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Climbing, Adventure, Gear & Choss
The Case Against Secret Crags
Yesterday we looked at the case FOR secret crags, today we look at the argument AGAINST them.
Ok, so you’ve got your secret little cliff out in the woods. It’s a fine spot, the land managers are clueless to it’s existence, and you generally have the place to yourself. But what happens when one day it does show up on the radar, and yes indeed, there just happen to be some special needs birds on the cliff, or perhaps a double secret land designation problem. Well, first up it’s time to get the Access Fund involved. But second, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to keep it secret after all.
When access issues arise, proving a history of use can be hugely important to maintaining access to a cliff. Land managers are more likely to work with climbers on an area that has a proven history of significant use, versus a little cliff out in the woods that hardly anyone goes to. If it comes down to it, you may need to garner strong support in the community to prove to local officials its value as a resource, and this will be tough if only a handful of folks knew about it in the first place. Ultimately, bringing the rest of the community in on your find might actually be the best way to preserve it’s use into the future. Sure, you’ll no longer have the place to yourselves, but it’s probably best to think long term on this one.
The other benefit I would point out is that it’s public land, and as such it’s a resource for the entire climbing community to enjoy. The more people who can enjoy it, the more the community can help maintain it. The routes will probably stay cleaner, and you’ll likely have ample support for things like trail projects and bolt replacement.
I see a place for both kinds of cliffs in the current world. On the one hand, I just want to be left in peace to pursue my passion, one that allows me to connect with people and places. On the other hand, I really don’t want to lose access to the places I think are special, and that usually means opening a dialogue with the relevant land managers.
We live in interesting times as climbers. We like to think we are becoming more legit as a user group, and have some pull with the major land use agencies, but then you look at a situation like the one in Red Rocks where the BLM has dragged their feet for years in developing a climbing management plan for one of the most famous areas in the country! The bottom line is we are still small potatoes in the scheme of things, but our actions will continue to come under increasing scrutiny, and the best bet for preserving access in the future is presenting ourselves as a unified community with a common love of climbing.
7 Responses to The Case Against Secret Crags
Bulldog Creek Dog Walk (IV WI 4+)
Hayden Carpenter and Tom Bohanon recently repeated an obscure ice climb on the south side of Mt Sopris. Given a brief mention in Jack Robert’s ice guide, Bulldog Creek Walk is described as being 100 meters of WI 4. What they found was seven pitches of ice in a remote setting that makes for one […]
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Same thing could be said about nearly any other recreation on public land. Use it or loose it. On the surface it sounds scary, but any motorized recreation advocate or mountain biker can tell you it’s the way to go unless you want everything turned into legal Wilderness where only horses and hikers can go, and climbing is problematic because of fixed anchor issues.
Then there are the exceptions, like the bandit mountain bike trail up near Aspen that they’ll be closing. But the best approach, in my opinion, it to publicize the heck out of any sort of public lands recreation so you have some ammo and public support when they try to shut you down because someone decided they wanted to “protect” the place you’re using that is actually doing just fine without an act of Congress.
why publish crag/route info? I know we’re speading knowledge in hopes that others can take joy and satisfaction in the same adventures we’ve had (or some righteous BS reasoning like that). BUT in that lies the double edge sword. Ex: we started avacado gully at 7am this last weekend and immediately had two other parties behind us (1 from Denver). To add to it I did not have to swing on lead one single time. The route was so hooked out it was ridiculous!!
Keep this info word of mouth and maybe we can keep these routes in better condition (speaking specifically about ice routes). Plus the “I’ll-just-look-on-the-internet-for-a-route-and-climb-it” climber might actually have to get out, explore, and find/earn a route.
@nate – we drove by you guys on our way to Ridgway at 8am and I couldn’t believe how many cars were in the parking lot at that hour of the morning! Of course, you have to expect it with a climb like Avo that is moderate, unique and roadside, and has been in every Colorado ice guidebook. There are plenty of other routes in Redstone that no one does. Go check out Tomato Chimney, I guarantee you will not see a soul.
With ice, I can understand keeping it under wraps, but Redstone is a great example of a place where it doesn’t really matter. The only routes getting done are the same 8 ones in the guidebook, the rest, that require longer approaches, just sit there untouched for most of the winter.
“…(1 from Denver).”
Is it that awful of a crime if someone is from a different town than you climbing on “your” routes?
My point in purposely noting that one group was from Denver was to point out the fact that people are traveling a decent distance (they had left at 4:30 that morning) to climb…which only goes to show said routes popularity. And why is that particular route so well known…the internet and guidebooks. Heck I like climbing ice in RMNP and I live in Glenwood. I do no think its a crime if “someone is from a different town” and is climbing on “my routes.” I don’t think any route belongs to anyone. My point is that with guidebooks that you can get on the internet or a mountaineering shop you end up with every Tom, Dick, and Harry with the “ooh this is a short approach lets try this one” mentality.
If these routes are kept by word of mouth they will see fewer climbers which equates to less impact on the rock/ice, less impact on the approach trails, less litter on the trail/crag…plain and simple. Plus the weekend warrior will actually have to use his/her noodle and find a route….which there can be just as much reward in looking at a map, exploring a drainage/crag/area, and finding some unique ice/rock as there is in pointing to a route in a book and climbing it.
just my 2 cents.
Nate – I figured you were talking about how far they’d come, rather then bashing on the front rangers, which can be popular in some circles around here. And while I think your intentions are good regarding word of mouth info, i think we are well past that stage of info sharing. The simple fact is that with limited time, most people want their adventure in a dose that is manageable and without too much commitment. 90% of people out there wont go looking for a cliff they have no info about. Heck, for years there were rock climbing areas on this site that no one checked out until they were in a guidebook.
Also, I think it’s just human nature to want to share something really great with your friends. Since we all have different friends, this quickly expands to include just about everyone in the climbing world. Areas and climbs that are truly great and/or easy to get to will always attract a lot of attention. If Avocado were an hour hike in, no one would go do it, but to have a feature and experience like that next to the road, now THAT is something!
Also, there was concern from some locals that when the info on this site went up, the popularity of certain climbs in Redstone would increase. Well, it’s been five years and I’ve yet to see a line of folks hiking up to Crystal Visions, or Tomato Chimney, or the Dirty Linen Gully. The roadside stuff has been well known for a long time, and always will be given the fact you can walk to it in 5-10 minutes.
Lastly, in this day and age of increasing access issues, I think it’s really important that we establish ourselves as legit user groups, otherwise the right to climb at certain places can be taken from us. If it’s just you and your friends that use a crag, land use agencies have very little incentive to work with you if an issue arises.
And don’t worry, there is plenty of word of mouth only stuff out there still for the adventurous few…
Right on nate,
I agree with you that some spots should be kept word of mouth. But the easiest access or the best will always make it’s way to the masses, especially on a weekend. It’s up to us locals to find that next best spot that is truly local.
In my experience, I agree with BJ, that people do only do what is in a guidebook, the more info out their about the more obscure areas actually helps spread out users. I doubt any one from denver is really going to want to drive four hours and then go and explore for another four with no guarantee that they will even get a climb in. But if they know that they can go up some random area and are guaranteed a great climb they might be more likely to go do it, freeing up the more easily accessed climbs.
But the real problem here is that our population is increasing at an alarming rate and so we are just going to have to learn to share or move to eastern oregon…oops just let the cat out of the bag đŸ™‚