New River Gorge Campground—Grand Opening · May 23, 2013
Last weekend marked the 10th annual New River Rendezvous. It also marked the official Grand Opening of the American Alpine Club’s Campground in the New River Gorge, which was offered to participants of the Rendezvous for the weekend for free. The American Alpine Club is proud to own and offer a climber friendly campground in the heart of the New River Gorge, walking distance to world-class climbing. Read up on the campground and all the weekend festivities here.
Protecting the Places We Climb · May 23, 2013
“When conservation and recreation are on equal ground with development, we can protect our public lands for our mutual benefit today, and for the next generation of climbers.” -AAC Executive Director, Phil Powers
Read Phil’s article “Protecting the Places We Climb” to find out why we think Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is the right pick for the job.
Sustainable Summits Conference Postponed · May 21, 2013
After lengthy consideration, the American Alpine Club and Denali National Park have decided to postpone the Sustainable Summits Conference for one year. Read on for details.
NPS: Climbing as Legitimate Activity in Wilderness · May 15, 2013
On Monday Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service, signed Director’s Order #41, which has significant implications for how climbers can enjoy recreating in Wilderness areas of the National Park System.
Director’s Order #41 marks the first time a land management agency has given national direction that climbing is a legitimate activity in Wilderness, and that fixed anchors necessary for climbing are also allowed. The order permits for the authorization of new bolts by zone, not just case-by-case permits for individual routes/bolts. Also under the order, interim fixed anchor permits may be granted prior to the establishment of dedicated climbing management plans.
For several decades, the AAC has been involved in the negotiations for this language in collaboration with the Access Fund. This latest action by NPS comes on the heels of the AAC’s April joint advocacy trip with the Access Fund to Washington, D.C. In early April, the AAC and AF policy team spent two days with top NPS officials negotiating the final language of DO#41.
We hope the precedent set by the National Park Service will also be adopted by other agencies including the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
2013 Live Your Dream Award Winners Announced · May 7, 2013
The American Alpine Club (AAC) is proud to announce that 42 dreams will be funded in 2013 through the Live Your Dream grant program. In total the AAC received a record-breaking 250+ Live Your Dream applications from across the country in 2013. Six regional committees awarded 42 grants, totaling $18,000. The awardees and their dreams are outlined in the Press Room.
AAC Celebrates Everest 50th · May 1, 2013
50 years ago today, Jim Whittaker became the first American to stand atop Everest. Congratulations on 50 years to the entire American Mount Everest Expedition team!
At our 2013 Annual Benefit Dinner, celebrating the 50 Years of Americans on Everest, we collaborated with National Geographic ADVENTURE magazine to talk to the people who know Everest best. See what they had to say about the state of Everest in the film “50 Years on Everest- Climbers’ Candid Thoughts on the State of the World’s Tallest Peak.”
Can’t get enough Everest?
- Read Phil Powers’ thoughts on Everest: Then and Now
- Check out our write-up and photos from this year’s 2013 Annual Benefit Dinner
- Experience our online exhibit, Everest 1963: The American Odyssey
- View Everest photos from the personal collections of Jim Lester, Ed Webster, and others
- 15 climbers and guides reflect on Everest, portraits by Cory Richards
Hiring Library Director · April 30, 2013
The AAC is looking for a dynamic new Library Director. Application deadline is May 20. You can find the job description on our jobs page.
Summer Internships Available · April 24, 2013
Love climbing? Join the team this summer! AAC Internships available at our headquarters in Golden, Colorado.
In Memoriam:Layton Kor · April 22, 2013
Today we lost climbing legend and long time American Alpine Club member, Layton Kor. AAC Executive Director Phil Powers had this to say about Layton: “Layton Kor was one of the great rock pioneers of the American West. Kor attacked his climbing with passion, applying whatever skill and, when necessary, force of body and mind to get up some of the most stunning and daunting lines across the American West.”
Update on Advocacy in Washington, D.C. · April 17, 2013
I wanted to share a brief update on the AAC’s advocacy work in Washington, DC in early April. We teamed up with our friends at the Access Fund to visit key policymakers and advocate on behalf of American climbers. On the congressional side, we met with legislative staff from W. VA, ID, NV, and CO. We also met with top officials of the federal agencies. Overall, it was highly productive at nurturing key relationships and establishing new ones, keeping climbing issues on the radar of influential policymakers and educating policymakers about the sport of climbing and the interests of climbers. We continued to advocate for climbing as a legitimate use of Wilderness and to allow some discrete level of fixed anchors (no power drills of course) in Wilderness. We are hopeful to have the first formalized policy on Wilderness climbing in National Parks later this year.
-Leigh Goldberg—Conservation & Advocacy Director