In the first episode of the OAC newsletter for 2018 we cover:

Recruiting a Fundraising & Outreach Coordinator (paid contract position)

For the first time in the OAC’s history, and with the support of MEC, we are looking to hire someone to help us advocate for climbing access in Ontario. Our Fundraising & Outreach Coordinator will primarily develop sponsorship and business relationships with OAC stakeholders and participate in community outreach. The OAC has always been a volunteer-based organization, but as our role in the climbing community has grown and we’ve become more established, we have recognized the need to have a member dedicated to ensuring our continued success.  The ideal candidate is proactive, organized, and detail-oriented with an entrepreneurial mindset. This is a contract position. For more information, see the job posting at https://www.ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca/climbers/careers/. For full consideration, apply by May 11. We look forward to working with the successful candidate!

Successful Movie Night: Dirtbag

A sold-out crowd enjoyed our April 11 screening of Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey. Thanks to everyone for coming, Mike Makischuk for organizing the event, and our sponsors (MEC, Arc’teryx, Patagonia, Boulderz, Gripped Magazine, and DMM) for supporting the event. Together, we raised over $3000 to support Ontario climbing access. We hope to see you at similar events for future climbing films.

Beaver Valley Climbing Festival & Logo Competition

Mark your calendars now: this year’s Beaver Valley Festival is going down July 20-22nd!  Join us up at the Rob Roy Dogsled Farm again as we celebrate climbing in Ontario with the year’s biggest party, headlined once again by Ariana Gillis.  Food, raffles, clinics, and an all around good time are to be had—in addition to some fantastic climbing of course!

We’re also holding a contest to redesign the Beaver Valley Festival logo. The winner will receive free admission to the festival for TWO—so you can bring your belayer!  The submission deadline will be May 21st. More details to come soon.

Crag Stewardship Event at Rattlesnake Point

Coming this Saturday, May 5: our annual Crag Stewardship Event at Rattlesnake Point. This is your chance to give back to the climbing community and help keep Ontario free of invasive species. Climbers’ past efforts have greatly reduced the amount of garlic mustard, an invasive species, around this climbing area. We hope you can join us to celebrate Earth Day. We’ll be providing a BBQ lunch, and the cliffs will be available all afternoon for climbing. For more information: https://ontarioaccesscoalition.com/climbers/events/garlic-mustard-pull-2018/

Upcoming Events

May 5: Crag Stewardship Event with Conservation Halton at Rattlesnake Point

June 21: OAC Annual General Meeting, location to be determined

July 20-22: Beaver Valley Climbing Festival

Help us preserve the environment and fight invasive species at one of Ontario’s most popular crags, Rattlesnake Point. Join us at the OAC’s annual weed pull and garbage pickup, held in conjunction with Conservation Halton, this May 5th!

All volunteers receive:

• FREE entry to Rattlesnake Point
• BBQ lunch
• Entry for epic prize giveaways
• Cliffs available all afternoon

This is an all-day event.  Register here!  And bring a friend or two, the more the merrier.  We’re excited to see you!

(Don’t have Facebook?  Feel free to email info@ontarioaccesscoalition.com to let us know you’re coming!)

Want to spread the word? Please post the flier where other climbers might see it!  2018 Garlic Mustard Pull Flyer

On April 19, 2018, the OAC met with the Halton Region Conservation Authority (Conservation Halton) to discuss mutually beneficial opportunities. We plan to share more details of this meeting soon.

The recent new route activity at Mount Nemo is a concern. Please respect the existing policy on the development of new climbing routes at Mount Nemo:

No New Routes may be developed at Mount Nemo Conservation Area.

This includes both traditional and bolted sport climbs. No cleaning or removal of cliff face foliage will be tolerated under any circumstances. Please limit erosion at the base of the cliff by climbing in small parties and keeping as close to the cliff face as reasonable in talus-free areas. Climbing on Conservation Halton land is a privilege and not a right. By working with Conservation Halton and acting as stewards of these fantastic areas, we can maintain our climbing access to them.

We encourage climbers to respect the OAC code of ethics: https://www.ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca/our-story/code-of-ethics/

Are you an Ontario boulderer who enjoys getting on real rock? We need volunteers to act as site hosts at Halfway Log Dump this summer!

As site host, you’ll act as a crag steward for climbers visiting the area, and be there to explain the joys of climbing to curious tourists. This role is vital to maintaining a strong, positive presence at HWLD, and ensures that we can keep sending there for years to come.

For more details and to apply for the position, see our full Site Host page:

https://www.ontarioallianceofclimbers.ca/volunteers/halfway-log-dump-site-host/

or just go directly to the form at:

Halfway Log Dump 2018 Site Host Application

Recently, climbers at Bow Lake have reported possible access issues. No Trespassing signs have been popping up around popular access points and at the base of the cliff. One group of climbers was also left an anonymous letter on the windshield of their parked car, informing them that they had parked in a spot they shouldn’t have.

We’d like to remind everyone that parking should be done off of Hwy 28 on Lower Faraday Road. Parking is also permitted in the Faraday Township Fire Station parking lot, but be sure not to obstruct emergency vehicle access.

The OAC is in the process of contacting the land owners and confirming public access to the crag. A public update will be made once we have clarified the situation.

We exist to help iron out any wrinkles that arise between climbers and land owners. If you are ever approached by someone who objects to your presence at a crag, please respond politely and appropriately. Gather the name and contact information of the individuals in question, and assure them that the OAC will be in contact with them. We want to maintain strong, positive relationships with our land owners to ensure that climbing access remains open for everyone. If there are ever any questions about crag status, we will work with the suitable bodies to determine what the boundaries are. Please contact us first before posting to social media. This will allow us to build solid connections with the community and verify that the correct information gets passed around.

Thank you, and happy climbing!

This new website is the culmination of many months of work by our website team. We hope you will find it to be a useful resource. We intend it to be much easier to navigate and for it to contain useful information for our stakeholders—climbers, land managers, and the community in general.

While upgrading to the new website, we seem to have inadvertently sent out notification emails about each of the changes that went into the website. We apologize for this unfortunate glitch.