Are National Parks REMOVING ALL CLIMBING BOLTS?

you place a new bolt right to jail leave a sling jail fix a cam jail replace a rusty quickling Believe It or Not also jail we have the best Wilderness in the world because of jail National Park Service me anchors in the wilderness that's a padalin I want to safely wrap the route National Park Service Wilderness land managers catching you okay so all of this super useful information on Mountain project must be coming from somewhere let's just scroll to the top here and click the first thing there is to click action alert stop bolting prohibition I'm going to get slaughtered for this the American Alpine Club says take action is taking action bolting everything you want to bolt before the policy goes into place and then the Asa has bold right at top call to action what is going on so as a bolting nerd this has been sent to me uh multiple times now and I took a look at it and I don't want to just be an echo chamber of what I see on the internet but actually read the actual policy and so that's what we're going to do in this video we're going to talk about uh what is being said about it and then we're going to talk about maybe bolting as a concept and then actually just maybe read the 20page document instead of me interpreting what it says for you so if you climb on public land and you trust your life to bolts then you should pay attention to this not all public land okay so it's not on all public land where is it you ask we need your help to stop the National Park Service and the US Forest Service from impl menting a new policy that could erase America's most aonic climbing rats and put our safety at risk okay before I get slaughtered by these organizations I like these organizations and I am the clickbait king okay but wow okay just let's go through this make it through the whole video before anybody emails me please okay so what's the policy about these new policies would classify fixed anchors as prohibited installations in Wilderness areas is so where are they getting that if you go to the law that was made uh a million years ago in 1964 the Wilderness act says and I quote no structure or insulation AKA is allowed on congressionally designated Wilderness Area on everywhere on Earth I mean I guess you can't just take four words out of this and be like that's what it says no you got to understand it's four congressionally designated Wilderness areas it's not lowercase Wilderness where you go on the weekend it's upper CES Wilderness where it's a very specific designated area which could be inside of national park or first forest service areas so so far what we have is this policy is going to interpret those four words to mean something let's continue these new classifications would apply to both new and existing anchors hindering Wilderness exploration and threatening the existence of long-standing established routes and obstructing climbers abilities to replace old and unsafe bolts put a pen in that we'll get to that in a little bit this is a huge blow to climbers that not only threatens Americans climbing Legacy but puts the safety of our community at risk get through it Ryan get through it we have until January 30th to uh voice our opinions after that they become harder to voice I like the guidance that they give on how to leave comments don't simply just oppose the proposal by telling these agencies their ideas don't work and this is what they would like to see happen I like that fixed anchors are an essential piece of climber's safety system and are not prohib ited installations under the Wilderness act it is unreasonable for federal agencies to create new guidance policies prohibiting Wilderness climbing anchors across the country when they have allowed and managed and authorized fixed anchors for decades just because something's been allowed for a while doesn't mean we still want lead in our gas like it's kind of nice when things need updating and changing I'm not saying this is the case prohibiting fixed anchors will create safety issues by imposing unnecessary obstacles to the regular maintenance of fixed anchors just reading that first sentence it feels like we're no longer allowed to maintain the anchors in the Rock but wait we'll get to it prohibiting fixed anchors obstructs appropriate exploration of wilderness areas land managers need to allow climbers to explore Wilderness in a way that permits in the moment decisions that are necessary when navigating complex th I don't know if the policy says you can't prohibiting fixed anchors will threaten America's Rich climbing Legacy and could erase some of the world's greatest climbing achievements climbing management policy needs to protect existing R removal but does the policy say they don't want any of those things so since we have the national park and the US Forest Service Forest Service comments only they're saying restrict the establishment of new routes to existing climbing opportunities on non-wilderness lands is unenforceable and will create confusion amongst land managers and climbers that is a really good point there I do not understand how any of this will be enforced if they're like no more bolting but are they actually saying that so what are the these proposals these two separate and distinct climbing guidance proposals inform how these agencies would manage climbing within their respective areas I think that represents what was said well these proposals include a novel interpretation of fixed climing anchors as prohibited which reverses over 60 years of Precedence in Wilderness located in national parks and National Forest respectively it does change that it does what might these proposals mean for climbers by reclassifying fixed anchors including slings bolts petons ice screws ice screws ice screws are not very permanent give them about 2 in the Sun and they're not fixed as prohibited installations in Wilderness and National Forest existing and new fixed anchors would require analysis and approved by local land managers and then the American opine Club is concerned this shift has a potential to impact historical climbing routes blah blah blah obviously people are concerned about things the ASCA is asking climbers to comment on both documents this is the only opportunity we get to change the language in these directives and it is imperative that we make our voices heard this is the time to voice your opinion what is cool about policies and laws is they can technically