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Rock Climbing News - November 2008
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Thursday, 27 November 2008Stanton, CA -- Stanton Lions celebrated the dedication of Harry M. Dotson Park. The park is located on Fern Street near Cerritos Avenue in the city of Stanton. Park amenities include a basketball court, climbing area, water feature which allows kids to get wet, and a pirate ship. There were over four hundred fifty visitors to the park on opening day.
Harry Dotson was a long time Stanto n resident and community activist. Dotson graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts. Harry served his country by enlisting in the US Navy, and worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. After serving his country Harry dedicated his life to serving his community. He served as Mayor of Stanton, several terms as councilperson, planning commission member, cable TV oversight board member, Orange County Library Board, Senior Advisory Board, Federal Energy Conservation Officer, Board-member of the Integrated Waste Management Commission, member of the American Legion Post 783 and served as president of the Stanton Neighborhood Center.
It's fitting that the park was dedicated to Dotson because his main focus was improving the lives of children living in or around Stanton. He served the PTA of Wakeham and Alamitos Schools, the booster club of Pacifica High School, and coached youth sports teams. Harry was also involved in with local Boy Scouts and won the prestigious Award of Merit from the Boy Scouts of America.
Harry is best known to many through his involvement with the Stanton Lions Club. Past Stanton Lion President David Parikh recalled his involvement with the club, "Harry was a great asset to the club. He would arrange for guest speakers and find ways for us to help out in the community. It seemed like everyone knew him and everyone genuinely appreciated his intellect. He had an ability to get things moving. When the Lions would have a disagreement, Harry was the one to offer a compromise we could all agree on. He really cared about the kids in the community. He would always remind us that we are in business for the kids."
The Stanton Lions were out in full force at the dedication of the park. They served ice cream and many lion spoke at the dedication.
For more information about the Stanton Lions www.stantonlions.org.
Source: www.pr.com
Wednesday, 26 November 2008Have you ever wondered what it would be like to rope up with Steph Davis on Moab's desert sandstone or climb ice with pro Will Mayo? Mammut USA, has teamed up again with Big City Mountaineers to create Pitches with Pros, a new program that will send a handful of lucky winners on their trip of a lifetime, while helping urban teens to do the same.
The sweepstakes is under way now and end s 1/11/09. Five winners will be drawn and paired up with one of our five professional climbers:
o Dean Lords
o Dean Potter
o Steph Davis
o Will Mayo
o Sean Jones
$5 per entry or 5 for $20 -- All proceeds benefit Big City Mountaineers. For complete raffle rules and regulations, and to enter the contest at any time, click here. For information on the Pros, try here or here.
Source: www.rockclimbing.com
Tuesday, 25 November 2008Many visitors will forgo climbing Uluru if given advanced and accurate information about its Aboriginal owner's perspective. A study in Geographical Research, published by Wiley-Blackwell, finds that both non-Aboriginal visitors and tour operators showed openness to the owners' – the Anangu – view of Uluru, and their wish that the sacred rock not be climbed.
The paper, "Constructing th e Climb: Visitor Decision-Making at Uluru" by Sarah James, suggests that a more proactive pre-trip representation of the Anangu's sentiments will allow visitors to make a more informed decision with regard to the climb.
"There is a great potential to change the visitors' choice of climbing Uluru. Many tourists continue to climb as they are given the impression in pre-trip tourism information that it is desirable and acceptable. It is too late to affect their decision by the time they see the 'Please Do Not Climb' sign at the base of Uluru", says Ms. James.
Almost all of the tourists interviewed felt that there was insufficient information available about the Anangu's feelings. They also felt that the information was presented to them too late. Many suggested that – if informed earlier – they would decide to not proceed with the climb.
Tour operators also suggest that the climb was no longer as central to their business as once considered, and that closure of the climb would not cause any significant long-term damage to business.
Uluru has historically symbolized a split between settler and Aboriginal concepts of place and of appropriate actions within place. The highly contested site was handed back to the Anangu in 1985, and tourists continue to swarm to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park with almost half of its 400 000 visitors climbing Uluru.
Ms. James adds, "Tourist surveys suggest that the tourism industry could do a lot more to dissuade people from climbing Uluru without encountering the level of resistance previously anticipated. Visitors indicated they would respect the wishes of the Anangu not to climb if these were more clearly and compellingly presented before they arrived."
An earlier version of the paper was presented at the Institute of Australian Geographers Annual Conference in 2005.
Source: www.prlog.org
Monday, 24 November 2008Pisgah Forest, NC -- Looking Glass Outfitters announced that their John Bachar Slideshow on November 15th raised over $1600 for the Carolina Climbers Coalition. The proceeds, generated by ticket sales, sponsorship, and silent auction of vendor-donated items, have helped to finalize the CCC's three year push to pay for the acquisition of Laurel Knob, a stunning granite cliff in western North Carol ina and previously endangered by land development. The land purchase solidifies the area as a phenomenal resource for climbers and outdoor enthusiasts for future generations.
