A Letter from the President
2023 Wrap-up
Climbers, Family, Supporters, and Friends
The Ragged Mountain Foundation has been busy this year working to uphold our mission to advocate for climbing across Connecticut. As we look back to things we’ve accomplished as a community the foundation is also eager to share some of our priorities for 2024.
2023:
The most considerable project for 2023 was completed in September with the finished repair work to the Stanley Hart Dam. This 95K project could not have been accomplished without the help from donors and from Board member Chuck Boyd. Chuck has been on the board for 24 years, volunteering countless hours to benefit users of the Main Cliff property and rock climbing access across CT. Additional thanks goes out to the Access Fund for awarding the RMF with a 5K conservation grant.
Other accomplishments and projects:
Earth Day Clean-up: We ran a successful clean up of Castle Craig improving the access gulley and cleaning up the cliff line. This effort is important to continue improving our relationship with the City of Meriden and access to over 15 cliffs.
Matching Donation campaign: RMF successfully raised over 16K in donations during a three day push in June to support ongoing projects including paying for the dam project.
Letter Writing campaign: The RMF will continue to send letters signed during several fall events to the City of New Britain on a regular basis. You can still participate by using the template found here.
Bolt Restoration Completed: Huge thanks go out to Matt Shove for his continued support of the RMF mission, donating hours to help bring quality climbs back to life at the Main Cliff. To learn more about why we restored the bolts the following climbs read our Conservation Restrictions here.
2024:
Access & Advocacy
Advocating for access to lands takes time and energy. The RMF is committed to continue to fight for access to key lands across Connecticut. Our main focus for the foreseeable future is Bradley Boulders.
Other focuses:
In addition to several ongoing projects here is a snapshot of several additional priorities and projects the RMF is working on.
Increase Stewardship efforts for several popular climbing areas including: West Rock, Cathole, East Peak, Main Cliff and others.
Connecticut Climbers Forum: join us in May 2024 for the first ever CT climbers gathering where we will discuss a variety of topics including the guided discussion of “Envisioning a bright future for Connecticut Climbing.” More details to come.
To learn more about our initiatives and projects, please join us at the annual meeting and silent auction on Tuesday, January 9th, starting at 6:30pm at Counter Weight Brewing Company in Cheshire, CT.
Use the RSVP link to let us know you are attending.
Want to support but you don’t know where to start? Click on the links below to learn more about each area and how to get involved.
Learn more about our new Traprock Membership (Coming Soon!)
Purchase the Ragged App - 55% of the purchase goes directly to the RMF
Write a letter to the NBWD and Common Council
Purchase a ticket to Reel Rock 18: showing at Cinestudio in Hartford, CT on Feb. 24th, 2024: 7pm
Hope to see you in 2024.
Sincerely,
Kevin Johnson
RMF President