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APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB

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NEW YORK-NORTH JERSEY CHAPTER

ANNUAL REPORT 2014

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103rd ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Table of Contents

2014 OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS 3

REPORT FROM THE CHAPTER CHAIR 4

REPORT FROM THE TREASURER 5

ACTIVITY COMMITTEE REPORTS BACKPACK

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BICYCLE 9

CANOE & KAYAK 11

CLIMBING 14

HIKING 19

SAILING NR

SINGLES & SOCIABLES 21

SKI 22

SOFTBALL 23

WALKS & OUTINGS 24

YOUNG MEMBERS 25

FACILITIES, SERVICES & COMMUNICATIONS

COMMITTEE REPORTS

ADVISORY 28

ARCHIVES 29

CHAPTER YOUTH NR

COMMUNICATIONS NR

CONSERVATION NR

FIRE ISLAND 30

HOSPITALITY 31

MEMBERSHIP 32

NOMINATING 34

NYNJ TRAIL CONERENCE 35

TRAILS NR

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TRAILS & WAVES NR

WILDERNESS FIRST AID 365

* NR, No Report Submitted

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2014 Officers and Committee Chairs Executive Committe Chair Eileen Yin

Vice Chair Jane Levenson

Secretary Loretta Brady

Treasurer Barry Wolfe

Activities Christine Benton

Facilities & Services Richard Dabal

Communications Beth Harrison

Regional Director Henry F. Schreiber

Activity Committee Chairs Backpack

Bicycle

Canoe & Kayak

Climbing

Christine Benton

Glenn Barnes

Andy Lo Pinto

Aneta Rogoz

Hiking

Sailing

Cynthia Tollo-Falls

John Sheets

sh Singles & Sociables Margo Moss

Ski

Softball

Richard Seibel

Russell Kellogg

Young Members

Walks & Outings

Lisa Williams

Jim Robbins

Facilities & Services Chairs Chapter Youth Programs Harold Petzold

Conservation Elaine Fenton

NY/NJ Trail Conference

Robert

Robert Fuller

Fire Island

Nominating

Anita Barberis

Richard Barcia

Wilderness First Aid Jonathan Silver,, Maureen McCahery Trails Steven Weismann

Communication Chairs Archives Jack Reilly

Hospitality Bob Susser

Marketing/Events Suzanne Villegas

Public Relations Amanda Bossard Publications

Henry F. Schreiber

Trails & Waves Faren MacDonald

Staff Program Manager Lauren Zondag

Chapter Services Manager Mike Burke

Special thank you to Loretta Brady, Secretary & Michael Burke office@amc-ny.org who assembled all

reports.

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Special thank you to Susannah Hatch shatch@outdoor.org , who will show us how to archive these

documents by the use of AMC’s Summit sharepoint.

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Report from the Chapter Chair

Eileen Yin, Chapter Chair

This has been another exciting and busy year for your Executive Committee. We targeted four focus areas that are priorities for our chapter … Recognizing Volunteers, Developing Leaders, Strengthening Communications with our Members, and making Harriman Camp a reality. The Executive Committee was particularly determined to spend our time, energy and funding on you, the volunteers who make us such a vibrant community. I am especially excited that we implemented three new annual awards exemplifying the values of our chapter. The recipients of our inaugural Inspirational Award, Ambassador Award and Unsung Hero Award are wonderful examples of the dedicated volunteers who make our chapter such a welcoming community of outdoor enthusiasts. For the first time in many years, we have also filled all leadership roles in our many Activity, Services, and Communications Committees. Our committee chairs have such brilliant new ideas and enthusiasm, it’s easy envision the continuing strength of our chapter. I am especially thrilled that we have a new Trails and Waves Editor, who will be bringing us an online newsletter blog early in 2015. I’m also excited that our Young Members Committee is expanding To modernize our chapter, reach out to new members and ensure the future of our chapter, we focused on our electronic tools, building our the website, monthly eBlasts, electronic newsletter, and Meetups. Our paper schedule book will be replaced in Q1 2015 with printable online schedule. For members, a free hardcopy may be requested by calling the office. The most exciting work we’ve done this year is to start planning a new Harriman Camp. We continue to work closely with the club and their professional staff to develop facility and programming ideas. John Judge has been a special advocate. Next year the 2015 Executive Committee will build on this year’s foundation. We will extend recognition to volunteers who have continuously served the chapter, fund social events such as a Spring Picnic (hopefully at our Harriman Camp location!), hold monthly foundational leadership training courses, reconnect with members with the long-awaited return of Trails & Waves blog, and make Harriman Camp a reality.

Respectfully submitted, Eileen Yin Chapter Chair New York-North Jersey Chapter

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Report from the Chapter Treasurer

Barry Wolfe, Chapter Treasurer

INCOME AND EXPENSE - 2010 to 2014

'10 Actual '11 Actual '12 Actual '13 Actual

revised

'14 budget

'14 Actual (as

of Dec 27 '14)

Income:

Contributions:

Total Contributions 1,500 545 2,168 615 1,000 600

Dues:

Chapter Allocation 43,797 42,798 42,002 40,383 40,000 40,371

Interest Income:

Chase MM 12 9

Endowment Funds 18,710 20,454 21,131 21,452 21,000 21,814

Total Interest 18,722 20,454 21,131 21,461 21,000 21,814

Membership Sales:

Online Sales 13,508 4,960 6,505 8,993 5,000 5,270

OTC / Mail Sales 1,581 0

Total Membership Sales 15,089 4,960 6,505 8,993 5,000 5,270

Sales Expenses:

AMC Joy St. Share -7,570

Online Service/Bank fees -1,313

Sales Postage -274 -267 -321 -140

Total Sales Expenses -9,157 -267 -321

Net Membership Sales

Income

5,932

4,693

6,184

-140

Total Income 69,951 68,490 71,485 71,312 67,000 68,055

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Expenses:

Annual Dinner:

Attendee Receipts -1,789 -2,547 -3,890 -1,349 -3,000 -2,546

Dinner Expenses ($1k '15 deposit)

3,404

3,871

5,278

2,734

5,000

4,304

Total Annual Dinner

1,616

1,324

1,388

1,385

2,000

1,758

Activities:

Wilderness First Aid

WFA- Course Income -4,002 -4,815 -4,368 -3,207 -3,200 -3,341

WFA- Expenses 2,360 3,520 2,539 2,185 2,000 2,199

Total Wilderness First Aid

Activities- Other

-1,642

0

-1,295

0

-1,829

0

-1,021 -1,200 -1,142

Total Activities -1,642 -1,295 -1,829 -1,021 -1,200 616

Contributions (other Chapters,

etc.) 2,000

Van to Mohican (paid to van service) 1,740 1,400 1,400

Van to Mohican (received from passengers) -1,137

Van to White Mountains 528

Speaker Series -1,000

Admin & Office:

