is to protect and improve climbing access and infrastructure, and to conserve climbing resources in the New River Gorge region.

The New River Alliance of Climbers is a non-profit consisting of our Board Members, as well as Committee Members who work towards advocating for the protection of our natural resources, educating climbers of all skill levels about land stewardship and environmental responsibility, and celebrating the sport of climbing.

Together, we hope to create and sustain an informed community of climbers dedicated to protecting our crags and the planet we share.

• Diversity and Inclusivity
  ​​NRAC seeks to grow and solidify a community of climbers from all walks of life. Whether you've grown up in the region, or have been drawn to New River crags from elsewhere, NRAC values your roots and your ability as both climbers and stewards. Check out our Scholarships page to review our Diversity in Climbing Grant!
  

• Education
  Our shared knowledge at crags is critical to ensuring the future of rock climbing. With Access Fund, NRAC seeks to educate climbers on sustainability in and around our climbing areas so that folks can enjoy the same conditions + biodiversity for generations to come.
  

• Advocacy
  ​​Along with Educating each other on best practices at the crag, NRAC collaborates with stakeholders and land owners on agreements that will ensure safe access to our climbing destinations.

Board of Directors

• Matt Carpenter, President

• Jeff Hearn, Vice President

• Tricia DiFranco, Secretary

• Kenny Parker, Treasurer & Head of Anchor Committee

• Nick Smith, Outreach Chair

• Elena Fouch-Watson, Head of Philanthropy Committee

• Gene Kistler, Board Member

• Bryan Simon, Board Member

• Sam Chaber, Board Member

These committee charters are formal documents that define the purpose, structure, and responsibilities of our committees, acting as a guiding framework for how the committee operates and ensures alignment with NRAC’s goals.

Trails Committee

Outreach Committee

Access & Advocacy Committee

Development Committee

Philanthropy Committee

Event Committee

Hardware Committee

In the early 1980s, you could count the number of climbers who even knew about the New River Gorge on your fingers and toes. Today, it’s an international destination and world-class climbing area with thousands of traditional and sport climbs, and a rapidly expanding selection of equally world-class bouldering areas. Ask almost any climber in America if they’ve heard of “the New,” and odds are they’ll say, “Of course!” Many of them will have climbed here before and almost all of them will at least know somebody who has. The sandstone here is unlike anyplace else in the country. It’s bullet hard and seems almost tailor made for a variety of technical, gymnastic and thought-provoking rock climbing.

Led by climbers like Rico Thompson, those 20-odd climbers from 30-odd years ago recognized the potential the region had to attract attention, so they began to think of ways to make it positive in nature. In the early days, they organized for garbage clean-ups, and such projects laid the ground work for a productive and positive relationship between rock climbers and the National Park Service. Eventually, Thompson left to work with the Access Fund, a fledgling climbers’ advocacy organization that has since become a world leader in conserving natural resources AND climbing access.

However, Rico left behind a legacy of service and cooperation that thrives in the New River Gorge still. In the mid 1990s the focus of climber-organized service projects shifted to trail building and physical access. Soon enough, the Park began work on a sweeping climbing management plan. Recognizing that having a unified voice in CMP discussions was vital to climber interests, locals and climbers from surrounding metro areas banded together to form a non-profit, the New River Alliance of Climbers.

Thanks to NRAC, climbers at the New today enjoy the fruit of an almost unprecedented productive relationship with Park management, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and private land owners. We have a standing permit to repair and replace old fixed anchors as we see fit, and to date, we have replaced thousands of those.

Climbing advocacy in America has evolved from a reactionary model toward one that is more proactive in terms of securing access for climbers in the long term, and from one of sole focus on literal, physical access, to one that includes issues of diversity. As the landscape changes, so will NRAC.