Access Fund Blog

Tread Lightly to Protect Climbing Access

Climbing, once an obscure activity with few participants, has become a mainstream form of outdoor recreation. And our impact on the environment and others around us is under increasing scrutiny. As climbers, we must show a healthy respect for the places and policies where we climb. This mindset helps assure continued climbing access by showing landowners and managers that we take care of the places where we play.

Slip into stealth mode and follow these easy guidelines to help protect climbing access every time you’re at the crag …

Stay on established trails – Even if the trail is not the most direct line to the base of a route or boulder, avoid the temptation to blaze your own path. Hiking off trail promotes erosion and destroys vegetation.

Keep a low profile – We know that route you’re working requires a lot of moxie, but yelling, swearing, screaming beta at your partner, and even playing music at the crag can seriously disrupt those around you, including the landowner.

Clean up excess chalk – Chalk is a necessary part of climbing, but it also creates visual evidence of climber impact. Clean up spills and brush off tick marks after each session.

Respect closures – Respecting the wildlife (e.g., nesting birds) and cultural resource (e.g., petroglyphs) closures will help ensure that they don’t turn into unreasonable closures. Visit www.status.accessfund.org for an updated list of closures and restrictions across the country.

Keep tabs on your dog – Dogs at the crag can have a serious impact on climbing access due to their ability to disturb the peace of those around them, including that of the landowner. Consider leaving Fido at home. If you must bring your dog to the crag, keep it with you at all times, control its barking, and clean up after it.

Pack it out – Don’t trash the crag. Carry an extra plastic bag and pack out your own trash (yes, even climbing tape counts). Human waste counts too—do your business away from cliffs, boulders, trails, and water sources and pack it out. For AF member discounts on Restop bags, visit www.accessfund.org/memberdiscounts.

Pad and tread lightly – We know you’re focused on sending that sweet boulder problem, but remember to think about the life on the ground around you. Avoid trampling or throwing crash pads on vegetation.

Educate others KINDLY – If you see someone hiking off trail, blaring music, or throwing trash on the ground, kindly let them know that their actions could threaten access for everyone. In many cases people simply don’t recognize that their actions might negatively impact the environment or access to the area.

Poop: Waste Disposal Strategies for Climbers

Everybody does it. Whether you’re cragging, hanging off the side of a big wall, or making your way across a glacier, poop happens. But did you know that the improper disposal of human waste can threaten access? Land managers don’t look kindly on human feces coming in contact (direct or indirect) with drinking water, other recreationalists, or wildlife. Not to mention the transmission of disease-causing pathogens from human waste. Gross, right?

The best methods for human waste disposal will vary depending on what kind of environment you’re climbing in. Follow these tips for taking care of business in a responsible way... 

Bag Systems

There are a number of readily available bag systems (or “wag bags”) on the market, including Restop, GO anywhere, and Biffy Bag. The underlying principle of all these systems is “pack it out.” Do your business, scoop it up in the bag, seal it, and be on your way. All these products do a good job of sealing off odor and can be disposed of in trash receptacles.

Note: Bag systems are generally the best option for sensitive environmental areas. They can be used in combination with poop tubes.

 Catholes

Select an inconspicuous site where other people are unlikely to walk or camp — at least 200 feet (about 70 steps) away from water, trails, and camps. Dig a hole 6-8 inches deep and 4-6 inches in diameter. After doing your business, cover the cathole and disguise it with natural materials. If camping in the area for more than one night, or if camping with a large group, cathole sites should be widely dispersed. Use toilet paper sparingly and use only plain, white, non-perfumed brands. Better yet, use natural toilet paper like stones, vegetation, or snow.

Note: Do not use this method in slot canyons where it’s impossible to travel the required 200 feet from the river, in desert environments where there are no microorganisms necessary to biodegrade human waste, or in high-altitude environments where the ground can be too rocky to dig. 

