After months of work…we are happy--thrilled actually—to announce our partnership with Kai and Connie Lightner's Climbing for Change and Appalachian Mountain Guides to create the Diversity in Guiding Grant! Our board of directors unanimously approved funding for this initiative near the end of 2020, and now it’s a reality. It is our sincerest hope that this will help put BIPOC climbers into positions of leadership in our climbing community. There are two slots available in 2021, and applications are open right meow.

This grant will cover travel expenses, a small amount of gear and all necessary AMGA membership fees for two recipients—and Appalachian Mountain Guides is generously donating two slots in its SPI course and test (dates are flexible). There are some additional details about to which to be aware; check the above link for more.

In other news, we DO plan to hold (Not) Work Week in May of this year, though the exact service project and specific protocols for Covid safety have yet to take shape. Warm up your volunteer hands and stay tuned, because some barely walkable track through the woods somewhere in or around the NRG is gonna get world-class makeover--and we’re gonna need your help to do it.

We are all stewards of land once explored and occupied by Moneton and Tutelo tribes, as well as many others now long lost to history. Respect for them must be present in everything we do. ​

2020 has been a difficult year, and it ain’t over yet. Little of what we celebrated came easy. There have been frustrating discussions and times of loneliness. Volunteers have put in hundreds of hours of hard, physical labor. There have been times when hope seemed in short supply, and times when we left literal blood, sweat and tears on the ground.

Nevertheless, we’re climbers; challenges make us better and stronger. What could easily have become our worst year ever is shaping up to be our finest moment—and it’s because you, the climbers of the New River Gorge, steadfastly refused to let us walk winding paths alone.

Not everything we wanted to accomplish in 2020 has come to fruition (yet). But today, here’s what we’re celebrating.

1. Two days ago, the Board voted unanimously to partner with and support Kai and Connie Lightner’s organization, Climbing 4 Change. Kai and Connie are long-time NRG climbers, so we’ve got a foundational relationship already in place—and we’re excited to take that to another level. Aside from some sleeve up-rolling and ongoing work, that support includes a donation of $2800 ostensibly for guiding scholarships or similar programs. But we want to stress that the exact use of those funds will be largely up to C4C, with us backing their play. We hope with this partnership, we can take concrete action in support of diversity in NRG climbing.

2. The Rocktober Fundraiser was a rip-roaring success—and in a year in which virtually all of our normal funding avenues shut down, it was sorely needed! In the end, we expanded our number of recurring donors from five to 105 and secured a $5000 one-time match. We gave away a ton of hats, and in the process, built a fundraising foundation that will keep us replacing bad bolts, building trails, securing access and advocating for climbers--all of you—way into the future.

3. Back in September, the Board approved a process by which potentially offensive route names could be addressed. It is true that some of those route names were borderline. It is also true that some of them had unambiguously racist, misogynist or homophobic tones. In all, there were 92 routes flagged. The committee decided against any action on 22. An additional 15 are in Volume 1, and not under any especially pressing time constraints. The process for the remaining 55 is heavily weighted toward working with first ascencionists, who have in the vast majority of cases responded with maturity and with grace. We’re happy to report that of those 55 names, 51 have changed. There are four more yet to address.

​4. In the midst of the Rocktober Fundraiser, we undertook perhaps the most ambitious service project in our history to install a steel staircase and rescue a failing shoreline at Summersville Lake. You can watch a short video about it here. Thanks to the tireless work of volunteers who came out to help, we also put a cherry on top of a long and fruitful relationship between climbers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Summersville Lake. It is our hope that together, we’ll be able to increase opportunities for legal climbing at the premier DWS location in America.

5. Expect to see a lot more activity in terms of anchors, bolts and ways in which you can help us literally save climbers' lives. The Anchor Committee replaced hundreds of them in 2020, it's just getting warmed up!

Interestingly, none of the above represent the end of any particular path. All of them lead to more twists and turns. We are honored to be able to continue to move forward with you.

​We are all stewards of land once explored and occupied by Moneton and Tutelo tribes, as well as many others now long lost to history. Respect for them must be present in everything we do. 

October was a very busy month.

First, our Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee has been scrambling to get as much done as possible before Volume 2 of New River Rock goes fully to press. This includes helping Wolverine Publishing address route names and compile as much diverse photo representation as possible. We've also submitted ad art for an ancestral lands message and are wrapping up a diversity and inclusion statement to include in the book's introductory sections.

