Submitted By: John McNamee on Oct 4, 2006
We are still looking for volunteers for the Access Fund Adopt-a-crag Trail day at the Piano Boulders (Horsetooth Reservoir, Ft.Collins). Volunteers get free lunch, snacks, free entry into the Horsetooth Hang the following weekend ($30 value), prizes (shoes, clothes, water bottles donated by REI, GORE-Tex, and CLIF bar), and the chance to do valueable resource stewardship.
Check out a bit of the history behind the project, and the logistics below.
Anyone interested in volunteering, please e-mail me at horsetoothhang@yahoo.com, or call (970) 219-0019. Thanks,
Cameron
A brief history:
The Piano Boulders climbing are at Horsetooth Reservoir and is managed by the City of Fort Collins. It is considered to be part of the Pine Ridge Natural Area, but has been largely overlooked since the park's designation in the 1970's. Pine Ridge has a strict On-trail only attitude towards all users, but has never made any official trails at the climbing area, therefore all climbing was considered illegal and climbers were subject to fines (if rules were enforced).
The rangers had largely ignored the climbers and the fact that they were violating park rules, until recently when there was a change in upper management within the Park service. There was a push to close the area completely to climbing, but thankfully ranger Dave Trevino (who you will all meet on Saturday) persuaded the park service to officially open the area. The City contacted the Access Fund and myself to work together to do a trail project, build fence, and put up signs in order to officially open up the area for public use. The Access Fund has been really awesome to work with, and gave the City a grant to buy the materials and signs for the project.
By having climbers from the local community volunteer for the project, the City of Fort Collins receives much needed help with the actual construction of the trails, and, more importantly the Access Fund and climbing community build a positive relationship with the local land managers. Dave Trevino and the City of Fort Collins are very excited to have an open dialogue with the Access Fund and climbing community so that we can address issues before they become problems. Now that they know the Front Range climbing community is interested in preserving local areas, and is willing to help out to make projects like the Piano Boulders Trail Day happen, they have begun asking for climber input/involvement in other areas as well.
Volunteering is an enormous assett in the resource stewardship of the climbing areas we all love so much, and we would appreciate any and all help on this project.
Here are the logistics of the Piano Boulders Trail Day:
- **We will be providing lunch from La Luz Mexican Restaurant. The food is awesome, and it is one of my favorite places to eat. The choices for lunch are Burritos (Chicken, Steak, or Vegetarian), Quesadillas (Chicken, Steak, or Shrimp), or your favorite meal if you are familiar with the menu. Please e-mail me back with what you would like so we can have it for you (or if you have some strange aversion to Awesome Mexican food).****
Where: The Piano Boulders climbing area. (See Directions below if you have never been here before)
When: Meet at 8:30am at Parking lot (We should be done by 4pm)
What to Bring:
--Appropriate Clothing (Work shoes, pants, gloves if you have them, rainjacket, warm jacket, extra layers just in case it is cold...the weather looks pretty good for now, but it is Colorado)
--Water (We will have a water jug for refills)
--Snacks (We will provide lunch, but if you want snacks, please bring them)
What we will be doing:
--Building trail
--Building Fence
--Putting in signs
--Having a lot of fun
Perks of Volunteering:
--Helping to preserve our climbing areas
--Free lunch
--Free Snacks
--We will be giving away lots of good stuff donated by the Access Fund (shoes, clothes, etc.)
--Free Entry to the Horsetooth Hang
Directions:
--From Northbound I-25, take Harmony Exit West toward Fort Collins.
--Continue through Fort Collins, past Taft Hill (Harmony then turns into CR 68)
--Stay on westbound Harmony/CR 68, climbing up the hill towards Horsetooth Reservoir/Masonville
--At the top of the hill, turn right on Centennial Dr, crossing Soldier Dam (the most southern dam of the reservoir)
--Continue on Centennial Dr for .5 mile.
--Park in the large parking lot on your right hand side. There should be plenty of people there.
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