In the past, one of the most notable examples of CTM’s cooperation with government for the preservation of public land was the acquisition of Milton Reimer’s Ranch by Travis County in 2005. CTM rallied tremendous support for this purchase at each Travis County Council meeting to show how passionate we were about preserving this pristine land and maintaining access for rock climbing. We have also worked with Travis County officials by contributing towards their development of the master plan of the area and sponsoring trail building projects at this “new” park. Thanks to the support of CTM members, the new North Shore section of Reimer’s opened to the public in early 2012 with scores of new rock climbing routes and more in development. CTM also strenuously advocated for the 2011 Travis County purchase of a large tract of land between Reimer’s Ranch and Hamilton Pool parks that promises to further increase the rock climbing potential in the area.

One of the chief responsibilities of the Texas Climbers Coalition is to help maintain the routes at our local crags to ensure the safety of our climbing areas. This includes cleaning areas of loose rock to reduce rock fall, trail work to minimize erosion and degradation of the climbing areas, as well as periodic bolt and anchor inspection and replacement. Climbing.com had an excellent article on these efforts recently, that you can find here. Funds raised from the Limestoner climbing competition, donations, and membership dues go to support this effort. As with the trail projects, this effort is supported wholly by the selfless work of our volunteers.

To this end, central Texas climbers have established several climbing committees to govern the maintenance of the many climbing areas in and around Austin. The Central Texas Climbing Committee (CTCC) was formed to oversee the bolting at Enchanted Rock. The Routes Committee was established at the request of Travis County to oversee the maintenance and bolting of Reimers Ranch when this land was acquired by the county at the end of 2005. The Routes Committee will also oversee bolting at all Travis County parks, which includes Pace Bend. CTM was responsible for all other areas, which includes the Greenbelt (climbs along Barton Creek), Georgetown, Belton, Bull Creek, etc. As a statewide organization, the TCC hopes to increase our support to all climbing areas of Texas.

Climbing Access

The geology of Texas, with its far reaching ancient seabed sedimentation rock, provides Central Texas with a wealth of limestone cliff bands on both public and private land. We have continually sought to secure and maintain climbing access to these bouldering and sport climbing gems. Several quality climbing areas are conveniently located minutes from downtown in Austin’s own Barton Creek Greenbelt. Others are on the outskirts of Austin at the Enchanted Rock and McKinney Falls State Parks. Others are found on private land, like Monster Rock near Pace Bend.

CTM played a pivotal role in supporting Travis County’s acquisition and preservation of private lands, such as Milton Reimers Ranch, for public use and enjoyment.  In places where climbing access has been threatened, like Hueco Tanks in El Paso, CTM members have played an active role in trying to negotiate and retain access.