THE PERFECT TEAM — OUR MEMBERS EMBODY BOTH SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR VALUES, LOVE FOR CLIMBING AND THE AMBITION TO MAKE OHIO A BETTER PLACE FOR CLIMBERS
The Board
COURTNEY CURTNER, PRESIDENT
Courtney originally joined the OCC as the Communications and Marketing Director in 2017, and later became President in December of that year!
Though she had always wanted to try climbing, after one date with her favorite climbing partner Steve, she was hooked and became a member of the Urban Krag Climbing Center in Dayton, Ohio. With the support of a great group of climbers in Dayton, Courtney has not only been able to learn a lot about the sport, she’s also had the chance to travel around the US in search of climbing adventures. One day she hopes to climb in all 50 states though Ohio will always be her home crag. When not climbing outside, you can find her pulling plastic at Krag, Vertical Adventures, or her home gym that she and Steve built in their garage.
When she’s not climbing, Courtney teaches Media Studies at Miami University Middletown. Also an avid cyclist, you may find her riding on the bike path on off days from climbing. Needless to say, she enjoys the great outdoors.
Born and raised in Ohio, Courtney wants to share her passion of climbing and love for this state with others. By working with the Ohio Climbers Coalition, she wants to encourage others to respect the land and minimize their impact while enjoying the great climbing locations Ohio has to offer.
courtney@ohioclimberscoalition.org
JOHN MANSPERGER, Vice President
John Mansperger serves as Ohio Climbers Coalition’s Vice President. His role includes building trails and kiosks, organizing trash clean-ups, manning event membership tables, scouting new areas, and liaising with regional coordinators and crag stewards.
A lifelong Ohio resident, John is using this opportunity to address the issues he strongly believes in, opening as many new climbing resources as possible in an environmentally responsible way and reducing the environmental impact of climbing. He also hopes to see climbing’s positive economic impact continue to improve local Ohio communities.
A climber since the 1980s, John provides a historical perspective to OCC. He started climbing in Northeast Ohio, learning how to top rope from a book. Upon joining the OSU Mountaineers, his climbing switched to Clifton and Mad River Gorge in Ohio, then mentoring climbers at Seneca Rocks in West Virginia. This broadened into vertical caving and industrial rope access/rescue. Currently, he sport and trad climbs rock, ice, and mountaineers as time permits. During his years as an engineer, John climbed internationally, including Europe, New Zealand, and Ecuador. John feels this broader experience with climbers from other regions offers him fresh insights to share with OCC.
john.m@ohioclimberscoalition.org
TOM FAY, SECRETARY
Tom records board meeting minutes, maintains records of the board's activities and schedule, and handles other logistics of the board's operations.
Tom began climbing in 2011 at his local gym in Dayton. After a couple years as a gym rat, Tom finally climbed outside, top-roping at John Bryan State Park, and quickly grew to love the sport and the community. Since then, he has climbed across the country, in West Virginia, Georgia, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kentucky, and of course, Ohio. Tom mainly sticks to sport climbing at the Red River Gorge and the Mad River Gorge, but can also be found at Urban Krag in Dayton.
After helping to clean-up and open the Mad River Gorge and Nature Preserve in Clark County, OH, Tom was energized by success of the community. He wants to continue giving back by preserving climbing areas and helping to discover new ones. He is excited to share his love of the sport and help the community practice sustainable climbing ethics.
JED JOHNSON, TREASURER
Jed began rock climbing in a gym as a student at The Ohio State University when the Adventure Recreation Center was built. He now enjoys bouldering, trad, and sport climbing equally in destinations ranging from Mt. Whitney in California, to sandstone boulders in Alabama, to polished tufas in Spain, but his true love is thuggy pocket climbing in the Red River Gorge. He can often be found at the crags spewing insightful beta such as “Just pull harder!” Climbing provides the perfect combination of mental workout and physical workout while exploring God’s creation and building memories with friends.
A materials science engineer by training, Jed works at a startup medical device company in Columbus, OH and handles extremely technical tasks ranging from taking out the trash to planning clinical trials. He was born and raised 30 minutes from the Mad River Gorge and loves being a part of sharing this region with others. Ohio has a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts and the Ohio Climbers Coalition, with a lot of support from folks like you, can make a profound impact for many generations to come.
