Leave no Trace and Climbing

 Leave no Trace and Climbing Regulations

Climbing Then vs. Now

Climbing started in the early 1900s, and the climbing gear back then was not as minimalist as it is today. Trad climbers would wear really large rubber-soled boots compared to the small climbing shoes used today, and their hardware back then was much larger than what we use today. Many of the reasons why modern climbing equipment and hardware have changed to be more minimalist is because it shows that the traditional bolt anchor caused permanent damage to the rock formations. 

In the 70s, free soloing started to gain more popularity when "dirtbags" and "hippies" started climbing, specifically in the U.S. The Stonemasters was a climbing group that applied their lifestyle to their climbing style. It was a chosen, simple lifestyle they lived, and they knew how to respect nature compared to the earlier pioneers of climbing that utilized safety hardware. Climbing soon became a lifestyle for "off-the-grid" folks as it was an inexpensive, outdoor hobby that didn't require much. Many of these climbers didn't even use shoes or drying agents like chalk because they wanted to be as minimalist as possible. 

In the present day, climbing has taken the life form as a sport now that it's gained so much popularity in the media. Sport climbing is one of the most popular types of climbing that requires ropes, and bouldering is the other most popular type of climbing. Indoor gyms make it more accessible for people to start climbing without taking as many safety measures as outdoor climbing. Many people nowadays start to climb as a sport and hobby rather than seeing climbing as a whole lifestyle as before.

New Climbers' Behaviors on Leave No Trace

As the popularity of climbing skyrockets, this raises concerns for how climbing outdoor will be affected. Many climbers start their progression in the gym, then they start outdoor climbing later on. Since earlier forms of climbing required hardware and equipment, recreational managers try to set regulations on climbing outdoors to minimize the natural environment for native plants and animals near the crag. From experience, if someone's not educated on the proper etiquette for climbing outdoors, it can cause a lot of harm to the natural environment. In fact, many new climbers are not aware of the Leave No Trace (LNT) principles, so their behavior in climbing outdoors doesn't align well with preserving the natural aspect of climbing outdoors. 

Schwartz et al. (2019) conducted a survey study on climbers' bouldering ethics from transitioning from indoor climbing to outdoor climbing. Their results showed that 67% of the respondents learned how to climb indoors and that most were less knowledgeable of LNT and proper climbing etiquette. In addition, they responded and said LNT regulations hinder their climbing experience and are time-consuming. 

It is concerning for experienced climbers and rec managers because this can lead to environmental complications at the crag with new climbers transitioning to outdoor climbing. For example, overcrowding at crags can lead to irregular migration of native animals, vegetation loss of native plants, and the changing microbiome of rock formation. 

Leave no Trace and Climbing Regulations

Leave No Trace (LNT) is an education program that was started in the 1990s by the U. S. Forest Services, and it teaches about the outdoor ethics using a scientific approach. LNT is practiced for most outdoor recreation activities, such as fishing, kayaking, hiking, and climbing. It's mainly used to regulate the sustainability of the natural environment for native plants and animals in a specific area. There are seven principles of LNT:

1. Plan ahead and prepare

2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces

3. Dispose waste properly

4. Minimize campfire impacts

5. Leave what you find

6. Be considerate of other visitors

7. Respect wildlife

In the climbing community, there's a lot of controversy about whether the climbing regulations are too strict for climbers, and recreational managers don't understand the differences in the type of climbing. For example, Schuster et al. (2001) examine the different attitudes towards management for trad and sport climbers. They found that trad climbers reported having negative attitudes towards rec management because they favor sport climbing more often than trad climbing. Essentially, sport climbers collaborate with recreational management and get approved to put permanent bolts into the face of a cliff. As a park regulation, this limits climbing routes outdoors to specific front-country sites, limiting the access for trad climbers to go beyond these sites. In contrast, trad climbers use hardware that doesn't require putting permanent bolts; instead, they find the weakest points of a rock and wedge a cam to support their clipped-in rope and they are retrieved by a belayer so no trace of climbing is left behind. Trad climbing often gets mistaken for sport climbing in the recreational management process, and there are limited collaborations with trad climbers since it's not as popular as sport climbing. 