be changed but it is a lot harder once they're put in fair enough these aren't as permanent as the bolts you're putting in they say replacement of existing fixed anchors should not be restricted in any way we are against the requirements for permits for new routes however if a permit for a new route must be issued in certain rare and sensitive areas it cannot require an exact fixed Hardware count or even Hardware types because this information is impossible to know in advance as somebody who's put in bolts I know what I'm going to put in when I go there now I might want to add an extra one or whatever but you can maybe apply for the permit to be like being like Oh if I want 13 say I want 15 I don't know and when I go bolt something I kind I'm not taking like titanium and long bolts and short bolts and 304 and 316 and just being like hey Bobby what do you want to put in today and it's like I kind of have a plan before you go like you can just put that as part of your anyways I'm trying not yeah if you want to replace existing fixed anchors to be better Hardware should that be restricted should you have to get a permit for that I was going to try to avoid getting on this bandwagon one of my biggest issues with bolting is that whoever put it in you got to go and ask them if you can change anything there's an local area here that has rusted bolts all over it and being a bolting nerd I'm like oh I could go fix that get it fix heart yeah but I also know bolting culture is I shouldn't go do that without talking to the person who put it in even though he technically put in zinc plated bolts and he did it so long ago and he hasn't maintained it and it's not his Rock it's public area so it's like we already have kind of a weird permit system required to go do anything you can't just or shouldn't I guess I mean so that's the question should you be able to go and without asking anyone about whether or not you're doing it the way everyone wants it done should you go and go do that so we pulled out like 30 bolts in the Lost AOS spire and left six and chain instead of tat and the end result people liked and if I had to get permission like legally had to go and get a permit and all that uh then that would have been 6 months to a year of a nightmare honestly it wouldn't have been much more work than actually doing the Boling itself because it was a lot of work but it is insane to me that I could technically legally the park was very clear as like you ask permission next time but like technically technically you could put bolts in places without like explicit permits and stuff like this policy is proposing that it's crazy I could go change something like the leros Spire with me and my friends crazy did do you know if I use long enough bolts did you know the toel Loos Spire is decomposing Granite it's not hard like T point if I didn't use good long enough bolts or I didn't use good enough glue or I had to expired to epoxy there's just no oversight yeah what if I didn't clean the hole you can see in the video like we kind of show the whole process so you kind of know like it's pretty good but we also kind of got together with several highliners obviously there was a bunch of us up there and we all like this is best practice today I didn't just act on my own accordance I try to consider holistically what was going on when Bobby goes to the Tahoe area and is pulling bolts out like we have in these bolt removal videos that you see they're pretty crappy bolts and he's putting in good bolts and he's doing a good job but what you didn't upssize the hole or make it longer and you spun out the bolt and you like a little oversight on doing something other people are going to trust their life to if you're going to get Bolts from the ASCA or access P like they want to know you're going to you're doing a good job that you know what you're doing what areas are you doing is that in accordance with their goals like that process is not hard but it's like uh I mean with the government it would be harder granted okay but like it's nice to have support from the community now the forest service land managers kind of want to be in on what's going on on the area their managing I can't even put a storage shed at my own house if I owned it with a foundation without a permit on my property but if you go to a public area you can't just build a road because you want to I don't think you can build a can you build a trail if you want to I don't think you can't Camp you you cannot sleep on the dirt without a permit but you can go and put a bolt in that other people are going to trust their life to without asking anybody I mean it's not that absurd the government's like I don't know about this should we have a policy about it I'm trying not to get sidetracked here but I just want to make sure you understand the current bolting culture what's crazy to me is that you can go to an area you see a rock that you want that I don't know how somebody hasn't developed yet and you're like you go buy a bag of 100 bolts of whatever you feel like buying and you go I did that and don't you dare change any of that without asking me what a weird like it's not your rock like what a weird system right that's the current situation I don't know how do you say it different like it's just so Cowboy but not Cowboy enough that I can go fix those Rusty bolts without going through some weird cultural ritual of finding whoever put him in this isn't owned by a climbing Coalition it's public you can see the freeway from there the the ASCA does not oppose guidance on fixed anchor placement in Wilderness areas that's good to articulate here and they're concern but these NPS and Fs directives are unreasonable they are unenforceable which will create more problems than they solve and will deeply impact safety for climbers and Excel accelerate impacts on Wilderness resources not reduce them so one of the issues is they're not allowing any more money to manage us climbers uh but now you have to manage all of us like it does seem unreasonable in that way and it does seem unenforceable because and you don't post it on social media like how are you going to enforce that and so then you still have the bolting Wars of people putting stuff in and people taking stuff out and people still being like that and it's not as enforceable I don't know oh I like this we encourage all climbers to read the documents in their entirety to understand what is being proposed but we acknowledge