On a cold February morning in 2017, we waved goodbye to three Jeep Cherokee Trailhawks as they pulled out of our Boulder, CO parking lot and headed to different corners of the country to put shovels in the ground to improve our climbing areas.

Over the last 10 months, the teams have hosted 303 stewardship days across 21 states, leading 1,635 volunteers. Places like the Red River Gorge, Chattanooga, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Joe's Valley, Cathedral Ledge, Ten Sleep, Indian Creek and a host of other local crags all saw major improvements this year. Scroll down for a full list of the 43 climbing areas they improved on this year's tour.

2017 Conservation Team Metrics
Feet of social trail closed and restored	24,991
Feet of new trail built	5,135
Tons of rock moved	682
Staircases built	103
Retaining walls constructed	101
Drainage ditches dug	68
Areas cleaned of trash	38
Graffiti clean-ups	14

Life on the road as a traveling Conservation Team isn’t always easy. A huge thanks to our six Conservation Team crew members Lindsay Anderson, Kate Johnson, Andrea Hassler, Annabelle McClure, Chris Wu, and Chip Powell for a year of intense labor and dedication. We are so thankful for their commitment and dedication to the sustainability of our climbing areas, ensuring climbing access well into the future.

The Conservation Team fleet will hit the road again in February 2018. Next year’s itinerary will include extensive work in Joe's Valley, Utah; Cathedral Ledge, New Hampshire; Washington Pass in Washington state; Mad River Gorge, Ohio; and many more. Andrea and Annabelle will be returning for another tour as Conservation Team National and Kate and Chris will return for another tour as Conservation Team East. We are currently hiring for Conservation Team West, looking for a great new team to carry on Lindsay and Chip’s legacy.

The Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team program is made possible by the generous support of title sponsor Jeep and supporting sponsors REI, CLIF Bar, Therm-a-Rest, La Sportiva, and Yakima.