Help Crag VT buy Lower Bolton

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List

This thread has been locked

Messages 1 - 19 of total 19 in this topic

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 25, 2017 - 05:13pm PT

Worth While access issue that YOU can help with. Cleck the link and it tells the story. Thanks, Nick https://www.gofundme.com/BoltonDome

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2017 - 03:18am PT

Bump for a worthy cause. you may never climb there, you may never even see Vermont but this could be a crag near you someday. This is your chance to help out the common cause.

cleo

Social climber

wherever you go, there you are

Sep 27, 2017 - 10:09am PT

donated! i climbed at lower west last year, and will probably go back at some point in the future. Any beta on the climbing there?

rbolton

Social climber

The home

Sep 27, 2017 - 12:55pm PT

I'm sorry...attractive as it is my lower half is not for sale.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2017 - 02:08pm PT

I don't know much about the trailer park cliff other than it looks really cool from the Hwy. its been closed just about as long as i have been climbing...

looking sketchy there...

Social climber

Lassitude 33

Sep 27, 2017 - 04:08pm PT

Trailer Park (trash?) - aka R Bolton's Lower Half, sounds about right.

I'll contribute if it will help clothe and feed his family (or get him on his bike more often).

limpingcrab

Trad climber

the middle of CA

Sep 27, 2017 - 05:22pm PT

Any idea how many routes are there?

From looking at the picture it kinda seems like they're trying to raise $100,000 to open maybe a dozen short routes?

Fat Dad

Trad climber

Los Angeles, CA

Sep 27, 2017 - 05:39pm PT

I hate to say it, but my reaction was not that different than limpingcrab's. More importantly though, the Gofundme page raised more questions in my mind than it answered. It appears that the sale is offered as part of a subdivision of the parcel. I understand that $250K of the loan will be paid off following the sale, but the remaining 100K figure seems high given that its going to realtor's commissions, attorney's fees, etc., which are all or just some of the costs associated with the sale? That amount seems high in relation to the value of the parcel, etc., etc.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2017 - 05:40pm PT

its not a very good photo. Its actually a pretty good looking piece of rock looks to be over 60m tall???? do not know what the route potentual is. Aparently it was a populer place in the 70's and early 80's before it was closed. Keep in mind this is VT not california or Utah or even NH or the Daks. . A 60m cliff is a big deal to us.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Topic Author's Reply - Sep 27, 2017 - 05:49pm PT

Property right outside of burlington, near a bunch of ski resorts bla bla. I have zero doubt they need a bunch of money to make this work. No it is not the next Eldorado caynon but it is one of the more impressive looking cliffs in that part of the state. looked at it for decades and thought it would be really cool to climb. If you feel the need to rain on their dreams it kind of sucks and might be a bit of bad karma for when your local cliff gets shut down. The oh it won't ever happen to me mentality can bite you in the ass sometimes....

limpingcrab

Trad climber

the middle of CA

Sep 27, 2017 - 09:05pm PT

Not raining on any parades, just curious. Trying to objectively analyze the investment to payoff ratio for access issues.

Definitely understand the value of a crag in an area not blessed with much rock.

Hope they're able to pull it off.

cleo

Social climber

wherever you go, there you are

Sep 27, 2017 - 09:23pm PT

There are so few good crags in that area, even this one would increase the amount of climbing by a substantial amount. Even if it's a small crag by california standards...

Broken Spectre

Ice climber

Vermont

Sep 28, 2017 - 07:07am PT

Thanks Nick for publicizing! To clarify, Bolton Dome is almost 300' at its tallest point. Currently there are probably around 10-12 pitches there, but I'm guessing it will ultimately yield 50-60 once people begin developing routes again. There are some super nice steep, schist walls that will yield great sport lines up to 80' long probably in the hard 10 to easy 13 range plus a bunch of other moderate potential. It will be a boon to climbing in this area. The estimated expense comes from the total purchase price - resale price of the house and house acreage + legal fees, subdivision fees and permanent conservation easement expense. Believe it or not, but securing a permanent conservation easement to a 45 acre chunk of land costs between $10k and $20k in this area. The estimate expenses are estimated to be a worst case value, but we don't want cash flow issues to prevent this project from happening. In the case that there is extra cash on hand at the end of this project, it will be rolled into stewardship funding for the crag (we will be paying taxes for the foreseeable future on the property every year). I hope you'll consider a donation.

rbolton

Social climber

The home

Sep 28, 2017 - 08:22am PT

Randy. Perfect!

Fat Dad

Trad climber

Los Angeles, CA

Sep 28, 2017 - 10:13am PT

Thanks broken. I think any crag, let alone open area, is worth trying to preserve. There's another photo I've seen that offers a much nicer perspective of the crag. Growing up in Orange County, which isn't blessed with a lot of rock, it would have been nice to have something in our backyard vs. having to drive 2-2.5 hours to get to Josh or Tahquitz.

I was also thinking the area seemed appropriate for a conservation easement, but my experience with those is post-death when the costs are deduction on an estate tax return. Stuff is just expensive. Good luck with raising the funds.

don't have one

climber

Sep 28, 2017 - 11:00am PT

I grew up pretty close to this cliff, and climbed there a bit when I was in high school (1980s). There were not many climbers around then so the landowners tolerated us few.

I haven't climbed much in Vermont since then, but I'm thinking that if opened, this will become one of the best cliffs in the state. I recall the stone being high quality, and the routes as very striking. And for anyone passing through on I-89, stopping by isn't more than 5 minutes out of the way.

There is a bit of history there. The cliff is scattered with random bolt ladders and mysterious aid routes that I believe were established (1960s?) by some climbers from Norwich University. I'm sure some of the older climbers would know more about this. It's really hard to say what the potential is for new routes, but based on my foggy memory, I would say it fits in the "amazing" end of the spectrum. Gotta keep in mind this cliff has been essentially stuck in time, and probably hasn't been scoured by the modern climber. When I climbed there, it was to explore existing routes, and that was the sentiment of other climbers I ran into, as there is actually quite a bit to explore (mostly scratching one's head over what the FA's were even thinking...), and climbers then were lower impact and kept a lower profile especially given the private property issue.

I am going to chip in some money, and hopefully make it back for some route development!