 

Poop Tubes

A poop tube is a specially designed human waste storage container that is hauled with equipment up the climb. To make a poop tube, you’ll need PVC pipe around 6-10 inches long and 4 inches in diameter, a cap for one end, and a threaded fitting and plug for the other. This method requires the climber to do business into a paper bag, sprinkle with a small amount of kitty litter to reduce odor, and place the bag into the tube. After descending, empty the contents of the tube into any vault toilet. If you use any of the bag systems mentioned above with the poop tube (instead of paper bags), then the bags may be disposed of in any conventional garbage can, making waste disposal more convenient.

Note: In many popular big-wall climbing areas, such as Zion and Yosemite National Parks, it is mandatory to contain human waste by carrying a poop tube.

If you’re unsure what method is most appropriate at a particular climbing area, bag systems are always a good choice. When in doubt, pack it out.

The Unspoken Strain of Secret Crags

Nothing rouses climbers more than newness: new gear, new partners, new routes, and, most important, new crags.

The novelty of a freshly developed crag excites climbers and gets their forearm blood pumping. So imagine when new crags are built on the down low—climbers quietly and sparingly spread the beta, keeping a tight lip. This can foster strain within the community and tension with landowners, which can lead to access issues.

Secret crags exist all over the U.S.; there’s no question about it. Climbers continue to discover new rock everywhere but disclose beta only to close friends and trusted partners. Mike Majerczyk, a climber based in Seattle, Washington, brought up the issue of secret crags with the Access Fund: “In my 15 years of climbing, it consistently disappoints me how ‘locals’ to an area refuse to divulge information about a crag, hoping to keep it a secret,” he says. “Newcomers inevitably go looking for these ‘secret’ crags anyways and cause the majority of our conflicts with landowners out of ignorance.”

So are secret crags acceptable? Well, there is no definitive answer. There are cases where keeping a crag under wraps from the rest of the community is acceptable and a requirement for access. “Oftentimes, things are kept quiet when the access status is sensitive or unclear,” says Brady Robinson, executive director of the Access Fund. “There may be strategic reasons why things are quiet.” One great example is an area in central Colorado. The developers have been putting up routes for over a decade but have requested that climbers do not spread the word yet due to unfinished routes and lack of parking. The equippers hope that by waiting to open the area—their long-term goal is complete public access—they will have time to fix the parking situation and host many intermediate routes in an area otherwise dominated by hardman climbing.

On the other hand, there are cases where a secret approach does more damage than good, like developing a crag without landowner permission, which in turn leads to secrecy from other climbers. The most logical answer is to be responsible stewards of climbing access: Instead of poaching the land, do what you can as a climber to open access for everyone, as long as the situation calls for it.

Tell us what you think…

Read more on page 8 of the Vertical Times.

Kids at the Crag: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

~ By Laura Snider

I was slogging up a steep approach trail in Boulder Canyon last summer when I got passed by a guy with a pack and play attached to his already enormous crag pack. His wife wasn’t far behind. She carried less gear but shouldered the more precious cargo: their son, who couldn’t have been more than a year old.

By the time we got to the base of the crag, they were already setting up the portable playpen in the shade of a tree and a friend was flaking a rope at the base of a climb. The kid seemed psyched (or at least quiet) that afternoon and the parents were able to get in a few quality pitches with the help of a friend.

But climbing with kids doesn’t always go so smoothly. I’ve seen kids shivering in the cold—one blue-lipped little girl wrapped in a puffy pink uni-suit at Shelf Road comes to mind—obnoxious minefields of toys at the base of climbs, and worst, kids who are left to hang out helmetless in dangerous rockfall zones.

As the number of climbers continues to balloon, finding kids at the crags will be increasingly common, with mixed results. While poorly behaved kids (and more to the point, poorly behaved parents) are sure to inspire more Internet rants on climbing forums across the country, taking kids climbing may also create a powerful connection between children and the outdoors and help mold the next generation of land stewards.

