The following article is offered as part of our continuing effort to inform climbers of resource management issues. This article highlights a chronic access problem: the actions of a few thoughtless climbers sometimes endanger the freedoms of the rest of us.
Most climbers know the basic standards of minimum-impact conduct and practice them at the crags. However, when climbers willfully disregard these standards, reprobation from the climbing community is the only appropriate response. Climbing is about freedom, but it's also about responsibility.
New River Gorge exploded on the climbing scene in the last decade, rising from obscurity to become one of the most popular areas in the eastern United States. Almost all the climbing at "the New" is within the boundaries of New River Gorge National River. The relationship between climbers and park managers has generally been one of cooperation. The climbing community as a whole has been very responsive to the park's concerns.
During the past decade, there were occasional climber-specific incidents which concerned the park, but the emphasis was on communicating these concerns to the climbing community and allowing climbers to regulate themselves.
Initially, climbing use was not one of the major issues that park managers had to address; whitewater recreation, abandoned mines and water quality demanded much more attention from park managers than climbing. As the park has matured, it has begun to look at other uses and how they affect the resource. Mountain biking, horse use and camping are some of the uses now being evaluated. Climbing is another.
Park managers at New River Gorge National River are concerned because scattered climbing-related violations of park regulations and policy are still occurring. A small minority of climbers seem to have decided on their own that park regulations do not apply to them. This select group, apparently focused solely on establishing new routes and developing new areas, is jeopardizing the freedom that all climbers have enjoyed at the New. Cutting down trees and clearing vegetation or lichen to put up new routes is not consistent with park regulations. The few climbers who take such liberties could threaten the liberty of the climbing community as a whole.
The park staff at New River Gorge has been very tolerant of climbing, and the park continues to work with the Access Fund and local climbers to manage climbing use in a cooperative fashion. New River Gorge National River asks that all climbers follow these guidelines:
Climbers at New River Gorge need to accept responsibility for their actions. As Access Fund Executive Director Keith Lenard stated in "Human Ecology on the Climbing Frontier" in Winter 1994 Access Notes, "...if severe impact occurs, they [land managers] are likely to intervene with regulations and restrictions aimed at conserving existing resources, or slowing the rate of change." Park management has no desire to actively govern climbing at New River Gorge, but it is up to climbers to demonstrate that regulations and restrictions are not necessary.
Greg Phillips is a park ranger at New River Gorge National River, and has worked extensively with the Access Fund and local climbers.