Nonetheless, amongst all types of climbing, it is clear that climbing tends to be micromanaged by park regulations, and all climbers agree with this. Whether it is for environmental purposes, such as preserving wildlife, or the climbing experience, such as leaving chalk marks, it is clear that most outdoor climbers find the regulations unfair. 

My Personal Experience

I remember the first time I ever climbed, I was 10 years old climbing with my uncle in San Diego. I remember how hard it was to even smear my foot onto the wall and feel secure on each hold, and it was fascinating yet frightening to see my uncle dance up the wall effortlessly. I didn't get much into climbing until four years ago, and I randomly joined a gym near home but I quickly started climbing outdoors a few months later. I never thought this hobby of mine would change my life in the sense it taught me about commitment, success, and failure. In addition, being part of a climbing community taught me that even though I've gone through hardships in life, there are always people around to literally catch you when you fall. 

Because climbing has taught me so much, I always encouraged people to get into climbing to experience its difficulty and manage their fear during the crux. Therefore, I enjoy seeing new climbers in the gym and at the crag, but I've witnessed differences with the climbing community and their attitudes. There's always a part of the community that climbs for the purpose of sport and the other part of the community who are purist and respect the recreational and wilderness aspects of climbing. 

Whether a climber has a purist orientation or not, it's important to know proper etiquette both in the gym and at the crag. Schwartz et al. (2019) found that if young, less-experienced climbers knew their behaviors were causing harm to the environment, they would educate themselves more on proper climbing etiquette. In my opinion I never found climbing regulations too strict, but that may be because I only boulder, and this type of climbing doesn't have as many limitations as other climbing forms that require more equipment. As I keep progressing as a climber, I always try to educate myself on how my actions outdoors can affect the environment for native organisms in the area, and I think others should also do the same. 

Meet the Community

What is your name, your years of climbing experience, and why you got into climbing?

"My name is Tyler, and I've been climbing coming up on two and a half years. I started outdoor climbing maybe a year or so into climbing. The same thing that got me into indoor climbing, [like] that intuitive attraction to solve problems and using my body, challenging my mind and my body, climbing outside just kind of like the next level and progression. I think from there, it's in different environments and are different challenges. I really enjoy climbing and I enjoy being outdoors, so climbing outdoors is like the best of both worlds, so that's what got me psyched about outdoor climbing."

Do you think your climbing behaviors are a lot different from how you climb indoors compared to outdoors?

"I guess they're really not too different other than there's a general consideration for the space around you and the people around you. So there's a thought process involved in that regard to climbing inside. Outside, I think it's a little more involved. There, you can get crash pads to attend to, if you bring food and drinks, like you've got the trash that you need to be mindful of, your footprint that you need to be mindful of. I think that there's probably a heightened sense of concern and support for the people around you. And then, other things that we discussed before such as your foot print, you know, sticking to trails, being mindful of the wilderness and the wildlife, rocks themselves."

"I've spent a decent amount of my life going outside and understand that, you are responsible for picking up after yourself. I also think climbing with friends, especially ones who are more experienced than you, helps a lot with learning the proper climbing etiquette and behaviors that you may have not known or thought about before going outdoor climbing."

With your climbing experience outdoors, did it ever feel like it was a burden to practice Leave No Trace principles?

"No, I don't think it's a burden. I think if you care enough, if you understand why the regulations are in place, I think it's just knd of inherent to understand why they're there. And it really doesn't require too much effort, especially in bouldering. To leave no trace. So no, I don't think it requires an extra effort."

Why do you think new climbers are less likely to practice Leave No Trace principles when climbing outdoors?

"I think that probably comes from their experience. Maybe they don't quite understand things that they should be responsible for when they're outside. Maybe they just lack the knowledge and resources to learn what exactly the purpose of Leave no Trace means."

