Help Save Draper's Bluff - and Reopen Illinois Climbing on Private Land!!

Please go to this link:

http://www.ilclimbers.org/2010/04/21/drapers-bluff-access/

Do your part to reopen Illinois climbing access!! You can take action (as described) whether you are in-state or out-of-state. Let's reopen one of the best crags in the Midwest!

Here's a link to the proposed language.

I just wrote my letters. Here's some modified text of what I used (the proposed letter language had a couple typos):

Dear Senator Forby,

Although I am not an Illinois resident, I frequently travel to your area for rocking climbing as well as other outdoor activities. I truly appreciate the beautiful natural areas your region has to offer and I was very disappointed when I heard about the closure of one your area’s best climbing destinations because the law that had protected private owners no longer made it legally and financially feasible for them to allow the general public onto their land.

Responsible landowners have changed their access policies and restricted all access for fear of civil liability from recreational use of their land.

While I may not be an Illinois resident, I would like to think that my frequent travel, dining and lodging have had a positive impact on your area and I strongly urge you to vote in support of HB6072 so that I, and others like myself, will find reasons for visiting your state even more frequently. There is a large St. Louis outdoor recreational user group that has ceased visiting Southern Illinois and we would immediately resume our trips if this bill were to pass. Please support it!

Sincerely,

Calvin Hwang
St. Louis, Missouri

Quick Updates

Well, haven't been posting much these days. We've been out climbing; most recently to the Red (twice) and are eyeing trips to Jackson too. I'll get to those posts after this Friday, when I have a comprehensive picture log to upload.

In the meantime, I've added another couple of blogs to the links on the right. Keep an eye on our friend Yusuf's blog. He's a good writer and I think there'll be good things to come reading his reflections as he stays at the Red and pursues his dream of climbing well, improving his life and bettering himself.

New shool meets old school

This is a cool little video put up by Sender Films and Evolv.

Girl Power

Climbers:
Jamie, Angie, Sophie

Beautiful Friday for a girl climbing day. Angie had this brilliant idea: "Don't you guys want to take the Friday off? I am not working!"
Twist my arm.... Sunny and 70s in the forecast. What more could we ask for? Well a few more girls like Meghan (off with the little one), Yoli (off ....climbing at the RED), or Katie (tending her patients at the hospital)... next time ladies.

6:30 am and we are off. This will be Jaimie's second time only climbing outside on a rope (not that would scare her or anything).
We headed for the Monument to warm-up on the 8 Stubborn Swede (yes the one that definitely will help you put your "outside-head" on with that nice long run-out at the end. Angie leads it on. Great I have two rope-guns with me!
From now on Angie and Jaimie will be trading putting the routes on. I am the cleaner!
"Sof since the route angles a bit You are going to get the draws on the way up right?" Angie asks me as I am the last one to lead it.
"He he no Angie I won't, think about it...".
Angie looked at me: Right Hu hum...
We all started to laugh really hard.
:)
Here are the girls getting their tiger out.

After warming up there we headed to the 3 short 9 after the Court house. I believe we climbed "Katie did" with which the girls had no problem at all, and for some reason was the occasion of a "moment" for me! My "outside head" is not quite screwed on tight. We moved on to Gully gee Whiz a beautiful 10b small gully which I had not climbed in a long time. Jaimie lead it up and worked it beautifully. It will be a send next time. Same thing for Angie who styled the move. I fully enjoyed climbing that line again, and it seemed my head was back in place.
here is Angie on that line.

As you can see Angie treats her sunglasses with the same respect I do when she finds out she forgets to take them off. Yes this is why we buy VERY cheap ones! (Yet I might change my attitude as I started my day finding a pair of Oakley. Hoo hoo!)
We moved on to the Courthouse a really fun 10c where the pump creeps up on you for a final crux right under the anchor. I was the rope gun this time and took a fall just before the anchors.. oh well still a super fun climb. Jaimie really styled it and was so close to the flash. Angie worked the last moves in determined fashion, with an inspiring push-through and "stick" after a couple of tries and Jaimie and I cheering. A great moment. Here she is.
We came back to the monument to meet up with quite a crew from Saint Louis, and I directed the girls to a climb I had been wanting to lead up since last time I was here. Lothorien is a tricky 10 a slabbish mixed route. 3 or 4 bolt and then it is down to cams. I had not placed gear in a good year and 1/2. Time to get that trad head back on! the middle part of that route is an extremely delicate slab with very tiny shallow features for the hands. No send for me but I was pretty happy to have gone through the whole thing in just a couple of falls.
Here I am about to step into the blankness!
We finished on the classic Cherrio Bowl which Jaimie and Angie climbed beautifully.

More picts. of the day here.