Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

TEN SLEEP - The third annual Ten Sleep Climbers' Festival at the Ten Sleep Brewing Company was all the fun promised Saturday night in Ten Sleep.

The Bighorn Climbers' Coalition (BCC) threw another successful festival that lived up to the coalitions' motto of 'always free, always fun.' It did not matter if you were an experienced climber or never touched a rock face in your entire existence the atmosphere was inviting and entertaining.

The band, A Couple of Carnie Bums, jump started the evening with their music getting the attendees into the vibe. Later on in the night, Ten Sleep local, Jalan Crossland, wowed the crowd with his precise picking skills and humorous lyrics.

BCC president Jody Sanborn was thrilled with how the festival turned out, "It was a really great night. Everyone looked to be having fun, our sponsors had a great time and loved the one-one-one with the people," said Sanborn.

"This year was great and our volunteers were amazing," said Sanborn, "They did a fantastic job with parking and other aspects of the festival. The Ten Sleep Brewing Company was an excellent host and we greatly appreciate the relationship we have with them."

Along with getting the climbers scattered throughout the Ten Sleep Canyon together for a good time. The BCC uses the festival as a way to fundraise for the coalition and support the town of Ten Sleep. "We like to use it as a good excuse to support the town of Ten Sleep and BCC ... The word is out and Ten Sleep Canyon is no longer a secret. So what better way to support the community and local economy than a festival with great music, excellent food and beverages and just a fun time," said Sanborn.

The festival has seen attendance grow each year which is something Sanborn and the BCC are very excited about, "We've seen more and more people show up and we've brought on tremendous new sponsors each year. We want to see the festival keep growing but as long as it sticks to our 'always free, always fun' motto and keep the grassroots feel going. We want to do good for a good cause and bring on sponsors who feel the same way," said Sanborn.

The BCC's mission is to teach ethical climbing and good stewardship of the environment. They work with the town of Ten Sleep and National Forest Service (NFS) to address any worries and then pass that information on to the climbers.

"As a coalition we want to go beyond the physical aspect of climbing. We want to preserve, promote and protect access to climbing and be good stewards of the environment that way others and future generations can enjoy climbing like we do. We also work with the National Forest Service to develop and mitigate user impact and keep to the 'Leave No Trace' principles," said Sanborn.

Working with the town of Ten Sleep and NFS has helped erase the negative stereotypes associated with climbers, like, people living out of their vehicles with cash to spend. "We've gone to the Ten Sleep city council asking them to bring any of their concerns about the climbers to our attention. We'll then work to right those concerns. Some concerns we've addressed so far are providing port-a-potties to certain climbing areas and specific dumpsters for the climbers to use," said Sanborn.

"Awhile back there was the notion climbers lived out of their vans and never spent money in town," said Sanborn, "Today, they still live out of their vans but these are camperized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans and they have the means to support the local businesses."

As for next year the BCC is looking to relax before planning 2017's festival, "For now we're going to relax," said Sanborn, "Then will get back at it by brainstorming what we can to do to expand our reach to other communities and bring on more diverse outdoor sponsorship."