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The Climbing Advocate

The Climbing Advocate

By: The Climbing Advocate
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 Learn more about the work that is happening beyond the crag to keep climbing areas around the United States open and cared for. Check out more on Access Fund's mission at accessfund.org.All rights reserved
Episodes
  • Episode #62: Tribute to Armando Menocal

    Episode #62: Tribute to Armando Menocal
    Jan 28 2025
    Today’s episode is a tribute to one of the most influential characters in the climbing community and the original climbing advocate: Armando Menocal. Armando was a civil rights lawyer turned climber and is known by many as the dedicated founder of Access Fund. He passed away in October 2024 at the age of 83 after a battle with cancer. This episode is a short collection of words from some of his closest friends and colleagues honoring his memory. Armando’s experience and leadership as a civil rights lawyer representing underserved communities translated well to advocating for climbing access on public lands amid fierce controversy during the rise of sport climbing in the ‘80s and ‘90s. His vision for an inclusive climbing community—embracing all styles, including sport climbing and fixed hardware—helped shape the landscape we enjoy today and contributed to the recent passage of the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing (PARC) Act. Enjoy this heart-warming episode celebrating Armando’s kindness and his vision for the future of climbing. Thank you to Brady Robinson, Rick Accomazzo, Allen Sanderson, David Rosenstein, Kika Bradford, and Rick Thompson for contributing to this episode. Brady Robinson- 3:20 Rick Accomazzo- 27:54 David Rosenstein- 31:40 Allen Sanderson- 34:41 Kika Bradford- 38:57 Rick Thompson- 44:43
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    52 mins
  • Episode #61: Climate Resiliency & Conservation in Tennessee

    Episode #61: Climate Resiliency & Conservation in Tennessee
    Nov 5 2024
    Today’s episode features multiple guests who all bring a unique perspective and area of expertise to the topic of climbing and climate resiliency. The first half of the episode features Brian Tickle, Access Fund’s National Acquisitions & Texas Regional Director and Joel Houser, Director of Capital Grants with the Open Space Institute. Together, Brian and Joel break down some of the basics of what climate resiliency is and how it influences the climbing landscape and beyond. In our second conversation, Daniel Dunn, Access Fund’s Eastern Regional Access Director & Policy Analyst and Charlie Mix, GIS Director at the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga, take a deeper dive into how future climbing conservation opportunities are being identified around Tennessee through a lens of climate resiliency. Through comprehensive mapping and analysis looking at a variety of different environmental, social and economic factors, Access Fund has a guide to accelerate climbing access in Tennessee. 4:10- Brian’s intro 5:04- Joel’s intro 5:58- What is the Open Space Institute? 8:57- Defining “climate resiliency” 11:43- Open Space Institute & Access Fund working together 16:10- Joel's experience visiting North Carolina post-hurricanes 21:37- Adaptation vs. Mitigation 23:34- Does climbing matter? 25:22- When Access Fund started looking at climate resiliency 28:56- Acquisitions that rank high in climate resiliency 30:26- Does climbing matter from Brian's perspective 33:15- Why should climbers care about climate resiliency? 38:27- Daniel's intro 39:11- Charlie's intro 42:09- Recap of the Tennessee Accelerator Report 43:54- Charlie's involvement with the Accelerator Report 48:43- Describing The Nature Conservancy's Resilient Landscape Mapping Tool 58:26- Areas that don't score high in climate resiliency 1:00:55- Denny Cove: the poster child for climate resiliency 1:10:25- Results of the analysis: the 3 primary priority areas 1:17:25- Where to find the Tennessee Accelerator Report Tennessee Accelerator Report: https://www.accessfund.org/tennessee-access-accelerator Does Climbing Matter?: https://www.accessfund.org/latest-news/does-climbing-matter GIS Program at UT-Chattanooga: https://www.utc.edu/research/interdisciplinary-geospatial-technology-lab/igtlab-faculty-and-staff Open Space Institute: https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/
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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • Episode #60: Fixed anchors in Wilderness areas, mentorship, and working in the tech industry

    Episode #60: Fixed anchors in Wilderness areas, mentorship, and working in the tech industry
    Sep 6 2024
    Today’s episode features Access Fund’s new executive director, Heather Thorne. Heather joins Access Fund with nearly 30 years of climbing experience and nearly 15 years after she began climbing, advocacy helped save one of her favorite crags. Coming from a long background working in the tech industry, she aspires to apply a scientific approach and use a high level of creativity for how the organization approaches opportunities and challenges. Heather hit the ground running in her new role. Whether it’s traveling to meet with other advocates or local organizations in Access Fund’s orbit, or getting up to speed with fixed anchors in Wilderness areas, or other aspects of Access Fund’s core programming, she is applying that scientific method to lead the organization forward. 6:09- Heather’s intro 10:20- Athlete to advocate 14:30- Parallels between the tech industry and outdoor advocacy 19:29- Heather's work travels 25:04- Updates on fixed anchors in Wilderness areas 25:25- Minimum Requirements Analysis (MRA) process 35:14- The Mentorship Campaign 44:31- Climber stewards + general outreach and education 50:55- Reflections on the Outdoor Alliance board retreat 54:34- What's next for Access Fund & Heather's vision Heather’s intro: https://www.accessfund.org/latest-news/access-fund-announces-heather-thorne-as-new-executive-director Climber Survey (closes on September 10th, 2024): https://www.accessfund.org/latest-news/take-our-2024-climber-survey Fixed anchors: https://www.accessfund.org/latest-news/whats-next-for-wilderness-climbing Mentorship campaign: https://www.accessfund.org/latest-news/join-us-in-mentoring-responsible-climbers Impact Map: https://www.accessfund.org/impact-map Outdoor Alliance: https://www.outdooralliance.org/
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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