It is my honor to announce BeanFest 2013!

As a guest of this awesome collection in years past, never did I
think that I would be nominated, but am stoked as hell to be
named this Spring's BeanMaster. As a member of the Central Arizona
climbing community - I find it a pleasure when I get to travel south to
visit my Tucson and Sierra Vista friends and what a better way to do
it then at BeanFest. The climbing is extraordinary and party is Epic!

Of course, this will be a party but the climbing in the Stronghold is awesome and we want to choose the best timing on this one. I am targeting April or May to start and it
would help target the weekend with any attached responses.
As usual I'll be contacting sponsors and of course will advertise
sponsors to push exposure for any support we get.

If you have any ideas - Either continue the thread or contact me directly

See you soon at Cochise BeanFest 2013!

SHILOH

I agree with Red. The month of May could be too hot in the stronghold. A good time usually is on Mid April. Whichever the time, I am Looking forward to it!!

How about second or third weekend in April then? Consensus says:

I vote for April 20.

Shiloh: Get with me about sponsors. I have a huge contact list, and I got a ton of stuff for the fall 'Fest.

Cool - Ill be coming down next week

I'm being told that its Thrash and Dangle at PRG - Are we expecting enough climbers from the PRG gym to be visiting the Spring Beanfest to alter the plan of April 20th?
Not being rude - Just trying to facilitate the needs of a state into a three week period
Any feedback is appreciated

Congratulations ... I think. On a side note, Brigette had an issue with the Forest Service talking to her about permit requirements. They tried to tell her she needed a permit and insurance. If it is over 75 people you do need a special use permit but not insurance. Here is a link to the regulation. It talks about bonding and insurance.
www.fs.fed.us/specialuses/special_non_com_uses.shtml

Well lets change that then. Maybe set it up for the last week in April?

..or even earlier in April.

I'll have to miss it if it's earlier than the 20th, and it'll be getting warm later.

a group of us will be coming down from phoenix. no conflicts, but the earlier in april the better, re:temps

So Im thinking that targeting the second week is going to allow for acceptable temps.
Unfortunately its NOT going to work with everyones schedule but at this point - I have to start somewhere... Lets get a consensus and I'm beginning preparations accordingly. In
view of what Mike said, maybe capping it at 70 people this year will be necessary?

How does April 12-14th sound?

Back in the '90's there was one March when it hit 99 degrees in Tucson. Would of been cooler at the Stronghold but still. All things considered I would suggest early April or even late March.

I'm in the process of determining the number of attendee's but,
as of late, no response from the majority of the community.
My personal take on it is:

Noncommercial group uses involve or potentially involve First Amendment activities. Requiring bonding or insurance as a precondition to the issuance of a permit for expressive conduct could be construed as an undue burden on the exercise of First Amendment rights.
So the insurance / bonding probably wont be an issue unless they press it.

They do indicate that you have to: "All proposals for the use of the National Forest under a Special-Use authorization require a pre-application meeting."
Now, when I can take off a day of work and drive down to Hereford to meet with the Forest Service...

That's an internal meeting that you don't have to attend. I'll shoot and email off for you here shortly. I doubt they'll need me to come into the office but if so, I'll handle that for you as well Shiloh.

d

Ah Daryl, you're so sweet.

I know the spring fest is usually held on the west side but since we did fall on the west I thought we could be rebels and do it on the east side this spring. I know the Rockfellows and Whats My Line dome will be closed but there are a ton of other climbing areas. Might force us to explore some of the less traveled domes such as out of towners and entrance dome to name a few.

Rock and Roll Daryl - Ill call you shortly.
I ve got a local catering company supplying the tables and cooking stuff needed
and I'll have the food list here shortly

We'll start announcing affiliates shortly - The first to chip in was Black Diamond! woot woot

Im done with the East Side - Less interaction with the Border Patrol :)

"done with the east side"? or did you mean you're down with the east side?

Dang it - Down with the East side LOL
I wear my bandana to the left, always the East Side... - Snoop

Food for thought:

The West side is a wiser option mainly because there is a FS entity over on the East side. Couple that with the high traffic of *paying* campers with RVs, etc headed in and out of the paid campground up the road is a bad mix for us. Bad publicity, in general.

What makes it bad publicity you ask? The last time we were over there for Beanfest, some genius decided to fire off a shotgun [or who knows what] around 10pm. Poor Angel had just come back from Afghanistan and had PTSD as a result. He was up the rest of the night bc of that stunt. It didn't go unnoticed by the FS people that live over there as I heard about it via an email from the FS reps at the Douglas office the next morning. We can't prevent stupidity but we can locate the even strategically to avoid publicizing said stupidity. I think the west side should be the location for the next few Beanfests for many reasons but that's just my opinion.

FS officials live and operate a business out of their home on the East side. I have come to know them as friends and they are very sweet people. They are very aware of most of what happens out there and, quite plainly, we [Beanfest] shouldn't be upsetting any apple carts. Bottom line is that since the West side is much less visible, it's a better spot for BF to take place. Not that we go running around setting fires to stuff but the aforementioned incident is s perfect example of what I mean. The FS visits the Beanfest location after every event now. They have been for the last couple of years to assess impact.

And the USBP... Border Patrol could care less what we're doing out there.

Another (but not the last/only) point about holding it on the west vs east is that the west side is much easier to clean. Everyone coming to Beanfest camps in one of about 6 easy to find campgrounds. They are easy to drive through and clean on the way out. The East side is a real hot spot with the FS bc of all the wild cat campsites that shouldn't exist. Last time I talked to the Douglas officials on the subject, they had a high contention for the amount of campfire rings that get erected over there after every Beanfest and grass that gets mashed down in random places off the roadways. They are constantly breaking up fire rings and trying to put up boards and poles to block off wild cat camping areas that shouldn't be used. Several people were just driving off and parking/camping in the grass at the last Beanfest over there. The reason the West side is better in this regard is bc of the abundance of close camping to the Isle of Ewe campground. Though they are the big items, trash and poop aren't the only things considered to be "messy".

As I said.. food for thought. I know how nice it is to change the location every year but an ounce of prudence could be a worthwhile investment at this juncture. If you've been listening at all, you're aware that the future of Beanfest isn't something set is stone. It's time we demonstrate that we are capable of conducting this event with [dare I say] responsibility.

Just a thought...
I heard BeanFest has been held on Mt. Lemmon and other S. AZ climbing areas in the past. If we are wearing out our welcome at Cochise, maybe BeanFest could be held elsewhere for a while or from time to time.

Daryl, I've never been able to figure out what you have against the east side. Whenever I suggest climbing over there you usually put up a fight. :-)

Ok, first as far as viability. Because of its close proximity to civilization, the west is overrun by recreators (mostly from Sierra Vista). Most of the Boy Scouting and other events are held on the west. Fire arms are allowed on the west as apposed to the east so anyone with PTSD should steer clear of the west side. I see border patrol and forest service all the time on the west but rarely on the east side. And as far as camping the east is all contained in one loop where as the west is spread over a 9 mile long road with many loops and spurs. Also, the only time we've had problems with the various agencies is when we've been on the west side. Never a problem on the east side. Because of it's proximity to Tombstone, Benson, Sierra Vista and Bisbee the west is a highly visible area as apposed to the more remote access to the east side. I think Daryl has lost his sense of direction. :-)

Red does have an appealing idea, though. I love exploring new areas so holding the fest some where else might be an idea too.