Tommy Caldwell Instagram – In the “Clean Climbing” essay published in the 1972 Chouinard Equipment Catalog, Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost stated, “We believe the only way to ensure the climbing experience for ourselves and future generations is to preserve (1) the vertical wilderness, and (2) the adventure inherent in the experience.”
These principles have been at the core of Patagonia’s philosophy since the beginning, and it’s from these principles that we’re addressing the National Park Service and US Forest Service’s newly proposed Federal guidance on fixed anchors in Wilderness.
We are aligned with the intent of the proposed guidance, but we don’t believe that the Minimum Requirements Analysis (MRA) is an appropriate process for assessing fixed anchors.
Instead, we’re advocating for an alternative proposal that supports the Wilderness Act more strictly and describes a more coherent and enforceable policy for fixed anchor management in Wilderness.
This is a critical moment where we could better define types of fixed anchors and appropriate use cases of each within Wilderness; a more appropriate process for managing fixed anchors; and guidance that provides greater autonomy to each Park and Forest Service to administer per the unique needs of the lands they steward.
We ask that recreation and Wilderness interests collaborate on a solution that protects Wilderness values while describing concrete and enforceable guidance for fixed anchors in Wilderness.
Climbers have an active role to play in conservation. We share a responsibility to show restraint in Wilderness, to respect Indigenous rights, to protect wildlife and to be a voice against threats to the wildness of the places we climb. We protect Wilderness to save our home planet and to uphold this most adventurous style of climbing, the kind that prioritizes the dignity of wild spaces before the desire to send.
We have until January 30 to let NPS and USFS know that we support a fixed anchors guidance that better protects Wilderness and accommodates climbers committed to climbing in Wilderness with humility, restraint and respect.
Click the link in our bio to send your comments to both agencies and read more about our position. | Posted on 26/Jan/2024 02:07:15