Norm Swann, Northern Ohio Stewardship Director
Norm started climbing in 1977 while attending West Virginia University. He started out using 1” tubular webbing to make a harness, learned to belay using the hip belay and wore tennis shoes. All climbing was done outside, there were no indoor gyms back then.
Things improved over the years; climbing shoes with sticky rubber, belay devices, spring loaded caming devices, and the concept of bolting entire climbs and using a stick to clip the first bolt…all that is history now.
Norm watched the sport grow from a small group of outcasts to what it is today. He fell in love with climbing and it became one of the most important parts of his life, next to family and career. He believes that he has seen some of the most beautiful places on Earth during his climbing adventures over the years, and has met many interesting and unique individuals through climbing, some which are lifelong friends.
Norm retired in 2009 after 30 years with Ohio State Parks. His experience with climbing and parks should be an asset to the OCC and the climbing community in NE Ohio.
Norm said, “In the last couple years, I’ve been watching the OCC and saw that they were affiliated with the Access Fund. I also read about the success at the Mad River Gorge. It seemed to me the organization was heading in the right direction, and I wanted to be a part of it, so I signed up to help out in NE Ohio”.
He encourages climbers to look over the information on the OCC website and Facebook pages. If you like what you see, please consider becoming a member, volunteering, or becoming a part of the OCC leadership team.
Feel free to email Norm if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning climbing issues in NE Ohio. Any feedback about how we are doing in NE Ohio would be appreciated. Or, maybe you are new to the area and just want information about climbing areas in NE Ohio.
norm@ohioclimberscoalition.org
lucas blankenship, southern Ohio Stewardship Director
Lucas is excited about establishing and affirming access to climbing areas in southeast, Ohio. They started climbing while studying Ecotourism and Adventure Leadership at Hocking College in 2017. Since then he has found a deep love for sharing the enjoyment of moving on rock with others. They have worked as a climbing instructor in the Hocking Hills and New River Gorge as a Single Pitch Instructor.
During the Covid-19 years Lucas was studying Outdoor Recreation and Education and started to explore the range of climbing resources that are in Ohio, and especially those in southeast, Ohio. At the end of his time in undergrad Lucas completed an internship with Climb Athens and Ohio Climber Coalition. Through this internship he learned about identifying and establishing climbing areas by assisting with some of the development at Flat Rocks in Lancaster.
Today Lucas is completing a masters in Sociology at Ohio University and continuing to work as a climbing instructor in his free time. With their time moving over rock Lucas has found an enjoyment in climbing aesthetic lines like what can be found in Linville Gorge, New River Gorge Red River Gorge, Stone Mountain, Indian Creek, and the beloved J-tree.
lucas@ohioclimberscoalition.org
connie Bogucki, development director
Connie started rock climbing while attending college at The University of Akron earning her B.F.A. After learning the basics from inside the gym, it didn’t take her long to start climbing outdoors. After a trip to Hinckley and Summersville, WV, she was hooked and hasn’t stopped climbing since. She loves all types of climbing, but favors technical crimpy routes and does not hesitate with dynamic moves.
Her climbing adventures include journeys across the US and internationally attending festivals, checking out the newest climbing gyms and visiting the local crags. Some of her favorite places include Red Rocks, Joshua Tree, Seneca, The New River Gorge, The Red River Gorge, TWall, Table Rock, Switzerland and Patagonia, Argentina.
Connie is forever grateful for the opportunities that climbing opened up for her. She fell in love with the great outdoors and made life long friends within the community because of climbing and wanted to give back in any way shape or form. Her passion for the sport led her to start volunteering for the Ohio Climbers Coalition in 2014 attending clean-up events and fundraisers. She later joined the board in 2019 as the Northern Ohio Event Coordinator and soon after as the Development Director.
