Community Survey Informs TCC’s Next Steps
Informed by a survey completed by Teton climbing community members, the TCC board held a retreat at the end of May to discuss its organizational next steps. Stewardship, advocacy and engagement emerged in the survey results as the community’s top priorities. Accordingly, the TCC is taking steps to prioritize all three issues over the next few years.
The community survey, which was completed by more than 60 local climbers, represented individuals from ages 12 to 75. One-third of respondents were female, while two-thirds were male. 89% of respondents were Caucasian. 82% lived in Teton County, WY, while 9% lived in Teton County, Idaho. Nearly 60% of respondents had lived in the area for more than 10 years, while only 12% had lived in the area for three or fewer years.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents cited “Alpine climbing” as their preferred type of climbing, followed by “Trad climbing” (75%), “Sport climbing (75%) and “Ski mountaineering” (59%). Forty-three percent of respondents reported that they climbed four or more times per week in the summer.
When asked what the community needed most from the TCC, respondents prioritized Stewardship (54%), followed by Advocacy (40%) and Engagement (38%).
Regarding future objectives for the TCC, respondents prioritized the inspection and replacement of suspect bolts and anchors throughout the Greater Teton climbing (67%), the development of guidelines for new route development (30%), and community events such as happy hours, slide shows and climbing trips (20%).
During its board retreat, the TCC developed a work plan built around the community’s priorities, with Stewardship at the top of the list.
As part of its deliberations, TCC board members discussed the state of the hardware at local crags as well as the need to modernize it to ensure sustainable and safe climbing for the next four generations.
Starting with Blacktail Butte, where some of the hardware is thought to be older than 40 years, the TCC will develop and implement a hardware modernization program to inspect bolts and anchors and replace them on an as-needed basis. Given the hundreds of bolts that will need inspection and possible replacement at Blacktail Butte, the TCC expects it to be a multi-year project.
A meeting with Grand Teton National Park Service in June identified alignment between the Park and the TCC on the need for such hardware inspection, as well as its replacement on an as-needed basis.
Efforts are currently underway to procure the insurance necessary to conduct the Blacktail Butte hardware modernization project. It is expected that the costs for the project will be less than $10,000.
Additionally, the TCC agreed to inspect and replace as necessary existing hardware at all the local climbing areas in the upcoming three to five years.
Two other Adopt-A-Crag stewardship projects, for Rodeo Wall and the Happy Hour Wall, are slated for July and August respectively. A “best practices” document establishing guidelines for the development of new routes in the Greater Teton area is nearing completion.
Regarding the community priority of Advocacy, the TCC agreed to continue its work on behalf of the Rec Center Expansion climbing gym, which is currently projected to open January 2024, and the Teton Bighorn Sheep Winter Closure Proposals. Formal comments on the latter were submitted to Grand Teton National Park last week.
Community Engagement efforts are underway as well. The TCC will continue to host the Town Pump bouldering series, which is held every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at the Teton Boulder Park, through the end of August. Beginning in the autumn, the TCC will resume hosting monthly happy hours. Film screenings and climbing trips are under discussion for the autumn and winter months.
The TCC serves the interests of the Teton climbing community. Community members are encouraged to reach out to us with suggestions, feedback and input or to volunteer.
The TCC may be reached at info@tetonclimbers.com.