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Northern Arizona Calling of the Tribe. Spray, Community and more...

Original Post
Jeffrey Snyder · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined May 2011 · Points: 3,740

This has been on my mind for sometime now and since it is almost impossible to engage and spray down the bulk of the NorAZ climbing community better than on MP (buried deep, we are all nerds) Im gonna step out on the Schnebley and put this out there.

As a NorAZ local, who bleeds AZ Sunset Red (cactus caused) I am openly proud of my home state of climbing. I also know that many of the climbers in Arizona are proud, we probably should be. We have the most wildly varied unknown backyard playground. Harsh, but beautiful always. State tattoo would be a gun shaped cactus the color of the State Flag.

From the first time I pulled off the ground in Phoenix I knew I needed to become apart of it and so I did. Moved to Flag in 2006 for "school" but climbed instead. So I work at the local gym with climbers of many backgrounds. Met many talented climbers and learned everything I know from every single one of them. Their aspirations have always been my inspirations. I also, with the help of many other friends, organize (barely) events with help of The American Alpine Club, The Access Fund, the local gym, The FS and friends. If it wasn't for local businesses, many thankless volunteers, and organizations beyond climbing, things like slideshows, movie nights, trail days, The ReelRock and yes... free beer and chapstick wouldn't happen. For once there was nothing but silent humble desert crushers, now there was community... and the prior.

All that being said.
I completely agree that Northern Arizona is lacking in a community lead coalition of climbers such as our low land family The SACC or friends in Bishop, The BACC, or even other local organizations across the country and beyond. Land Stewardship is nothing new to climbers, countless groups have been fighting and losing the battle of access for a long time. Arizona has had and will continue to have these same issues. Tis life in the Wild West.

The Northern Arizona Climbers Coalition (NACC), now debunk, was the closest we ever got to a viable organization. They were a strong group of local climbers and climbing industry folks that felt obliged to help protect the growing interest in NorAZ climbing. They did great things; helped in the process of getting a FS pit-toilet installed at Jacks Canyon as well as worked with the FS to proactively talk about future access issues such as parking at The Pit, and access issues at The Overlook.

But climbers move on... new hobbies, to new jobs in different states or sacrifice free time to family or business. Unfortunately like all burning fire, without more fuel, any flame will go out. There were several attempts at rekindling the group but there was no interest from the local community. The money raised through the community still safely waits for the organization of projects such as: Re-bolting of anchors and hardware at The Pit, potential for human waste management at Priest Draw, and future signage in the most active areas.

It was this realization that personally drove me to taking on personal goals of building a more active community. There has been much energy and effort put in to creating a positive and pro active thinking community in Northern Arizona. Many different people donate their time to Arizona climbing events. And yes, much of the time this involves social camaraderie via free events such as historical slide shows, movie nights, and outdoor events and clinics such as ForksFest. Yes, these events are fun and popular but when it comes to people coming out to trail days free Clif bars and SWAG are not enough. It will always be the post event discussion of an organizer to wonder how to get more people involved. What does it take to engage a community and instill the desire to be a steward?

One of the most powerful ideals of climbers is that we tend to be proactive versus reactive! Come to the next trail day or event. There will be several events that take place at our popular backyard areas. Yeah, these interactions will be full of climbing spray and ignorant assumptions about bouldering, sport climbing and top roping. I personally will spend as much time necessary to discuss how we can better our community.

Jeff Snyder
Flagstaff, AZ

Shameless S.A.C.C. event plug: mountainproject.com/v/10964…

MacM · · Tucson/Preskitt, AZ · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 675

Being that I'm not a Flagstaff local, but a Preskittonian, what I say may not carry much weight. However, from what I was understanding the GNAR has become the main "coalition" for NoAZ. It also has the community's support to become the guidance that is needed, which is also required to successfully become climbing stewards. ...they just haven't quite realized that yet. I don't make it up to Flag for every meeting or event that they hold, but this is what I have gathered from the ones I have.

I may be completely off, or not entirely understand what you are conveying to NoAZ. If that's the case then sorry for my misunderstanding.

Thanks for getting the word out! I appreciate the amount of work it does take to be a steward of the community, and so thanks for everything you have done Jeff.
Mac

Jeffrey Snyder · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined May 2011 · Points: 3,740

Thanks Mac
Im just one small part of a very large whole. The only reason I came to the internet community was to get it off my chest and to communicate to others that stewardship of our areas and community is a challenging project, and that it takes hard work. Many folks think of things going on in Flag as beer drinking spray-parties only, which in some ways is true and will continue to be true if people refuse to buy into the bigger picture and sacrifice personal time to stewardship, future access, and events. It is a true goal of many people to change this. I also know that there is tons of potential in our community; to act and promote local climbing with the best. This was simply a way to open a inter web door and rally my community and seek support and or information on how to better our community. I expect great things to be happening in Flagstaff in the future and it will be the work of our community!

Wiled Horse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2002 · Points: 3,669

Well put, Jeff.

In case any one wants to know, the Gnarbarians was originally created as a fun way of getting climbers together. Though never intended as a 'coalition', after a few years or so, it just may have enough momentum and visibility to become a suitable platform.