Archives 2,283

Chapter Manager's Salary 17,472 17,472 18,144 19,444 18,000 18,384

Dues and Subscription 50 50 50 50 100 50

Furniture & Equipment 671 695 300 276

Internet Access & Website 585 200 170 500

Insurance 1,626 1,406 1,265 1,300 1,500 1,354

Leader Recognition & Training 723 7,213 2,358

Postage 2,061 855 1,118 1,070 1,200 750

Rent 20,550 12,128 12,600 17,900 21,600 18,888

Supplies & Misc/Bank Fees 737 1,724 1,587 2,112 1,500 1,275

Telephone 965 599 430 789 800

Web Team Expenses 0 852 70 200 521

Total Admin & Office Exp. 47,000 34,434 36,046 44,323 52,913 43,856

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Executive Committee:

Meetings & Travel 2,561 2,648 1,499 4,219 4,000 3,110

Misc 0 123 1,834 919 1,000

Total Executive Committee 2,561 2,771 3,332 5,138 5,000 3,110

Membership Committee:

Recruitment 127 691 2,300 1,263

Total Membership Committee 127 0 0 691 2,300 1,263

Public Services:

Conservation 300 1,148 724 373 1,000 100

Trails/ Post-Irene Funds 385 72 -2,668 254 1,000 2,228

Total Public Services 685 1,220 -1,944 627 2,000 2,328

100th Anniversary (Revenue)/Expenses 4,703

Fall Gathering 2,482

Publications:

Schedule

Mailing 5,973 6,000 5,789 6,327 6,500 6,249

Printing 13,916 12,719 12,664 12,547 13,000 12,298

Total Schedule 19,889 18,719 18,453 18,874 19,500 18,547

Trails & Waves

Advertising Income -1,322 -1,413 -1,896 -1,451

Mailing 7,110 5,056 1,999 2,085

Printing 7,574 6,859 4,848 4,905

Total Trails & Waves 13,362 10,502 4,951 5,539 0 0

Total Publications 33,250 29,221 23,404 24,413 19,500 18,547

Total Expenses 85,597 67,675 68,186 76,083 83,913 68,457

Net income / (loss) -15,646 815 3,299 -4,772 -16,913 -402

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Backpacking Committee

Christine Benton, Chair

Backpacking Trips

Our excellent backpacking leaders led a total of 78 backpacking trips. These trips covered all four seasons

and all skill levels. Participants totaled approximately 420, up from last year. Approximately half of our

trips were two-day trips with the remainder being of longer duration. As usual, the Catskills, Harriman, and

the Adirondacks were the most popular areas. Additional destinations included West Virginia (where one

of our leaders resides), various sections of the AT in Pennsylvania, NJ/NY and VT, and the White Mountains

in New Hampshire. Among the longer trips we offered were the Hundred Mile Wilderness in Maine (joint

with the NH Chapter) and the entire Long Trail in VT (divided into three sections). Some trips offered

specialized skill development such as orienteering and use of a sled to transport gear in winter.

Seminars

In 2014 we conducted four seminars aimed at introducing beginners to backpacking and, in particular, to

lightweight backpacking. We also ran our always popular Lightweight Gear Expo. In December we

conducted our annual Introduction to Winter Backpacking which will be followed by our annual MLK

training weekend in the Adirondacks.

Leaders and New Leader Development

In 2014 twenty-one different leaders led trips. The committee approved several new leaders and we have

more in the pipeline.

2014 Backpacking Committee:

Chair Christine Benton

Advisor Fred Mader

Treasurer Christiane Siebert

Trips Scheduler/Approver Andy Frank

Trip Sheets Russ Faller

Trainees Coordinator Maria Nobles

Social Media Morris Stemp

Young Members Liaison Vacant

Secretary Vacant

Member At Large Dave Thornquist

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Bicycle Committee

Glenn Barnes, Chair

The Bicycle Committee offered 14 day rides led by 4 leaders and 2 multi-day bike events led by 3 leaders. The day rides ranged from short easy leisurely paced rides to long strenuous fast paced rides. In addition to all of the day rides, there was a 9 day loaded tour and a 3 day cycling weekend. Rides were on roads as well as paved and unpaved trails. Canceled rides are highlighted in GREY.

Date Bike Type Miles Leader Route

04/05/14 All 28 Glenn Barnes Battery Park and The

Dinosaur

04/27/14 All 50 Glenn Barnes North County Trailway /

Putnam RT

05/10/14 Mountain 30 Glenn Barnes / Skip Doyle Minnewaska Carriage

Trails

05/13/14 All 10 Kim Spelman Great River Full Flower

Moon Rise

06/08/14 Road 60 Glenn Barnes Mid-­­­Hudson Valley

Bridges Loop

06/21/14 All 15 Kim Spelman Southold Winery Tour &

Tasting

06/25/14/

to

07/03/14

Touring 470 Robert Matson Prince Edward Island 9-­­­

Day Tour

07/12/14 All 10 Kim Spelman Jones Beach Ride

08/09/14 All 10 Kim Spelman Jones Beach Full Sturgeon

Moon Ride

08/24/14 Road 50 Glenn Barnes Harlem Valley Rail Trail

1010/14 to Road 100 Glenn Barnes / Aldo Ghirin Fall Cycling Weekend in

10/13/14 the Berkshires

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10/18/14 Hybrid or

Mountain

50 Tim Burrows Autumn South County /

Croton Reservoir Loop

10/19/14 Hybrid or

Mountain

30 Glenn Barnes Columbia Rail Trail

10/26/14 Hybrid or

Mountain

25 Glenn Barnes / Skip Doyle Old Croton Aqueduct

11/08/14 All 28 Glenn Barnes West Side Greenway and

Dinosaur BBQ

12/20/14 All 30+ Skip Doyle Last Autumn Bike Ride -­­­

North Country

Trailway/Putnam Rail Trail

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Canoe & Kayak Committee

Andrew LoPinto, Chair

Trips and Other Activities

This year, the Canoe-Kayak Committee of the AMC’s New York-North Jersey Chapter celebrated its

80th year of paddling (our first trip was on the Housatonic in 1934).

We opened the 2014 season with our customary pool sessions, followed by the traditional Ramapo

trip. The Committee’s trip schedule included 27 completed trips encompassed all types of paddling,

including quietwater, Level 1 and 2 sea kayaking, and Class 1 through 4 whitewater trips. These

events took us throughout New England, the mid-Atlantic region and Quebec. This year, 32 trip

leaders and paddling instructors volunteered to conduct our activities, about the same as last year. An

increasing number of our trips were jointly run with other paddling clubs this year, particularly the

Adirondack Mountain Club.