Tips for Successful Cragging with Kids

• Find a third. Try having a kid-friendly person—or another family with kids—join you at the crag. That way there’s always a person who’s not climbing or belaying to supervise the kids.
• Make a safe kid zone. Rockfall happens. Many climbing areas have steep slopes leading up to the base, and climbers drop gear from time to time. Find a safe place for your kid to hang out that’s out of the drop zone and away from other hazards, such as drop-offs, poison ivy patches, and talus fields. Consider bringing along helmets for the little ones as well.
• Bring plenty of supplies. Bring more food, water, layers, and (depending on the age) diapers than you think you’ll need. A hungry (cold, thirsty, exhausted) kid is a grumpy kid.
• Respect other climbers. Not everyone loves your kids as much as you do. Be aware of your child’s volume and make sure you’re giving other climbers their space. Try to reign in toy sprawl as well.
• Consider the crag. Some climbing areas are better suited for families than others. Look for a place with room at the base, fewer crowds, and, if your kids are old enough, kid-friendly climbs. (Sometimes, this can look like a slabby boulder that you can throw a top rope on.)
• Don’t force it. If it’s too cold, too hot, or too long of an approach, reconsider your plans. Having your kids hate their early experiences going on a climbing trip may sour them for the long haul.

Read Laura’s full article in the latest issue of the Vertical Times.

Permadraws: Access Issue or Not?

If you read the climbing magazines, then you’ve likely heard the recent debate. Fixed quickdraws, otherwise known as permadraws, have brought climbers from both sides of the table to determine appropriate use at their local crags.

So where does the Access Fund stand? Our position on matters of style has been consistent since our inception: The local climbing community needs to address issues of ethics and aesthetics. But climbing communities do need to proactively recognize when permadraws can threaten access or lead to a closure. On private land, climbing is a privilege, and landowners may have different preferences regarding permadraws with regard to factors such as safety, aesthetics, and liability.

Permadraws are not a product of the new millennium. Rifle and Jailhouse featured fixed draws starting in the early 90s. But as climbing and climbers both evolve, permadraws are on the rise across the nation. And it’s not just a matter of aesthetics. With this rise comes an increased safety concern. At the Red River Gorge last year, a carabiner worn sharp on the first permadraw of a climb cut through a climber’s rope, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Today’s lightweight aluminum carabiners, while streamlined, wear more than 10 times faster than steel, especially from the sharp rope angle of the first clip or a narrow bolt hanger. The t-profile of our nano-sized biners can turn a smooth lip into a knife edge after only 2 mm of wear. (Remember those old oval biners on your first rack? Those were safe with up to 5 mm of wear.)

Safety-conscious climbers may remember to inspect the biner at each clip as they fight a growing pump, but do they consider checking whether the quicklink on the bolt hanger is gouged? Or whether the nut holding the hanger is loose on the bolt? At some point, one has to wonder if the convenience of a permadraw is worth it when weighed against the time it takes to safely inspect for multiple points of failure.

Some climbers recognize these safety concerns and actively work to replace worn slings and aluminum draws with safer, longer-lasting permadraws such as the steel Climb Tech PermaDraw. This was the case recently at Shagg Crag in Maine and Rifle in Colorado.

Whereas Rifle climbers largely considered the replacement a blessing, there was an initial lack of climber consensus and land manager involvement at Shagg. In the end, a compromise was reached—some routes saw the removal of permadraws entirely, while the fixed draws on steeper lines received a safety upgrade. And still other crags, like Roadside Crag in Kentucky, were closed due in part to the landowners’ growing concern over the presence of permadraws.

Whether a question of safety or aesthetics, the use of permadraws should be approved by both the local climbing community and land managers. Each crag deserves its own analysis. Climbers should engage in rational discourse and come to agreement before pulling land managers into the fray. In the end, a closure affects all climbers, whether the draws are fixed or not.

Let us know what you think.

Climbing in Cuba: Officially Banned but Alive, Well, and as Good as Ever?