that there is a lot of text to sift through and is timeconsuming so I like the fact they encourage you to read the original document the policy that is being proposed we are going to do that in this video The non-wilderness Climbing management policy should maintain opportunities for new anchors anchor replacement unless analyst determines climbing should be restricted to protect cultural and natural resources if there is a tribal reason not to climb Devil's Tower you aren't going to do it if there is a bird who doesn't like to make babies while you're watching them and it's closed for paragan Falcon season it's closed that seems reasonable the current language will place a de facto ban on placing or replacing fixed anchors until extensive analysis has been performed but provides no additional resources for the districts to do so so the result is a blanket ban on anchor placement and manag I think that is a jump of conclusions there the result is that and that part isn't bold I feel like that is a if this then that and I think that then that is maybe not I could be wrong yeah so they're just going to be like no we don't have the money yeah but like that's a huge weep I never thought I would do this on camera I'm going to stick up for the government for just one second here and then I'll stop don't worry we are a very small group of highliners okay that Highline at the fruit B in Moab and the BLM land managers uh we raised money or the slack line us raised money for uh the pit toilet that's there now and we showed like we work together there was an organization Slackline us was putting together and we for years saved money and it was it was never going to happen we just don't have enough money and the blm's like wow you guys are like really working together trying hard you're like working with us they paid for the rest of the toilet I was like uh my heart warmed up to the BLM there is plenty of things to not be warmed up about the BLM but they are trying to protect the the area like that is their big picture goal every sign bathroom maintain Trail Road is is all being done by the forest service or national park like it's they're not trying to make it worse they're trying to keep it from getting worse and they there might be growing pains if they if this policy allows them to do that that which I may or may not think it is which is irrelevant I'm just going to read the document to you at so the ASCA has some pretty valid key points so let's go over them aging Hardware is less safe which causes more accidents maintaining that shouldn't have so much red tape I'm paraphrasing paraphrasing here bolt and fixed repel stations prevent resource degreg in delicate Alpine environments I am this is like an entire video I'm making right now with a tat related thing uh when you have bunch of tat around a tree or Boulders in a canyon or whatever two well-placed bolts could leave less impact as Southwest Canyons have a bunch of grooves in the Sandstone if you just have two good bolts right here and you wouldn't have the grooves so they are basically saying bolt anchors tend to reduce trampoline social Trail creation delicate Alpine environments directing all climbers to a single location on something bomber cool when the climbers repel they rely completely on an anchor and that if it fails could kill them prohibiting the maintenance of anchors or the placement of them would increase the use of unreliable natural features that greatly increase the risk of the inchor failing and impacts on vegetation on Wilderness routes bolts are already placed SP sparingly in situations where no removable gear can be placed bolts are placed to prevent catastrophic Falls repelling from some type of fixed aners is often the only option for climbers to safely Retreat from routes without s rescue and for example during inclement weather I don't think people are putting bolts in because it started raining what does that even mean you know what's happening here Black Diamond paid off the government so you'll buy more cams and go Trad climbing I just didn't know that you could just go bolt stuff without any social legal or whatever consequences right now in in like a protected Wilderness Area National Park I wouldn't even bolt a new Highline in yose without it being like woo shall we read what the actual policy says here we have the Wilderness stewardship fix anchors fix equipment national parks specifically Wilderness and Nation national parks section one The NPS has long recognized that climbing is an important and historical relevant recreational activity in many NPS Wilderness areas nice climbing including climbing in Wilderness areas continues to grow in popularity that's true historically and currently specialized anchoring equipment and ropes are used while climbing to reduce the risk of consequential fall anchors may be temporary and removable or they may be permanently affixed to the climbing surface fixed anchor the most common kind of fixed anchor is a fixed bolt which is a type of permanent anchor that is fixed in a hole drilled in the Rock very specific other types of fixed anchors or fixed equipment that may be left behind after the installed leaves in the wilderness include but are not limited to petons slings fixed ropes and Ice screws they are Banning being a little so you can't bail who leaves ice screws behind director's order 41 7.2 affirms that climbing is a legitimate and appropriate use of wilderness can we stop and celebrate that statement that's pretty cool and that the occasional placement of a fixed anchor for Bay repel or protection purpose does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of wilderness or violate the Wilderness act wow but that the establishment of Bolt intensive face climbs is considered incompatible with Wilderness preservations I mean are they wrong I I director's orders 41 72.2 also states that fixed anchors or fixed equipment should be rare in Wilderness and that clean climbing techniques should be the norm in Wilderness there's no interpretation needed this is pretty clean language this reference manual 41 directive clarifies that fixed anchors and fixed equipment here and after referred as fixed anchors are a type of insulation under the foresy of wilderness act consistent with the definition of that term and right Jesus okay I just said this was easy to understand anything made by humans that is not intended for human occupation and is left unattended or left behind when