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currupt4130
Dec 9, 2008, 4:41 PM
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I posted this in the regional forum for the particular climbing area but thought I'd post in Access Issues as well, it is of course an access issue.
Hey everyone,
My name is Sam Stephens.
I'm president of the Virginia Tech Rock Climbing Club.
I just got off the phone with a buddy of mine who was out at Bozoo the other day and said there are "No Trespassing" signs EVERYWHERE. Please do not go out there. I have a contact that is local and going to try and talk to the owner. The best thing we can do right now for the area is to just stay away and respect the new landowners desire at the moment. I AM BEGGING YOU, DO NOT CLIMB THERE UNTIL THIS IS RESOLVED. It sucks horribly for me because it's such a close area to climb with fun, quality routes, but for the time being please respect the landowners signs. This is the only way we are going to be able to gain access again, is if we all just step back for the time being and be respectful.
Thanks for your understanding and help. If you want to get in touch with me, please email me at sstephns@vt.edu.
PLEASE DO NOT TRY AND TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS BY GOING AND TALKING TO THE LANDOWNER YOURSELF
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j_ung
Dec 9, 2008, 5:56 PM
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Good thing it's the dead of winter. Let me know if the site can do anything to help, Sam.
J
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justroberto
Dec 9, 2008, 6:19 PM
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Good lord, pretty soon there won't be any climbing left near SWVA. HV, S-Town & Bozoo?
Good luck, Sam. The last time I was out there the old owners (or some people who knew them, at least) rolled up to the top of the cliff (it sounded like they were on a four wheeler) and offered us a beer. Hopefully you guys will be able to foster that goodwill again with the new owner.
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currupt4130
Dec 9, 2008, 6:47 PM
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I just got a little more information. From a little bit of speculation it seems like the landowner just wants to keep hunters off his land. The signs are a little ways down from the cliff line, but above most of the bouldering. We're trying to get everything straight with the landowner and figure out whats up. So for now, even though it's been speculated that the signs are for hunters, they are still No Trespassing signs and should be respected. Pissing off the landowner by ignoring the signs is only going to cause more trouble.
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currupt4130
Dec 9, 2008, 6:48 PM
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j_ung wrote: Good thing it's the dead of winter. Let me know if the site can do anything to help, Sam. J
Thanks J, will do.
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justroberto
Dec 9, 2008, 6:54 PM
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Sweet! Is much of the bouldering on his land? I've never noticed the property boundary flags before.
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j_ung
Dec 9, 2008, 10:17 PM
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currupt4130 wrote: j_ung wrote: Good thing it's the dead of winter. Let me know if the site can do anything to help, Sam. J Thanks J, will do.
FYI: I added a keep-out message to Bozoo in the RDB. I'll keep checking this thread. Let me know if that should be changed.
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currupt4130
Dec 10, 2008, 3:06 PM
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justroberto wrote: Sweet! Is much of the bouldering on his land? I've never noticed the property boundary flags before.
Here's my take on this whole thing. Even though most of the bouldering is on Army Corps land, I feel like if the new land owner gets wind of climbers in the area, he's automatically going to assume that they are on the cliff line. Most people don't know the difference in bouldering and route climbing and I honestly feel like it's better to just leave the area alone for the time being and not go near there at all until this is cleared up.
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mr8615
Dec 11, 2008, 11:16 AM
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Hopefully this is cleared up soon! Bozoo is such a great resource for the VT climbing club (speaking as an ex-pres myself). Let me know if there is anything I can do, Sam! I used to have contact info for the landowners there, has it changed hands in the past two years? I remember them being very cool with climbers, especially the club, being there.
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currupt4130
Dec 11, 2008, 10:12 PM
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mr8615 wrote: Hopefully this is cleared up soon! Bozoo is such a great resource for the VT climbing club (speaking as an ex-pres myself). Let me know if there is anything I can do, Sam! I used to have contact info for the landowners there, has it changed hands in the past two years? I remember them being very cool with climbers, especially the club, being there.
Thanks for the offer, but the land was recently sold. We've always done our best to keep the place as pristine as possible and that's part of why this came as such a shock to me. I've been in contact with a VT faculty member here who is part of Access Fund in MD, he's offered his help to us. I'll try and keep this updated.
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cragmasterp
Dec 24, 2008, 4:12 PM
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Very sad to discover this thread. I established quite a few of the lead climbs on the cliffs, and would like to see people enjoying these well into the future.
Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can help yall with.
Paul Sullivan
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currupt4130
Dec 28, 2008, 11:16 PM
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Thanks Paul. Hopefully I'll be hearing something soon.
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currupt4130
Jan 30, 2009, 9:40 PM
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Here's the deal as I know it now.
From what I've found out, the owner of the property is alright with climbers there. The No Trespassing signs will stay up, but they are only there to "protect himself."
The landowner has also told us that he is very pleased with what he's found out about the climbers and the etiquette of the area. He researched it online and found that we've always been very respectful of our privilege to climb there and that we value that privilege greatly.
With that being said, Bozoo is fair game for climbing. AS ALWAYS: BE RESPECTFUL OF THE PROPERTY AND THE AREA. NOT DOING SO COULD RESULT IN ITS PERMANENT CLOSURE.
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shadowsandwich
Jan 30, 2009, 10:20 PM
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Hey Sam,
I just want to make a comment in regards to Bozoo being fair game. I know you said it above, but I just want to clarify for those who might be new to Bozoo. The owner of the property technically only has rights up to the cliff line. The rest of the land that we use for approaches and bouldering belongs to the Army Core of Engineers, who have made it clear they don't want climbers on the land.
However, the reason we can get away with climbing is because the Army Core basically never utilizes the land. They only employ a few rangers that patrol a large area, of which Bozoo is only a small fraction. This makes it highly unlikely, but possible, that some blue bird day you might just be unlucky enough to get approached by someone who wants to know why you are trespassing on private land.
Obviously, if this happens you should apologize, leave, pretend you're lost, pee yourself, etc... Again, highly unlikely but something to be aware of.
*Edited cause I try to speed read*
(This post was edited by shadowsandwich on Jan 30, 2009, 10:26 PM)
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mr8615
Feb 4, 2009, 12:38 AM
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I'm glad to hear that everything is good with the new landowners!
On the property ownership thread, I thought that the Bluestone Wildlife Management Area and Shanklin's Ferry Campground was owned by the state and managed by the WV Division of Natural Resources. I know the state encourages hiking/camping/etc in this area. Not sure how they feel about bouldering, but I've met rangers out there and explained what we were doing and they merely asked us not to park in the corner of the field where the trailhead is and to stick to parking at the campground. Just wanted to clear that up.
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