Few of our paddlers participate in the official whitewater trips that we offer. Those that do are mostly

older, long-time members. Many of our younger whitewater paddlers seem to use the AMC as a

means of making contact with others, but paddle mostly on bootleg trips. The Committee’s flatwater

trips, in contrast, are well attended by a broad range of paddlers

Instruction

We continue to share our love of paddling through an enthusiastic instruction program. As in prior

years, the Committee conducted pool sessions in the winter at NJ Institute of Technology, followed by

basic canoe and kayak instructional workshops. Additional instructional clinics were held for slalom

whitewater racing and basic canoeing.

No Leadership Training Workshops were held this year and none of the students from last year’s

clinics completed their “apprenticeship,” so the number of approved trip leaders is unchanged from

2013.

Paddle Splashes

The Committee’s newsletter PaddleSplashes continues to improve in quality. As was the case in 2013,

three issues were distributed to over 400 paddlers this year.

Advertising and Recruitment

As in prior years, we participated in the Jersey Paddler’s annual PaddleSport Expo, the largest local

paddling symposium with hundreds of vendors and organizations. The Committee actively

represented the AMC for three days and recruited new AMC members using electronic presentations

and large-format photographs to attract attention to our booth.

In October, the Canoe Kayak Committee and Brooklyn Kayak Guides jointly hosted the

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internationally recognized Reel Paddling Film Festival.

Equipment

The CKC maintains four fleets of boats containing a total of 20 canoes and 37 kayaks plus related

equipment for quiet water, touring water and whitewater paddling and is available for rent at a

nominal cost to participants on Committee activities. Our equipment is stored at the AMC’s Mohican

Outdoor Center and the Committee’s boat storage facility, the Barn, in Pomona, NY. The Committee

allows its members to store their private boats at the Barn for a fee. We did not conduct a Barn Work

Day in 2014. Rental of the Barn continues to be the Committee’s highest cost.

No new boats were added to the fleets this year. Our last kayak purchase was in 2012 and our last

canoe purchase was is 2005.

Finances

On most activities, the Committee collects a small fee to support the paddling program. The use of

electronic money transfers continue to grow, with about half of the fees now remitted via PayPal.

The fees collected are intended to offset the Committee’s operating expenses and little profit or loss is

generally realized each year. This year was atypical, with the Committee’s accounts gained about

$2,500 for the following reasons:

a substantial loss.

Festival garnered a $640 profit this year, rather than the loss that had been

expected.

reimbursement) that they would have incurred.

2014 Primary Sources of Income/(Expenses) (approximate)

Instruction Fees

$2,100*

Paddlers Fees

500

Pool Fees 340 Boat Rental

300

Barn Rental

(2,025)

ACTIVITIES

2013 2014

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Paddling Trips QW, TW, WW1 WW2-4

24 10

16 11

Kayak Instructions

2 2

Canoe Instructions

1 2

Safety/Rescue Instructions

2 0

Slalom Racing Clinics

1 1

Pool Sessions

7 7

Leadership Training

2 0

Other Events (parties; picnics; movies; Barn Work Days; PaddleSport Expo; Eastern Mtn Sports Club Day)

4 2

PARTICIPANTS

2013 2014

Total Paddlers

212 182

Active WW Paddlers *

13 18

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Climbing Committee

Aneta Rogoz, Chair

The Climbing Committee celebrated 88th birthday of AMC NY/NoJ Climbing.

Commemorating video slide show created for this occasion depicting major events, trips, and

activities of club members was featured during our Annual Solstice Dinner in January.

The Committee also continued support of the regions where we climb donating to the Ragged

Mountain Foundation, the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, Gunks Climbers

Coalition, Thacher Climbing Coalition and Torne Valley Climbers Coalition.

Our Annual Spring Training Class yielded 15 new graduates.

Continuing a tradition started in 2010, the Committee honored another volunteer with the

Golden Cam.

Popular monthly Top Rope Socials continues and are extended through the winter as Ice

Climbing Socials.

2014 Rock Climbing season kicked off with a Welcome To The Gunks weekend.

Climbing workshops during summer of 2014 kept AMC climbing members in their top shape.

AMC Climbing Committee’s Women Climb Day is a hit.

AMC NY/NoJ Chapter’s sponsored Lead Climbing Training program yields 4 promising

graduates.

Another successful annual Picnic in September marks the end of Summer.

Summer wanes into Fall into exciting Winter.

Key 2014 Climbing Committee events:

Winter Solstice Dinner - January 16, 2014

Spring Training Class -April 12 & 13 and April 26 & 27, 2014

Leader Training with Alpine Endeavors – April 26 & 27, 2014

Welcome To The Gunks (WTTG) weekend and The Golden Cam Award – May 3 & May 4, 2014

Workshops – Summer 2014

Top Rope/Ice Climbing Socials – Once a month, every month

Women Climb Day – August 12, 2014

Annual Picnic (Gunks, Singerland Pavilion) – September 13, 2014

Climbing Committee was established in 1926 as the Mountaineering Committee and the first Chair was

Percy Olton. Just like last year, we created a video slide show to celebrate our birthday. The request

for photographs from our members resulted in a great turnout and therefore an exciting and eclectic

slide show. AMC Climber Pinar Ayata masterfully edited the presentation, which was premiered at

the annual Winter Solstice dinner in January 2014 and was also shown at the Welcome To The Gunks

dinner welcoming our 2014 training class graduates. Link: http://vimeo.com/86383212 Enjoy….

Spring Training Class 2014 and WTTG

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On two weekends in April 2014, the Committee conducted its annual climbing training program.

This year with skillful guidance of 17 Climbing Committee volunteers, 15 new students successfully

completed the program. The goal of the program is to teach new AMC climbers skills needed to climb

with the club. Climbing is an inherently dangerous sport -­­­ we do not teach climbing technique

rather we teach safe climbing skills:

1. Be able to build a solid top rope anchor using webbing and/or static rope. This is important as

you rappel and climb on this anchor. Trees or gear anchor points may be used.

2. Have solid knowledge of basic knots: harness tie-in and backup, figure eight-on-a-bite (or

equivalent) leash, girth hitch, and can join two rappel ropes.

3. Use common climbing commands appropriately.

4. Properly belay on top rope as well as a rope leader.

5. Know how to choose and attach yourself to a belay anchor on the ground.

6. Properly clean gear from the rock.

7. Know when, why, and how to flake rope both at bottom of a climb and at the beginning of each

successive pitch.

8. Know how to rappel.

9. Wear your harness properly.

10. Coil the rope properly.

11. Know when, why, and how to safely ascend rope using friction knots, e.g. prussik.

12. Know when, why, and how to safely escape a loaded belay.

The Training Class culminated on weekend of May 3 & 4 2014 with Welcome To The Gunks (WTTG)

event. The recent graduates are introduced to one of the best outdoor rock climbing areas in North

East, The Shawagunks. During that weekend each student is paired up with two experienced

climbers and climb multipitch routes. On Saturday May 3rd we all celebrate at the WTTG dinner

during which we give out The Golden Cam Award.

