Access Fund, a national advocacy organization that keeps climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment, joined longtime partner Patagonia to celebrate 25 years of climbing advocacy.
The Access Fund Anniversary Celebration will take place on October 22 in Westminster, CO and includes an all-day Climber Advocate Summit and an evening Anniversary Dinner. The event will bring together Access Fund members, founders and climbing community legends to raise a glass to the past, celebrate old friends and look toward the future of climbing advocacy. Both the summit and the dinner are open to the public.
The celebration will kick off with the Climber Advocate Summit on Saturday morning. The summit will feature a full day of workshops, panel discussions and techniques and strategies to help climbers hone their advocacy skills. Sessions like Timmy O’Neill’s “Get off your Ass: Ideas Into Actions” are designed for climbers who are new to community activism. Other sessions, like “Creating Sustainable Climbing Areas,” will provide longtime activists tools to amplify their impact.
“Climbing has a long and rich history of conservationists who have shown the way for a new generation of climbers. It is up to us to continue that legacy, which is why Access Fund and Patagonia have teamed up again this year to host the Climber Advocate Summit,” said Access Fund Executive Director Brady Robinson. “It is an opportunity for the community to learn from one another, stand up, give back and become the next generation of climbing advocates.”
“As climbers, we are all strongly connected to the wild places where we spend time, but there is also a need for all of us to protect those areas,” said Hans Cole, Patagonia’s director of environmental activism. “Grassroots activism can be the most effective and lasting way to make change, and with the right tools and knowledge individuals have the power to positively affect their communities. The Climber Advocate Summit will empower climbers with the skills and strategies to steward and protect their climbing areas.”
The evening dinner will include a keynote address by climbing legend Tommy Caldwell and a presentation of the Access Fund 2015 Sharp End Awards. A live auction will raise money for Access Fund to continue the critical work of protecting America’s climbing areas.
Tickets can be purchased for the Climber Advocate Summit and 25th Anniversary Dinner together or independently. Register at accessfund.org/25years.
Founded in 1991, the Access Fund supports and represents millions of climbers nationwide in all forms of climbing: rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and bouldering. Six core programs support the mission on national and local levels: climbing policy and advocacy, stewardship and conservation, local support and mobilization, land acquisition and protection, risk management and landowner support, and education. For more information, visit accessfund.org.
Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, CA. A certified B-Corporation, Patagonia¹s mission is to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Since 1985, Patagonia has dedicated 1 percent of sales each year to environmental causes. More information is available at patagonia.com/us/environmentalism.
