Endurance Bouldering, Stewardship, and Community in Utah’s Sandstone Canyon Country
CASTLE DALE, Utah — What do you get when you combine an endurance bouldering competition, a beach party, a fundraiser, and a trail maintenance day? You get the Joe’s Valley Pump-A-Thon. On May2nd and 3rd, Joe’s Valley Climbing & Community (JVCC) will once again host a weekend that blends endurance bouldering, genuine community, and hands-on land stewardship. There’s nothing else quite like it on the climbing calendar.
The weekend is built around two distinct experiences—a Saturday competition and a Sunday stewardship day—and both are essential to what makes the Pump-A-Thon worth showing up for.
The competition format is simple and inclusive: climb as many boulder problems as you can during the competition window. Gender categories, age divisions, and climbing-level specific brackets mean there’s a fair, meaningful place in the comp for everyone. Whether you are climbing outside for the first time or a seasoned local crusher, you’ll be competing with your peers and cheering each other on. The goal isn’t to be the best. It’s to show up, try hard, and move your body on some of the best rock in Utah.
But anyone who’s been to the Pump-A-Thon knows the comp is only part of it. The competition day carries on with food trucks, a beach-themed social, awards, raffle drawings, a campfire, and music at the Castle Dale Fairgrounds. And then Sunday morning, the event switches gears into something more grounded: a community trail maintenance day, fueled by coffee and donuts, where climbers and locals work side by side on the trails and landings that make Joe’s Valley worth protecting.
The best part? All of it is a fundraiser. Climbers at Joe’s Valley have always taken care of the place, and the Pump-A-Thon grew out of that. We show up, not as an obligation, but as a natural extension of caring about the place. Every registration dollar goes directly to JVCC’s year-round programming that includes the coalition ‘s ongoing trail and landing stewardship work, and the youth outdoor education camps that give local kids from Emery and Carbon County real access to the outdoors, real skills, and real confidence.
This is the work that keeps Joe’s Valley healthy and accessible, and the Pump-A-Thon is how the broader climbing community gets to be a direct part of it. To keep the event accessible, discounted registration is available for students and for residents of Emery and Carbon County.
JVCC is a nonprofit that has been embedded in this community since 2015. JVCC’s mission is straightforward: enhance the local economy, build community, and drive sustainability by bringing rock climbers and locals together around their shared enthusiasm for the outdoors. JVCC is working to make sure that the economic and social benefits of Joe’s Valley’s reputation as a world-class outdoor destination actually stay local, in the trails, the businesses, the schools, and the families that make this place home.
“It has been so rewarding to work with our small team of locals and climbers to help make an impact on the area. From improving safety with off road parking and trails to getting kids outdoors with our summer camps. Events like the Pump-A-Thon provide crucial fundraising to keep our programs going. We all had so much fun together last year! We’re doing this because we love the organization and its mission and we want to keep our programs going.”
– Julie Janus, JVCC Executive Director
The Pump-A-Thon puts that mission into a single weekend in a way that’s hard to replicate any where else.
EVENT DETAILS
SATURDAY May 2
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Registration at New Joe’s Campground Parking
11:30 AM – 11:45 AM | Mandatory Kick-Off Meeting
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Climbing Competition at New Joe’s
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Drive to Town, Ensure Results Input
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Food Trucks and Social at Castle Dale
7:00 PM | Awards and Raffle Drawings
Until 10:00 PM | Bonfire and Music
SUNDAY May 3
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM: Meet at New Joe’s parking lot for a Trail Day overview.
9:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Trail Maintenance and FUN! Please wear closed toed shoes and bring gloves if you have them. All trail equipment is provided. We’ll be doing erosion prevention at Area 51 and Pocket Rocket.
The Pump-A-Thon is a great way to see what the area has to offer and get a view into what the Joe’s Valley climbing community is all about. If you can’t make it in May, mark your calendar for Joe’s Valley Fest this fall, a multi-day event that draws climbers and community members from across the region and beyond.
Register for the Pump-A-Thon and learn more at joesvalley.org
Contact:
Julie Janus, JVCC Executive Director
julie@joesvalleyfest.org | 916-580-8276
joesvalley.org
joesvalley.org/joesvalleypump-a-thon
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
