The weather, it seems, has finally turned to winter on us. The speed at which 60 degrees switched to 20 makes the head spin more than a doubly exposed belay. And in a not so clarifying prospect this wintery weather is also bringing an end to the climbing season in our snowy state. Well, an end to lot of our climbing. But as many of you know some of the best sport climbing around is accessible and bearable (temperature wise) year round. I am talking about the Shelf Road Recreation Area outside of Canon City, one of RMFI's long time projects.

We started working there in 1991 and have continued our efforts over the last 20 years at making this stellar series of limestone cliffs accessible and sustainable. As a location where climbers of all skill levels can have fun this locality receives lots of traffic, with more and more numbers every year. Curious climbers wander off trail and up slopes to get at that new crimpers and that, on top of shear numbers, means the battle with local erosion is a continuous one.

This year RMFI spent four days working on the Gallery Wall, Mural Wall and Cactus Cliff trails as well as the Sand Gulch Campground. We anticipate spending even more time here in 2012. We work at Shelf Road to make sure that climbers and the environment can exist sustainably together and feel confident that visitors appreciate our services. Our work makes the access easier, the day more fun and the conscience cleaner. Climbers help out by volunteering their time, by staying on trails and by donating money. So, if you climb at Shelf, have some bum nephew that climbs at Shelf (bum in a lovable way) or feel this area postively impacts your life in some other way, go check out IndyGive.com to shoot some money our way so we can continue up-keep of this great area.

The weather for this weekend looks less than stellar but if you are aching for some sport climbing action head down to Shelf sometime this winter and remember RMFI's work. Mountain Project (www.mountainproject.com/v/shelf-road/105744267) has weather, climbing and guidebook information for the rookie. We hope to see you there and thanks for any donations!