COR -- Central Oregon Rocks, Inc.

05/23/2015

Justin Maurice Brown had some questions about COR and asked for a list of successes/failures. By scrolling down this page it would be possible to see some, but not all of our past projects. Here is an abbreviated list of what COR has done:

-(current) Negotiating with COTA and the USFS to make sure that new mountain bike trails avoid conflict with boulderers at Widgi and Widgi II. Four total on-site walk-throughs and re-flagging since 2013!

-Being an official non-profit voice for climbers with local land managers, focused primarily on bouldering areas

-Establishing and maintaining working relationships with the Bend-Fort Rock district and Sisters district of the USFS, the Prineville district of the BLM, Bend Metro Parks and Rec, and Central Oregon Irrigation District

-Represented climbers on the 2003 Deschutes National Forest user-group travel management consortium, making sure roads remained open to many bouldering areas and small crags

-Construction and maintenance of parking area/user trails/signage at Widgi boulders (since 2000)

-Coordinating annual spring cleanups/Adopt-a-Crag at Widgi

-Meadow Camp Adopt-a-Crag/trail improvement 2013

-Negotiating for (tenuous!) continued climbing access at Whychus Creek during the creation of the new Wild and Scenic River management plan:http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5363785.pdf

-Negotiating for best-case scenario management plan/climbing access at Trout Creek with BLM, featured in Oregon Field Guide on OPB: http://www.opb.org/television/programs/ofg/segment/hidden-beauty-the-palisades-of-trout-creek/

-Negotiating official access for climbers for the first time ever at The Depot (Central Oregon Irrigation District and BMP&R), now taken for granted!

-Trail construction to bouldering areas at Whychus Creek

-Discovery and careful, sustainable development of the following local bouldering areas: Arrowhead (2000), The Outback (2003), The Mesa (2004), The Overlook (2005), The Unlikely Boulders (2005), The Twilight Zone (2013), The Bend Boulders (2013), The Cardinal Boulders (2014), as well as first ascent contributions to many other areas.

-Annually run a COR/Access Fund project at Smith Rock Spring Thing

-Coordinating the first ever official climbing stewardship projects on the BLM portion of Smith Rock (Marsupials) in spring and fall 2014, and twice in spring of 2015.

-Championing the long-standing Bend bouldering vibe of low key, leave no trace, and don't spray on the internet!

03/26/2014

Widgi Bash 14 coming up on April 1st!

Directions:

Follow Century Drive towards Mt. Bachelor from Bend. Pass the road on the left to Meadow Picnic Area, continue past Widgi Creek golf course on the left and look for the large forest road on the right about 200 yards before the tall green Widgi Creek sign (on the left). Turn right at the forest road and bear right at the initial broad fork. Continue bearing right (past several forks for 1/2 mile until cliffband and forest gate at the bottom of a steep hill appear ahead. Either take a left to the main lot or park at the north lot next to the forest gate.

This road is rough and requires a bit of clearance although cars can make it. If the road is very muddy, park at the roadhead and walk in!

Work projects will begin around noon, bring work gloves and bouldering gear. Optional free camping. If the road happens to be overly muddy, park at the lot on Century and walk in!

Projects this year:

-We will be placing large permanent barriers and signs to block motor vehicles from illegally driving up from the north parking area past the Brain.

-Trash clean up

-Rogue fire rings disassembled and ashes buried

-Trail maintenance, rogue trail rehabilitation

-Chalk clean up, removal of tick marks

-Boulder!

02/08/2014

Huge Thanks to Bend Endurance Academy Climbing Team athletes and Mike Rougeux for taking the initiative to come out and clean up an unsightly sidewalk chalk attack at the Depot!

12/17/2013

Hey all! It's a great day to join the Access Fund, 20% off memberships, gift memberships, and renewals! $28 gets you an annual, $40 gets you a nice AF t-shirt! Check out the link and see why you should do this...http://www.accessfund.org/site/c.tmL5KhNWLrH/b.8479015/k.D588/2Day_Member_Special.htm

The Access Fund · P.O. Box 17010 · Boulder, Colorado 80308 · 303.545.6772 · 303.545.6774 (Fax) Copyright © 1995-2013 Access Fund. All rights reserved.

04/20/2013

WIDGI UPDATE: Yesterday afternoon I met with COTA and the Forest Service to walk through the flagged new trail that Evan and others have commented on. We started at Widgi 2 and walked it all the way back to the gate at the end of Widgi I. COTA is building this as a double black diamond trail that utilizes the cliffband and rocky terrain to give experts a challenge. They were sympathetic to our complaints that the flagged route encroached on long-established bouldering, particularly at Widgi II. We placed orange flags to replace the pink ones in contentious areas as we went, re-routing the trail away from established bouldering zones. The whole trail will be re-flagged with orange by Monday, reflecting the changes. Final approval of the trail route is possible within a week, but trail construction won't begin until a year from now. Great respect was shown to boulderers as a user group by both COTA and the FS since we have been out there taking care of Widgi for so long and we have an organized voice and a 501c3 through COR. This feels like a big victory, considering how it could have gone. Some folks may just want no trail at all, but I support the spirit of compromise and sharing the limited resource. I feel that the trail will actually make access to some of the bouldering a lot easier. Bike traffic on this trail should be relatively slow moving and sparse considering the advanced terrain.

02/07/2013

News Flash: COR Vice President Eric Sorenson gets some well-deserved recognition from the Access Fund:

Each year Access Fund recognizes outstanding local climbing advocates through our Sharp End Awards. It’s my honor to inform you that Access Fund is presenting you with a Reese Martin Award for your outstanding efforts as a Regional Coordinator to preserve and protect the climbing environment. We are honored to recognize your many years of work to protect and steward central Oregon climbing! On behalf of all of us, thank you for your service as a Regional Coordinator, and for your contributions to the climbing community.

