SLCA Embodies the Utah Outdoor Recreation Summit 2022 Theme – Outdoors Forward
The SLCA, alongside representatives from the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, USFS, and University of Utah, spoke at the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation Summit on September 13th, 2022 on the topic of Vertical Routes & The Future of Fixed Anchors at Outdoor Climbing Areas.
SLCA Embodies the Utah Outdoor Recreation Summit 2022 Theme – Outdoors Forward
The Vertical Routes & The Future of Fixed Anchors at Outdoor Climbing Areas panel demonstrated how the SLCA’s Fixed Anchor Maintenance Program shapes the future of climbing safety and access nationwide.
By: Ashley Brown
@alb.summitandsnow
ashley@townlift.com
The SLCA’s Fixed Anchor Maintenance Program clearly represents the Utah Outdoor Recreation Summit (UORS) 2022 theme of Outdoors Forward. At the 2022 UORS, the SLCA hosted the Vertical Routes & The Future of Fixed Anchors at Outdoor Climbing Areas panel. The moderator was Patrick Morrison, and the presenters featured the SLCA Executive Director, Julia Geisler, the SLCA Anchor Maintenance Coordinator, Andrew Brodhead plus Larry Framme of the US Forest Service, and Nate Furman, the director of the University of Utah’s U-Explore program.
As the country’s first professional Fixed Anchor Maintenance Program, the SLCA is paving the way forward for climbing route preservation and safety. The program’s mission to assess established anchors, identify and monitor future maintenance needs, and replace unreliable anchors while partnering with landowners feeds into the SLCA’s mission to act as a steward, to advocate, and to protect outdoor climbing.
“By and large, we are trying to keep the integrity of the route as the first ascensionist set it,” Geisler says, describing the anchor maintenance approach.
As the first professional program in the United States dedicated to anchor maintenance, the SLCA literally wrote the book for protocols, including a Fall Protection Handbook aimed at keeping the worker safe, an Operations Manual to address working at current industry standards, and a Best Practices for New Route Establishment for choosing ideal and sustainable equipment. The SLCA also keeps a detailed rolling list of maintained climbs, which furthers the program's accuracy.
The climbing community can participate in the anchor maintenance program by submitting Anchor Observations in the Wasatch, which help the anchor maintenance program gather data and distinguish routes needing maintenance.
“We have an anchor observation form we encourage the community to fill out when they come across an old anchor, a spinning bolt, anything that looks sketchy,” Brodhed explains, adding. “We need more observations.”
One critical component of the program’s best practices guidelines is collaboration with land managers and incorporating cultural and biological concerns. Since 57% of outdoor climbing is on federal lands, a healthy and productive relationship with the US Forest Service is critical. Larry Framme explains why the SLCA’s systematic approach is essential for climbing access in Utah. “[The SLCA] is setting the stage for the entire forest [Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest], which is seven districts, over two million acres, and tons of climbing areas,” he explains, “The SLCA is killing it!”
The SLCA's interaction with the US Forest Service outlines a path forward for similar programs across the country. “With the SLCA, they’ve come to us and have been very proactive. They have gone above and beyond with their best management practices and their whole anchor maintenance program,” Framme says.
Because of the calculated and successful approach, the US Forest Service has entertained a discussion about anchor maintenance within wilderness boundaries. “As the national policy comes down and we start to build more specific climbing management plans for the forest, wilderness will certainly be addressed in that,” Framme describes.
For climbers interested in weighing in on the decision, the US Forest Service is opening up the wilderness anchor maintenance discussion for public input in fall 2022 or winter 2023. Approximately 30% of historic and established climbing in the Wasatch are within wilderness boundaries and requires maintenance.
Beyond initiating a strong and cooperative relationship with the US Forest Service, the SLCA seeks to distribute its knowledge and handbook to climbing organizations across the country.
“We shared that information with all the climbing community. The Access Fund puts on a summit for local climbing organizations; we’ve shared it there. We’ve done seminars on in. We’ve shared it with the outdoor industry,” Geisler explains. “The more people that can adopt the Work at Height practices… to keep the workers safe, the better. One accident is going to impact all of us.”
The outcome of the anchor maintenance handbook and skilled technician's work is dependable and reliable climbing routes. Even outdoor education institutions like the University of Utah’s U-Explore rely on the anchor maintenance program for creating safe teaching environments. “We look for user-friendly anchors that don’t require a whole lot of complexity to set up,” Furman explains, “Usually, after the SLCA has been to a particular area, that is what they feature.”
Furman works with the SLCA to provide his students with opportunities. “U-Explore seeks to have relationships with agencies like the SLCA… Because it exposes our students to organizations they want to be associated with on a personal level,” Furman explains. “Simultaneously, exposing them to a local climbing organization that is doing such good work as the SLCA.”
The overwhelming consensus from the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation Summit presentation is that the SLCA is doing a stellar job trailblazing with the Fixed Anchor Maintenance Program. The anchor technicians are skilled laborers, and one anchor tech kit can be up to $15,000 in value. So as a non-profit, where does the SLCA generate the funds to pay its crew and accumulate proper equipment?
A substantial amount of the funds come from local agencies, like the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation. “The Division of Outdoor Recreation has been one of the larger funding sources for stewardship work we do across the Wasatch through their grants,” Geisler explains. “Each state grant needs to be matched by other funding sources that include federal and county grants.”
In the end, donations from invested climbers also help to keep the SLCA and the anchor maintenance program running. “The majority of donors are the small donors… They are the users, and they are contributing and pitching into maintaining the resource,” Geisler explains.
The SLCA’s ambition with the anchor maintenance programs is stewardship and respect. “We are just one of the user groups out here. We are trying to be better crag citizens learning about the other users and about land agencies constrictions,” Geisler describes. “We are trying to be a citizen of outdoor recreation, not just out there for our own interest.”
The anchor maintenance program demonstrates what it looks like to be a better crag citizen. The detailed protocols, skilled technicians replacing hardware, and productive relationship with the US Forest Service reveal how the SLCA is the leading the country in anchor safety.
Learn more about the SLCA’s Anchor Maintenance Program and how you can support here.
