I’ve been climbing since 1992. That’s just long enough to really feel like I’ve been able to watch trends change in both climbing and in outdoor recreation. The biggest change is a growing lack of respect for the land…
I know. I know. It’s just another old guy complaining about the kids…get off my lawn and all that…
But it’s true. There are more people recreating today than there were a few years ago. Indeed, a report in the Outdoor Foundation estimates that 1.6 percent of the American population participates in climbing either indoors or out. That’s a whopping five million people!
Every year there are new climbers moving from the gym to the crag. As such, there have been a number of efforts to educate climbers making this transition. The American Alpine Club and the Access Fund have even built a curriculum around this transition called, Gym to Crag…
But even with these education efforts there are several problems. One of which, is graffiti at the crags. Obviously, a large percentage of those who participate in placing graffiti on crags are not climbers, but there are certainly a fair number who are…
Here is an example of a non-climber disrespecting Mother
Earth by scratching his ironic message onto the rocks in
This second example is also from Red Rock Canyon. AAI Guide Andrew
Yasso took this picture on the third pitch of Purblind Pillar on the Angel Food Wall.
The trail to the 4 Stories Snowy Range Sport Climbing Area
is marked by spray painted rocks. Such an obvious defacement on
public lands can easily lead to climbing closures.
Photo Credit: MountainpProject.com
There are some sticky exceptions to the defacing of a rock face…
The world renowned mountain guide, Randall Grandstaff, died in a rappelling accident on the Great Red Book in Las Vegas on June 2, 2002. Shortly after his death, a dedication reading “Our Bro R.G.” was scratched into the rock on the route. About two weeks after the dedication was scratched in, someone else tried to scratch it out.
Scratching a dedication into the rock was not really the right way to memorialize this individual. Indeed, it’s been argued that Randall would not have liked this kind of memorial. However, Randall was an important person in the history of Red Rock Canyon and there are strong arguements both for the removal of the graffiti and against it. It’s clear that something like this is different than the normal graffiti problem. And it’s also clear that this type of conversation should take place at a local level and the removal should be weighted heavily by the area’s climbers and the local ethic…
Though this last case is sticky now, it wasn’t before it happened. It’s never acceptable to deface rocks with graffiti. It’s just not what real climbers do…
–Jason D. Martin