05/15/2026
Hi everyone, Sarah here! Fellow board member Ben Raiche and I recently traveled to Fayetteville, West Virginia for the Access Fund Climbing Advocacy Conference, where we connected with climbing organizations from across the country to discuss access, stewardship, land management, and some of the biggest challenges that climbing areas are facing.
One of the biggest takeaways was gaining perspective on how differently climbing areas are managed around the country. In Northern Arizona, we’re incredibly fortunate to have access to so much public land, and the conference was a good reminder not to take that access for granted. Protecting these places takes ongoing stewardship, strong relationships, and continued advocacy for public lands.
We also attended workshops on climbing management plans, erosion control, and crag stewardship, and got a behind-the-scenes look from Access Fund’s policy team at the work that went into passing the EXPLORE Act and PARC Act — a powerful reminder of how much advocacy happens behind the scenes to protect access at the national level.
Perhaps one of the best parts was sampling some of the incredible rock climbing while taking in the spectacular greenery and spring blooms that make West Virginia such a unique place to climb this time of year. As great as the climbing was, we’re happy to be back in Northern Arizona and excited to bring home fresh perspectives, new ideas, and renewed inspiration to our local climbing community and crags. Thanks to the & .official for putting together such an impactful event and creating space for collaboration within the climbing community.
I wrote more in a blog post on our website if you’re interested in a more in-depth reflection.
See ya at the crag!