When she’s not climbing, you can find her fishing at the the local watering hole, hiking in the CVNP or traveling on her next great adventure!
connie@ohioclimberscoalition.org
cris dehlavi, social media coordinator
Cris Dehlavi began climbing in March of 2020 when she found herself unemployed due to quarantine. She quickly became the seventh member and mentee of a group of people who had been climbing outside together for 30+ years. With no work, Cris immersed herself into the climbing world, and it was not uncommon for her to climb 7 days a week for the following 6 months. Cris quickly saw the value in OCC and joined within the first month. Her passion for climbing has not ceased and she is excited to be entering into this new role as Social Media Director.
Cris has the heart of a mentor, the spirit of hospitality, and a passion for education. Cris is the On Premise Educator for the Diageo Hospitality Partnership, responsible for delivering brand, category, cocktail, and bar operations education in support of the Diageo Portfolio. During her incredible 25-year career in hospitality, she’s been a critical fixture at Tales of the Cocktail assembling and managing a team of 75 apprentices, while also serving as Head Bartender at one of Ohio’s rare Four Diamond restaurants from 2002-2020.
In her spare time, Cris climbs outside as much as possible, weather permitting! She lives in Dublin Ohio with her life partner, John, and their dog and two cats.
Regional Coordinators
MATT Fahnestock
As Co-Regional Coordinator for the Mad River Gorge and Nature Preserve, Matthew works closely with the local climbing community and the parks department to ensure the continued development, preservation, and prosperity of the Mad River Gorge.
Matthew was introduced to the OCC by Courtney in the winter of 2016. She said there was potential climbing in Springfield Ohio, if only everyone was willing to pitch in and clean it up. The next weekend he went with Courtney and her friends to remove tires, honeysuckle, and trash from the Mad River Gorge. Since then he has been involved in the OCC, primarily working at the Mad River Gorge and Nature Preserve.
Matthew started climbing in the spring of 2012 at a local gym in Dayton. It didn't take him long to buy a rope, webbing, and belay device and drag his friends outside in search of real rock. He started small at John Bryan State Park, but soon found the Red River Gorge. It wasn't long before even that wasn't enough, and he began traveling to climbing destinations across the country. His favorite climb to date is still Point Dume State Park in Southern California. He continues to climb and train in search of greater climbing adventures.
If you run into him at the Mad River Gorge don't hesitate to offer feedback and suggestions.
matt@ohioclimberscoalition.org
Ted Welser
Southeast regional coordinator
As a Southeast regional representative of OCC, Ted Welser looks forward to helping build, preserve, and improve access to climbing resources in SE Ohio, and to foster stronger community connections in the region.
Ted first began climbing in 1989 at Miami University where he worked extensively with the Outdoor Pursuit programs as an instructor and manager. While completing a MS in Sport Studies he worked as a head route setter at Rock Quest, and developed a strong love for steep sport routes at the Red, New, Obed and Little River Canyon; as well as multi pitch trad routes at the Gunks and Linville Gorge. During the mid 1990’s he wintered with friends in Hueco Tanks, which spurred his exploration of bouldering possibilities in Ohio and Appalachia, including countless hours at Whipps Ledges.
After graduating he moved to Logan Utah and then to Reno Nevada to manage RockSport while applying to graduate school, getting married, and finally moving to Seattle to attend UW. After 8 years, two PhDs, two kids, and postdocs in Ithaca NY, Ted and Laura became professors at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
Since then Ted has started his second climbing career with his family and has been building community and resources for climbers in SE Ohio. In 2007 he built his 5th home climbing wall, started exploring local boulders of Athens County, and sharing those findings online. Family, community, training and exploration have been major aspects of this second career which includes family climbing trips to Horsepens 40, the New and Red, Virgin Gorda, Wild Iris, Maple Canyon and Mt. Mizugaki Japan.
Recently Ted helped build a garage bouldering gym called Beta Fish, and founded (with Bryant Noble) Climb Athens, a non profit climbing gym. He has also taught workshops on route setting at OU and Hocking College, and is learning to replace anchors and establish routes with Yoichi Ishida and Marina Baldissera Pacchetti.
Tom Thomas
Northern regional coordinator
Tom first joined the OCC as the Logtown Crag Steward and is excited to be the Northern Coordinator for the Ohio Climbers Coalition, supervising and working with the Crag Stewards at Logtown, Beach City, and Mill Creek Metroparks.