While officially nothing has changed, and climbing (as well as other outdoor activities) is still prohibited in Viñales National Park and the entire western province of Pinar del Río, our friends at www.cubaclimbing.com are reporting that climbing activity continues, and that no visiting climber has yet been barred from climbing.

After the closure was first announced four months ago, rangers and police posted themselves on trails to popular climbing and hiking venues. It was even reported that local farmers retaliated by baring the rangers from their land. The initial surge of enforcement, however, appears to have lapsed. Even the most popular walls can be climbed after 2:00pm when the rangers quit for the day. The most common report is that if park rangers see you climbing, they will ask you to stop. That's it. Two different climbers, however, put it in identical words—"They don't see you."

Venezuelan climber Xavier Garriga just wrote that his group climbed at popular sites and even at Cueva Cabeza La Vaca, Guajiro Ecologico, La Costanera, and El Palenque, which are visible from much of the valley and town. Xavier concluded, "If you are thinking of traveling (to Viñales) to climb, you can go without problem. We invite you to go and climb everything you want!"

The Cubans have also resumed putting up new routes. They have returned to a distant wall know to Cuban climbers as Hasta Siempre Armando, a massive wall first climbed in 2000, and newly revisited in 2010, when the locals took Michael Fuselier and a team of Petzl climbers to explore a 60 degree wall called Techo del Mundo, Roof of the World. However, the Cubans have also just completed a new route (as yet, an unnamed three-star 7b) on Mogote del Valle, the closest and most accessible walls to town.

Perhaps, nothing has changed. In 2003, Access Fund founder and native Cuban Armando Menocal wrote, “We visitors, along with the Cubans, climb under the cloud of ambiguity.” Another Cuban climber claimed, "Nobody knows what is allowed and what isn't, or why and when. That's how you drive a child insane, how you infantilize people and drive them crazy."

Indeed, it seems nothing has really changed.

For more information, visit: http://www.cubaclimbing.com/climbing/cuba-climbing-resumes-unofficially/

Conservation Team Digs in at Rumbling Bald

~Jeff Young & Dave Montgomery - Conservation Team Crew

Last week we were at Rumbling Bald West Side Boulders, proudly owned by Carolina Climber's Coalition, in North Carolina. With the help of a student group from Appalachian State University & our new Stewardship Manager, Ty, we tackled the landing area at the Bart Simpson boulder, constructed a 20 step rock staircase on the approach to the Washing Machine boulder, and closed down and revegitated some social trails.

Big thanks to everyone from the CCC for making the project possible and keeping the West Side Boulders open and accessible to climbers, and to all the great folks in NC that helped orient us to the area and honored us with their hospitality. We couldn't have done it without ya'll!

Access Fund Goes to White House Conservation Conference

~Brady Robinson, AF Executive Director

Last week, I was honored to represent the Access Fund and the climbing community at the White House Conference on Conservation, hosted by President Obama, along with Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, EPA Administrator Sheila Jackson Lee and other senior officials.

White House conservation conferences aren’t new. President Theodore Roosevelt held a conference of governors in 1908 to discuss the proper use of natural resources. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy held a multi-day conference on conservation, and in 2005, George W. Bush held a conference on cooperative conservation. While there is certainly an element of political theater whenever the President is involved, this administration’s commitment to conservation is sincere. This year’s conference focused on three key areas: renewing communities by connecting people to nearby lands and waters; restoring rivers for people and wildlife; and conserving rural lands through new models for working lands and wildlife.

  

I attended with several of my Outdoor Alliance colleagues. We showed up in force with executive directors Mark Singleton (American Whitewater), Mike Van Abel (International Mountain Bicycling Association) and Wade Blackwood (American Canoe Association), as well as longtime partners including American Mountain Guides Association director Betsy Winter and Western Spirit Cycling’s Ashley Korenblat. American Canoe Association’s Cate Huxtable, along with OA’s Policy Architect Adam Cramer and Grasstops Director Tom Flynn, rounded out the team. Human powered outdoor recreation was at the table in a big way, which is what it takes to secure favorable policies for our activities and special places.