The Golden Cam Award

In 2010, Marnie Levine, former Chair of the Climbing Committee introduced an annual service

award to recognize members whose invaluable contribution help keep this thing going. Below is the

announcement from the Chair published to the Climbing Committee from May 5th, 2014.

At our Annual Welcome To The Gunks dinner, we gave out the Golden Cam Award for 2014.

Brief history of the Golden Cam. The Golden Cam Award was instated in 2010 by Marnie Levine,

former Chair of the Committee, who wanted to do something to acknowledge ones commitment and

service to the Climbing Committee.

“The Golden Cam Award is given to a Climbing Committee member who embodies the spirit of giving back to

our AMC climbing community though their service and commitment. It is through service and commitment

that keep our thing going. The award is a cam. A Black Diamond Camelot #6. The recipient keeps the cam for

one year, and can use it at his or her pleasure. If you call it pleasure. (It weighs 1.25 lbs.) And at the end of 1

year, at the Saturday night Welcome To The Gunks dinner, the award will be returned and presented to the

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succeeding awardee. It’s the same #6 cam being passed down and hopefully engendering the spirit of service and

commitment in the next generation of climbers. As Rob O'Sullivan observed in 2010, sort of like our own

Stanley Cup. The etiquette of gear management applies - if the cam is lost or broken or dropped, the recipient

must purchase a new one to replace it. And additionally, photographic evidence is required to prove the #6 cam

was placed as protection on a climb at the Gunks”.

2014 Golden Cam recipient is Schalk Steyn. Since joining the Committee, he’s been an active

member participating at most of our events, workshops, and training classes. Schalk has been there

to patiently lead new incomers and he inspires leaders. He’s an all-around great guy and the most

knowledgeable gear expert I know.

Thank you, Schalk. Schalk also received a 1 year subscription to Alpinist magazine.

Golden Cam Award Recipients:

2010 -Gary McElvany

2011 -Pauline Eng

2012 -Ted Horbert

2013 – Paul Fung

The AMC NY/NoJ Chapter sponsored Lead-climbing training class with Alpine Endeavors.

From the Climbing Committee Proposal for funding:

“Although all of us enjoy and participate in top-rope climbing, many consider multi-pitch climbing as

the ultimate experience in the sport. Multi-pitch climbing involves another level of specific skills and

techniques since leading can be dangerous and safety is of utmost concern. During this activity, the leader

climbs the pitch and places gear. Upon reaching a designated location, the leader builds an anchor, sets up a

belay station and belays the second who follows the line removing the gear. Upon reaching the anchor, the

“second” belays the leader who ascends the next pitch and the whole process is repeated again. While top-

roping can be more of group activity, multi-­­­pitch climbing usually involves only two climbers, the leader and

the follower. While following is challenging on its own, the leader carries most though not all of the

responsibility for both party’s safety. One of our challenges is growing our base of lead climbers. Often lead

climbing skills are passed through informal mentor relationships between veteran lead climbers and climbers

who want to start leading. While it is gratifying for our veteran lead climbers to give back to the AMC in this

fashion, mentoring a new lead climber involves taking time away from just climbing. As a result, the

Committee isn’t able to transition all the interested climbers into lead climbing as much as we would like”

The purpose of this proposal was to obtain funding to help train most committed climbers in lead

climbing skills. The Chapter approved this funding allowing us to employ the services of an

accredited guiding company, Alpine Endeavors. Guides have years of experience leading and

teaching and thus can provide a solid foundation on which candidate leader can build on. Using an

accredited guiding company enables us to increase our base of lead climbers more efficiently then

through the informal mentoring process. We have chosen four candidates by following a selection

criterion. To be selected, one must:

be active in the club, signing up on a regular basis to climb with other members and

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organizing activities for the Committee such as top rope socials

show a drive to teach such as participating in the workshops and volunteering as a training

class instructor

be technically able to start leading, be proficient in all the skills taught in the annual training

class and is a safe second climber or someone who follows the lead climber

show commitment to start leading by beginning to accumulate the required gear (specifically

a rope and rock protection)

The course that we selected was a two-day lead climbing clinic that was specifically designed to

enhance leading capabilities of our group. The ratio of instructors to students was 2-­­­1. The skills

taught include:

1. Route finding – route, approach, descent, etc.

2. Gear placement and anchor building

3. Belay methods – off anchor, harness, etc.

4. Lead tactics – stance options, places for protection, etc.

5. Rope management

6. Rappelling and lowering

7. Multi-pitch techniques

The training occurred on April 26 & 27, 2014. It was a very successful program yielding four

promising lead climbers. Because of this success and due to positive review and popular demand,

we will continue working with Alpine Endeavors in continuing this program in 2015.

Summer Workshops

Every summer the Committee organizes climbing workshops. In 2014 following climbing

workshops took place:

Self-Rescue Workshops

The self-rescue workshops featured various rappelling techniques, belay escapes and hauling all of

which are invaluable when faced with climbing mishaps:

1. Rappelling with a Munter hitch – in situations when a climber drops/loses rappel device

2. Simul-rappel – for fast and efficient rappel of both climbers at same time from multipitch climb

3. Tandem and counterweigh rappels – in case climbing partner is injured and or unable to rappel on

their own

4. Single Strand rappel – another safe and efficient method of rappelling in case rapid escape is

necessary

5. Passing a knot on rappel – encountering an obstacle on rappel rope and efficiently bypassing it

6. Escaping the belay – one of the most fundamental techniques necessary for initiating a rescue of

your fellow climbing partner; it allows the rescuer to free themselves from the responsibilities of

belaying their injured partner

7. Z-Haul/3:1 Haul – assisting your partner in bypassing obstacles on a climbing route if they

themselves are unable to

The instructor to student ratio in these workshops was small to ensure individual attention.

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Leading Workshops

In this one-on-one workshop, a new lead climber climbs with experience lead climber. During their

session, depending on experience of the new lead climber, either on mock-leads or actual lead, the

climber receives suggestions on critical gear placement, anchor set-­­­up, and gear retrieval.

Anchor placement Workshop

This workshop was offered for both leaders as well as seconds. Reliable gear placements and solid

anchor building are key skills that make a climber safe. The following topics were covered:

1. Gear Placement

2. Anchor building principles

3. Gear anchor

4. Natural anchor (tree, block, flake, etc)

5. Tying in to the anchor (use of cordelette, slings, rope).

Monthly Top Rope Socials extended during Winter as Ice Climbing Socials

In the past, Climbing Committee has organized Top Rope Socials as a way of getting members

together. This event is a great way for new incomers to meet old members and leaders, practice top

rope skills, climb and socialize. As of 2013, the Top Rope Social became a regularly scheduled

monthly event held at various climbing locations. In retrospect, each monthly meeting was a great

success with good turnout. In 2014, due to popular demand, the monthly Top Rope Socials

continued past the end of rock climbing seasons and into the winter. As the rock coats in ice, many

of our members took on ice climbing as a fun and active alternative to skiing and winter hiking or

fleeting to warmer climates. Ice climbing skills were taught by our own experienced Climbing

Committee members who have been enjoying ice climbing for years.

