, Mud Hueco, Brilliant Pebble, Rehab Crag and the crags along Glade Creek, which parallels Propp’s Ridge Rd. 

For NRAC, and locals, this came as no surprise. Land ownership along the Meadow and Glade Creek has been in a state of flux since long before climbers began to explore the Meadow River cliff line, which they did on foot, hiking in from Highway 19 along the railroad tracks which were still in place. It wasn’t until 1999 that the tracks were pulled up and climbers began to drive in and park along the Meadow River to access the climbing areas. For those around at the time, the easy access had a too-good-to-be-true feel to it, and losing it wasn’t an issue of if, but when. 

Immediately after the roads were blocked, representatives from NRAC began discussions with land owners, the National Park Service, the County Commission, and others to explore options that would allow for continued access to the climbing resources along the Meadow River’s Southside crags.