Our Rocktober Fundraiser was also a huge success thanks to all of you! We raised more that $1650 per month in recurring donations, plus another $4000+ in one-time donations. And in the process, we qualified for a one-time $5000 match from a local family of climbers. In short, Rocktober 2020 was the most successful fundraiser we've had since the days of the New River Rendezvous. Remember those? 

Of course, it helped that we undertook a couple of giant service projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Summersville Lake, both of which gave us no shortage of things to talk about. During the course of the work, a number of questions have popped up on Facebook and Instagram regarding the relationship between climbers and the Corps. Indeed, some people seemed surprised there was a relationship at all, let alone a good one. We hope the above video will help explain things a little. It is our hope that this video will advance a discussion of climbing issues on Corps land at the regional and national level, as well, so that one day...maybe...we can regain legal DWS privileges. Big shout-outs to everybody who lent a hand out there!

We are all stewards of land once explored and occupied by Moneton and Tutelo tribes, as well as many others now long lost to history. Respect for them must be present in everything we do. 

​

Bad News: With regard to Rocktober-Fundraiser hats...we’ve run out of blue pom-pom beanies. We’ll be contacting sustaining donors who asked for blue beanies with options.

Good News: The reason we’ve run out of blue beanies is that we (meaning all of us, you included) have straight crushed our fundraising goal for the month of October. Seriously, five days in and our goal for the month is toast. We were hoping to increase our total monthly recurring donations to $500, and we currently stand at $649.

More Bad News: SO, we’re raising the goal.

More Good News: AND, the local family who offered a $2000 match if we could make it to $500/month in sustaining donations? They’ve upper their match to $5000 if we can hit $1500/month! Can you help?

Still More Good News: The Summersville stairs are complete. We know some of you are very fond of the ladder. And why not? It’s quirky and epitomizes an era. But, when we came to the Army Corps with the money you raised in Dylan Hague’s memory specifically for Summersville projects, one of the things they expressed interest in was a way to improve access for potential rescues. These stairs do that.

Work will also begin very soon on the Orange Oswald Seawall—we’ll keep you posted.

We are all stewards of land once explored and occupied by Moneton and Tutelo tribes, as well as many others now long lost to history. Respect for them must be present in everything we do. 

First of all…OUR ROCKTOBER FUNDRAISER JUST STARTED! As the the premier party-thrower east of the mighty Miss, we’ve struggled a bit this past year (due to the SARS-CoV-2) to raise funds. The Appalachian Outdoor Film Fest was neither indoors nor out and (Not) Work Week became (Not)-(Not) Work Week. So, we’re making up for all of that funding lost and that work not worked this month.

Learn all about the ROCKTOBER FUNDRAISER right here.

Here’s the short version: We’re doing a ton of work at Summersville Lake (in fact it began yesterday) and asking for sustaining donations to qualify for a 4-to-1 match! Pro-tip: sustaining donors get NRAC swag; the trucker’s cap is especially dope.
Yes, we will happily accept one-time donations, too!
On the JEDI front, we have our route-name process, which is heavily weighted toward working with first ascencionists, in place and working. And, we literally have a team of lawyers working on the guiding scholarship. Annnnnd, we submitted land-acknowledgement ad art to Wolverine Publishing just yesterday. Committee members are working as we speak on an anti-racism statement for the guidebook, as well. 

Inclusivity efforts are rolling right along!

Our JEDI committee met Monday evening to discuss scholarships and to continue the process of contacting FAs regarding route names in the Volume 2 Guidebook, which is scheduled to go to press in October. We'll submit photos (see above) to Wolverine Publishing this week, as well as ad art for the indigenous lands acknowledgement. 

Please keep your ears peeled for a call for volunteers to help install the new steel staircase to replace the ladder at the Coliseum, Summersville Lake. We're also working on a donation match as well to coincide with that project, so please keep your wallets warmed up, as well. 

We are all stewards of land once explored and occupied by Moneton and Tutelo tribes, as well as many others now long lost to history. Respect for them must be present in everything we do. 

The NRAC Board of Directors has approved a process by which questionable route names in and around the New River Gorge will be addressed. In crafting this process, we believe we've created something that is fair and heavily weighted toward dialogue with first ascencionists, but that also provides an extreme-circumstances path by which NRAC might advocate for name changes without FA consent. 

