Restore Rumney

Rumney Rocks in central New Hampshire is home to an amazing concentration of world-class climbing that spans 38 cliffs. Rumney has become an increasingly popular destination for climbers from the Northeast and across the country. This expanding use has led to soil erosion due to deteriorating or non-existent infrastructure, and a confusing and unsustainable network of social trails throughout the area. Read more about the issues here: Rumney at Risk—Impacts Reach Tipping Point.

The Restore Rumney Initiative is intended to address the bulk of these impact issues, and Access Fund’s Conservation Teams are committed to seeing this area stewarded. The total cost estimate for this project is $155,000 to cover two seasons of professional trail crews and supplies. To date, Access Fund has invested $60,000 in professional crew time to address trail infrastructure needs at Orange Crush and the Meadows. So far, we have raised $31,000 with the help of the Rumney Climbers Association, the community, and corporate partners. As we endeavour to complete our goals for stewardship of this important climbing area, we need climbers' help to cover costs Access Fund has already incurred in this critical stewardship work. Once we span this current gap, we can start focusing on the work that’s still needed at places like Main Cliff and 5.8 Crag.

Help Restore Rumney

Please make a donation today to help fund critical stewardship at Rumney Rocks, before it's too late.
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Restore Rumney 2019
Successes

Orange Crush

  • Constructed a stone staircase to address severe erosion issues on the trail accessing Orange Crush and the slab used to access routes from Crusher to Orangahang.


Meadows Crag

  • Constructed a tiered system of walls to stabilize the staging areas on the left side of the crag.
    Before:



    After:

  • Constructed a wall and set of stairs to stop gullying of the trail leading to the right side of the crag to protect tree roots and direct climbers onto a durable surface.

    Before:

    After:

Proposed Phase 2 (Funding Dependent)

5.8 Crag

  • Remove the failing retaining structure, rebuilding it in order to stabilize the staging area and preserve trees and vegetation.

Main Wall

  • Stabilize the Far Right Side staging area and construct a passing trail.
  • Install control structures and visual cues to stabilize and contain the expanding impacts at Center Area.
  • Conduct root conservation on shade trees to prevent erosion.

Make a Donation Today

Access Fund is shovel-ready, but we need the community's help to fund this critical restoration effort.
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Local Media

Rumney's famous rocks hang on, but climbers worry (The Laconia Daily Sun)