Women Climb Day

On August 12, 2014, the women of AMC Climbing Committee got together to laugh, chat and had a

blast roping up and scaling the rock of Gunks. We hope to continue this event next year.

Annual Picnic at the Singerland Pavilion in Mohonk Preserve.

Keeping with our annual tradition, on September 13, 2014, our best event yet, the Annual Picnic, took

place. Eveline Gottesman and volunteers did a superb job organizing it. The Picnic is an incredible

event during which several generations of climbers get together on hopefully rainless evening under

a gazebo. We grilled, drank, ate and drank some more. Climbing and travel stories were told and the

exchange of experience was priceless. A fun raffle brought this evening to an end. The weather on

that September evening was splendid.

Donations to The Ragged Mountain Foundation, Connecticut Forest and Park Association, Gunks

Climbers Coalition, Thacher Climbing Coalition and Torne Valley Climbers’ Coalition

Our annual Spring Training class takes place at cliffs located in Southington Connecticut. Therefore

in 2014 we continued support of Connecticut nonprofit organizations dedicated to conservation,

preservation and maintenance of public access and trails in Connecticut Forests.

Since Shawangunks are our home base, a monetary donation was made to Gunks Climbers

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Coalition. “The Gunks Climbers Coalition is an advocacy group dedicated to creating and

maintaining sustainable opportunities for responsible climbing along the Shawangunk Ridge and

surrounding areas”.

Thacher Climbing Coalition is a nonprofit organization working towards opening John Boyd

Thacher State Park and surrounding lands (near Albany, NY) to rock and ice climbing. Currently

they are planning approach trails and setting up routes with hopes of making climbing possible in

Summer of 2015.

Torne Valley Climbers’ Coalition (TVCC) has received a 2013 Sharp End Award from the Access

Fund for hard work on reopening Torne Valley’s Powerlinez (Ramapo) to climbing. TVCC is

maintaining the access by executing a waiver/permit system as well as maintenance of

access/approach trails in the area.

23

Hiking Committee

Cynthia Tollo-Falls, Chair

The Hiking Committee offered over 700 events this year including instructional sessions, urban hikes, and regular

hikes at all levels, and trips to the Adirondacks, Catskills, and New Hampshire. This year saw the merger of the Hiking

and Walks Committees.

Here are some highlights of 2014:

The hiking committee offered several long distance hikes and section hikes this year. As is the

tradition, Robert Monczka led the entire Ramapo-Dunderburg trail in a day and the entire Suffern to Bear Mountain trail in a day. Lewis Ports organized a Presidential Traverse in the White Mountains

in a day. Fifteen hikers started and completed this incredible physical and mental trek.

Irv Reich thought it would draw interest if he led a series of hikes, mostly contiguous, from the

Staten Island Ferry, Manhattan, ending in Bear Mountain. Inspired by Cy Adler’s book ʺWalking the Hudson -

From The Battery to Bear Mountainʺ he set up 16 legs to our journey, the first on May 12, going from the ferry to 7-11 in Fort Lee, averaging 15 people per hike. All attested to great camaraderie, good exercise and wonderful memories. He did this despite suffering through major surgery.

Tim Burrows led a full moon light hike up Mount Taurus.

Aaron Schoenberg, a long-time leader, retired and is moving out west. We want to thank Aaron for his well- organized trips. This year he led 9 participants to Arcadia National Park, where they shared a house. The trip included several challenging hikes, including the Precipice Trail which requires ascending iron rungs hung along a cliff with hundreds of feet below. They also biked and took a mail boat to Isle of Haut. Aaron is well known for his section hikes of the Long Path and Appalachian Trails. Every summer he has organized “trail angel” hikes to Wildcat Shelter with an

ice cream stop at the end. Aaron has promised to continue to lead his section hikes. Good luck Aaron in your new home!

The ever popular leader, Tom Parliament led many interesting hikes including Harriman historical iron mines, Doodletown Halloween, which featured at least one goblin, swim hikes, and the search

for the elusive blueberries that did not show up this year.

Hike leader/trainer/mentor extraordinaire Rich Seibel was instrumental in running the Chapter leader training program held in June at the Mohican Center. Many took the class but we are still

working on coaxing them to show their stuff!

In other Hiking Committee events, on November 27th, the Hiking Committee had its traditional Bear

Mountain Thanksgiving Day dinner. Again we offered hikes prior to the dinner.

Thanks to Dorothy Lourdou for reminding everyone of their upcoming hikes. Thanks to all the last minute hike moderators who put up with extra email in order to give our members all the latest

24

news, hike information, and additions to the schedule.

Special thanks to Rich Siegelman, Tom Parliament, Bob and Cathy Cresko for doing so much work to get the schedule out, for helping leaders with data base problems, and for keeping the leader lists

up to date, in addition to leading hikes. The committee could not run without them.

25

Singles & Sociables Committee

Margo Moss, Chair

Our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers—some new faces this year, as well as the reliable longtime leaders—offer outings including singles and/or sociables hikes, educational workshops, cultural and recreational events, dinner soirees, movie outings, weekend escapes, and more. “Singles” indicates events attracting singles seeking activities with other singles; “Sociables” indicates events inviting all

social butterflies, whether single, married, dating, or in long-­­­term relationships without the singles aspect. The Singles & Sociables 50+ subcommittee offers hikes and outings open to all ages but especially welcoming to the “older” crowd, regularly during the week as well as on the weekends. Highlights of the past year: *Singles and Sociables continues to offer 50+ activities almost every Monday and on weekends. *Singles and Sociables welcomed several new leaders and continues to feature urban walks and special-interest outings, such as meditation, birding, and poetry hikes, along with regular day hikes. *Our leaders have been posting more short-notice hikes, in both “Singles” and “Sociables” categories, in addition to those they have planned and posted on the website in advance. A few have ventured onto Meetup to cross-list their AMC outings. *We continued our partnership with Palisades Interstate Park for monthly meetup-cleanups to help clean trash from the major hiking trails and picnic areas. A possible new collaborative project, restoring and maintaining a garden within the park—probably through similar monthly gardening meetup-is under discussion. *PIP personnel have become AMC members and leaders, and continue to offer hikes focused on the history and ecology of the park. Some new members and potential leaders have joined while on these hikes. Singles and Sociables Committee Members: Margo Moss—Committee Chair Leslie Kriesel—Vice Chair Linda Rousseau—Treasurer Leslie Kriesel—Schedule Editor

26

Ski Committee

Richard Seibel, Chair

The following were accomplished in the 2013/2014 season:

1. 14 overnight trips were offered for the winter of 2013/2014, the prior year it was 19. This number may not be accurate as 14 represents the number of archived trips.

