Completed Bear Mountain Project Workshops

Basic rock moving and construction.  Including stone steps and cribbing walls.

May 5 & 7 , 2006

May 13-14, 2006

Topics covered include: safety issues; equipment selection, care, and applications; calculating for safety and efficiency; mechanical advantage for pulling; and overhead zip and high-lines. There will plenty of opportunity for hands-on practice on Sunday plus a winch-cleaning clinic in the afternoon. Preference in registration will be given to participants attending both days.

This apprenticeship will cover the basics of building dry stone retaining walls to support a tread way and retain a hillside.  Class size will be kept very small to insure optimal education.

Same as above, but taller walls may be constructed (up to 3’) and some pinning into bedrock may also be incorporated to anchor the retaining walls.

This apprenticeship will cover the basics of building dry stone retaining walls to support a tread way and retain a hillside.  Class size will be kept very small to insure optimal education. Participants are required  to attend both days.

June 11 , 2006

Stone Pinning Workshop*

Techniques will be taught to build and anchor trails over exposed sloping bedrock surfaces using steel pins.  Topics covered include: safety issues, use of mechanized and hand power rock drills, pin / steel selection, different methods of affixing and sealing pins into bedrock, and building off of the set pins.

Topics covered include: Proper use of tools to split and shape (dress) stone to desired dimensions (portable generator, electric hammer drill, hand star drills and single jack hammer, top quality carbide hand chisels, stone hammers, hand points, tracers, and rifting hammers). Stone step and crib walls will likely be constructed in the process.   Participants are required to attend both days.

This apprenticeship will cover the basics of building dry stone retaining walls to support a tread way and retain a hillside.  Class size will be kept very small to insure optimal education.

This apprenticeship will cover the basics of building dry stone retaining walls to support a tread way and retain a hillside.  Class size will be kept very small to insure optimal skills transfer.

This apprenticeship will cover some more advanced dry stacking and stone shaping techniques.  Rotary hammer drill and diamond bladed cut-off saw demonstration will be used.  Class size will be kept very small to insure optimal skills transfer

Basic rock moving and stone construction.  Topics covered include, mechanical advantage, simple tools for moving large rocks, safety considerations, proper body mechanics, and methods of reducing natural resource impacts.  We will be constructing stone steps and cribbing walls. There will be a special emphasis on instruction and learning. Registration is limited to females.

Participants will work alongside Peter Jensen, primary Trail Designer for the new AT on Bear Mountain and expert stone worker to build a narrow section of stone cribbed treadway and stone steps along a rock ledge.  This is an excellent chance to learn new skills and construct an exciting piece of the new AT.

Learn how to build a stone paved cross drain or swale to deal with intermittent, yet potentially high flow drainage crossings.

This apprenticeship and workshop will cover the basics of building dry stone retaining walls to support a tread way and retain a hillside.  Topics covered include: selecting, shaping, and fitting stone using hand tools and carbide shaping tools. Class size will be kept very small to insure optimal education.

This workshop will be a repeat of the weekend before, or if participants are the same, it will be a more advanced level than the first. 
(see September 9th and  10th)

Join us for an on-site review of the project and a walk-through of the new trail route. There may be light trail work opportunities in the afternoon. The day begins with a slideshow, but most the day will be devoted to a (challenging) three-mile walk of the new trail route with detailed explanations of the intended work and methods.

Topics covered include: safety issues; equipment selection, care, and applications; calculating for safety and efficiency; mechanical advantage for pulling; and overhead zip and high-lines. There will plenty of opportunity for hands-on practice on Sunday plus a possible winch-cleaning clinic Sunday afternoon if time allows.

These workshops will cover the same material as our regular Cribbing Apprenticeships but with multiple instructors, thus there will be several workshops going on at once.  Beginners must attend both weekend dates.  Veteran wall builders can attend only the weekday dates or all four days.

Topics covered include: Proper use of tools to split and shape (dress) stone to desired dimensions (portable generator, electric hammer drill, hand star drills and single jack hammer, top quality carbide hand chisels, stone hammers, hand points, tracers, and rifting hammers).  Participants are urged to attend both days.

Techniques will be taught to build and anchor trails over exposed sloping bedrock surfaces using steel pins.  Topics covered include: safety issues, use of mechanized and hand power rock drills, pin /steel selection, different methods of affixing and sealing pins into bedrock, and building off of the set pins.

Please see previous Stone Cribbing Apprenticeship workshop description.

Rock moving and stone construction.  Topics covered include, mechanical advantage, simple tools for moving large rocks, safety considerations, proper body mechanics, and methods of reducing natural resource impacts.  We will be constructing stone steps and cribbing walls. There will be special emphasis on instruction and learning. Registration is limited to females and participants must come out for all days, or contact Heidi Adami to become an exception.

Basic Rock Work - Moving & Setting Stone: Introduction

Side-hill Trail Construction: Introduction

Stone Cribbing Workshop: Intermediate

Part of the ATC Biennial Conference at Ramapo College - To register or for more information, please visit: www.ramapo2007.org

Trail Construction: Building Over Bedrock: The art of stone pinning

Close to where the new AT route joins the old, the trail will wrap around a ridge which is a smooth bedrock ledge for nearly 60 linear feet.  Here, for these 4 days, crews will be anchoring a 2 to 3 foot tall crib wall onto numerous steel pins for that entire length while enjoying leafless views down onto the Bear Mountain Bridge, Anthony’s Nose, and the Hudson River.  Most quarrying will be done prior to the weekend. Allowing participants a unique opportunity to learn and perfect skills. Participants must have volunteers on stone work trail crews before and get permission to participate from Construction Manager or the General Project Manager.

Participants will learn how to build stone steps on the western side of Bear Mountain, a short distance from the Summit Tower.  Several different methods will be employed to build a  2’ wide stone staircase in beginner-friendly terrain on the mountain’s gentler south side.  Instruction and tips will be given to safely move stone with minimal effort and impact to the environment.

If you missed these workshops in the fall or in year one, this may be your last chance in a while as the 2008 season has mostly stone steps planned.  Participants in this workshop will learn to build dry stack stone retaining walls, aka crib walls.  In addition to key structural and design requirements, participants will also learn how to use stone shaping tools to cut rock to desired shapes and sizes.

November 17-18

This will be the inaugural workshop to take place in the dramatic “boulderfields” uphill of Hessian Lake.  Stone cut and split during this workshop will be used as 5’ wide stone steps that wind between bus-sized boulders and under dramatic rock ledges.  By learning how the stone prefers to break, participants in this classic Bear Mountain workshop spend time learning how to split boulders into usable steps and smaller boulders as well as how to delicately shape stone.

Learn the basic safety and operational methods of using highlines to move large stones.  This workshop will take place in the lower boulderfields above Hessian Lake, weather permitting.