RED RIVER GORGE CLIMBERS’ COALITION 2018 ANNUAL REPORT CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS Adam Gregory… President Joey Saeler… Vice President Jereme Ransick… Treasurer Leah Dean… Secretary Andrew Dangler…. Director of Corporate Relations Curtis Gale-Dyer… Land Manager Andrew Jones… Public Lands Liaison Nicholas Hart… Board Member Colin Howell… Board Member Andrew Reed… Board Member Ashlee Milanich… Executive Director Bill Strachan… Executive Director Emeritus A Letter from the President: The ice is melting, the snow and rain recedes and the sun slowly warms the rock in the Red River Gorge. Climbers will be returning and businesses will reopen. We take this time every year to hold our Annual Open Meeting as a chance for us to reflect on the past year and plan ahead. 2018 was a great year for the Coalition. Johnny and Alex Trail Day went well, with loads of trail work completed. Throughout the year many trails have been rerouted or created to make our 18+ miles of trails more sustainable. We graveled and cleaned up the Motherlode parking lot and volunteers put in over 1600 hours of work! Rocktoberfest had our highest attendance yet and was, per usual, a great party. We had 32 sponsors and over 1000 attendees. With the proceeds we were able to write a $50,000 check to the Access Fund to help pay down the Bald Rock Recreational Preserve! We introduced two significant projects last year, Camelot and our Gym-To-Crag program. Camelot is a crag of mainly moderate climbs on the far end of the MFRP. The trails and belay bases to and at Camelot took a lot of planning and effort by our amazing land management team. We went into this project with the specific goal of sustainable crag development, especially considering the impact seen at moderate crags. We piloted two Gym-To-Crag presentations, an educational program launching in 2019 that will be held in regional cities where Red River Gorge climbers live. Usually held at a rock gym, these events introduce newer climbers to the ethics and practices many locals and veterans understand. We believe climbing is only going to become more popular. With quality education we can welcome new climbers knowing that our beloved Red River Gorge crags will be maintained for future generations. 2019 looks to be an exciting year. Free Solo won an Oscar, rock climbing is officially an olympic sport, and new gyms are popping up everywhere! This is a great time for all of us to remember: we are a community. The RRGCC is doing what we can to educate newcomers and facilitate communications with our existing community. We ask our members and supporters to do the same. In 2018 we reached out to our community and heard from over 360 climbers, whose feedback helped us restructure our strategic planning and ensure our goals were in line with the community. This year we hope to continue discussions with Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF) about potential climbing areas in and around the Red. Additionally, we established a good dialogue with Kentucky State Parks and are working to change park designations to allow climbing in areas where it does not impact archaeological artifacts and/or endangered species. We will continue to be dedicated to securing and protecting open, public access to rock climbing in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky and promoting conservation of the environment on the lands where we climb. We couldn’t do it without all of you. Adam Gregory, RRGCC President CLIMBING IN THE RED Number of Climbing Routes in 1998 Bronaugh Guidebook — ≈ 1,000 Number of Climbing Routes in 2005 Ellington Guidebook — ≈ 1,300 Number of Climbing Routes in redriverclimbing.com Online Guidebook — ≈ 3,240 Route Composition Open Climbing Routes All Climbing Routes 3100 3063 14% 14.6% 40% 1753 42.7% 32.0% 30% 1213 7.6% 1% 5% 3% 7% 180 3.1% 97 Managed Routes (97) RRGCC RRGCC (Open/Secured) Closed Routes (180) FOMV FOMV (Open/Secured) Open/Unsecured Routes (1213) USFS USFS (Open/Unsecured) Open/Secured Routes (1753) Private USFS (Closed) Total Open Routes (3063) Managed Private (Open/Unsecured) Total Routes (3243) Private (Managed/Unsecured) Private (Closed) LAND Belay bases at Secret Garden - Camelot: opened a new sustainably 1588 developed moderate climbing area in MFRP Volunteer Work - Camelot and Secret Garden: building and Hours connecting trails between - Secret Garden: additional routes opened, Left access to the Motherlode 1.6 slope and belay base stabilization miles - Laboratory & Record Shop: rerouted of road access trail - Chocolate Factory, Infirmary, and Coal Bank: drainage control 1161 - Motherlode: reroute of left side access trail acres -Grumpalump: slope and belay base stabilization Our Amazing