I have been climbing for 19 years now. I have seen some pretty nasty and careless things especially in other locations where I have lived and climbed in the past where some things really got out of hand. Usually it was people just not thinking about the consequences. Or just getting too psyched and forgetting that the environment is more important than a project. Unfortunately I have seen some of these things creep into Montana a little bit and I just have to say that I am a little disappointed to see some of these things here. I think we are smarter than this.
Two things in particular are so easy to deal with. We should really aim for a leave no trace ethic if we can when we are out there having fun.
#1
Not brushing off tick marks after your session is over. Yes if things are ticked they are easier to see. But we don't need to leave them that way. Remember we share the Boulder Batholith as a resource with other user groups, tick marking maybe considered graffiti to some of them. Check out the Heart of Darkness boulder from this Saturday. This is after it was cleaned up after the comp then it got at least another serious session the following week. Please: if you must tick, scrub it off after your session.
#2
Stashing pads. Yes we know you hiked like 5 miles one way and *ooof* it was hard. You leave your pad there and you will get it in a week or so when you come back (a likely story...). But then you find out that animals love all of the foam and nylon that your pad is made of... They eat it and use it as insulation for nests, it is not biodegradable and it usually gets spread all over the place. By the end it looks like some bum has been sleeping under the boulder for at least a year in the talus where the pad had been stashed. Tom and I found this stashed pad this Summer.
Two things in particular are so easy to deal with. We should really aim for a leave no trace ethic if we can when we are out there having fun.
#1
Not brushing off tick marks after your session is over. Yes if things are ticked they are easier to see. But we don't need to leave them that way. Remember we share the Boulder Batholith as a resource with other user groups, tick marking maybe considered graffiti to some of them. Check out the Heart of Darkness boulder from this Saturday. This is after it was cleaned up after the comp then it got at least another serious session the following week. Please: if you must tick, scrub it off after your session.
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| Heart of Darkness Boulder - Needs some tick mark cleaning |
#2
Stashing pads. Yes we know you hiked like 5 miles one way and *ooof* it was hard. You leave your pad there and you will get it in a week or so when you come back (a likely story...). But then you find out that animals love all of the foam and nylon that your pad is made of... They eat it and use it as insulation for nests, it is not biodegradable and it usually gets spread all over the place. By the end it looks like some bum has been sleeping under the boulder for at least a year in the talus where the pad had been stashed. Tom and I found this stashed pad this Summer.
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| Nasty stashed pad found this Summer (notice all of the chewed fabric and foam)
This is certainly not typical in our areas and finding these types of transgressions are pretty rare, we also know most folks are very conscious of these. We just feel that being proactive and reminding folks to strive for the best is a good way to go about things. If you encounter trash, ticks, or other potentially dubious activity, please do your part in keeping our area clean and enjoyable.
L8er,
podenbeck
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