Tom started climbing in the early 90’s and spent most of his climbing career traveling throughout the United States climbing anything from the Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite to the Diamond on Longs Peak and even winter ascents of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. He is a passionate rock and ice climber that is always looking for his next adventure. Tom says Ohio has a special place in his heart. In fact he says some of his fondest memories are from his early climbing years, climbing and training with his friends at Logtown Quarry. Tom believes climbing is about the spirt of adventure and the things we overcome that makes it so special. It’s hard to believe he started out self-taught here in Ohio and has accomplished so much. He is a well-rounded climber and always willing to work with others giving pointers. He enjoys passing on what he has learned. He says Ohio has some amazing climbing potential and he is proud to work with the OCC to help maintain and open up new areas for future generations.
When Tom’s not climbing, He works as a Metallurgic Lab Supervisor for Brad Foote and Gear. He has extensive knowledge in corrosion and failure analysis. He was published in NACE Coating Pro Magazine in the May 2015, and went to Akron University for Polymer Science. Lastly Tom says; If you have any questions or you’re just looking to checkout some of the climbing Northern Ohio has to offer please don’t hesitate to contact him.
ben waggoner
Northwest regional coordinator
Ben first touched rock in 1995 while on spring break at the Red River Gorge. Having grown up in Northwest Ohio, he had never heard of rock climbing until that trip that started his love for the sport that would eventually become his career. He finished college and grad school in California where he became a climber following the logical progression – bouldering first, top roping with friends, sport climbing, trad climbing, then multi-pitch trad. He grew up as a climber on the walls of Malibu Creek, Echo Cliffs, Point Dume and Stoney Point. Ben finally matured as a climber when he started to explore the bigger areas outside of LA – Yosemite, Bishop and J-Tree. After visiting these areas several times, he finally took on the challenge of indoor climbing in a couple of So Cal gyms.
When he moved to El Paso, Texas, he was looking to change careers (he was a schoolteacher in California) and found an opportunity to open a climbing gym while simultaneously starting to guide at Hueco Tanks. He became certified as an AMGA SPI just before completing his dream of opening a small bouldering gym. Ben has been running the gym on occasion and guiding outdoors (boulders, sport, trad, rappelling, and anchors) in El Paso since 2016 but has recently uprooted his life again with a move back home, to the Toledo, Ohio area. His climbing trips while living out West (24 years) have taken him to the Tetons, the Diamond, Red Rocks, Wild Iris, Indian Creek, the Organs, Eldorado Canyon, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Red River Gorge, Seneca Rocks, Acadia National Park, and of course – the California crags previously mentioned. His favorite crag is likely the most recent one he climbed since he loves all types of climbing, even the ice of Ouray or the Pictured Rocks National Seashore.
Now that Ben has moved, he very much looks forward to getting involved with the Ohio climbing community. He particularly looks forward to pursuing new crags in North West Ohio as well as helping to promote responsible stewardship throughout the state.
jay ford
Southwest regional coordinator
Hello! My name is Jay Ford and I was born and raised in Enon, Ohio, which is right up the road from Mad River Gorge. I got into rock climbing there about 4 years ago with my friends, who happened to be the local climbing crew at Mad River Gorge. I immediately got hooked on climbing and started learning about every aspect of the sport, from the different styles of climbing to the environmental conservation side of climbing outdoors. It helped that my uncle is a big wall Yosemite climber too, so he’s taught me quite a bit about rigging, trad, and aid climbing. That all led to my interest in volunteering with the OCC. Since joining the OCC I’ve worked on developing walls, organizing trail cleanup days, and trying to help others enjoy climbing! I’m looking forward to organizing more trail cleanup days, helping with events, and developing crags in southwest Ohio!
Northern Event Coordinator
david corvi
David first developed a love for climbing in fourth grade when he Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman. He still has that fourth grade copy. In high school, David had his first outdoor climbing trip during a class trip to Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. He learned foundational climbing and belay skills at the Cleveland Rock Gym in Euclid, Ohio.
