Earlier this summer, The Teton Climbers’ Coalition announced its Climbing Area Modernization (CAM) Project, an effort to monitor, inspect and replace aging hardware at climbing areas throughout the Jackson Hole area.
Over the weekend of September 24-25, the project took its first step when volunteers replaced some 50 bolts and installed drop-in anchors at Blacktail Butte, a popular climbing area in Grand Teton National Park.
The weekend stewardship project was organized by TCC Board Member Garrick Hart, an Exum guide and high school physics teacher who also runs the Jackson Hole High School Mountaineering Club.
The CAM Project was catalyzed by reponses to a survey the local climbing organization put out this spring. More than 67% of respondents indicated their number one priority for the TCC was the inspection and replacement of aging bolts and anchors at crags throughout the Jackson Hole area.
For the first phase of the project, organizers chose Blacktail Butte, where some of the routes, and their hardware, are more than 40 years old.
Hart and other TCC board members met with GTNP staff over the summer to discuss Park requirements. Once the TCC had procured liability insurance and a Special Use Permit for the project, Hart reached out to current and former Exum guides to assist with its first phase. Tom Hargis, Matt Floyd, Joe Stern and Hans Johnstone joined Hart for the weekend’s work at Blacktail Butte.
Volunteers used state-of-the-art equipment donated by the American Safe Climbing Association to replace 100% of the bolts on the routes Tec DC-9, Muy Macho, Crackin’ the Cherry, Red Chili, and Civil Disobedience. They also installed drop-in anchors on routes that didn’t have them.
The next phase of the CAM project will take place later this autumn as volunteers focus on Blacktail Butte’s Rock Candy Nugget wall.
“We’re grateful to Grand Teton National Park and the American Safe Climbing Association for their help in ensuring a safe climbing experience for this and future generations,” said Hart.