Public Lands Policy & Climbing.

As many of you may have heard, things are not looking so good for Public Land policy. This has a direct impact on our climbing and outdoor recreation. In particular here are some climbing specific issues I have been following:

• Bears Ears National Monument threat level increased. Secretary Zinke's report on national monuments,  recommends an unspecified reduction to Bears Ears National Monument. However, the Salt Lake Tribune uncovered a proposal from Utah's Governor Herbert to President Trump that would reduce Bears Ears by 90%, exposing Indian Creek to industrial development.

• Congress considers new public lands energy leasing bill. The Federal Land Freedom Act proposes a massive transfer of oil and gas leasing authority on BLM and USFS lands to individual states, circumventing environmental regulations and public input. This can significantly impacts access and climbing.

Both the AAC and Access Fund are working hard in Washington DC to have climber's voices heard, however it is an up-hill battle.  Section Member Mara Burns, Store Manager Patagonia Meatpacking  shared this for those of you who would like to get more involved.

One of our grantees and partners in the campaign to protect our public lands, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), is coordinating a public lands video project this month.  They are collecting short (15-30 seconds) videos, from people who love the outdoors and value our protected public lands. Here is video BHA made as an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsYGXLCmSM

If you’d like to participate in the video project, please do the following when shooting your quick video from your phone:

1) Introduce yourself by stating where you are from and describe your favorite public land or what you like to do on public lands. The video could be shot on public land - but it’s not necessary.

2) Tag @Patagonia and #publiclandowner and #keepitpublic

3) Share this with your friends and network – encourage others to join this positive, public lands message. 

We’ll be sharing these via our social channels – and encouraging folks throughout our entire network.   Here is a great example from our own Trail Running Ambassador - Luke Nelson - https://www.instagram.com/p/BZgwhEaHzna/?tagged=publiclandowner

 

Steve Swenson at the Rubin Museum

Steve Swenson shares stories of the Karakoram               Photo by Julie Floyd

                                                                                          Photo by Julie Floyd

We had a good turn out last night at the Rubin for the start of Steve Swenson's NYC book tour, Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict. Steve shared his stories of 30+ years of climbing interwoven with the fraught political history of this amazing mountain region. If you missed it, Steve is appearing 3 more times in NY, 

SEPTEMBER 28TH, 7:00PM – 9:30PM
Arc’teryx SOHO
RSVP HERE
 
SEPTEMBER 29TH, 5:00PM – 8:30PM
REI SOHO
RSVP HERE

SEPTEMBER 30TH, 4:00PM - 7:00PM
Paragon Sports 

RSVP HERE

Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict, Book Launch with Steve Swenson

Steve Swenson's Karakoram nominated as a finalist - Mountain Literature Award, Banff Mountain Book Festival!

What: Steve Swenson Illustrated Lecture
When: Wednesday, Sept. 27, 7 pm
Where: The Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th St.

Sometimes, the best way to see the world is from 25,000 feet up. Join world-class alpinist Steve Swenson as he shares stories and images from his newly released book, Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict (Mountaineers Books). Through an in-depth 45-minute multimedia presentation, Steve explores the nature of high-altitude alpine climbing, the complexities of mounting remote expeditions, the fraught geopolitics of the region, as well as his passion for the cultural communities in this area of the world. The program will be followed by a Q&A and book signing.

$20 tickets include Arc'teryx gear raffle and same-day museum admission, including the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition.

Co-sponsored by Arc’teryx and Mountaineers Books with support from the American Alpine Club.


BUY TICKETS

Save-The-Date, Annual Autumn Social & Dinner

Jan Arnet, mountain climber, jazz musician and engineer passes away at age 83

ARNET--Jan, jazz musician, engineer and mountain climber, died at home on May 13, 2017 at age 83. He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Jan was a lifelong outdoor enthusiast with a particular love of climbing the highest peak in each country that he was able to visit. He met his wife Angela while ice climbing in the Tatra Mountains 60 years ago and together they spent many vacations and weekends hiking, skiing, backpacking and rock climbing. Together they climbed to the top of many mountains around the world. He was an active member of the American Alpine Club. For more about Jan's life please see  NYT Obituary