Half Empty or Half Full?

Although the summit of Half Dome remains a symbol of the American Wilderness ideal, seeing photos of the 1,200 some people who hike the 8 mile trail to the summit daily during peak season is oddly reminiscent of a frenzied herd of cattle during feeding time. There seem to be two main issues rearing their heads in Yosemite National Park’s recently published Half Dome Trail Stewardship Plan. One is regulating the sheer volume of visitors per day during high season, and the other is whether the metal cable “handrails” (that run the last 400 feet of 45 degree slick rock up the east face) are in compliance with the Wilderness Act of 1964.

 
Let us preface by saying….rest easy. No one has suggested a permit should be required to climb Half Dome via a technical route or to use the cables as a descent from a technical climb. The main issue is regulating the hordes of hikers who are flocking to Half Dome. To this end, the Park will likely impose new permitting guidelines that would limit the number of users allowed on the towering granite monolith to 400 people per day (300 per day after 2013 ). Before the trial permitting system was implemented in 2010, approximately 400 people used this trail on weekdays, while about an average of 800 people used this trail on weekends and holidays. Virtually no climbers will be affected by this new policy, other than fewer hikers to negotiate as you descend the cables.

The metal cables have assisted recreational users to access the breathtaking summit of Half Dome for almost 100 years—they were installed by the Sierra Club way back in 1919. There is, however, some controversy surrounding their existence, as Half Dome lies within a federally designated Wilderness area. The Wilderness Act mandates that lands designated as Federal Wilderness be areas “where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain” and that provide “outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined” recreation. The Act also prohibits structures and installations “except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area.” Even though the cables predate the Wilderness Act by 45 years, at least one advocacy group has suggested they are inconsistent with the Act and should be removed.

So, while this issue should not affect the technical ascent of Half Dome by climbers, most climbing parties use the cables to walk off the summit. Without them, it would be a much sketchier descent, and would probably require bolted rappel stations. The Access Fund supports the continued existence and unrestricted use of the cables route for descending Half Dome but does acknowledge the need for the NPS to address concerns related to public safety and wilderness values.

The Access Fund urges you to weigh in on this issue. Yosemite National Park is accepting public comment on the Half Dome Trail Stewardship Plan until March 15, 2012. If this issue is important to you, then make yourself heard!

Visit Yosemite’s website for more information on the plan and the comment page to add your input.

 

I love it when climbers come to visit our office

~ Brady Robinson, Executive Director

If you’ve been following the Access Fund through social media, e-news, Vertical Times, or this blog, you probably have a good idea of the work we do. You probably know we have a powerful presence in Washington, D.C. and that we shape public policy to support climbing on public land. You may even know that we launched a new program last year in partnership with Jeep—the Access Fund Conservation Team—and that this team of professional trail builders consults with local climbers and land managers across the nation, helping to create and implement long-term stewardship plans.

You would have heard about our many excellent affiliate local climbing organizations (LCOs) scattered across the country, our base of 10,000 members, and the nationwide Adopt a Crag program that helps organize climbers to give back and steward the places they love. You’ve heard that we launched a revolving loan program to support the acquisition and conservation of privately held climbing areas, and that we have completed seven projects to date.

You may know all of these things, and that usually builds up an image in your mind of what the Access Fund office must look like. And that image is usually exaggerated.

Our office is small. No receptionist. No bronze statues. The carpet is getting shabby. None of the desks match, and a few are delaminating a bit. In spite of our recent growth and success, we’re still lean and incredibly focused on one thing: keeping climbing areas open and protected.

Visitors usually leave with the impression that the Access Fund punches far above its weight class and that, in such an organization, each and every membership and donation really does matter.

So thank you for your support and generosity—every membership and donation really does make all of our work possible.

And please do swing by to see us if you’re ever in town.

 

Access Fund Headquarters is located at 207 Canyon Blvd, Suite 201, Boulder, CO.