Mar. 19—LANSING — The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve will host a public meeting to discuss the park’s current Climbing Management Plan on Thursday, March 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, Lansing.
The meeting is a follow-up to several semi-annual public meetings that have been hosted by the park since 2017, according to the New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC), which exists to preserve and promote access to climbing areas, and to conserve climbing resources in the New River Gorge and surrounding areas.
The NRAC and the NRGNPP have established a very close working relationship over the years.
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“Thanks to NRAC, climbers at the New today enjoy the fruit of an almost unprecedented productive relationship with Park management, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and private land owners. We have a standing permit to repair and replace old fixed anchors as we see fit, and to date, we have replaced thousands of those,” according to the NRAC website at newriverclimbing.net.
“Climbing advocacy in America has evolved from a reactionary model toward one that is more proactive in terms of securing access for climbers in the long term, and from one of sole focus on literal, physical access, to one that includes issues of diversity. As the landscape changes, so will NRAC.”
At the public meeting, the NRGNPP will provide updates on the actions that have been taken as a result of the comments provided in previous meetings as well as discuss the current Climbing Management Plan, answer any new questions, and listen to comments and feedback from members of the climbing community and the public.
The NRGNPP works to highlight area climbing opportunities.
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“Within New River Gorge National Park and Preserve are over 1,400 established rock climbs,” the NPS writes on the park’s website at www.nps.gov/neri. “‘The New’ has become one of the most popular climbing areas in the country. The cliffs at New River Gorge are made up of a very hard sandstone, and range from 30 to 120 feet in height. The rock is very featured, and an abundance of crack and face routes are available. Most of the routes in the gorge favor the advanced and expert climber. The majority of routes are 5.9 and harder, and most sport routes fall in the 5.10 — 5.12 range.”
For more on climbing at NRGNPP, visit https://www.nps.gov/neri/planyourvisit/climbing.htm.
For more information on the public meeting, please contact Duane Michael at 304-465-6518 or via email at Ronald_Michael@nps.gov.
Canyon Rim Visitor Center is located at 162 Visitor Center Road, Lansing, WV 25862.