the installer leaves the wilderness that that's understandable fixed anchors fall into this definition because they are installed and remain in place long after the installer has left although fixed anchors may be small there is no Dem Minimus except to the Wilderness acts restriction on installation and the combined impact of many fixed anchors in a single rock or wall can have a significant effect on Wilderness character therefore fixed anchors constitute a prohibited use pursuant to the Wilderness act for SE and may only be authorized if they are determined to be necess Neary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of the Wilderness act through a minimum requirement analysis MRA so remember our MRA M's come up a lot this does not mean that fixed anchors may not be authorized in NPS Wilderness Bann forever I'm just can't as discussed further below climing activities can fulfill important Park and Wilderness recreational purposes and can help preserve Wilderness character providing opportunities for primitive and unconfined re Recreation is climbing primitive ooh Rock Park units where climbing is authorized in Wilderness areas must therefore consider what level of fixed anchor use best preserves the totality of wilderness values through an MRA process this directive gives guidance for evaluating potential actions taken by Park units to authorize the placement and or replacement of fixed anchors for recreational climbing in NPS Wilderness areas NPS Wilderness areas installation of fixed anchors by NPS Personnel for administrative and or operational purposes search and rescue research Trail projects is also subject to NPS policies and protocols regarding the M process section two the climbing management this isn't that bad it's only 20 Pages the park superintendent is responsible for the management of climbing activities within a park unit including evaluating requests from the public to install fixed anchors in Wilderness and ensuring that policies and regulations regarding fixed anchors are properly applied and enforced in accordance with director's orders 41.2 if climing activities occur in Wilderness climbing management strategies should be included as part as the Park's Wilderness stewardship plan or appropriate Park planning document these plans provide an opportunity for the park to holistically assess levels and types of climbing use and related issues and impacts and identify desired conditions indicators standards and thresholds needed to minimize adverse impact as well as providing an opportunity for the public to review and provide comment Park planning documents may make programmatic decisions about fixed anchor authorizations or restrictions at Park wide level or within designated Park management zones or units including the identification of special conditions limitations or thresholds depending on the circumstances programmatic decisions in a park plan may be supported by a programmatic MRA or the MRA process process may be deferred to individual applications under the framework laid out in plan that sounds like red tape the planning process also provides an opportunity for tribal consultation on climbing in Wilderness areas for Native Americans Wilderness can be a Homeland or a place of profound tribal history and traditional use many NPS Wilderness climbing areas and opportunities are located at or near culturally sensitive areas and resources sacred sites burial sites cultural resources archaeological artifacts thus Consulting with federally recognized IND tribes is of critical importance when managing climbing activities in NPS Wilderness isn't that already a thing in the absence of a formal Park plan that addresses Wilderness climbing park superintendents May manage Wilderness climbing activities and evaluate individual requests to install or replace fixed anchors through an interterm guidance or strategy or may rely on existing guidance in the Park's Wilderness stewardship plan and other relevant Park planning documents and NPS policies in this situation individual approvals must be subject to MRA process Park superintendent may also choose to restrict or prohibit new and or replacement fixed anchors subject to emergency Replacements described in the paragraph below until a formal planning process is completed existing fixed anchors may continue to be used Parks should evaluate all routes with with existing fix with existing fixed anchors when practicable as funding and resources allow through either a Park area or route specific and ra on routes that have not yet been evaluated climbers may make emergency Replacements of pre-existing fixed anchors if necessary to exit the climb in the safest and most Expedia manner possible that's not how you say that all other Replacements must be evaluated through an MRA before being approved though a park specific planning process May provide more Direction regarding replacement of fixed anchors so it sounds like if you're stuck on a rock they're not going to make you st up there for 6 months while you go through red tape once a route has been evaluated Ed and approved for continued use in Wilderness replacement of existing bolts on the route may be done without a new MRA unless Wilderness character conditions have changed since the initial review or if the replacement will include the drilling of a new hole or the use of a power drill permit considerations are discussed further in Section Five Section three fixed anchor application procedures regarding of whether approval is issued through a programmatic or site specific MRA review the park should require permanent application for specific installations or replacement requests to establish and ensure compliance with any special terms conditions or special Provisions requests should submit in writing to the park superintendent or their designate via letter email or approved application form and must include specific details related to the climbing activity including but not limited to the climber's name and contact information specific location or area approach and exit route name of Route formation the information you're going to need okay moving on whenever possible a map or photograph depicting the specific areas and exit route and climbing location should be included the more information you give them the easier it is for them to make a decision no I'm interpreting I said I wouldn't do that note that any application form developed by the park to collect information