Save Index Town Wall!

Index is awesome--Save The Wall!
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Dear Friends,

PLEASE HELP US SAVE INDEX TOWN WALL!
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On International Mountain Day, Friday, December 11, 2009, we will be holding a series of events to benefit the Index Climbing Fund. International Mountain Day was established by the United Nations as the day on which the world could focus on all the beauty and benefits provided by the mountains.
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The Index Climbing Fund was established earlier this year to purchase Index Town Wall, save it from destruction by quarrying, and give climbers access in perpetuity. What better way to celebrate all that mountains mean to us than by helping save Index Town Wall!
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During the day:

2-hour SELF-RESCUE CLINICS – FREE (but PLEASE donate!)
Whatcom YMCA Climbing Wall, Bellingham, WA
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
10:00 AM – 12 Noon
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

In the evening:

GIANT PARTY w/ Slideshows and Auctions – FREE
New York Pizza and Bar, Bellingham, WA 8:00 PM – 2:00 AM

10% of food & bar plus 100% of donation, raffle, and auction proceeds go to the Index Climbing Fund.For more information, and optional registration, please visit our website at http://aai.cc/imd.asp.
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Be sure to see the long list of GEAR, LIFT TICKETS, FREE TRIPS and other AMAZING stuff we'll be auctioning and raffling off. (Seriously ... Even we were shocked by our sponsors' generosity.) Sponsors include Black Diamond, Petzl, Kayland, Stevens Pass Ski Area, AlpineAire, the Access Fund, eGear, New York Pizza and Bar, Red Rock Rendezvous, Rock and Ice Magazine, the Whatcom YMCA, and the Washington Climbers Coalition.

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THE CHALLENGE: Save Index! Index has been Washington's premier granite crag for almost fifty years. Its steepness, the quality of its rock, and its clean, aesthetic lines are the stuff of legend. But it is located on private land, and in March the owner, under financial pressure, closed the land to climbers and began to seek buyers. A quarrying company expressed interest. Our beloved crag, apparently, would make fine building material.
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THE STRATEGY: Buy It.
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Enter the Washington Climbers Coalition. Moving quickly, in May the WCC negotiated an option to buy Index for the creation of a public park. The fund must raise $300,000; more than $100,000 has already been raised, and success is a realistic possibility.
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HOW YOU CAN HELP: Raise money and have a BLAST doing it! Come to our benefit events! The self-rescue clinics at the YMCA are FREE and open to the public, though pre-registration (at http://wire.mindfly.com/t/r/l/kjkyhl/jhmdrlid/y) is encouraged. The clinics are worth $80, and even if you donate just $25, you'll be providing BIG value to the fund and learning skills that might save your partner's life — or your own.
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At 8:00 PM, roll down to New York Pizza and Bar. You might win a free PETZL Nomad 9.8mm climbing rope FOR JUST WALKING IN THE DOOR! Once you're in, the first 50 people who buy raffle tickets will get a FREE night lift ticket to STEVENS PASS Ski Area.
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Alan Kearney and Alasdair Turner, guides extraordinaire and two of the best climbing photographers in the Northwest, will give slideshows.
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Then we'll auction off more gear from our sponsors, and we'll conclude by AUCTIONING OFF THREE OF OUR GUIDES! You could win a day in the mountains -- or a night on the town ;-) -- with an outstanding climber and teacher (worth $350). The party will go on until everyone's partied out, and the more you party, the more money we'll raise. So make sure you arrive hungry ... and thirsty!
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I don't know if I've reached you or not, so let me make one last personal appeal. First as a climber and then as a guide, I've known and loved Index since I was a child. My personal passion and professional life have been wrapped up in the Cascade Range for my entire life. Index is a gem, a place of perfect bliss and challenge. Losing it — permanently, irretrievably — is unthinkable to me. We are offering these events to express our commitment to our climbing community and to help protect the climbing way of life. American Alpine Institute and our guides personally are donating their time to help bring about a greater good for all of us. You are welcome to attend the Self-Rescue clinics free of charge and enjoy the party and slideshows for only the cost of food and beer. Even if all you give is your enthusiasm, PLEASE COME! Nothing builds a fundraising effort like enthusiasm. The magic will follow -- guaranteed.
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But if you do have some money to spare, PLEASE DONATE. You can donate either in person at our events, or by calling us with a credit card, or by visiting the WCC website. Please visit our website, http://wire.mindfly.com/t/r/l/kjkyhl/jhmdrlid/j, or call us at (360) 671-1505 for more information. Optional online pre-registration for the events is strongly encouraged.See you at the Y Climbing Wall, at New York Pizza, or in the mountains!
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Sincerely,
Dunham Gooding, Director
Jason Martin, Operations Manager and Senior Guide
and all the guides and staff of American Alpine Institute