TAWKROC (the Association of West Kootenay Rock Climbers) is a non-profit registered society with a mandate to encourage and promote the stewardship and preservation of public access for rock climbing sites in the West Kootenay Region of British Columbia.

Purposes

    1. To hold title/ownership of the Kinnaird Bluff property in Castlegar, BC.
      1. To engage with local and provincial government in the creation of a park at Kinnaird Bluffs.
      2. To develop a Best Practices Guide for Kinnaird with other stakeholders in order:
        1. To maintain the unique environmental qualities of the property within its urban setting while fostering good relationships with the surrounding residential neighbours.
        2. To encourage positive outdoor ethics for the area by crafting accessible standards for sustainable, ecologically-sensitive, multi-sport usage.
        3. To celebrate the historical significance of the area, which has been used by rock climbers, hikers and outdoor lovers for the past 65 years.
    2. To encourage and promote environmentally sensitive standards and stewardship of new and existing cliff and mountain areas including:
      1. Developing best practices guidelines.
      2. Funding trail and route maintenance.
    3. To encourage and promote environmentally sensitive and sustainable use of unique cliffside and mountain areas to families and youth.

TAWKROC also helps provide funds for:

  • Retrofitting and upgrading of existing routes thought to be unsafe
  • Trail building and maintenance
  • Fixed anchors and protection on new routes

TAWKROC is a chapter of CASBC (the Climbers Access Society of BC) which facilitates access, conserves and maintains the cliffs and mountains of British Columbia. The West Kootenay CASBC representative is Vince Hempsall.

To see all of TAWKROC’s bylaws, please download the PDF: TAWKROC Bylaws