from the public must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and budget in accordance with the paperwork reduction act om approval does this any of this matter uh n this is paperwork stuff Park units where climbing occurs in Wilderness areas should ensure that fixed anchor requests and application procedures are clearly posted on the Park website and readily available at appropriate park locations so it doesn't sound like it'd be that hard to figure out how to apply for the permit Park specific procedures should include timelines for application submission and park review determination and response to the applicant having to get a permit to climb Al Capitan sounded like the end of the world I also understand why they want to do that I didn't find it to be that bad when I had to go do it now if if you're a weekend warrior and showing up Friday night and trying to blast yes it's pretty annoying but we're talking about bolts here not a quick weekend up elap I couldn't imagine buting something in enchantments how hard it was to even get the permit to Camp there yeah just to I sure sure would have loved to have one extra bolt on that route I did though section four fixed anchor evaluation procedures the m is required for individual Case by case applications to install fixed anchors I feel like we've gone through this this an MRA is a documented two-step process for redundancy that first determines whether an action is necessary for administration of the area as Wilderness and if so identifies the method or tool to accomplish the action with the least adverse impact on Wilderness character I wonder if they would let you core drill using a power drill if you could replace a glue and bolt with the same hole rather than putting in a new hole because you couldn't do that by hand step one of the Mr process determines whether accommodating recreational climbing opportunities is a necessary activity to administer the Wilderness Area director's order 41 affirms that climbing is a legitimate and appropriate use of wilderness step one should discuss how climbing fulfills Park and Wilderness recreational purposes and furthers Wilderness values for example Park should consider whether climbing is identified as an important recreational activity in the units enabling legislation Wilderness destination Foundation document or management plans Park should also consider the history of climbing at the park and how it contributes to the Park's unique Recreation opportunities oh cap if appropriate Parks should consider what climbing opportunities exist outside A wilderness and whether those are sufficient to realize the recreational objectives of the park or whether some type of climbing in Wilderness is necessary to fully realize the purposes of the Wilderness Area step one of the MRA process should discuss how recreational climbing preserves the qualities of wilderness character the MPS in coordination with other Wilderness management agencies has defined the term Wilderness character by identifying five specific qualities of wilderness character based on the definition of wilderness in the wilderness act these qualities include natural untrampled undeveloped outstanding opportunities for Solitude or primitive and unconfined type of recreation other features of ecological geological scientific educational Scenic or historical value it is important to note that recreational climbing is an appropriate activity in The NPS wilderness that connects people with the land builds self-reliance presents Challenge and requires skill these experiential values can provide opportunities for primitive and unconfined Recreation and therefore be necessary to administration of the Wilderness Area so far I don't feel like very established historical routes would be uh threatened finally step one should also note how recreational climbing in Wilderness satisfies the public purpose of recreation established in the wilderness act if a park finds that providing for recreational climbing is necessary for administering the Wilderness Area for Wilderness purposes then a range of alternatives to accommodate climbing activity should be analyzed in step two of the MRA process what is step two step two considers a range of possible alternatives for different levels of fixed anchor use to accommodate recreational climate in Wilderness including an option that considers the impacts of not authorizing any fixed anchors in Wilderness or denying the specific installation application depending on the circumstances the analyst should be guided by the broad policy Direction in the director's order 41 that fixed anchors or fixed equipment should be rare and that clean climbing techniques should be the norm in Wilderness director's order 41 also states that occasional fixed anchor use does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of wilderness or violate the Wilderness act but that the establishment of Bolt intensive face climbs is considered incompatible with Wilderness preservation and management pisses me off how like reasonable this thing is this is just written by some Trad dad some bolts okay but not too many the analysts of Alternatives should evaluate both positive and adverse impacts to the qualities of wilderness character in each of the Alternatives and Associated components to determine what level of fixed anchors best preserves the totality of wilderness character the park should discuss the effects on different aspects of wilderness character caused by different levels of fixed anchor use and possible trade-offs between those effects the step two analysts may also be informed by discussing how specific climbing types methods Traditions history and ethics regarding climbing have evolved in the park in addition the following factors are important to consider when evaluating fixed anchor applic fixed anchors and fixed equipment installations and power drills motorized equipment may constitute a negative impact to the undeveloped quality of wilderness character really recreational climbing can have a positive impact on the Primitive and unconfined recreational quality of wilderness character and may also have a positive impact on the Solitude quality of wilderness character sound associated with drilling holes in the rock for the placement of fixed anchors may have a negative impact on the Solitude quality of the Wilderness character the other features of value quality include features of significant importance to