Northern Rockies Section. 2004 was a busy and productive year in the Northern Rockies. We began the year in Boise with a video presentation by Dick Dorworth of the classic 1968 Funhog Expedition to Patagonia, which resulted in the third ascent of Fitz Roy. See AAJ1969: pp. 263-269.

Also in January Brian Cabe represented the AAC at the Climbing Management Planning session at the City of Rocks and Castle Rocks State Park. He and other local climbers helped review the climbing rules and clarify/change those that were not working. Also, Brian has taken over as the Section’s Salt Lake City area leader, replacing Mark Holbrook, who moved to Oregon.

The Boise group partnered with the Boise Climbers Alliance to complete the Black Cliffs Trail Project. In 2003 a flash flood washed out the trail and parking area for one of the more popular climbing areas at the Cliffs. Thanks to indispensable grants from the AAC Domestic Conservation Committee and the Access Fund, a project was underwritten to clean up existing trails, install new ones where needed, and sign each of the entry points with a kiosk. The kiosks provide trail maps and information for climbers and about the status of local raptors. On May 22-23 over 60 eager volunteers turned out to complete all of the planned trail reconstruction Brian Fedigan was particularly commended for his effective role as project leader.

In late September the Section hosted the annual Moondance at the City of Rocks National Reserve. The Section hosts the campsite with space available on a first-come-first- serve basis. We had over 75 people attending with the campsite completely full, which represents a large increase over prior years. Saturday night featured a gala BBQ and the telling of tall tales around the bonfire. We will continue the popular Moondance on September’s harvest moon weekend.

The Barrel Mountaineering Ice Festival is held in Bozeman, Montana, and is sponsored by Brent Bishop’s Barrel Mountaineering. In conjunction with the festival we set up an AAC display table for two evenings. Many existing and potential members stopped by to ask about the Club in the Bozeman area. Tom Kalakay has agreed to serve as the the AAC contact and try to establish the Club’s presence there.

Doug Colwell, Chair