2. A similar number of overnight trips are planned for the winter of 2014/2015 3. The AMC Ski Yahoo group continues to be used by the ski community for exchange of information

and arranging short notice trips. This year we are also using the Meetup group for day trips, and may use it for weekends depending on snow and leader availability. We are also using Facebook in a limited way, but plan to increase its use as well as Meetup.

4. There were 165 messages on the Yahoo group in 2012/2013 and 256 in 2013/2014. There is considerable interest in how to buy gear, snow conditions, where to ski. In large part the number of messages depends on the availability of snow. As of November 13, 2014 there are 421 members which represents a growing interest.

The overnight and day trips cover a broad spectrum of skiing interests – downhill, cross-country, back-

country and telemark.

Obviously the ski committee’s biggest barrier is lack of snow. It is difficult to recruit leaders for day trips

when snow conditions are iffy at best. That said, there has been continued interest in using the AMC Ski

Yahoo group to offer short notice events when conditions are good – several were offered last season and

more are already started for this season. The short notice option is publicized in the schedule at the

beginning of every month,

Based upon previous results, Miramar (a NY based ski club that has a lodge in Waitsfield, Vermont) is

continuing their joint Miramar- AMC trip offerings. This increases the options for our members. Downhill

and XC skiers of all abilities are strongly encouraged to check them out. The Miramar trip will only appear

once in the schedule for any given weekend. Mohican Outdoor Center also has Cross Country Ski weekends

not associated with the Ski committee.

Multiple leaders continue to spend considerable effort to put together interesting packages – please

consider supporting their efforts by joining them for a great weekend of skiing.

There are now weekend trips every weekend from the end of December, 2012 through March. A few

weekends have multiple trips but to different destinations or for a different audience.

We invite all current skiers, former skiers, and prospective skiers to join us - almost all of the overnight trips welcome and encourage beginners – please check with the leaders. Both downhill and XC centers offer packages (day pass, group lessons, and rental ski equipment) designed to attract new participants. If you are new to skiing, you are encouraged to contact one of the leaders prior to going for information on proper clothing and what the options are for beginners.

27

Softball Committee

Russell Kellogg, Chair

Our season started at the end of April and ended the last week of August. We extend the season if we can get fields in Central Park, where we are the longest continuously playing organization. This year we played two extra weeks! We had two fields and usually played two games on each field. We played approximately 20 Sundays, with 4 games each week, for a total of 80 games. Attendance ranged from week to week. We usually saw from 30+ to 40+ players each week. During the course of the season, we had about 100 unique participants! MeetUp was a particularly productive source of new joiners. All were asked to join the AMC and reply back to the moderator with membership numbers.

28

Walks & Outings Committee

Jim Robbins, Chair

This is the final report of this committee, which w a s i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e H i k e C o m m i t t e e at the end of August. Thereafter, former Walks leaders were converted to Hiking Committee leaders. Accordingly, this report covers the first eight months of 2014. The total number of trips thru August was 70, about the same as last year for this period. This year the proportion of last-minute trips posted on the “hikeamc” Yahoogroups site declined slightly from last year, accounting for 21% of total trips, vs. 25% last year.

The roster of Walks leaders numbered 10, down 4 from last year. As in past years, a small number of very active leaders accounted for a large share of the action. Our most prolific leader, Bob Susser, contributed 30 of the total 70 trips logged by all our leaders. Fully half of Bob’s trips were posted as last minute trips! Hal Kaplan (12) and Rita Cohen (9) were the next highest contributors; together with Bob, these three leaders contributed 51 of the 70 total trips run by this committee. Hal Kaplan gets our thanks for continuing his long-running streak of leadership since his first hike on May 24, 1986, 28 years ago! Sadly, Dick Wolff, long time prolific leader, first for the Hiking Committee and in recent years for the Walks & Outings Committee, was on the bench for part of the year after heart surgery, and then retired completely from leading for AMC. He continues to lead for a private list of friends.

The prize for most attendees on a single trip goes once again to John Jurasek, who attracted 39 participants to Clausland Mt. in February, topping his roster of 26 in January on his trip to Tallman Mt. Other big groups joined trips by Mason Logie (29 to Van Cortlandt Park in April), Tanya McCabe (26 to Delaware Water Gap in January), Rita Cohen (24 to Montclair in April), and Dick Wolff (23 to Indian Hill in April).

Our offerings continued to be varied. A cultural component figured in 31 of our trips so far this year. Rita Cohen repeated her popular visit to decorated NYC venues at Christmastime, and continued to find new, interesting destinations in the City and nearby New Jersey. This year’s trips included walks through Harlem to see (surprise!) spring flowers, Brooklyn’s Bridge and Navy Yard , Newark’s industrial landscape and it art and architecture (who knew!), and Jersey City’s waterfront. Mason Logie, Jr. led his followers through Greenwich Village and atop the “Hi-Line” in Manhattan, and later to Van Courtland Park, and topped it all off with a hiking/dining visit to Mohonk Mt. House in New Paltz. Bob Susser ends some of his trips with an optional visit to The Cloisters Museum in Ft. Tryon Park, and invites his followers to smell the roses at the Bronx Botanical Gardens

or learn how to identify the trees in Central Park and Riverside Park in Manhattan, and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Hal Kaplan showed the way to Marble Hill in the Bronx, the historic Old Croton Aqueduct, and the byways up and down the hilltops north of the City. Dick Wolff took his followers all over his native New Jersey, over to the trails and lakes in Harriman State Park, and even managed to find dim sum far from Chinatown, to mention a few of his widespread wanderings. Jo-Anne Gisolfi continues her faithful attachment to the trails at Rockefeller Preserve, her exclusive hiking grounds in all seasons.

All of our non-­­­cultural events are really lower level Hikes, and our participants frequently ask what the difference is. The answer is that Walks leaders tend to favor a later starting time, lead at a moderate pace, and stop oftener than Hikes Committee leaders to rest or savor a view. Virtually all mainly hiking events were run

29

at Pace 2 for distances of 5 - 8 miles, with only a handful at greater distances and a few at pace 3. The good attendance at our events provides evidence that there is still strong demand for our style. In the future, all these varied venues will continue to be featured by the same leaders, but posted as Hikes rather than Walks.

