Greg Hughes

The Ascent New Brunswick executive is very happy to announce that all CFB climbing areas have been reopened for members of Ascent New Brunswick. This includes Cochrane Lane, Sunnyside, Bald Peak and Mount Douglas. As per usual, please call in prior to entering the climbing area and be certain to call out when you leave.

Preamble

Below is Ascent NB’s 2025 Annual Report. The purpose of the report is to give you a year in review that includes the most important items pertaining to Ascent NB and its members. 

1. Membership

• As of September 23 we have a grand total of 192 registered members. That is down from 215 at the same time last year. The drop in membership has been noticed at the crags this season. There seems to be a significant reduction in the amount of climber traffic to all crags, especially Cochrane Lane.
• As a reminder, children under the age of 16 don’t need a membership if climbing with their parent/guardian and their parent/guardian has a membership.

2. Elections

• This year the following positions were up for re-election:
  • Exec - President - held by Greg Hughes
  • Exec – Treasurer - held by Mike Delaney
  • Exec - Crag Stewardship Coordinator - held by Michel Martin
  • Board – Director - held by Dom Caron
  • Board – Director - held by Phillippe Ouellette. 
• The AGM notice was sent in August inviting candidates to come forward. 
• All incumbents reoffered. 
• The above individuals will hold their seats for another two year term. 

3. Resignation

• Alex Couette resigned his position as secretary and Denise Hamel was appointed by the executive to take his place. Denise will hold the position for the remainder of Alex's tenure. 

4. Access 

• The unusually dry summer created some access issues for Ascent and its members. After the provincial government closed crown land to recreation, all climbing areas were closed with the exception of Hampton Marsh (Roadside Wall).
• As the summer came to an end, things gradually reopened with the exception of CFB Gagetown Crags.
• Our NMU (non military usage) agreement with the base has expired and there has been a delay in having it renewed. We are doing everything we can to remedy the situation and hope to have a new agreement signed sometime in October.   

5. Development

• New route development continues at a similar pace to last year. Hampton Marsh, Cochrane Lane and Red Rock Mountain all saw new routes added throughout the season. Highlights included a new wall developed at Red Rock (Redacted Wall), many new routes at Hampton, along with a new area at Cochrane Lane (The Loft) with 7 new routes. 
• Please consider donating to the route development fund so we can reimburse the route developers for their hardware expenses. Also, so that we can continue to update anchors at all of our crags.
• Donations can be made by sending an email money transfer to ascentnbdevelopmentfund@gmail.com

6. Icefest 2024

• Icefest was held at the Hatchery Ice Crag located near Parlee Brook in February. This was the second year for the event and it was a big success. 
• Tom Cushnie graciously allowed us to use his land for the climbing and his home for the after party. 
• This year's event was covered by CBC news (radio and TV) with our event organizer Michel Martin as the spokesperson who did a fantastic job representing Ascent and explaining ice climbing to the public. Thank you Michel!
• By the way, there are still ice fest hats and t-shirts available for sale to anyone who wants one.

7. Red Rock Rendezvous

• The Red Rock Rendezvous was scheduled for Red Rock Mountain in April but the weather just would not cooperate this year and after rescheduling several times we had to cancel the event.
• We hope to resume the event next spring. 

8.  Adopt-A-Crag Program

• After achieving very limited success with this we have decided to completely restructure the program and will provide an update as soon as possible. 

10. Annual General Meeting Agenda

• Call meeting to order
• Recording of attendance
• Approval of the agenda
• President’s update
• Appointment of Ascent NB Board of Director and Executive positions
• Approval of 2025 Annual Report
• Treasurer’s Report
• Update on the new guidebook from Eric Sloan
• Update on NB Climbing app from Peter Adamson and it’s continued expansion
• Update on CNS from Will Sarty
• Questions and feedback from membership
• Adjournment

Preamble
Below is Ascent NB’s 2024 Annual Report. To avoid interminable presentations around the fire during the AGM, below are the Ascent NB 2024 AGM updates. Some will be discussed on September 14th and others will be limited to this written update.
A huge thanks to Backtrails Radical Edge, River and Trail, Fredericton Bouldering Co-op, Graystone Brewing and Fitrocks for their contributions to the 2024 Ascent NB AGM.

1. Membership

• At the time of “print”, there are 215 Ascent NB members registered this year. The yearly registration is from April 1 to March 31.
• As a reminder, children under the age of 16 don’t need a membership if climbing with their parent/guardian and their parent/guardian has a membership.

2. Election

• This year the following positions were up for re-election:
  • Exec – Vice-President - held by Philippe Labbé;
  • Exec – Secretary - held by Alexandre Caouette;
  • Board – Director - held by Joe Kennedy;
  • Board – Director - held by Shawn Bethune; and
  • Board – Director - held by Sophia Konermann.
• The AGM notice was sent on August 7th seeking candidatures. This notice set out the deadline for the submissions of candidature;
• All incumbents except Joe Kennedy (Board) reoffered. Thank you for your hard work since 2013, Joe!
• Céleste Gaudet of the Fredericton region submitted her candidacy. She is acclaimed and will be taking Joe Kennedy’s seat on the Board. Welcome Céleste!
• As such, all other individuals above are acclaimed and their respective mandates are renewed for 2 years.

3. Resignation

• Luke Perrin has resigned his position on the Executive as the Crag Stewardship Coordinator. The Executive will appoint a replacement to finish the 1-year left on his mandate. Stay tuned!