the culture and traditions of Affiliated tribes and Indigenous people including but not limited to Sacred and spiritual sites burial sites archaeological artifacts and other cultural resources sorry the park should then select the level or type of fixed anchor use that best preserves the totality of wilderness character and explain the decision nice they can't just say yes or no I guess if some level of fixed anchor use is authorized the park should specifically explain while the alternative of no fixed anchors or deny the specific installation application was not selected the park should then determine whether a specific route which includes a suitable number of fixed anchors to address safety concerns meets the alternative SEL elected in the MRA and therefore qualifies as the minimum necessary in Wilderness a comprehensive outline for evaluating recreational climbing and fixed anchor applications in Wilderness through an MRA process is provided in appendix be so far again my Pitchfork doesn't have any blood on it section five fixed anchor authorization procedures if a specific application to install a fixed anchor is approved through either a programmatic or a site specific MRA then the park should issue a permit to authorize the installation activity and set appropriate terms and conditions permit may be issued under the authority of 36 CFR blah blah blah for installing a fixed anchor which authorizes the superintendent to designate areas for a specific use or activity or impose conditions or restrictions on a use or activity and under the authority of for leaving a fixed anchor in the rug which authorizes the superintendent to designate locations and circumstances where property may be left unintended for longer than 24 hours mean like fixed ropes on o cap the requirement to obtain a fixed anchor permit should be established in the superintendent's compendium the following template language is recommended but may be altered to meet the park specific needs if you want to read that section pause the video fixed anchor permits should include specific terms conditions special Provisions to ensure the protection of the park resources and visitors and preservation of the Wilderness character including but not limited to the number type and color of fixed anchors and specific installation dates and location of climbing routes where the authorization is applicable and any temporal restrictions it is also highly recommended that the permittee be required to provide a post climb report regarding the number and location of fixed anchors that were installed the back country and Wilderness use fixed anchors and fixed equipment permit is provided in a pendix se you know you know what this reminds me of the parent you're pissed tells you you can't go out past 9 unless you ask permission you have a reason you check in with them all these things you're mad at them when you're 16 but when you're 30 you're like oh my parents are good to be fair some organizations suck some superintendents might suck some locations and areas might be like they're like abusing it or something yeah but also like most places don't care like they don't they're like just don't make a fuss like the not Yos but like yeah less popular areas section six liability considerations as a general matter The NPS should seek to manage Wilderness Area with reasonable care including identifying hazards that pose it dangerous to visitors in the case of climbing fixed anchors May for various reasons pose a safety risk that The NPS cannot always mitigate in locations where fixed anchors May pose a safety risk The NPS should attempt to communicate this risk to the public and seek ways to mitigate it including replacing or removing potentially hazardous anchors I can't think of an anchor that puts general public at risk though ah a loose ass flake yeah above a trail a main trail yeah yeah those lafs will get you the following actions and measures should be considered to mitigate risk related to fix anchors develop a climbing management plan that includes a practical and reasonable plan for review and management of fixed anchors warnings and or advisories that The NPS does not install climbing bolts and users should confirm any bolts Fitness before use are highly recommended appropriate locations include website any distributed printed material relating to climbing at Trail heads communication science Park this is for the NPS not to have Li ility about like we approved this but we permitted it where periodic inspection by The NPS staff is Not Practical consider other methods such as implementing a climber reporting system for potentially problematic fix anchors this method would ideally include a plan for documenting resolution of reports is did they is that in there twice it says where period there's a typo in this when appropriate implment temporary or permanent closures of climbing routes or areas or approve a reroute of a particular climbing route work with climbing groups or individual climbers to replace or remove fixed anchors that's pretty legitimate because somebody wants to probably fix it which is probably somebody who wants to do a permit with it and if they like get support by The NPS like that's pretty cool work with climbing groups or individual climbers to replace or remove fixed anchors use climbing groups or individual climbers through the volunteer and Parks program to help Monitor and manage fixed anchors use GIS technology to document locations and manage fixed anchors a indix a they have already made the permit application the name the office address telephone number and then would be the my information here type of back country and Wilderness use rock climbing bouldering mountaineering mountain climbing kering not bad got to be pretty so Canyon earings included highlighting that's validating and slack I don't know why slack lining has to be special I maybe if it's a water line or something but like that's awesome that they not just included climbing which is already a big enough deal but that they're including uh our smaller Sports as well including the other itinerary details the entry location date the exit the access Trail the egress Trail the climbing route formation in face the mountain or Summit the GPS locations like man you you submit a good like plan up front doesn't sound like if they would permit it that they would turn it down hardware and Equipment subject to permit bolts quantity petons quantity fix rope length