November 15th coincided with the Re-launch of Looking Glass Outfitters, recently purchased by Phil and Jessica Hoffmann. The Hoffmanns have many connections to the Brevard area, and have just returned to the southeast after a year-long stint in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Phil worked for the Teton Valley Branch of NOLS and Jessica worked for Mountain Khakis. Jessica continues to work for Mountain Khakis, and Phil has taken the reins of the store with the goal of expanding the store's offering of climbing, trailrunning, camping, and hiking gear and making LGO an area leader for outdoor equipment. Having worked throughout the state as a climbing guide, camp director and climbing gym manager, Phil is uniquely familiar with the outdoor playground of western North Carolina, and the nuances of the gear designed for each activity it encompasses.
Phil cites the draw of Pisgah National Forest, the area's world-class climbing, and the strong outdoor community as the driving forces that persuaded he and his wife to return to western North Carolina and purchase Looking Glass Outfitters. The Re-launch party was well attended, and the slideshow, offered in partnership with Appalachian Mountain Institute, Brevard Rock Gym, Fox Mountain Guides, and Brevard College, gathered over 100 outdoor enthusiasts. "It was a great opportunity to bring a legendary climber to the area and share the celebration of new ownership with the community," says Jessica. "We have a strong desire to expand our involvement with local organizations that foster outdoor pursuits in the area as we grow the store." Visit Looking Glass Outfitters at 90 New Hendersonville Highway in Pisgah Forest, NC or at Lookingglassoutfitters.com.
Source: www.rockclimbing.com
Monday, 17 November 2008Cleveland, OH -- Excelsior Learning (www.excelsior-learning.com) announces the 4th annual Achieving Breakthrough Results team-building and creative-thinking event. This day long experiential-learning program, led by President, Dan Coleman, takes new business leaders through hands-on team building and personal development activities. The learning event culminates in a 15-mile cycling excursion and rock climb in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area.
Achieving Breakthrough Results is designed to strengthen team unity and effectiveness while developing creative thinking and communication skills. The event is an unconventional experience, enabling individuals, groups, and teams, sometimes seen as adversarial and unaccustomed to "partnering," to explore and discover important reasons for working together to develop innovative solutions and turn them into business opportunities.
"The primary goal of the program is for the participants to bond as a team. This is their first day on the job," says Coleman, who facilitates the experiential-learning event. "The combination of cycling and rock climbing is a powerful catalyst for team cohesion. The 18-mile cycling event is long enough to be challenging, while rock climbing is exhilarating and fun. The participants have a strong bond with each other by day's end."
The day begins with participants learning about the conditions needed for a creative environment. Coleman uses his own creative-thinking exercise called "The Magic Carpet Ride," an experiential-learning activity using an electronically programmable mat. Challenged with navigating a safe path across the carpet, participants have to think quickly to solve the problem. As a team, they develop communication, problem-solving, team-planning, and leadership skills.
Experiential learning goes beyond traditional classroom training. It breaks the teacher-student dialogue model to create a new learning environment and experience. Hands-on exercises enable participants to gain immediate learning, and to process and apply their creative solutions and insights. A skilled facilitator is essential to effective experiential learning; Coleman's ability to guide the process stimulates participant learning.
"I use creative and adventurous learning methods to make content come alive," says Coleman. "People learn most when applying—in the doing. The art is getting people excited about the doing, creating a non-threatening yet challenging environment where each person can go as far, and as fast, as possible."
To prepare for the cycling event, Coleman explains the key aspects of cycling—pacing, cadence, and drafting, that the participants will use on their ride. He then connects each cycling technique to successful team performance in the workplace. For example, drafting is when a cyclist maneuvers his or her front wheel to within a few inches of the leading cyclist’s rear wheel. While the lead rider is battling wind resistance, he or she “pulls” the following rider along in his or her wake, allowing the next cyclist to ride using approximately 35% less energy than the leader.
Coleman facilitates a discussion on using "drafting" in the workplace. He explains the value of taking turns leading and drafting—that as colleagues taking care of each other and sharing the leadership and drafting tasks, everyone is more productive and utilizes their energy more effectively.
Ready to ride, Coleman leads the group on the 15-mile cycling excursion in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. During the ride, cyclists use the new skills they have learned earlier in the day to help them successfully complete their ride.
At the finish line, Coleman holds a debriefing session of the excursion and helps the cyclists connect what they experienced on their ride to their jobs. Team members reflect on their key learnings and capture them in their personal leadership journals. The experiential-learning approach helps participants develop strong team cohesion in hours, rather than in the weeks or months it takes in the day-to-day work environment.
Pat Virost, Barnes Distributions' Director of Human Resources, shared, "This was our fourth year for this experience and it has consistently been the highlight of the week. It was the right experience to build a team and ensure personal development. It energized the team and kept them motivated all week during their formal 'leadership' education."
For more information about Excelsior LearningTM’s adventurous, experiential learning programs, Dan Coleman, or to purchase a copy of his book, Bursts of Fresh-Squeezed IdeasTM visit www.excelsior-learning.com. Excelsior LearningTM its logo, and Bursts of Fresh-Squeezed IdeasTM book and workshops are trademarks of Excelsior LearningTM in the United States.
Source: www.pr.com
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