Other than what Jeff has explained, one reason groups and coalitions seem to fizzle out, is because of the 'boy scout meeting' type of atmosphere, with dues etc., and folks wondering where their money is going. A small group can only carry it for so long.

Kevin Kent · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 1,526

Thanks for sharing Jeff, very good post. I really appreciate all the work you've personally done to build a caring and involved community here. You definitely made a strong impression on me when we were meeting early this fall about the need to get people psyched to help with stewardship/trail days, clean ups, etc. Since then I've taken it upon myself to try and have the same conversation with other people. I would imagine one of the reasons it's been difficult to rally people is because we've been pretty fortunate with there being a lack of major access issues and for the most part our crags and trails are in pretty good condition. That being said you're absolutely right that we still need to be proactive and forward thinking. I think it's beneficial to have an active community that gives a shit. Obviously going about this (either way) is easier said than done. Back in July I shared a petition via the Gnarbarian facebook page about protecting Walnut Canyon (i.e. the Pit) and that post reached 1500 people, which is a lot considering only 400 people like the page. This means that a lot of people clicked on the post, at least some of whom signed the petition. Small things like this make me optimistic.

Jacob Dolence · · Farmville, VA · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 806

Great posts so far,
I agree with what everyone has said and think there is a lot of hope as far as the work that can be done here in the Flagstaff community. I want to use this space to highlight what HAS happened in recent history here first, and then jump on board with ideas for awesome projects in the future.

The Gnarbarian group has been very engaged group as far as giving quick feedback regarding regional forest plan revisions, coming to cleanup days, and coming together to raise money for the youth in this community. A few years ago myself and many others organized a fundraiser for a kids climbing club which left me in awe of how awesome the community here can be. In one night we raised over 800$ which allowed over 50 5th graders the opportunity to climb both inside and out that they never would have had. There was incredible community leadership with this project (especially Michelle!) The program made a huge impact on some of these children!

I also want to give some shout outs to the individuals that have posted on here already.

Darren, thanks for giving back to the community in the form of safe and accessible routes, as well as routes that inspire me to climb harder and push my limits. He and many others have put up routes that benefit the majority of the community not just those that can climb super hard.

Jeff, I've easdropped several times on a lecture, about owning your own risk, that you give to your NAU climbing class. I consider what you say to perhaps be the most important piece of knowledge that can be passed onto the next generation of climbers. This not only keeps all of us safe, but is key in securing long term access to the areas we are stoked on.

Kevin your work to organize forks fest and to reach out to ALL climbers, not just those who crush, is awesome.

I guess my point of highlighting these folks, and many more deserve shout outs and respect, is just to say we have so much awesome leadership in this town and to again agree with what the others are saying there is a massive potential to do some great things that DON'T create a divide in the climbing community or call names. The goal should be to unite the community, respect the deeply rooted culture and history of the region, and to maintain and improve access.

I'd be psyched to work on making places where the majority of people climb (especially those who are new) safer and less impacted. I'm also stoked on making climbing more accessible to the masses while creating opportunities for some to push boundaries both in the region and elsewhere.

Angela Mabe · · Flagstaff,AZ · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 185

Great thread Jeff! i agree that there is not "one" main coalition and maybe there needs to be - when Joel, Eric, Darren and I came up with Gnarbarians we wanted it to last and not just fizzle out over the years. Our ideas were to make it social and fun. Now that it has grown a whole lot more than we thought- is there a place for it to be more? Would the gnars be a more active role? That brings me to the thought of - how do we get more gnarbarians to come to events...this climbing community gives back a lot and we need to rally together at trail, clean up, fundraiser events to keep n.AZ trucking on and on. There are big players in the community that i can't even begin to give enough gratitude to. maybe we go to "newer/ forgotten" areas and work on trails, marked paths ect... or cleaning up.
I really do Love this climbing community!

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235

Great post Jeff and first of all, thanks for what you have done and continue to do for the community.

Chris Tatum and I talked about this a few years ago and I gained a great insight - two things are needed to build a solid climbing community.
1. Beer-drinking and socializing is a way that bring the community together. Make it fun and people will get involved.
2. Giving back.

NACC may have fizzled out because of a focus on #2 and not enough #1. On the other hand, a group that only engages in #1 is a wasted opportunity for the community. We have plenty of people interested in both of these things as was seen during the fund raiser mentioned by Jacob.

Eric M · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 10

I no longer live in N. Arizona but was lucky enough to be part of the community up there for 7 years or so and have put in a fair amount of time at the events in the area from the Forks over to Jacks Canyon.

The Gnarbarians are being unfairly criticized a lot lately. They might represent the largest and most organized group in N. Arizona but I have never heard them refer to themselves as anything but a social group. Just because they have a following doesn’t make them automatically responsible for being the community action group that everyone sees the need for.

As I bet Angela, Darren and Jeff can attest to one of the most difficult things with keeping a group like the NACC going is the huge time commitment some of the activities take to put together and how at the end of the day all the work seems to all fall on one person. They have to play middle man with the Forest Service, land managers and organize a flakey group of volunteers.

