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Greg Barnes
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 2, 2014 - 07:12pm PT
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Please help - the ASCA needs donations now! With a surge in demand, we are out of cash to buy more bolts, and we just ran out of our primary 1/2" bolt (and we also ran out of quick-links a few weeks back). As more and more "early sport climbing" areas move into wholesale replacement of all bolts, this year the ASCA sent out far more than ever before - over 5,000 bolts! With over 80% of those bolts either 1/2" stainless or stainless glue-ins (and also titanium glue-ins), the cost per bolt has been increasing steadily. Gifts from our few larger donors have never recovered to even half of pre-recession levels. If it wasn't for the awesome team at Planet Granite and the huge fundraisers they've put on in San Francisco for the ASCA for the past 3 years, we'd never have been able to afford what we've already distributed! Northern California climbers have provided the bulk of ASCA donations for years, but as you can see from the list below, it's time for climbers all over to chip in!
The ASCA is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Please donate today - either donate at www.safeclimbing.org (the "Make a Donation" button on the upper right), or send a check to: ASCA, PO Box 1814, Bishop, CA 93515.
Here's the bolts we sent out so far in 2014 - note that lots of folks have bolts from previous years and are replacing at spots not on this list!
The short version of the list - by state:
California 1244
Colorado 1100
Wyoming 800
Nevada 450
Oregon 350
Kentucky 250
Arizona 214
Utah 200
Tennessee 200
Alaska 150
Washington 100
North Carolina 50
West Virginia & Virginia 50
Pennsylvania 150 links/rings
And the detailed list since the start of 2014 - remember this is what we sent out, not what has been replaced - many people are replacing with previous ASCA gear, and many of these bolts haven't been replaced yet (some are in the mail right now). Also this list does NOT include 400 titanium bolts and 500 beefy titanium rap rings that the ASCA purchased in late 2013 for bolt replacement in Thailand!
800 bolts Wild Iris/Sinks
632 bolts Yosemite Valley
500 bolts Shelf Rd
450 bolts Red Rocks
350 bolts Independence Pass & Rifle
250 bolts Red River Gorge
250 bolts Penitente
200 bolts Obed
200 bolts French's Dome & Broughton's Bluff
170 bolts Mt. Lemmon
150 bolts Smith Rocks
150 links, rings Safe Harbor Crag, PA
120 bolts Mt. Diablo & north bay crags
120 bolts Highway 108 & the Grotto
100 bolts Index
100 bolts Pinnacles
80 bolts Zion
80 bolts Tahquitz/Suicide & Joshua Tree
75 bolts Seward Highway AK
75 bolts Hatcher Pass AK
60 bolts Tuolumne Meadows
60 bolts Southern Sierra
50 bolts Southern Yosemite
50 bolts Seneca & Buzzard Rocks
50 titanium bolts North Coast CA
50 bolts desert towers Utah
50 bolts North Carolina crags
50 bolts Big Cottonwood Canyon
50 bolts El Portrero Chico
44 bolts Cochise Stronghold
22 bolts Tahoe crags
20 bolts Indian Creek
10 bolts Mt. Woodson
5268 bolts (not including links/rings, drill bits, glue-in supplies, patch epoxy, hole brushes, etc)
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Uh, Greg, while you're giving credit to and details about all that ASCA does, how about a little credit for what's not on your list?
How many hours (this year alone) have you put into just running ASCA? How about the other people who run it with you? And I'm not even talking about the re-bolters; they put in tons of hours, sweat and work, but perhaps get more thanks for it. Nope, you need credit for all the effort it takes just to make sure that such an organization even exists.
Thanks.
P.S. I'll put $ 100.00 in the mail tomorrow.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Don't forget folks, that many of your corporate types have companies that will match your donations to a certain amount. Don't leave that money on the table!
Drop down for ASCA and Access Fund TODAY!!!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Good job Greg. I'm off to the Creek at the crack of dawn but I'll be at the PO on monday.
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 2, 2014 - 07:47pm PT
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Thanks Brad!
The biggest credit always goes to the folks out working HARD to replace bolts! Too many to name, but close to home Roger Brown takes the cake with over 2,500 bolts HAND DRILLED in Yosemite Valley - not even including hundreds in Tuolumne! When we started supporting his replacement, I had to convince him to stop hand drilling 3.5" holes in granite - he thought 2.25" were "too short"!
For running the ASCA, thanks to Chris McNamara for starting the ASCA as a 501(c)3 (after Steve Sutton's early start of the ASCA years before), handling the fundraising auctions, and still handling some behind the scenes stuff.
Big thanks to Karin Wuhrmann for paying the rent on ASCA storage (and putting up with me!).
Paul Rasmussen for giving the ASCA many years of free storage and office space!
Em Holland for running the current Bishop "office" - forwarding mail to my various addresses!
Jason Ogasian for taking over web stuff, he's working on changing the (badly outdated) replacement lists so rebolters can update their work.
