UPDATED: New Cliff Opening in Vermont! Help CRAG-VT Raise Money!

Hi Everyone,

Vermont Admin and CRAG-VT Vice President here to happily announce that (while not officially official) Vermont will have a new cliff opening up in the coming months!

The Bolton Dome, formerly "Trailer Park Crag" has been closed since the late '80s when climbers disrespected the landownders and the land was posted. In the last number of years, CRAG-VT has made a lot of positive dialogue with the landowners and it seems like it was worth the effort. This summer they decided to sell their property and came to us first to make an offer. We're happy to announce that they have accepted our offer and have signed a purchase and sale agreement for the transaction!

While this is super exciting, we still have so much work to do before we can open the cliff for climbing. First of all, we don't actually have the money to buy this property. Well, luckily The Access Fund does and have agreed to loan us $350,000 for the initial property purchase and partial coverage of closing costs. We will eventually be subdividing the house from the cliff and selling the house as a separate parcel of land to cover the bulk of the AF loan. In that time though, we need many more thousands of dollars to cover costs of inspections, permits, taxes, attorney fees, and road/parking construction. We will let you know when the cliff is officially opened so stay tuned for that. The cliff boasts great trad, including a classic 5.10 crack, a jaw-dropping highball boulder with established lines up to V9 with a 5.13 crack on it, and room for a slew of new routes as the cliff was closed before modern bolting.

If you or anyone you know of is willing to donate to this project, please direct them to the links below:

https://cragvt.org/boltondomeproject/
https://www.gofundme.com/BoltonDome

We are looking to raise $100,000 and for now, every little bit counts.

Thank you so much!

PS: It's worth noting that this loan to us in Vermont was made possible in part to early loan payments made back to the Access Fund by the Rumney Climber's Association, the Illinois Climbers Coalition, and the Western Colorado Climbers Coalition. When you support YOUR local climbing organization you support climbing on a national scale. Thank you to every single member of every single LCO in the country. You maintain and sustain climbing access for all of us.

UPDATED PRESS RELEASE: (We signed!)

https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/vermonts-bolton-dome-purchased

Thanks Kris!  

The Bolton Dome is the tallest cliff in Bolton and has a huge variety of climbing from steep schist to slabby faces.  Think 82, Upper West, Upper Upper, and Carcass all rolled into one super cliff!  Also one can't argue with the 5 minute approach.  I urge everybody to help us to make this project a reality - you won't be disappointed!  At minimum, become a CRAG-VT member today and give us a leg up!!!

Wow, this is good news. I climbed at this cliff a bit in the 1980s, and it is ripe with history and potential. I believe Norwich University had a climbing club that established a lot of the routes back in the 60s or 70s, which would explain some of the random bolt ladders and aid routes. It's a great hang and the stone is really good as I recall. The highball boulder is incredible and I also recall a steller 5.11 finger crack close to that. I'm guessing this will soon become the premier crag in VT.

I am proud to have contributed to this worthy cause.

Donated and shared. Hope this gets some traction!

Great news!  CRAG-Vt has closed on the Bolton Dome Property!  Now for the hard part - paying back loans and project expenses on this massive project so we can open it up for climbing!  Please consider a donation -every dollar helps!

https://www.accessfund.org/news-and-events/news/vermonts-bolton-dome-purchased

I left the state at such a bad time!

Congrats on the deal!