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other
Trad climber
San Diego CA USA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 28, 2016 - 10:48am PT
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Has the Access Fund or anyone else got off their ass to restore access to Williamson Rock near LA CA?
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Dec 28, 2016 - 11:16am PT
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 28, 2016 - 11:25am PT
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Don't hold your breath with the AF. Brady told me a few years ago that the AF was working hard on it and that by joining the AF it would help. I joined and got a cool shirt. Every time I ask about Willy I get the same answer, we are working on it. Never anything in the newsletters or any specifics from Brady or other AF people. It's more than a little frustrating. Willy isn't the greatest but it's arguably the best summertime crag in Southern California.
I just want the AF to give updates even once a year but it's always crickets on the Willy issue.
Willy has essentially been high jacked by The Centers For Biological Diversity, the same group that wants to reintroduce the grizzly to California and the AF seems uninterested or too bothered to do anything about it.
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 28, 2016 - 11:35am PT
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Willy isn't the greatest but it's arguably the best summertime crag in Southern California.
Batrock.... For the life of me I can't figure why you always say Willie is not THAT good..... Heck in my opinion--It IS THE #1 SPORTCLIMBING location south of the ORG and beats the pants off of any other spot you can name south of Bshop, and it is good all year, except for the few weeks when its snowed in.
And true to form... The AF RUNS AWAY from the issue.... I guess the CBD lawyers are meaner than the AF lawyers.
The AF is really a Colorado biased outfit and now that they have matured as an organization I think they are more interested in trail work and stuff like that, rather then ripping the CBD a new as#@&%e in a court of law.
end of rant.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 28, 2016 - 11:49am PT
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Guy, I think I underplay Willy because I had so much to do with its early growth and I don't want to come off as prideful. I've probably got 40 or more routes there put up and am proud of more than a few including Dancing in the Storm and just about all the routes on the Generation Wall and the list goes on and on. I grew up climbing there. I'm 50 now and I remember climbing there with my dad when I was 8-9 years old. Some of my dads pitons are still up in the big chimney near Dancing In the Storm. The first routes I did up there were long runout routes above the Freezer Burn Wall using old star drive drill and bolts. I miss the place terribly. I took a break from climbing in the mid to late 90's to take up whitewater kayaking and by the time I came back it was closed. I had hoped to take my kids climbing there. My son is 16 and has only climbed there once, my daughter never has. I hope one day they will get to climb there but I'm not going to hold my breath.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Dec 28, 2016 - 12:13pm PT
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Williamson rock is still on a "temporary closure".
What this means is this closure ends at the end of every calendar year and needs to be renewed.
As it turns out, the ANF is not always on the ball (surprise) and sometimes does not renew the closure right away.
Last year it was not renewed until 1/17/16.
Technically, it was open to lawful climbing at this time.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't find this out until sometime in February.
(IMO) This is the only way we will be able to climb there in our lifetime as it is a typical bureaucratic wasteland brought to you by the Center for Biological Diversity and it's team of pseudo hippie lawyers.
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Dec 28, 2016 - 12:18pm PT
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One of two things have happened by now - and both justify re-opening Williamson.
Either the frogs are thriving, and the closure should be lifted now that it's done its job.
Or
The frogs have not recovered, and the closure is proven to be a failure and should be lifted.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Dec 28, 2016 - 12:20pm PT
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Unfortunately, logic doesn't work here. ^^^
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 28, 2016 - 12:45pm PT
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Warbler,
That may be true but Williamson is less than an hour from my front door and I aint about to drive thorough OC traffic to get to San Diego sport climbing no matter how good it is.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Dec 28, 2016 - 12:54pm PT
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There's plenty of places to climb. The frogs are running out of places to live.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:03pm PT
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There's plenty of places to climb. The frogs are running out of places to live.
So is every living thing on this planet.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:05pm PT
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The frogs were never in danger by climbers. It has already been established that the die off was and is disease from another frog. The CBD was just looking for an excuse to close public land. If they had their way no human would ever step foot in the wilderness again. Dig around a bit and you will find a paper showing they want all human access banned in the Sierra Nevada. It's a pipe dream but it tells you where they are coming from. In the eyes of the CBD humans are all evil and should be banned from all wilderness and kept to urban centers. Whack jobs.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:06pm PT
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Curt,
Thats been on the AF's site forever, nothing new.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:11pm PT
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:13pm PT
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From the AF page linked above:
Williamson Rock was Southern California’s premier summer sport climbing destination until it was closed in 2005 to protect the endangered Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog (MYLF). The Angeles National Forest restricted access to Williamson as a result of successful lawsuits brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation organizations. Williamson Rock remains closed to climbing, but the Access Fund and local climbing advocates remain focused on reopening this area. Incremental progress was made in the summer of 2014 when the US Forest Service initiated a process for evaluating alternatives for opening the climbing area. After initial project scoping, the Forest Service postponed the project citing lack of funding. In the spring of 2016 the Forest Service set aside $250,000 dollars to complete the environmental review and is hopeful to start the assessment in 2017. Access Fund is awaiting a management planning decision that may consider limited climbing. The final planning decision could take several more years due to the environmental review process that still needs to be conducted.
The Access Fund is working on re-opening it.
You can help by contributing, which will support the effort.
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:20pm PT
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RickA,
Thats all I have ever hear from the AF, "we are working on it, join the AF and it will help"
I joined and donated and tried to get more detailed info and all I ever get is "hey, thanks for the interest, we are working on it. Be sure to join the AF". I searched through AF newsletters looking for updates and found nothing.
Brady even told me they are working hard on it between laps on the Naked Edge.
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Dec 28, 2016 - 01:21pm PT
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A rep from the Access Fund showed up at the 2nd meeting I had coordinated between Fish & Wildlife, ANF, FoW, and then congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon's office.
We kept in touch for a year or two until I realized the AF had very little interest in this fight. That was in 2010.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Dec 28, 2016 - 03:05pm PT
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Awww...are the poor widdle Bundy's being hawwassed by the big bad bio-people?
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