David attended Ithaca College in Central NY where he majored in English Literature and Writing. During his junior year, Ithaca College installed a climbing wall in their student fitness center. David was the first student manager to pilot and launched what would become Ithaca's climbing club and community. He was the TA of Ithaca's first climbing course offered to students. David also guided several climbing trips for college faculty and staff. David befriended students who were Outdoor Recreation majors and would meet them and their professors during climbing trips to the Adirondacks, Catskills, and Shawangunks. The bulk of David's outdoor climbing experience has been in The 'Gunks, where he developed his trad climbing skills.
After college, David moved to Pennsylvania to become a high school English teacher and elementary school principal in underserved communities in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ. He continued climbing and working at a local gym, Go Vertical - since closed, but once housing the tallest indoor lead wall on the east coast. Wanting to share his passion for climbing, David organized and lead climbing trips for numerous groups of students. David's other climbing experience includes trips to the New River Gorge, Red River Gorge, Acadia National Park, Smith Rock, and Mount Shasta.
After almost 20 years, David and his family relocated back to Northeast Ohio where he looks to get more involved and support local climbing. His sons have been visiting climbing gyms with David since they were newborn, and he hopes to share his love of climbing and the outdoors with them. When David is not climbing, he is working as an educational consultant in NE Ohio and as a Leadership Coach for the Lynch Leadership Academy out of Boston College.
Mad River Gorge Climbing Committee
JOSH HELLSTRUM
Joshua Hellstrom was born in Utah and has spent exactly half his life in Utah and half in Ohio. He was raised with a deep love of the mountains and outdoor activities. He is a working professional who travels often and enjoys spending his free time outdoors with his family and children.
Josh was introduced to climbing by his father in law when he was 27 years old. A climber since the 70’s, his Father in law was a hard teacher. He specifically focused on traditional and alpine climbing, always stressing safety and self-reliance. Naturally, this is the type of climbing Josh gravitated towards and finds most enjoyable today. Josh has been travelling and climbing for 12 years now and plans to continue this journey until the wheels fall off.
Josh is very grateful and excited to be a part of the Ohio Climbers Coalition. He has been very involved in the past with Springfield and looks forward to being involved moving forward. He has a passion for climbing and loves the climbing community. He looks forward to meeting and working with many different climbers. But most important to him is being a part of preserving, improving, and securing climbing in the Springfield Gorge for many generations to come.
josh@ohioclimberscoalition.org
JIM WILDENHAUS
Jim has been hooked on climbing outdoors since he first hopped on a top-rope at Clifton Gorge,Ohio in the early 90's. When that area closed it was onto the northside of Springfield Gorge. When that toprope area closed he went on to develop sport routes on the southside of the gorge with a handful of friends and great climbing partners. He has made many trips to RRG, Seneca and was one of the first campers at Roger's at the New River Gorge but has never lost his love for the diversity and challenges of Springfield limestone with the dream of someday cleaning and preserving that beautiful area for future generations.
Steve zuraski
Steve Zuraski was first introduced to climbing in a pair of tennis shoes and a borrowed harness at John Bryan State Park. Needless to say Steve didn’t make it very high up that wall that day. However, with the support from an odd group of climbers who soon became close friends, the right equipment, and some perseverance, Steve quickly learned what it took to be a climber. Climbing quickly became a focal point that was a source of all things fun in Steve’s life.
Since starting his climbing career, Steve has traveled all over the United States in search of rock, climbing in over half of the States with ambitions to climb in all 50 someday. His adventures include mainstream spots like Joshua Tree, City of Rocks, and Rumney, but also include obscure lessor known crags such as the “Leaverites” of N. Dakota and the crushed sea shell ledges in Blowing Rock, Florida. Among all these climbing destinations, Steve’s favorite spot still resides in his Ohio backyard, The Mad River Gorge. Steve can be found most days here working to improve the park, climbing the regionally unique lines, or passing out home baked goods to the visiting climbers.
Steve brings a strong affection for the climbing community and dedication to preserving the crags that climbers call home. He hopes to help make climbing more accessible to climbers while still preserving nature’s beauty and the sense of adventure that one finds with climbing. Steve is very excited to be part of the Ohio Climber’s Coalition team and working with the local climbing communities throughout the great state of Ohio!
