|
The Adirondack Mountaineering
Coalition
March 20, 2006
Hi Adirondack climbers and skiers,
Sorry for the delay following up on the meeting, but
just got back from Katahdin- another great state
park with amazing terrain but it's own unique
regulations too. We should be glad that here we're
not required to climb long ice routes in teams of
four!
Well, with a diverse group of over 30 climber/skiers
in attendance- from all over NY state and even a few
up from the mid-Atlantic region- the first meeting
of the Adirondack Mountaineering Coalition went
well, and as Don Mellor commented afterwards- it
reflected the constructive, purposeful tone that we
need to get started.
Please look
over the attached minutes for the full details.
In short, at the meeting on 3/20/06:
We unanimously endorsed a mission statement: '
The Adirondack Mountaineering Coalition supports all
mountaineering activities as 'primitive and
unconfined recreation' sanctioned under the NYS
Lands Master Plan and compatible with the goal of
sustainable conservation of wilderness in New York's
Adirondack Park.'
We elected (volunteer) officers to represent the
membership for staggered terms: I was nominated and
offered to serve as Chairman and start the process
(as long as members supported it) and was elected.
Bill Schneider was nominated and elected
vice-Chairman and Lauren Konowitz offered and was
elected to serve as secretary/treasurer. My
impression was that everyone there supported the
idea but - for good reason- are leery of taking on
the endless volunteer work.
So as for immediate business:
1) Read the attached minutes if you weren't there.
If you support (or reject) the mission statement and
election of officers- IT IS IMPORTANT for our
legal standing that you reply to this e-mail as such
and state whether or not you opt-in to be included
in the member registry. Please include your full
name, mailing address and especially e-mail address.
This info will not be shared with anyone.
2) Bill, Lauren and I will collaborate on drawing up
the by-laws and a plan of action for the
organization that addresses the fundamental
administrative issues that came up in the meeting.
An Adk climber and lawyer from NYC has offered
pro-bono work on this, and we may take him up on his
offer. We'll present these to the group for a quorum
at the next meeting- ideally in May or- if not- then
in July. We'll let you know asap.
3) Royce Van Evera was appointed chair of the
peregrine advisory committee so they can get right
on it. He is assembling a team of climbers that can
attend a (mandatory) DEC Wildlife peregrine falcon
observer training on April 20 and serve (ideally in
teams of two) as a volunteer observer for a
designated cliff. It is key that Wildlife gets to
know and trust these climbers. Approximately 13
members at the meeting signed on to the committee
(for this season). If you are interested and are
serious about participating and following through
all season, contact Royce at climbing1@adelphia.net
4) Bill Schneider is going to pursue getting a TRP
(temporary revocable permit) for any serious trail
clearing that needs to get done at the Beer Walls
and any other crags with significant deadfall from
this past winter. The most likely scenario would be
to coordinate efforts so that small organized teams
can do the work (in consultation with DEC officials)
over a couple of weekends in May. If you are
interested in helping, contact Bill at arockclimber@hotmail.com
And on a final, personal note. I made it clear at
the meeting that I did not start this process with
the intent of being chairman, but would assume the
responsibility as long as the community endorses it,
and will do my best to follow through. As we all
acknowledged at the meeting, there is the potential
for an infinite amount of (volunteer) work on this,
so we will try to prioritize the most important
issues and do what we can. During most of the
seasons I am quite busy guiding- so am often not at
home during the day, and am often away travelling
for work during parts of the season (for example,
I'm typically gone to the Alaska Range for
May/June). This spring/summer I will be gone most of
April and again for all of June, then here for the
summer. However- one of the officers (with the
exception of early June when Bill and I will be
climbing in AK) - me, Bill or Lauren- should be
around and in touch with what is going on. So feel
free to call me or e-mail me (don't forget to opt-in
or opt-out if you haven't yet) and I promise to
respond as soon as I am able, but I ask for your
patience if I do not respond right away.
Thanks everyone for your support.
Jesse
--------------------
Jesse Williams
PO box 248
Keene, NY 12942
518.576.2242
jesse@adkmtschool.com
Adirondack Rock & River Lodge and Guide Service
Alstead Hill Rd.
Keene, NY 12942
www.rockandriver.com
518.576.2041
|