And a big hats off to the Planet Granite folks who conceived, planned, marketed, ran, and basically did nearly everything for the 3 big fundraisers - and of course to the awesome speakers - Tommy Caldwell, Alex Honnold, and Chris Sharma - who drew in the big crowds!
But as always, the folks out working hard to replace bolts, manky anchors, webbing, etc deserve the most credit!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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But Dave, some of us LIKE 20th century methods.
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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What happened to the free T-shirt with a donation?
I hate to sound petty, but one reason I've donated in the past it to get the shirt and thereby increase my "street cred" at the climbing gym and around town in Boulder.
I wish I were joking, but I'm (mostly) serious.
I'll likely make a donation in any event, but my old shirt is getting a little threadbare, and you could certainly help the cause with that free shirt or some other schwag that both (1) identifies us as "insiders," and (2) perhaps more importantly, gives ASCA some free advertising.
(In case this post ins't well received, let me say I've donated hundreds (or at least over 100, can're really remember) to the ASCA in the past and am very appreciative of the work it does; some guy named Kevin Stricker replaced crap loads of bolts on great routes that were either museum pieces or death traps, depending on the way you look at it.)
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2014 - 06:06am PT
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blahblah, very few people have been interested in T-shirts (maybe 5-8 people a year?), and even at fundraising events few people wanted them. We could make more.
khanom, it depends on the particular bolt (bigger is more expensive), the hanger (if mechanical), the glue (if glue-in). Anchor hardware (such as double-ring hangers, or two quicklinks plus rings) jacks the price way up per bolt. A minimum of around $6 to a max per bolt of a bit under $20 - and that's bulk costs. Anchors are the most expensive by far - a single anchor in Yosemite (i.e. with the least expensive bolts - short 3/8" that you hand drill) is around $30 in just hardware costs.
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Last time I donated they were out of T Shirts and I believe they don't have any intention of restocking.
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S1W
climber
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If you shop on Amazon, you can add the ASCA as your Amazon Smile donation recipient.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Do the hangers if in good shape get reused?
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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I would rather see the money go towards bolts, forget the shirts. Easy click and pay with Paypal.
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Greg Barnes
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 3, 2014 - 09:17am PT
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I'm all for T-shirts, I like seeing them at the crag (or at the gym!), it's just that we literally couldn't give them away…made me wonder if we should have beanies instead!
khanom, that's strange, I usually get a donation acknowledgement out. Looks like I blew it - sorry.
Yes we could spend time & money on mailings, and I'm sure anyone else in the non-profit world would just shake their head in dismay at not maintaining and using a mailing list. I really don't have the time, we don't have the budget to hire anyone, and we certainly don't have the budget to place advertisements in climbing magazines! That's not to say that we shouldn't do mailings - I'm sure we should. Years back we came up with a basic (outdoor) bolt safety awareness flyer that we wanted to print and distribute to gyms all over, but we didn't have the money to print it. Really basic stuff that a lot of newer climbers don't realize - many new climbers literally think that the government puts in bolts and maintains them and they are guaranteed never to break.
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snarky
climber
Hoisington
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Greg, this is just my personal experience: I would have donated again or even annually back when I had a real job but my first donation (which was fairly large) got no acknowledgement at all (kinda wanted the T-shirt too). This was several years ago, but at the time it made me wonder where my money was going, how it was being used, etc.
Same thing for me last year, but hell, I know Greg & Co. are working hard and getting the important shizz done. If a t-shirt floats my way, cool. If not, I'm not going to hold a grudge. I look at it this way:
New, shiny bolt and a old, manky t-shirt?
-or-
Old, manky bolt and a shiny, new t-shirt?
That is the question.
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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I also got no acknowledgement with my last donation and thought perhaps they didn't receive it. I reached out to Greg who tracked it down and thanked me. I'm sure if communication was better the donations would increase. No matter how small the donation is, you should get a thank you email.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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The best way to put your mind at ease that your money is going to the right place....
Have Greg send you some hardware, and start doing some replacement.
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bbbeans
Trad climber
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Just donated. Thank you for all you do!
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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How many people ask for hardware and don't follow through? Or worse, don't do it properly?
When I started out as a rebolter for ASCA, I had a email interview with Greg.
He asked what my experience was, what routes I intended to replace, and what my "goals" were for the near future.
After replacement, you send in your finished routes with notes that are then added to the database.
Do you think ASCA is sending out hangers to people who never replace? Thus sitting idle with hardware that was purchased with your donation money?
There are not that many volunteers rebolting, much less than there should be.
I have run into routes that were modern and had ASCA hardware....but all of those in the rebolting arena know who those FA'st are, what they did and what steps were done to mitigate that type of theft.
No need to name names.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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No matter how small the donation is, you should get a thank you email.
In theory I agree. In realty we're dealing with a tiny non-profit with limited resources (and those "resources" have actual lives - God forbid). Maybe ASCA's volunteer base needs expanding?
Maybe ASCA could use another volunteer to catalog donations and make sure thank-yous go out? Do you have the time for that John Mac?
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