Our treasury was more than sufficient to cover the small costs of postage for those few leaders who still

receive sign-­­­in sheets by mail, but most of our leaders now download their own release forms from the

Outdoors website, which saves postage. Peggy Fitzgerald retired after her decades-­­­long stewardship of our books and bank account, and turned the residue over to the Chapter treasurer. Special thanks are due to Mason Logie, Jr., whose annual trip to Mohonk Mountain House produced a surplus that supplied our needs. One of our volunteer leaders, Dorothy Lourdou, faithfully sent email reminders a week in advance to each leader, including a link to the release form. Most leaders contribute the cost of return postage when they mail their completed forms to the chair.

30

Young Members Committee

Lisa Williams, Chair

Year’s Goals:

-­­ Building the leadership base for the committee and increasing trips.

-­­ Expanding membership through trips, events, and outreach. -­­ Young Members went from having one official leader to four official leaders in 2014, with 10

more who are in the process of completing their leadership training.

-­­ Young member volunteer base has grown significantly.

Budget Overview:

-­­ Participation cost for the Young Members Leadership Training in April = $100

-­­ Expenses and investments: $191.25 for leadership training supply costs; $300 for socials

Participation:

2 Outdoor Leadership Trainings (7 attendees in April; 12 attendees in November) 6 NYC socials

2 in partnership with OutdoorFest

1 in partnership with Tent & Trails

1 in partnership with Brooklyn Rod & Gun

1 Climb at LIC Cliffs 1 Backpack trip 9 Hikes 1 in partnership with OutdoorFest

** Because a core need for our growth is promoting and nurturing leadership, Leadership Incentive ideas and how they worked?

-­­ Affordability and accessibility of leadership training is a great incentive, as is teambuilding,

all of which make becoming a leader more fun and appealing.

-­­ Encouraging new leaders to take initiative in Young Member event/trip planning has

strengthened leader involvement.

Communications Strategies:

-­­ The Young Members post all trips and activities on the website. A main platform for

communications is the Facebook group.

-­­ Eblasts provide helpful reminders of upcoming events.

Other Special Highlights/Anecdotes: This has been an exciting year for the Young Members group, as it has been revived. The group has

grown its leadership base, allowing for more trips. The activities have had excellent attendance. In

addition to regular members, a large number of brand new Young Members and “first-­­­timers” have attended trips and connected via email or the facebook group.

Other Special Challenges:

31

Challenges are connecting core leaders and members on a regular basis.

New Goals for next year:

-­­ Organize membership cultivation and outreach events and programs with

outfitters/organizations including The North Face (we connected with Timothy Fowler, Product

and Community Representative at Reel Rock); EMS; REI; Tent & Trails; Outdoorfest; Brooklyn

Boulders or LIC Cliffs; Brooklyn Boating Club; Rockaway Brewery; NYNJ Trail Conference.

Organize seasonal socials and maps & brews.

-­­ Connect more actively with Young Members from other chapters by cross-­­­promoting and

attending trips.

-­­ Establish a calendar and regular eblasts with Young Members socials, trips, and leadership

training dates.

-­­ Communicate with leaders on a once-a-month basis to encourage more trips and socials.

-­­ Continue to promote relevant local events including film programs and talks. For

leaders -­­ Encourage leader commitment and collaboration through regular events and incentives –

leader trips, socials.

-­­ Offer tools to make becoming a leader easier – i.e. offering each new leader a Harriman map,

or a list of top recommended trails.

-­­ Leader retention incentives – encourage new leaders to register a trip within 2 months of

training completion.

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Advisory Committee

John A.K. Bradley, Chair

The Advisory Committee selects the New York-North Jersey Chapter’s Appie of the Year. The Appie of the Year was awarded to Rita Cohen at the Annual Meeting and Dinner.

33

Archives Committee

Jack Reilly, Chair

Year’s Goals:

To serve as resource for historical questions regarding the New York-

­­­North Jersey Chapter of the AMC

We collaborated with the AMC Archivist/Librarian at Joy St. to complete the final

move of all of the Chapter Archives to Joy St.

34

Fire Island Committee

Anita Barberis, Chair

In 2014 we shortened our season by two weekends and three mid-weeks due to weak attendance both early and late in the season. The end results were mixed as weekends generated more income than 2013 even though we refunded more than $2,000 loss due to a “now resolved” issue with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS). In contrast, the mid weeks generated $4,000 less than 2013, but the mid-week occupancy stats were interesting: 43 fewer member bed nights, 56 fewer non-member bed nights, and 51 fewer freebee bed nights, as compared to 2013. All in all, the Fire Island Cabin remains financially healthy.

Our maintenance program included the following upgrading and/or refurbished items:

ØØ installed new shingles on the east and west exterior walls above the windows along with new

soffits and fascia to the peak ØØ closed in the kitchen ceiling to the peak with new mahogany beams to hold new track lighting

ØØ two new sets of stairs to the dorms on the ocean side ØØ new game cabinet in the Gazebo

ØØ installation of a new kitchen double sink, faucet, cabinets and counter ØØ new wooden pathways to the compost heap and the tool shed

ØØ added three more kayaks to our fleet for a total now of 14 kayaks ØØ purchased a new sloop – the Flying Scott – to replace the one Hurricane Sandy destroyed

We continue to offer a diverse selection of activities that address conservation, education and recreation. Besides our partnership with Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) and their annual trek to the Cabin, we supported the Fire Island Lighthouse at their annual “Barefoot” dinner in August. Our on-water activities of kayaking, sailing and canoeing included instructional mid-week schools with highly qualified AMC instructors to ensure that AMCers responsibly navigated the Great South Bay safely.

We introduced members to all forms of yoga and all types of painting as well as line, Zumba and Irish dancing. We also designated two mid-weeks, when the kids are not in school, to only families. These filled up quickly.

Our vegetable/herb garden flourished under the guidance of Andrea Klein and her crew. We had orange, yellow, and red cherry tomatoes, plus squashes large enough to feed all weekend guests, and also had a variety of fresh herbs to compliment the preparation of any meal.

As a volunteer-run facility we have engaged more than 125 AMC members to manage a weekend or a mid-week, or to lead one of our activities, and we recognize their talents with a Thank-You dinner. With a dedicated every-changing force like this, our facility is a true picture of volunteerism at its best

35

Hospitality Committee

Robert Susser, Chair

Annual Meeting/Dinner

The 2014 Annual Chapter Meeting and Dinner took place on January 11th at Connolly'ʹs Pub & Restaurant, 14 East 47th St. A hundred people attended (the capacity of the restaurant). Of those, 32 were invited as guests of the chapter which included committee chairs and those designated by their committee chairs as especially active during the preceding year. The remainder paid $34 each. The restaurant charged $33.04 (including 18% gratuity). The difference between these figures, plus the amounts paid by those who paid but did not come ("no shows") went towards defraying the cost of the dinner.