L slings ice screws those ice screws man so Denali they'll fix lines on snow pickets yeah interesting uh ladders power drill hand drill um this is an NPS Wilderness Area thing it's interesting they have power drill as even on here other information vehicle Personnel locators how wow this is okay and then they have to give it back to you in a timely matter which for the government could be a long time uh Privacy Act statements doesn't seem whatever minimum requirements is this the problem with Privacy Act statements I'm just scrolling right past it so if you want to read pages 12 through 18 be my guest but if you go down to 19 appendic C it is the permit that you would receive to do this and it looks like a permit and you are given permission and they have a signature spot and terms and conditions of course also the link in the description for the forest service manual will be there I'm only going to read and here what might be more different and relevant to read than what we've already read because most of it's similar so page 2 has a table of contents so 23553 climbing is an appropriate use of NFS lands when conducted in accordance with applicable law enforce service directives and consistent with the applicable Land Management plan and climbing management plan emphasize appropriate and responsible use of NFS resources and resource protection in planning developing and managing climate opportunities on FS land develop a climbing management plan covering each administrative unit or ranger district that has one or more climbing opportunities as required and as funding resources allow which is what concerns most people a climbing management plan can cover a single climbing opportunity or multiple climbing opportunities across variety of L Landscapes prioritize the development of climbing management plans on climbing opportunities and Wilderness and on climbing opportunities outside of wilderness with the highest level of need such as high levels of use use conflicts resource degreg ensure that the climbing management plans are consistent with applicable law and directives and the applicable Land Management plan including but not limited to Wilderness act specific laws designating Wilderness areas and HPA endangered species and Fs Trails tribal relations the general stuff four climbing has long been an important and historically relevant form of primitive or unconfined Recreation consistent with the Wilderness character of many NFS Wilderness areas climbing or climbing related activity in Wilderness must be restricted or prohibited when its occurrence continuation or expansion would adversely impact Wilderness character five the placement replacement and retention of fixed anchors and fixed equipment are permissible in Wilderness when it is determined that they are the minimum necessary to facilitate primitive or unconfined Recreation or otherwise preserve Wilderness character existing fixed anchors in fixed equipment may be retained pending completion of a MRA as funding and resources allowed to determine whether they are minimum necessary for administration of the area for Wilderness hack purposes does that mean they can take them out so they'll do the MRA yeah and then they give you permission to do it or not they're not going to do it yeah okay plan and manage climbing and the placement replacement and retention of fixed anchors and fixed equipment in Wilderness consistent with principles of wilderness stewardship a climbing that does not rely on use and placement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment that is consistent with leave no Trace principles and does not conent trait human activity constitutes primitive and unconfined oh my God and may occur in Wilderness unless prohibited by a closure order this type of climate includes the use of temporary anchors and equipment that can be removed such as everything Black Diamond sells big trads coming after your bolts the placement of a fixed anchor or fixed equipment does not necessarily impair the future enjoyment of wilderness or violate the Wilderness act but the establishment of Bolt intensive climbing opportunities may be incompatible with the preservation of the Wilderness character yeah it might be all right so number seven is important Forest Service Personnel are super responsible for the placement wait are not responsible for the placement or replacement or assessing or ensuring the safety of fixed anchors and fixed equipment on NFS land climbers are responsible for placement and replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment when those activities are authorized by the Land Management plan or climbing management plan climbers have personal and exclusive responsibility for assessing the safety of installed fixed anchors and fixed equipment when the forest service or other federal state or local government Personnel determines that placement or replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment is necessary to facilitate Emergency Operations the forest service will allow the placement or replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment for Emergency Operations by climbers for service other federal state or local government Personnel it's like search and rescue it's what I imagine that means uh that just means we're responsible that means that they're not going to chop your bolts that's what that means no but they could commission Shawn Shawn might have to get a permit now 11 a via Fara is not covered by FSM 2355 rather a via farata is a natural resource-based Recreational facility that should be authorized under a commercial recreation special use authorization such that's a ski area permit so so 2355 point21 the climbing management plan uh you need one of these apparently now as funding and resources allow that is a scary statement prepare a climbing management plan for climbing opportunities in congressionally designated Wilderness not for everywhere and for climbing opportunities outside Wilderness where District Ranger determines that climbing is causing adverse resource impacts or use conflicts so a little bit outside of wilderness and and post the climbing management plan on the website of the applicable administrative unit 2355 point21 number five address access to climbing opportunities approach routes and any Associated parking should be displayed on a map so it's not just the route itself but holistically the impact it will impact so their job on number a is include