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Before me spreads an ocean of grey. The granite wall looms above me and calls in its silent voice for me to go on, higher. Focus. My hand reaches out, seeking the depths of the crack before me. I make a fist and weight my body on this new hold, first testing it, then trusting it. I reach out with my other arm and clip my safety line to the bolted belay station.
A wave of tension flows from my arms and brain as I breath deeply, and I relax for the first time since my feet left the ground. Finally, I have the time to see where I am. I gaze out over Howe Sound and drink in the sights. An eagle soars over Squamish, sharing my view. A small fir tree struggles against the confines of a crevasse at my feet. Below me, all of the little worker ants are busily following their paths and routines.
Some of the more inquisitive ones are looking up with wonder at me and the monolith which I am on. Here I am able to see the world clearly. Here, high above the tedium of our society I feel as though I am truly balanced. I balance myself when I climb, and my soul emerges balanced once I am done. If there is one lesson that climbing can teach us, it is the value of balance.
People have been climbing for longer than history can define. It is one of the most primal instincts we posses. The urge to go up high and see as much as we can is something that we all share, yet only a handful of us listen to this calling. Climbing as a form of adventurous recreation has been gaining popularity now for several hundreds years. In Canada, it was the botanists David Douglas who made the first recorded alpine ascent in 1827 (scott pg 33). His accounts of the area added fuel to the building fire of interest surrounding the Rocky Mountains of Canada.
If only Douglas could see what he had begun. Climbing has evolved much since the days that Douglas plodded up that mountain with his wooden snow-shoes. There are now many facets to the climbing genre. Mountaineering and alpine climbing are two of these types which are common in parks in Western Canada. Alpine climbing can be differentiated from mountaineering in that although the climbing takes place in the mountains, the style is closer related rock climbing.
As with mountaineering, glacier rescue, ice axe use, and a knowledge of snow protection are all needed. The area that Douglas traveled in is now a part of Jasper National Park. Climbing was one of the first allures to western Canada. The railway system that opened up Banff National Park to international travelers allowed for keen European adventurers to gain easy access into the rockies. This allure continues today. Although the face of climbing has changed throughout the years, our parks still attract the international community in large numbers every year.
Such numbers are, however, taking its toll on the environment. New climbing technologies have opened up areas to climbing which would have astounded the likes of Douglas. These new styles each offer unique management difficulties to parks authorities. Although climbing impacts the environment, it also gives back much in the way of connecting people with nature. With Parks Canadas commitment to maintaining ecological integrity in mind, we must ask ourselves whether or not climbing should be allowed to continue in national parks. If so, to what levels, and what kinds of restrictions are needed to maintain ecological integrity.
Through an evaluation of the different styles of climbing popular today, and using case studies from national parks in the United States and Provincial parks in British Columbia, an analysis of the problem can be made. Mountaineering was the first form of popular climbing in Canada, and it remains beloved today. A sub-division of mountaineering common in our parks is known as alpine climbing. Alpine climbing shares much with traditional mountaineering, but often involves many pitches (a roped section of vertical climbing) of rock climbing.
Bugaboo Provincial Park will be used to evaluate these types of activities in parks. The Bugs are situated in the south east corner of British Columbia, in the Columbia mountain range, and are an international alpine climbing destination. The impacts of mountaineering are similar to that of backcountry backpacking. Human presence is often chronicled by the landscape in the form of trails and common campsites.
Human waste, if not properly disposed of, holds the potential for contaminating water sources. In our world today, it is rare to find water that can be drunk straight from the source. All activities in the Park potentially disturb the wildlife that reside there. Bears, mountain goat, marmots and birds are the most common fauna.
These impacts are felt most severely in the lower reaches of the park. The extreme nature of these granite daggers thrust out of the glaciers ensure that most living things avoid them. Mountaineers often practice a very clean style of climbing. Most of the hardware used is removable, and that which remains is too far away to be viewed by anyone except other climbers on that route. The most destructive type of hardware can be classified as fixed protection.
Climbers placing fixed protection in the mountains use either pitons (iron wedges hammered into cracks), or bolts (expansion bolts hammered into pre-drilled holes and fixed with a hanger), to give them selves a bomb-proof piece of protection. The use of these is minimal though. In a paper published by B. C. Parks entitled Outdoor Recreation Opportunities an Recreation they identify an increased concern about bolting climbs in the park, and suggest that consideration to the issue should be made in light of the international significance (paper pg 2). Most often, however, climbers in the Bugs today use removable aluminum wedges nuts, and spring loaded camping devices.
Bolting is one of the most contentious issues surrounding climbing in wild places today. Bolts are thought by some to be an eyesore, and some types of climbing require many bolts to be placed on an individual pitch. Most of these issues will be dealt with in the section on sport climbing. Although these types of fixed protection alter the natural state of the rock, main form of ecological damage resulting from bolting in the high mountain results from noise pollution.
The incessant hammering needed to place fixed protection can disturb any wildlife that happens to be very close. B. C. Parks seems to understand the recreational quality of the area, and has indicated a priority to this use in its management plan. They state in their management objectives that the first priority is to provide a high quality experience for rock climbers. (paper###) Below this statement they proclaim the need to ensure that this activity conforms with the overall conservation objectives in the park. (paper) They propose a management plan that includes: monitoring use and identifying areas of concern, working with the climbing community to address issues such as bolting, distributing on-sight information regarding ethics and safety, and investigating the expansion of climbing opportunities.
This is more profound then it may seem. Not only are park officials willing to work with the climbers, but they do not feel as though the activity causes a major threat to the area. This is unique. It is largely due to the geo morphological nature of the area; it is heavily glaciated and that which is not covered in snow is clean granite.
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Research essay sample on Rock Climbing In America National Parks