The best way to have a more serious group stay around is going to be sharing the responsibility among many. Maybe instead of having a large membership basis in the group there could be a larger group of “officers”, perhaps 10-15 people, whom have a specific responsibility to attend meetings about access or organize individual events. Even if two people a month tackle and event that means each officer would only have the responsibility of planning two events a year. If one of them moves, gets busy with work or gets burnt out they can hand their position off to someone with more time. Then when the event is in the planning process they can reach out to the social groups like the Gnarbarians or the communities at Flagstaff Climbing Center and Beta Bouldering to provide the manpower for whatever may need to be done.

It seems like it would be a lot more effective to keep a small dedicated group of climbers focused on a goal than dozens of people who mean well but don’t have the time or inclination to commit fully to what needs to be done.

A big shout out to all you guys in N. Arizona, especially Jeff S. and the Maybe clan, who are putting the idea out there that more needs to be done and representing what makes the N. Arizona climbing community such a rad group of people.

Amylee T · · Flagastaff, AZ · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 0

Hey Y'all. Yes Jeff, I agree with you fully. Community stewardship needs more organization, but I think it needs more glue. I am going to be bold here and say what is hard to say: There is more than one local gym in Flagstaff and more than Flagstaff Climbing, Climbing events. The only way for this community to be organized, proactive and effective, is for the leaders, like you Jeff, to start reaching out to the people who are organizing large events like the Roof Rally, Forks Fest and the Boulder Blast, and bringing community together, as well as outsiders into our community. One of the reasons stewardship it is unorganized is because the climbing community it is divided, and it is divided because of old resentments that have no place in productive achievement for the Flagstaff Climbing Community, or for the Heart of the Flagstaff Climbing Community...
-Amylee

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235

I think that Amylee is right. Flagstaff is naturally a fractured community because of multiple gyms, people with very different schedules, and a huge variety of crags and climbing types. In Tucson, everyone met up at the same gym after work on the same days and went climbing at the same crags. We are lucky to have so much variety here but it naturally creates a diffused community.

The Gnarbarians were created to address this and hopefully were somewhat successful in building community and giving back. I think that Jacob's example of raising $800 to get low-income kids access to climbing is a good one. That's a perfect example of what can be done when you do bring the Flag community together - you see that it is actually an amazing community ready to give back. $800 is a ton of money in one night and says a lot about local climbers. I am personally psyched to see the work done by Jacob and Michelle with those kids, by Jeff in his role with the AAC, by those leading clinics clean-ups and outreach at Forks Fest (the mother-forkers, the FCC staff, etc).

So, I hear you Jeff that sometimes the "glue" is lacking but I think the parts are there and are solid. Props to the gym for providing glue over the years with free movie nights, Real Rock, slideshows, etc.

Jeffrey Snyder · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined May 2011 · Points: 3,740

Thanks Ya'll
As I think we all expected this is a subject that we all care about and are willing to devote energy towards. We also know that it is a battle that doesn't have any easy answers. What I suggest we do is use this energy and push these ideas into the Flagstaff climbing future.

I expect to see really great things happening in our community as a whole. There are tons of really fun and great projects that we can set our sights on and reach as stewardship goals in our community. For now as we move forward we can use this energy to be an open community of crushers that go out and follow our passions and become open to the ideas of community.

I will be spending time with the pillars of our community to brain storm ways we can unite and create symbiosis of all the great parts of Flagstaffs climbing community. Not as One but as All!

Keep your ear to the soil, great things are coming!!

Jeff

Wiled Horse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2002 · Points: 3,669
J. Snyder wrote:Keep your ear to the soil
and to the choss
Choss · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2014 · Points: 0

If the community is going to try and rally around some common cause and act like everyone wants to be a steward here's a good starting point:

wilderness.net/nwps/legisact

K Weber · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 15
Choss wrote:If the community is going to try and rally around some common cause and act like everyone wants to be a steward here's a good starting point: wilderness.net/nwps/legisact
What are you trying to say? Should climbers be for the Wilderness Act or not?

There are many climbers that have no respect for our wilderness areas.
sinker · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2014 · Points: 0
AMT · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 0

If you need someone to do land management policy advocacy or whatnot that relates to the law, I can spend some of my time on whatever issue or two seems most important for preserving GNARNIA. -Anne Mariah-

Jeffrey Snyder · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined May 2011 · Points: 3,740

Its happening!! An event for the Flagstaff Climbing community by the Flagstaff Climbing community!

Come out for an evening of Exp Vol II and get enough Spring psyche to send all of your projects! Event is FREE! Now we all have the right excuse to come and hang out with Flagstaff! See you all there!

Thanks to everyone who helped put in tons of volunteer energy to make this event come to fruition!
Thanks: AAC, The Access Fund, Flagstaff Climbing Center, Beta, and The Gnarbarians!

Exp. Vol II

MacM · · Tucson/Preskitt, AZ · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 675

You know, I think I just may be able to make it up there for that. Good work up there, guys!

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Arizona & New Mexico
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