guidance on fixed anchors and fixed equipment put in a good bolt guys so 23553 one is outside Wilderness so this is putting fixed anchors and fixed equipment outside of the Wilderness one placement and replacement fixed anchors are appropriate outside of wilderness where their placement and replacement are restricted minus the fine print the placement and replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment must be consistent with any applicable climbing management plan number three restrict the placement replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment to establish climbing opportunities and to approve new climbing opportunities ities D D D D that have been evaluated for natural and cultural resource impacts it's not just a blanket thing that restricts it it's things that don't are not compatible with other stuff allow placement and replacement of fix anchors only for the purpose of bay repel Traverse resource protection or aiding in ascent and descent big walls baby oh yeah sport sport climbing so it says allow and restrict restrict does not mean less it just means oh it does not mean remove if if it means yes it just just says Hey keep it to places where there already are bolts and if you're going to put a new area let's make sure it's not a sacred site this is the juicy one 2 35532 placement replacement and retention of fixed anchors and fixed equipment and congressionally designated Wilderness woo it's a mouthful climbing can fulfill important Wilderness recreational purposes and can help preserve Wilderness character by providing opportunities to to be primitive God damn they keep using this stuff this is the line that's the line whoa fixed anchors and fixed equipment are installations for purposes of section c of the Wilderness act 16 USC 11133 C therefore a forest supervisor May authorize the placement or replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment in Wilderness based on a Case specific determination that the placement or replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment is the minimum necessary for administration of the area for Wilderness act purposes including perative and unconfined Recreation preservation or Jesus they got paid per word to make this examples include allowing climbers to use fixed anchors and fixed equipment in Wilderness at climbing opportunities to provide outstanding opportunities for primitive and unconfined Recreation directing climbers toward designated climbing opportunities with fixed anchors and fixed equipment to protect sensitive resources such as cultural resources or nesting Birds habitat and approving fixed anchors and fixed equipment in areas where impacts on the rock face are occurring due to the use of rock hammers to chip hand holds or footh holds onto the rock examples include allowing climbers to dot dot dot and proving fixed anchors and fixed equipment in areas where impacts on the rock face are occurring rope grooves I'm not trying to offer interpretation here but sure sounds if you like got a lot of rope grooves in your Sandstone you might get approved for a bolt determine whether placement or replacement of fixed anchors and fixed equipment in Wilderness is the minimum necessary yep yep yep okay so that that's it that's it I have been reading this this whole time for that they are installations but ask number four placement of new fixed anchors and fixed equipment in Wilderness is allowed without prior authorization supported by the MRA to respond to an emergency well yeah it's an emergency in the interm emergency Replacements of individual fixed anchors posing as legitimate safety concern may occur unless prescribed otherwise through an approved climbing management plan or evaluation planning document it sounds like if it's dangerous and you can climb the thing you can you can replace it if you ask I would have asked if I could have done the losos Firebolt and proposed the whole plan done pict I would have nerded out to the point of driving them nuts if this permit thing was on their website and then I would just waited I waited probably a year and a half to even do it from the conception of making permission accessible what are they supposed to say Throw money at it even if we're not giving more to you as budget allows like what else are they supposed to say it's a it's a scary thing when their government's like yeah maybe if you have money it's a low priority but like seven prohibit use of motorized Rock drills and practices such as chipping and use use of glue epoxy and other fixations for handholds yes you cannot glue hand holds on wow is that already not allowed so let's rewind and look at these articles again feel like stop the bolt prohibition isn't accurate enough I understand you want people to read it stop and look title of this video is probably going to be clickbait we need your help to stop the National Park Service and US Forest Service from implementing a new policy that could erase America's most iconic climbing rots and put our safety at risk when I read the article from access fund it's not bad but this these titles I think is what what made this video this shift has the potential to impact historic climbing routes in iconic areas as well as stifle future route development and fix anchor maintenance for safety I think if I were to go replace bolts it would make my life a lot easier not have to go jump through a bunch of Hoops in order to go do it I also understand why the government might want to have that policy the SAA does not oppose guidance on fixed anchor placement in Wilderness areas yeah that's great they are unenforceable yeah most of this is not even practical the current language will place a defacto ban on placing or replacing bolts Trish until extensive analysis has been performed but provides no additional resources for the districts to do so so like they don't get more money to manage this thing and they're already pretty much exhausted of of resources so the jump of the conclusion here they're making is the result is a blanket ban on placement and maintenance and so forest service is supposed to every area is supposed to make their own climing management plan is that going to happen maybe that is where the blanket band comes in but this is where if you're climbing and you don't install bolts your help with people who are managing these areas and advocating and making the climbing coalitions lots of voices do move mountains or get bolts put in them