Jill Gallagher, legal advisor
Jill was an original OCC board member assisting with our Ohio non-profit status as well as working toward access in local metroparks. After taking a break for grad school, Jill’s back to help the OCC, initially as Crag Steward at Whipp’s Ledges, then regional coordinator and currently legal advisor.
A lifelong educator, Jill loves teaching climbing and helping others safely enjoy this sport that has been her passion since 1989. After caving and scuba diving just weren’t quite right, Jill tried rock climbing at the only public gym in Michigan, Inside Moves, where she was instantly hooked. Back then, she tied her own harness with 16’ of 2” tubular webbing and belayed with a figure-8 (an advance from Norm’s hip belay, but still crude in today’s standards).
Jill has climbed in 13 states and Mexico, and hopes to travel to Mallorca, Spain, for her first overseas climbing excursion. By far, Jill’s favorite place to climb is Joshua Tree National Park. “The sun, sand and heat bake into your soul bringing the movement over JTree’s harsh granite into every neuron,” she tells us. Huh, maybe check out Joshua Tree? When she’s not climbing, Jill works as a patent attorney specializing in medical device technology transfer, as well as business consulting and risk management. She also volunteers her time helping women entrepreneurs with the legal aspects of starting and running their small businesses.
Safety and climber education permeate Jill’s years as a climbing instructor and coach, route setter, climbing safety consultant, and staff trainer. She is a certified PCGI SPG and Lead Guide candidate, AMGA SPI, and Wilderness First Responder, and has taught Professional Rescuer CPR/AED, First Aid and Wilderness First Aid. Jill occasionally offers sport, trad, top-rope and rappelling instruction to individuals and small groups here in Ohio. Yes, she cares deeply about safety. She even helps teach self-defense at her dojo! Jill is excited to be back helping the OCC with access and education in northeast Ohio.
Ronald schilb, occ historian
I have been a climber all my life, climbing out of my crib before I could walk, climbing the picket fence that my father put up around our back yard, when my father got the first section between two posts fastened, climbing the end of the bunk bed before my father put up the ladder, and climbing into the rafters of the garage our neighbor was building. The first mountain that I climbed was Mt. Vesuvius in Italy (really a cinder slog). I climbed Table Mountain in the Tetons on my first backpacking trip there in 1972. Long’s Peak was scaled in 1975 by a technical climbing route without a rope (not the fried egg route). I began learning the ropes in the fall of 1975 taking a class from Mike Brown at the Kettering YMCA. That climbing wall is still there. Climbing was allowed at Clifton Gorge in the spring of 1976 when I began using a goldline nylon twisted rope. By the summer of 76 I acquired a perlon kernmantle rope and took my first trip to Seneca Rocks. I happy to say that I have been climbing there for over 40 years. That summer I climbed in the Needles of SD, Devil’s Tower by the Durrance Route, and I climbed the Owen Spalding Route of the Grand Teton.
I have since climbed 49 of the 50 high points of the US, only Hawaii is left. I have climbed Royal Arches, Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite, the north face of the Grand Teton, the N. Face of Longs Peak in the Winter, Mt. Washington in the Winter twice, Pinnacle Gully on Mt. Washington (in the winter), King’s Slide in Ohio in Winter, Mt. Rainier once when 26 and once when 62. I have been a trad climber all my life.
I have ridden my bicycle across the US, coast to coast, 10 TOSRVs in a row, 13 Hilly Hundreds in a row, completing all. My longest day on a bike was 195 miles in hilly Kentucky.
I have taken students on trips all over the US, led successful expeditions to climb Pico de Orizaba in Mexico and Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park. I was the past president of the Ohio Climber’s Association, and a member of the American Alpine club first in 1985. I was a science and Biology Teacher for 31 years and then I was a gardener at Five Rivers Metroparks for 11 years. I finished my 49th highpoint on Granite Peak MT at almost age 67.
I am most interested in your stories about climbing in Ohio. I am your new historian. Send your tales of climbing in Ohio and all over the US if you were based here in OH. We want to archive your successes, failures, attempts, and funny stories. Hope to see you on the rocks!
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