Climbing Site

INDEX – A group of rock climbers announced Friday that they’ve raised enough money to buy the Index Lower Town Wall.

The Washington Climbers Coalition stepped up to purchase the rock climbing wall after a private landowner considered selling the property to a quarry.

The coalition got their funds from a loan from Access Fund, a national climbing advocacy group based in Boulder, Colo., and donations from climbing organizations and businesses.

The coalition also announced it is working with Washington State Parks on a possible donation of the property.

The Lower Town Wall is the state’s most famous climbing destination apart from Mount Rainier. The Lower Index Town Wall is granite riddled with huge cracks to grab and edges that provide challenge and variety for rock climbers.

As early as the 1950s, mountaineers practiced scaling the sheer walls that zoom up 500 feet and higher. In the years since, climbers have established hundreds of climbing routes.

Rule Breakers analyst Karl Thiel told subscribers recently that he thought Momenta Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: MNTA) was likely undervalued, but that the company wouldn’t reach full value until investors get over their “wall of worry.”

After handing down a ruling yesterday that Momenta’s generic version of sanofi-aventis‘ (NYSE: SNY) Lovenox could stay on the market, it seems that a judge pulled out a ladder and helped boost investors closer to the top of that wall. Sanofi had filed a lawsuit claiming that the Food and Drug Administration shouldn’t have approved the generic version of the complex molecule.

It was a long shot by Sanofi, but the loss of generic Lovenox would have been a huge deal for Momenta, since that’s its only product. Shares are up 4% today.

The wall of worry hasn’t crumbled completely, though. Momenta’s deal with marketing partner Novartis (NYSE: NVS) calls for Momenta to get 40% to 50% profit share if there is only one generic on the market. If the FDA approves another one, Momenta would take a triple hit: The market share for generic Lovenox would go down, the price would fall because of competition, and Momenta would only get a royalty in the high-single to low-double digit range. Investors will likely remain worried until the FDA makes a decision about a pending application from Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA), and another from Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, which is partnered with Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI).

Trying to figure out what the FDA will do in this situation is nearly impossible. The agency took nearly five years to approve Momenta’s drug, because the company had to convince the FDA that it could fully characterize the complex molecule that makes up Lovenox’s active ingredient. Without a lot of inside knowledge, it’s impossible to know whether Teva or Amphastar have the same capability to satisfy the FDA.

A quick rejection that sends potential competitors back to the drawing board would be the best thing for Momenta’s stock. But at this point, time is working in favor of the company as well. The longer Momenta goes without additional generics being approved, the more money the company makes, and the more likely investors are to scale that wall of worry on their own.

To see the analysts’ current thinking on Momenta, which was recommended back in 2006, grab a 30-day trial subscription to the Motley Fool’s Rule Breakers newsletter. You’ll get access to all our back issues and the most recent picks.

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LIVERMORE — The Valley Rock Climbing Gym has gotten a one-year reprieve from the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District.

Gym supporters were relieved to hear that the facility will stay open, but say this is just the beginning of a busy year.

The three park board members at Wednesday night’s meeting voted unanimously to adopt a final budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which gives gym supporters until early next year to prove the gym can significantly cut expenses and increase revenue. Board members Maryalice Faltings and Scott Kamena were absent.

In order to balance a $16 million budget and close a $460,000 deficit, general manager Tim Barry had proposed cuts to several programs, including the gym.

The gym has had annual losses of more than $40,000 per year since the park district took over operations in 2007, but it was spared from imminent closure in June when the board had to balance its preliminary budget.

Members from Save Valley Rock Gym, a grassroots group of climbers and parents, have been working feverishly since then to submit a business plan to prove they can make it break even within two years.

“We need intuitive thinking,” Save Valley Rock Gym spokesman Bob Sanchez said. “It needs to be managed more like a business.”

He said gym staff needs to identify slow periods, when it would be okay to cut back hours — such as opening later on Tuesdays or closing earlier on slow nights.

District

assistant general manager John Lawrence agreed but cautioned against changing hours without fair notice. He said one idea might be to simply list the gym’s phone number in brochures, instead of exact hours of operation.

District and community members alike are hopeful they are headed in the right direction after seeing particularly positive results in July.

With a $2,000 increase in revenue in July and a $2,000 decrease in expenses compared to last year, the program looks on track to see the year-end loss drop down to $13,000, Lawrence said.

By efficiently managing staff time and operation hours, Save Valley Rock Gym members are confident they can meet that goal — having provided an even lower $11,000 estimate for their year-end deficit.

The group said the next step is to continue increasing awareness for the gym and to maintain a good working relationship with the park district to stay on track.

“We got a good start but we need to keep the momentum going,” Sanchez said. “We’ve got work to do now.”

For more information about Save Valley Rock Gym, visit www.savevalleyrock.com.

Contact Kimberly Chua at 925-847-2164. Follow her at Twitter.com/kimberlyachua.

Climbing hard A Rocky Mountain goat nanny and kid hump it up a steep ridge somewhere in the Pioneer Range last weekend, their tongues hanging out from the effort. A group of hikers noticed the goats coming up the ridge behind them and hunkered down behind rocks to wait, resulting in close-up shots of the sometimes elusive critters. Mike Reeder photo

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