Volunteers: 3,000 Rocktoberfest: 75 Johnny & Alex Trail Day: 90 miles hours needed to complete trails and 18 build belay bases to existing & NEW areas Other Trail Days (11): 98 From 4 Groups: 55 of trail Individuals: 39 PAVING THE WAY CLIMBING OUTDOORS Gym to Crag the RRGCC launched two pilot Gym to Crag How to be considerate of others and respect the land we use presentations with regional gyms. Our actions affect access to climb! We’re responsible, and it’s up to us to set a good example. From the RRGCC mission strategy: • Fill out waivers • Disperse your group from others "...to educate climbers about access issues, encourage them to • Follow established trails • Leave No Trace • No loud music take “ownership” (responsibility) for their behavior and its • No smoking or drinking • Maintain a low profile • Keep dogs on leash at all times impact on access, and then to become “Citizen Trustees of • Brush off tick marks Climbing” through direct participation.” • Watch out for copperheads • Identify poison ivy • Check abandoned bolts and gear • Locate emergency tubes We want to reach climbers who are either new to outdoor • Report problems to badbolts.com • Do safety checks every climb! • No top roping through fixed gear • Use stick clips when possible climbing, or are interested in furthering their knowledge of local etiquette. We believe providing early and continual education will facilitate a smooth transition towards outdoor climbing by • Practice on the ground first creating more informed individuals that strengthen the climbing • Lower from routes rather than rappelling when possible • Do not clean steeply overhanging routes on rappel • Use perma-draws when cleaning overhanging routes community and help protect the areas in which we climb. RRGCC Questions? Contact us at [email protected]. RRGCC.ORG Camelot the development of this crag followed a unique and bold approach and was crafted around the principles of conservation and sustainability. The trails and belay bases have all been designed and built to minimize erosion, decreasing the environmental footprint left by climbers, and preserving the area for future generations. BRRP Rocktoberfest proceeds helped up make a $50,000 payment on the Bald Rock Recreational Preserve! Strategic Planning RRGCC spent the first part of 2018 surveying the climbing community and restructuring internally to ensure goals are reached and aligned with our constituents. We heard from over 365 climbers! Thank you to everyone who spoke up. Government Liaisons Meetings with the Forest Service and members of the State of Kentucky to find more climbing areas in and around the Red. FINANCES SUPPORT ($131,932) Events* 50% 5% Events* Grants 1% Membership Merchandise 3% Other Donations* *See page 6 for more on Events & Donations Donations* 41% EXPENSES ($47,606) Equipment Rental Accounting & Legal Fees Salaries Supplies & Shipping 15% Rent 3% Insurance 13% 3% Mortgage Interest 2% Cost of Goods Sold 3% Contract Services Land Management 11% Technology Services 6% Land Management Rent Technology Services 6% Salaries 9% Meetings & Travel 7% Taxes Contract Services Bank Fees 9% 7% 7% Advertising Gifts & Acknowledgements BREAKDOWNS EVENTS ($65,893) Rocktoberfest Sponsorships 32% Rocktoberfest Revenue Rocktoberfest Sponsorships Rocktoberfest Donations Rocktoberfest Donations 7% Small Events Rocktoberfest Revenue 1% 60% DONATIONS ($53,674) Recurring Gifts In-Kind 4% 13% Corporate 10% One Time Payroll / Matching 6% Gifts In-Kind Recurring Percent of Sales 6% Corporate Payroll / Matching 3% Percent of Sales 1% Access Fund Join Memberships Non-Profit One Time 57.09% DONORS & SPONSORS $10k + Beck Kloss Recreational Equipment, Inc. $5k + Ale-8-One Bottling Company, Inc. Outdoor Research $2.5k + Petzl America Wolfe Co. Tourism Access Fund Facebook, Inc. $1.5k + Benevity / America Online Giving Foundation Black Diamond Miguel’s Pizza Adidas / FiveTen Vertical Adventures Wolverine Publishing $1k + DMM International Ltd. Andrew Ramsey Keri Libbe & Dough Bunce Scott & Linda Cooper The Arches Foundation Kroger Community Rewards Trango West Sixth Brewing Boulder Denim Amazon Smile Chris Allen Chelsea Willis Jerry Kripal, MD ClimbStuff.com Joann Gomes $500 + Bald Rock Cabins Joern Putschte La Sportiva Kelly Survant Mountain Gear, Inc. Quest Outdoors Patagonia, Inc. SCARPA North America, Inc. RAB USA LLC The Anthem Foundation RockQuest Tyler Hinckley Take Climbing Participating Programs: Amazon Smile, Kroger Community Awards, eBay Foundation, Anthem Foundation Thanks for another great year! Always striving for inspiration, community action, and YOUR thoughts. Email us, visit the website, attend a trail day, donate, BE INVOLVED. Talk to us at rrgcc.org. Ashlee, Executive Director.