4. Access

• Access remains unchanged at most areas and is generally very good;
• Make sure to call in when climbing at one of the Welsford crags (Cochrane Lane, Sunnyside, Mount Douglas and Bald Peak).

5. Development

• Since last year’s AGM, many first ascents have been established;
• The hardware on those routes adds up. Developers in addition to devoting their time, energy and effort should not also incur a financial hit when putting these up for the community. As such, please consider contributing by sending a donation via Etransfer to ascentnbdevelopmentfund@gmail.com

6. Icefest 2024

• Icefest was held at the Hatchery of Parlee Brook in February. Many new and old faces were seen and the event gave a chance to entry-level climbers to try ice for the first time.
• Experienced climbers also benefited from the event by receiving wonderful advice from experienced Québec ice climbers Stas Beskin and Caroline Ouellette.
• The evening was topped off with a slideshow presentation and a nice outdoor fire.
• This will likely become an annual event.

7. Red Rock Rendezvous

• The Red Rock Rendezvous was held at Red Rock Mountain in April.
• This event provided approximately 50 climbers with an opportunity to try outdoor climbing in a safe space.
• Plans are to make this even an annual event.

8. JEDI

• This policy is one of Ascent’s foundational documents. As such, we are constantly seeking to improve it.
• Any feedback is appreciated. There is a Climber’s feedback form that can be found pinned in Ascent NB’s Facebook page

9. Adopt-A-Crag

• In 2024, Ascent created an “Adopt-A-crag” program similar to the “Adopt-AHighway” programs found throughout North America.
• The purpose of the program is to help keep our climbing areas in good condition. In order to do that we need help from members of our climbing community.
• Our goal is to have at least one person assigned to each of the crags on the list below.
• At this time, not every crag has been adopted. Also, Cochrane Lane needs at least 3 volunteers. If you want to adopt a crag or for more information, please send us an email: ascentnb@gmail.com.
• List of duties include the following:
  • Removal of trash;
  • Reporting or fixing hardware concerns, (loose, or rusty bolts, anchors in need of replacement, etc.); 
  • Maintaining trails (trimming branches, moving dead trees off the trail);
  • Cleaning established climbing routes.
• The crags and their sponsors so far:
  • Greenlaw - Todd Watts
  • Greenhead Cove - Henry and Stacie Yates
  • Hampton - Greg Hughes
  • Sunnyside - Dom Caron
  • Cochrane Lane - Greg Hughes,
  • Mcquirks -
  • Utopia - Will Groom
  • Red Rock Mountain -
  • Cedar Point -
  • Glen Falls - Brett Langis
  • Mount Douglas -
  • Bear Mountain -
  • Eagle Rock –
• As a reminder, every climber must keep crags clean. Make sure to pack out everything you packed in. Together we can keep NB crags clean and free of trash!

10. Annual General Meeting Agenda
Prior to beginning the annual general meeting, Ascent NB Board Members will run through the procedure and parameters of the meeting.

• Call meeting to order
• Land acknowledgement
• Recording of attendance
• Approval of minutes (date of last AGM minutes)
• Approval of the agenda
• President’s update
• Business matters
• Appointment of Ascent NB Board of Director and Executive positions
• Approval of 2024 Annual Report
• Finance Report
• Other business
• Adjournment

Ascent New Brunswick is launching the Adopt Crag program. The purpose of the program is to help keep our climbing areas in good condition. In order to do that we need help from members of our climbing community. Our goal is to have at least one person assigned to each of the crags on the list below. Volunteers will carry out a list of duties. See below for the list. Larger crags like Cochrane Lane will need several people. If you would like to give back to the community and help in our efforts to maintain our climbing areas in good condition, please consider joining in this effort.

For more information or to sign up send us an email indicating which crag you would like to be a steward for. 

List of crags:

1. Cochrane Lane
2. Sunnyside
3. Eagle Rock
4. Bear Mountain
5. Mount Douglas
6. Cedar Point
7. Greenhead Cove
8. Glenfalls
9. Red rock Mountain
10. McQuirks Mountain
11. Utopia
12. Greenlaw 
13. Hampton
14. Chickahominy

List of duties:

1. removal of trash
2. Hardware concerns, (loose, or rusty bolts, anchors in need of replacement, etc.)
3.  Maintaining trails (trimming branches, moving dead trees off the trail). 
4. Cleaning established climbing routes. 
5. Suggestions for improvements  

We are now into the 2024 membership season and it is time to renew your Ascent NB membership (or join for the first time)! We are currently accepting memberships for the 2024 season (April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025).

To complete this process click on the link below and follow the steps described on that page:

Membership – Ascent NB

All existing memberships will expire as of March 31, 2024. Join now to ensure you're ready to go as soon as that first warm, sunny day arrives! Members that renewed their memberships recently will retain their good standing. Memberships are typically processed by Thursday evening each week.

Membership rates are $40 for adults and $20 for students.

We remind all members that the Peregrine Falcon closure at Cochrane Lane is in effect as usual, and no climbing is allowed between Gollum's Cave and Pooh Corner from April 1 to August 1. Reindeer Land is fair game, as is Waterfall Layback, but not in between.

Remember, being a member of Ascent New Brunswick comes with its rewards, such as:

• special access privilege to CFB Gagetown cliffs all year-round,
• access to events like the Red Rock Rendezvous on April 29th or the Welsford Rendezous in September,
• the knowledge that you're supporting an organization that maintains access to climbing areas in New Brunswick as its focus.
• access to climbing areas in New Brunswick like McQuirks, Kingston, Parlee Brook, the Hatchery and Glebe Road Ice Crags