Climbing Advocacy Conference

Welcome to Access Fund’s Climbing Advocacy Conference: A Global Perspective on Local Solutions

Thank you to everyone who joined us virtually on November 14–15, 2020.

You can now visit the conference platform to view recordings from this event.

Planned in partnership with:

Photo credit clockwise from top left: Truc Allen, Simon Carter, Francois Lebeau, Haeda Photography

Our conference is the leading climbing advocacy and conservation conference, and the largest gathering of local climbing organizations focused on protecting access to climbing areas. This event offered more than a dozen sessions focused on climbing conservation and advocacy topics: public lands, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, trails and infrastructure, rebolting, mobilizing and engaging your climbing community, fundraising, climbing’s economic impact, and much more.

This year, our Climbing Advocacy Conference was entirely virtual. For the first time, our conference was open to international attendees and speakers to learn how advocates across the globe are gaining and maintaining climbing access.

The Climbing Advocacy Conference provides critical skills to give back to your community when access issues arise.

The Agenda

*Subject to change

Day One: November 14

9–9:15 a.m. MT
Welcome Speech
9:15–10:15 a.m. MT
Roundtable – Get to know the group as we encourage attendees to introduce themselves and give us insight into their home crag’s access issues.
10:15 a.m.–3:30 p.m. MT
Panels – Choose from topics including Climbing as an Economic Force, Best Practices in Community Engagement, Respecting Bats and Raptors, and more, with speakers from around the globe.
6–7:30 p.m. MT
Mountainfilm on Tour – Join us for a virtual program of inspiring and captivating films handpicked from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado. The program will feature a collection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and engaging documentary short films that align with Mountainfilm’s mission to use the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world.

Day Two: November 15

8-9 a.m. MT
Yoga for Climbers
9–10:30 a.m. MT
Regional Meetings - Break into smaller meetings to hear from Access Fund regional directors and the local climbing organizations that work on protecting access to your favorite climbing areas.
10:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m. MT
Panels – Choose from topics including The State of DEI in Climbing, Bolting and Anchor Management Practices, Innovative Approaches to Sustainability in the Mountains, and more.
4 p.m. MT
Wrap up and check out a list of ways to volunteer in your community.