We’ll be publicizing the Sharp End awards across national climbing media outlets in the next week. We’ll also be announcing them through our own web outlets and in our upcoming Vertical Times newsletter. All awardees receive a sandstone plaque as well. You’ll receive that in the mail in the next few weeks.

Eric, thank you again for your work and commitment to climbing access. I am always proud to describe the example you’ve set in central Oregon to other local climbing advocates and organizations. We look forward to doing more good work with you in the years to come.

Sincerely,

Zachary Lesch-Huie
Southeast Regional Director & National Affiliate Director | Access Fund
Cell: 828-545-7362

Right now, roughly 1 in 5 climbing areas in the U.S. are threatened by access issues.

Be a part of the solution with myAccessFund.

05/14/2012

One of the nice new spur trails: this one goes to the Ice Age bouldering zone

05/14/2012

Many thanks to all who showed up on Saturday for the COR Whychus Creek Adopt-a-Crag! Now we have to tread lightly out here to keep it open. Brush all chalk, no tick marks, stay on the trails, respect other users, don't remove vegetation. Thanks for all of your hard work!

05/14/2012

Setting up for the Whychus Creek Adopt-a-Crag with John Schubert, U.S.F.S. Wilderness and Trails Expert.

04/24/2012

Hello,

The Sisters Ranger District of The Deschutes National Forest has broken ground on the new trail along Whychus Creek (formerly Squaw Creek) in the Wild and Scenic River Corridor. This trail affords perfect access to several popular bouldering sectors, and C.O.R. has been collaborating with district officials since 2010 to maintain climbing access to this beautiful riparian area.

This area has been badly treated by thoughtless users for many years (mostly non-climbers) and the job of building proper spur trails and downclimbs, replanting native vegetation, and eliminating rogue trails has been entrusted to us. We've been waiting for this for a long time, and invite you and your friends to come join in!

What: Whychus Creek cleanup and work party
When: Saturday, May 12th at 9:00 am. We will work until we are finished, likely mid-afternoon.
Where: The new trailhead and parking lot on Three Creek Rd. (FS 16), starts as a left turn at the big green sign to Three Creek Lake onto Elm St. in Sisters. Follow for 4.5 miles, the new lot on the right has no sign and comes at you suddenly as you round a curve and approach Peterson Ridge. If the lot is full, park along the road. The three sectors can be found by following the new trail.
What to bring: Work gloves, water, lunch, friends

Please contact the C.O.R. page or Eric Sorenson with questions [email protected]

See you there!

02/20/2012

Here is some food for thought about bouldering impacts in Bishop (these guidelines apply here too):

Your Help Needed to Address Impact Issues at Bishop

The Bishop area is seeing more and more climbers every year as its popularity continues to grow. Increased use is causing concern for sensitive cultural and natural resources, especially in the Tableland area north of Bishop. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Bishop Field Office is calling on the climbing community to help protect these resources and to ensure continued climbing access. We need your help to answer the call.

Climbers can drastically reduce impacts at Bishop by educating themselves and by following some simple guidelines:

Pack out all trash (including micro trash like wrappers, cigarette butts, etc.) And if you see other people’s trash, pack that out too! Leave Bishop a cleaner place than you found it.
Take care of business responsibly. P**p happens. Try to do your business in an established toilet. If you can’t make it to one, use a wag bag or deposit solid human waste in a cathole 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, boulders, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished. Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products. In climbing areas, pack out dog waste.
Campfires need to be in an approved fire ring or fire pan, and must be permitted. California Campfire Permits are available from most Cal Fire, BLM, and Forest Service offices. If you don’t have a permit or the correct set-up, skip the fire and sit under the stars instead.
Travel only on existing roads and trails and park only in existing parking lots. In the Happy and Sad’s, use the lower parking areas. Carpool whenever you can.
Watch where you’re tossing your crash pad. Sensitive vegetation and soils around your project can easily be damaged if you’re not careful where you’re stomping.
Preserve the tableland by camping in one of the many campgrounds available in the area. Try checking out the Pleasant Valley Pit Campground.
Respect wildlife. A pile of sticks covered in “whitewash” may be a hawk, eagle, or owl’s nest. Please don’t disturb nests.
Respect each other. Keep yelling, music, and beta-spray to a minimum. Also, make sure your dog is under your immediate control and not bothering neighboring climbing parties.

02/17/2012

TROUT CREEK UPDATE!! On Thursday, Molly Brown, Field Ranger for the Prineville BLM signed an order to restructure the Trout Creek climbing closure from mandatory to voluntary, effective on Friday, Feb. 17th. THE AREA IS STILL CLOSED, AND IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO CLIMB ELSEWHERE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!! This is a great gesture of good faith by the BLM, and one that we suggested in the meeting on Monday. They have requested our assistance in distributing this news and managing the new closure format (including signage, public notice, and compliance). The signs at the trailhead will be replaced tomorrow to mirror these changes.

It is paramount to our effort to work together to make sure that all climbers follow this voluntary closure, as our compliance can demonstrate our unity as a user-group dedicated to responsible access and stewardship. Our track record in the next few months will surely be included in the E.A., and will ultimately contribute to a permanent management plan. This is a "golden" opportunity to prove to land managers everywhere that we all want to protect golden eagles and our right to climb in this incredible place.

In the meantime, the BLM has also agreed to release a new scoping letter, which will allow for further public comment before the E.A. is written up. We have cause for gratitude to the Prineville BLM for listening to us and taking swift action. Now, it is up to us to help them finish the E.A. and to do our part by staying away and encouraging all others to do so as well. Stay tuned for new developments.