What advice would you give to a new climber interested in climbing outdoors?

"Be safe, stay on trails. Climb with friends, and make sure to Leave No Trace to give everyone the same climbing experience you have at the crag."

What is your name, your years of climbing experience, and why you got into climbing?

"My name is Jaime Lopez, and I've been climbing for almost 10 years. I first went to a gym, and I climbed on an auto belay. And I was really afraid of heights, but I got psyched in the gym. And I probably went outdoors after like a year or something of climbing and stuff. It was actually almost like a dare with myself because I was afraid of heights. So I was trying to do stuff like that at the time, that were, you know, either scary to me or challenging. And then when I got really into it, I think it was just the videos like, like, online videos got me really psyched to want to go outside. And then that kind of became the focus was like going to the gym so I could go outside after about maybe like the first year. Okay.

Based on research and experiences of other climbers, it's mentioned that recreational managers place a lot of regulations on climbing especially when it comes to trad or sport climbing that requires bolts and cams. From your experience, do you ever feel like the climbing regulations on that is too strict?

"You know, it's kind of different in every area. So like, I'm kind of new to this part of California. And I'm not as aware of what kind of restrictions are here. Like, here, it seems like in the local areas, like in town, and the places I've been up in the mountains, there's not a lot of heavy influence that I see there compared to like what you'd see at national parks like in Joshua Tree or something. Or, like in the South, I'm from Tennessee. And there's so much more private land that there's a lot of regulation, like certain weekends, you can only climb areas, or only certain month, you know, weekends of the month, and honestly, I'm always really bummed out by these sorts of things. But it's mostly related to us being able to continue climbing. So in that sense, I think it's valuable because if not, the people who own those lands can just take away the right to climb."

Based on research, specifically boulderers and their transition from indoor climbing to like outdoor climbing. They usually have less knowledge about Leave No Trace and climbing etiquette. According to a study, the majority of the participants reported Leave No Trace is time-consuming and gives them a lack of freedom to climb outdoors. Why do you think some people have this type of mindset when going outdoors?

"I don't know. I mean, I think people maybe used to the gym a little bit where there's, you know, there's trash cans everywhere, and that kind of thing. And they're consuming the indoor environment. For example, in the gym, people are setting it, and you're coming in and sort of consuming it. Whereas when you go outdoors, I feel like maybe that outlook is taken out there, but it's not for consumption in the same way. You know, it's more to be experienced. It's not a product that's been sold. It's something that's been out there before people were climbing and probably will be there after people aren't climbing anymore. So in that aspect, like I think people maybe just don't see it that way if they're used to climbing in a gym, but like it's the same attitude someone can have when going out for a hike. If people had never been on a hike before, they might treat the woods differently than people who go on hikes all the time. They're going to want to take care of it. They're gonna want like orange peels to not be everywhere."

If you could give advice to someone who's considering to go climbing outdoors for the first time, what advice would you give them?

I would say, you know, leave it better than you find it. At the very least, leave it how you walked up to it, but like if you can, brush the holds up a little bit more and Leave no Traces on the boulder itself. That's one thing I think people rarely learn when they're first climbing outside, and it's important to brush your holds before and after. So that you can enjoy it, and, you know, it'll be nicer than next time you climb on it."

References

Camp, R. J., & Knight, R. L. (1998). Effects of rock climbing on Cliff Plant Communities at Joshua Tree National Park, California. Conservation Biology, 12(6), 1302–1306. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.97363.x

Schwartz, F., Taff, B. D., Lawhon, B., Pettebone, D., Esser, S., & D’Antonio, A. (2019). Leave no trace bouldering ethics: Transitioning from the gym to the Crag. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 25, 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2018.11.003

THOMPSON, J. G., HAMMITT, W. E., & SCHUSTER, R. M. (2001). Rock climbers’ attitudes toward management of climbing and the use of Bolts. Environmental Management, 28(3), 403–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002670010232