That process is here: 

If a route name comes to our attention as being potentially offensive to historically marginalized people, we’ll undertake the following steps:

1. NRAC's JEDI committee will decide if the route name in question should be escalated further into the process. 
2. If necessary, the committee will collect survey data on the name—how many people in the affected population agree it’s offensive? How offensive is it to them? Survey data will help inform the committee's decision making process. 
3. If the committee votes by simple majority that the name is actionable, it will collectively decide what the best course of action is. 
4. If that decided-upon course of action is to advocate for a name change, then who’s the most appropriate person to contact the first ascencionist? That person will reach out to the FA. 
5. If the FA agrees to change the name, the committee will support their efforts to do so in a manner that is non-discriminatory.  
6. If the FA expresses consent to change the name, but is uninterested in doing so themselves, the committee will present name suggestions to guidebook authors/Mountain Project admins. 
7. In either case (5 or 6), the committee will keep records of the change, inform guidebook authors and MP admins, and follow up to ensure name changes have occurred. 
8. If the FA refuses to change the name, the committee will present options to the full NRAC BOD, including but not limited to doing nothing, requesting route description edits or advocating for name changes without FA approval.
9. The NRAC BOD will vote on the options. 
10. The committee will compose a simple statement to present to Mountain Project and the guidebook author/publisher informing them of NRAC's position.

There are several route names in the process right now. Some were not escalated past number 1. Several were—and we are working to open dialogues with FAs now. 

We are all stewards of land once held by indigenous people. Our respect for them, as well as for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in climbing must be present in everything we do.

The third meeting is in the books. 

Last week, we began to hatch a process by which we would evaluate and approach individual route names that have come under scrutiny for being offensive to marginalized populations. We know a lot of people are interested in this process. We still have a lot to discuss, and we still have to present that process to the full board for discussion and vote. Please be patient while we do our best to get it right.

We also discussed some interesting ideas and action items:

1. A guiding-education scholarship. We all seem to like this one, but there are questions that need to be answered (some of them by accountants and lawyers) before it becomes a reality. Some committee members will be working on that this week.

2. Route-development clinics with spaces reserved primarily for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ climbers to encourage people to become responsible first ascencionists.

3. Composing a climbing code of conduct, so to speak, to include on the NRAC website, and request inclusion in guidebooks and on Mountain Project. A committee member will reach out to Taimur Ahmad, Access Fund Diversity Fellow, for contacts within other LCOs that have undertaken the same action.

4. Wolverine Press, publisher of NRG guidebooks, is generously donating ad space to us in upcoming printings. The committee approved the artwork you see above, which has been sent to the full Board of Directors, as well. Committee members are also reaching out to authorities on the Native American history in West Virginia, to ensure our information is as accurate as possible.

5. We also welcomed a new committee member, Marina Inoue. Presently, the committee includes: Marina, Elena Fouch-Watson, Bayer Watson, Sam Chaber, DJ Grant, Maura Kistler, Tricia DiFranco and Jay Young.

We are all stewards of land once held by indigenous people. Our respect for them, as well as for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in climbing must be present in everything we do.

Close to 20 people joined the full board of directors (some attending via Zoom, around 30 people altogether) to discuss issues of inclusivity at the New and some of the more physical anchor/access issues around the area. Here’s what got done:

1. We welcomed new member, Elena Fouch-Watson to the Board of Directors.

2. We voted to form a new committee specifically to work on issues of inclusivity. Elena will chair the new committee. Board members Sam and Jay are also on it. The committee’s first task is to define itself, its size, its scope, etc. Its first meeting is scheduled for this coming Sunday.

3. We approved funds to pay for the return of a large barge that was used to transport materials across Summersville Lake for the ongoing Orange Oswald seawall project. This money is coming from the Dylan Hague Fund, raised to honor the memory and family of our dear friend by supporting projects at the Lake.

4. We approved funds to renew our contract with Flipcause, a suite of web tools for non-profits that we’ve been using for a couple years now.

5. We heard the official announcement that we received a large grant from the WV Department of Highways to further harden Bridge Buttress.

6. The Summersville stairs project continues. If you’ve been there a last few weeks, you may have seen the work that has already been done. We’re working closely with the Army Corps to install stairs.
​
7. Anchor Committee Chair, Kenny Parker, recognized Bayer Watson for his recent hard work replacing bolts.

The discussion surrounding inclusivity will continue. It is not always easy, but it is always necessary. It is our hope that the new committee, once it hits a stride, will help us move forward into a future that is fair and equitable for everybody.

​Thank you!