The program, preceded by a most interesting architectural walk led by Rita Cohen, as well as by a "Happy

Hour,"ʺ included the welcome and recognition of guests, past chairs, and 50-year members, as well as a moment of silence for members who had died during the past year. There was a successful motion to waive the reading of the previous year's minutes and the financial report. This was followed by a report of the chapter chair, Richard Barcia. Subsequently, there was the election of chapter officers for 2014. Elected (by acclamation) were Eileen Yin, Chair; Jane Levenson, Vice

Chair; Loretta Brady, Secretary; Barry Wolfe, Treasurer; Christine Benton, Activities; Joe Marabello,

Facilities/Services; & Beth Harrison, Communications. Following the presentation of 50 and 25-­­­year pins, Dick Cable, our guest speaker, gave a very informative talk and slide show on his travels in Mongolia and Siberia.

36

Membership Committee

Carrie Ho, Chair Jill Arbuckle, former Chair

YEARLY STATISTICS

* as of November YTD

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Est. 2014

Chapter

sales

473

392

295

280

332

380

Club sales

for NY-

NoJ

2,642

2,415

2,689

2,349

2,324

2,250

Year-end

members

12,161

11,864

12,013

11,755

11,618

11,477*

Year-end

households

9,488

9,182

9,259

8,958

8,842

8,738*

Percent

added new

31.6%

29.6%

32.1%

28.5%

29.6%

29.7%

Percent

dropped

out

36.0%

32.8%

31.1%

31.4%

30.9%

31.7%

Growth

rate -

chapter

-­­­3.8%

-­­­2.4%

+1.3%

-­­­2.1%

-­­­1.2%

-­­­1.9%

Growth

rate -­ club

-­­­0.6%

-­­­1.3%

+4.9%

+3.1%

+1.8%

+1.6%

37

Club year-

end

members

78,302

79,343

83,234

83,234

85,796

88,506*

38

CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP

The estimate new membership for 2014 is 2,630. The Chapter membership sales is doing well that increased by 48 (15%) from 332 to 380, but Club sales decreased by 74, for a net loss of 26 year over year.

CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP SALES Sales in 2014 were doing great, one of the reasons is due to the contribution of the Program Manager. She hosts monthly Open Houses, hosts volunteers meetings and sets up thirteen (13) different tabling events in 2014 to raise the awareness of AMC and to recruit new members. During these tabling events, she successfully recruited 40 new members YTD September.

To sum up on the membership sales, as of October YTD, the sales under Chapter Website and Program Manager are 237 and 139 respectively.

NEW MEMBERSHIP CHAIR ON BOARD

Carrie Ho takes a new Membership Chair Role. Her mission is to retain the existing members and to work closely with NY-NJ Chapter’s Program Manager to recruit new members. We plan to hold bi- monthly Activities Chair’s dinners, and to form a Membership sub-committee. Our deep gratitude is extended to Jill Arbuckle, who for many, many years led Membership efforts on behalf of the NY-NoJ Chapter, and has always been a strong advocate for the chapter.

39

Nominating Committee

Richard Barcia, Chair

The Nominating Committee successfully identified excellent candidates for the 2015 Executive Committee. Candidates will be voted on by the chapter membership at the New York-North Jersey Annual Meeting and Dinner on January 10, 2015. The 2015 Executive Committee slate is: Chair Eileen Yin Vice Chair Cynthia Tollo-Falls Secretary Loretta Brady Treasurer Vanessa Galasso Executive for Activities Nathan Baker Executive for Facilities & Services Richard Dabal Executive for Communications Kelly Roberts

40

New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Representative

Robert Fuller, AMC Representative to the NYNJTC

This year, in addition to representing the AMC at the Trail Conference’s three delegate meetings

there were two very specific activities worthy of note.

Rt. 106 Closure in Harriman State Park

This winter, Rt. 106 in the Orange County section of Harriman State Park was turned over to the park. Due to drainage and funding issues the park was forced to close the road for safety reasons during the winter season resulting in an uproar from the local hiking community.

At my recommendation, a “Harriman Access Committee” was formed by the NY-NJ Trail Conference and I served as both committee chair and as the representative for the AMC on this committee.

While the road is again closed this winter due to the same unresolved drainage and funding issues, many other improvements such as resurfacing of parking areas in the park, clarification of parking regulations, installation of hiker crossing signs at dangerous road crossings, and the identification of possible new hiker parking areas resulted from the joint work of the committee and the park.

1779 Trail Bridge

Volunteers from the New York-­­­North Jersey Chapter worked with the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference West Hudson South and Long Distance Trails Crews to replace the bridge on the 1779 Trail in northern Harriman State Park that had been destroyed by a fallen tree. This trail is assigned to the AMC by

the NY-­­­NJ Trails Conference and is maintained by Chapter Members Marci Layton and Linda Moskin.

Funding for the materials was provided by an AMC Conservation Programs Committee (CPC) Special Projects Fund (SPF) grant. Volunteer trail crews invested roughly 250 hours over a total of 10 days to remove the old bridge and design, prepare, and install a the new one.

This project was documented in both pictures and video.

Both of these activities are great examples of the cooperative work between the AMC NY-­­­NoJ

Chapter and the NY-­­­NJ Trail Conference.

41

Wilderness First Aid Committee

Jonathan Siler, Co-Chair

Maureen McCahery, Co-Chair

The mission of the Wilderness First Aid committee is to provide professional quality wilderness first aid training to chapter members and to encourage members to get this kind of training. We stand ready to provide support to any unit of the club who wishes to learn more about wilderness emergency care.

During 2014, our seventeenth year, we conducted 3 WFA courses. We trained 49 chapter members and others in the basics of wilderness emergency care.

We added four new instructors to our roster, Stephanie Scaramella, Jeffrey Alpert, Mark Kusick, and Christiane Siebert. We want to thank them all for volunteering their time and effort to the committee and the chapter.

We want to say thanks to Ron Fields who is retiring from the WFA committee. Ron has been a volunteer with WFA for 10+ years and has helped train countless students. Both the committee and the chapter owe Ron a tremendous debt of gratitude.

We will continue to run our voucher program in 2014. The WFA committee makes available two vouchers to each activity committee chair for distribution to people active in their committee. Each voucher is worth $40.00 off the cost of a WFA committee sponsored wilderness first aid course.

The WFA committee is constantly on the lookout for new, qualified instructors. If you know of

anyone who has significant pre-­­­hospital emergency care (EMT, Ski Patrol, etc.) and outdoors experience, we encourage you to have them contact either Maureen or Jonathan at WildernessFirstAid@amc-ny.org.

Committee Members/ WFA Instructors

Jonathan Silver, Co-Chair

Maureen McCahery, Co-Chair

Richard Dabal, Instructor

Matt Theisz, Instructor

Stephanie Scaramella, Instructor

Jeffrey Alpert, Instructor

Mark Kusick, Instructor

Christiane Siebert, Instructor