Central Rockies Section. In January 2008 the Section held a Basecamp Breakfast at the Ouray Ice Festival. Brittany Griffith spoke about climbing in Spain, and 20 percent of the crowd became new members of the Club by the end of the event. 2008 also saw the launch of the Craggin’ Classic, the AAC’s new regional celebration of climbing, held over the weekend of October 10–12. Events included slideshows by Josh Warton and Jonny Copp, awards, guest climbers, clinics, auctions, art, dancing, and more. Despite a rainy climbing day, the Club got over 300 people out into the vertical (albeit largely the indoor vertical) for the Saturday clinics with Katie Brown, Majka Burhardt, Jonny Copp, Eric Decaria, Chuck Fryberger, Lynn Hill, Andres Marin, Rob Pizem, Josh Wharton, Mark Wilford, and Heidi Wirtz. The Classic was planned in conjunction with Layton Kor’s Boulder slideshow and the finale of the International Climbers Meet, but had a decidedly Colorado flavor with climbers descending on Golden from all over the Front Range. It was a collaborative effort with the Golden Headquarters and the Section, as well as support from industry partners. The success of the event was largely due to the community energy and the sounds of Austin’s best band, The Gourds. The Central Rockies Section is looking to grow and create more engaging and interesting events for its members, including family climbing opportunities, happy hours, and a dirt- bag dinner. We’re lucky to live in one of the most concentrated Meccas of climbing in the U.S., with a range of climbers spanning beginners to legends, with terrain from bouldering to alpine test pieces. We hope to see everyone along the way in the coming year.

Majka Burhardt, Chair