red river gorge climbers coalition rrgcc type local climbing orgization founded 1996 1996 headquarters eastern kentucky united states area served red river gorge region members 500 website rrgcc.org the red river gorge climbers coalition rrgcc is an advocacy group for rock climbers in the red river gorge kentucky . through relationships with local stakeholders and climbers from all over the world the rrgcc has worked hard to maintain sustainable access throughout one of the world s top climbing destinations . contents 1 history 2 the board of directors 3 pendergrass murray recreational preserve pmrp 3.1 climbing areas in and around pendergrass murray recreational preserve pmrp 4 miller fork recreational preserve mfrp 4.1 climbing areas in and around miller fork recreational preserve mfrp 5 events organized by rrgcc 5.1 2008 events 5.2 2009 events 6 notes and references history edit the red river gorge climbers coalition was founded by local climbers shannon stuart smith and kris snyder in november 1996 as a local climber s advocacy group to protect climbing at the red river gorge . rock climbing in the red river gorge area had originally occurred primarily on the public lands of daniel boone national forest and was therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the u.s. forest service . in 1996 the forest service issued for the first time ever a rock climbing management guide for the red river area . this guide or rcmg was viewed negatively by climbers . as a direct result of the issuance of the rcmg shannon and kris decided to form a climbers coalition to champion climbers interests and to try to improve relations between the forest service and climbers . their main concern was twofold re writing the rcmg to include climbers input and thereby improving it and educating and empowering climbers to ensure the long term future of climbing . today the rrgcc has grown to a several hundred member strong all volunteer advocacy group that continues to work with the us forest service on ensuring access to climbing in the daniel boone national forest . the coalition has also expanded its efforts to include working with the natural bridge state park and many local private land owners as well . the rrgcc s main focus has been from its inception protection and promotion of responsible climbing . this goal has taken many forms from building environmentally friendly climber trails to popular crags to articles in its quarterly newsletter on top rope safety . climbing continues to grow in popularity and change and so do the issues surrounding it . for people to continue to enjoy the freedom to climb on public and private land innovative and creative solutions will have to be sought . on february 7 2000 the red river gorge climbers coalition and the u.s. forest service signed a memorandum of understanding . 1 the signing of this mou represents a significant breakthrough for red river gorge climbers and the forest service after years of skepticism mistrust and alienation . the board of directors edit as of 2013 2 paul vidal president bentley brackett vice president uma nanjundan treasurer josephine neff secretary david king bod member rick bost bod member yasmeen fowler bod member mike driskell bod member katy gulley bod member staff matt tackett land manager bill strachan executive director pendergrass murray recreational preserve pmrp edit climber on convicted 5.13 a in the motherlode area one of the numerous pumpjacks within pmrp the pendergrass murray recreational preserve or the pmrp is 750 acres 3.0 km2 of land now owned and maintained by the rrgcc . this land now open to the public is a commitment to preserving and sustaining climbing access in the red river gorge indefinitely . in the 1990s as climbing grew in popularity as a sport the rrgcc coalition formed with the intent of permanently securing access to climbing in the red river gorge region . however being on the east coast most of the climbing opportunities were available only on private property or forest service land . in 1996 the usfs enacted a bolting ban on its land effectively ending the development of sport climbing in those areas . 3 while working with the forest service to improve relations and explore the options the coalition was also working with private landowners to secure access to climbing and development . with the rising popularity of climbing though to be a touchy situation since relations grew increasingly tense with landowners and their wishes to maintain their privacy and independence . in the late 1990s and early 2000s the potential for development particularly sport climbing was discovered in the southern region where steep beautiful sandstone walls are overhanging and pocketed and offer technical dynamic and endurance climbing . as word spread and climbers flocked to the bald rock fork and coal bank hollow areas conflicts arose between climbers and oil companies in the region especially related to limited parking causing road blocks . the first well known and developed areas the motherlode lies on private land just outside pmrp . with over 50 routes in 5.11 5.14 range it is one of the most well known destination for hard climbing in the region . other climbing areas in pmrp hostes more than 500 climbs ranging from 5.4 to 5.14 c with new climbs constantly being discovered and developed . the property hosts several hundred climbers each weekend with the three parking lots often reaching capacity by noon . in 2004 when more than 750 acres 3.0 km2 of land in the southern region came available the rrgcc recognizing the opportunity to secure access in the area moved quickly to purchase the land . negotiating with the murray family the coalition and the murray s reached an agreement and the ownership of the land was transferred to the rrgcc . to finance the purchase the rrgcc worked out an owner financed mortgage of 8 % a year for 10 years . with a few maintenance costs the final yearly costs translate to nearly 30 000 per year . the last mortgage payment was made in 2012 and the rrgcc fully owns the pmrp . 4 the payments are financed from private donations and from support of the access fund 5 a national climbing advocacy organization . climbing areas in and around pendergrass murray recreational preserve pmrp edit bob marley crag bronaugh wall chica bonita wall courtesy wall the crossroads curbside the dark side drive by crag the far side the gallery left field the motherlode north 40 the playground purgatory rival wall shady grove shire the solar collector and gold coast volunteer wall what about bob wall miller fork recreational preserve mfrp edit sitting just east of the pmrp across highway 11 is the miller fork recreational preserve 309 acres 1.25 km2 of land now owned by the rrgcc . in may of 2012 the rrgcc with the help of the access fund closed a deal on acquiring this land . the rrgcc is expected to own the land fully by the end of 2017 . 6 ray ellington s newest book miller fork climbing released in october of 2015 explores the hundreds of new routes along the walls of the mfrp . 7 climbing areas in and around miller fork recreational preserve mfrp edit alcatraz chaos cloud 9 cooper s cove corner pocket deep end fruit wall graveyard hal garner memorial crag the highlands infirmary the laboratory the monastery morgue the nursery the pharmacy the portal the real deep end record shop the scotch wall secret garden serenity point vine wall events organized by rrgcc edit 2008 events edit april 18 red river reunion all weekend august 2 johnny and alex trail day all day september 12 mountain gear s uclimb all day not an rrgcc event though some proceeds go to help the rrgcc september 26 muir valley trail day all day not an rrgcc event visit muir valley for more information october 9 11 8th annual rocktoberfest in the rrg all weekend 2009 events edit april 18 19 red river reunion all weekend august 1 johnny and alex trail day all day september 12 13 mountain gear s uclimb all day not an rrgcc event though it is supported by the rrgcc and some proceeds go to help the rrgcc september 26 muir valley trail day all day not an rrgcc event visit muir valley for more information october 9 11 9th annual rocktoberfest in the rrg all weekend notes and references edit rrgcc & dbnf memorandum of understanding retrieved on july 13 2008 meet the bod retrieved on february 24 2013 dbnf rockclimbing usfs november 7 2007 retrieved on july 13 2008 red river climbers coalition the pmrp retrieved on july 13 2008 access fund news from june 7 2010 . retrieved 6 july 2010 . the mfrp red river gorge climbers coalition . rrgcc.org . retrieved 2016 05 07 . miller fork climbing . www.redriverclimbing.com . retrieved 2016 05 07 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title red river gorge climbers % 27 coalition & oldid 719036196 categories climbing organisations navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk 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