The ethics of new routing.

[Devonian]

I am new to this board and do not live in BC. I climb and new route at a crag that I would rather not mention. Let's just say it is somewhere in Canada. I have only been climbing for about 6 years but I absolutely love it. Climbing and new routing have become an incredible passion for me, especially new routing. I derive incredible joy and satisfaction from new routing. I am not sure why but I really enjoy investing the time, effort and energy required to put up a new line. I often have this debate with myself whether or not I should be killing (removing) trees, lichen, bushes and moss for the sake of a new route. Sometimes I decide to leave a potential line alone and not develop it in a climb. Other times I go absolutely nuts unearthing cracks, cutting trees and scrubbing lichen for hours. I rationalize that drawing more folks outside to enjoy the rock in the form of a new route is a good thing and there are plenty of cracks in the woods with dirt and trees in them that will never get developed so why not develop the good ones. Many have been happy with what I have done but some have complained. So my questions are: Is what I am doing okay? Do I have the right to walk onto public (crown) land and do what I do? Does someone else have the right to stop me? Is what I am doing no different than building a trail? By the way - the crags that I have been developing have no management policy whatsoever.

[AaronRN]

Generally speaking tree removal is frowned upon. IMO this stems from the fact that much of the most popular climbing areas in North America are located on protected park land, were the removal of trees -for any reason- is a forbidden. Understanding this, most people believe that this rule is then universal which it is not. Case in point, I if you're looking for a sympathetic ear, you've come to the right place. In Squamish you can have an alder tree that is only 8 years old reach a height of 20 ft. The removal of these trees is common and a necessary part of the crags maintenance. Compare that to areas on the Niagra escarpment in Ontario and you'll find small twisted little trees on the rock face no larger then your arm that are Thousands of years old. Chopping those down = bad idea.

I can offer you some advice based only on my own experience. If you're not breaking any laws, and if the trees you're cutting down are no older then the pyramids then just make sure you don't do a crap job of cutting them down. Cut them down, cut them up, drag them away out of sight, and then cut the stumps flush with the ground. I have been part of the development of many crags and if you arrived at them today you would have NO idea or appreciation of what there were once like. At one wall you can today hang out in large groups, and 3 people can walk side by side for 100m from one end of the wall to the other. Before the vegetation at the crags base was an impassible thicket of tangled alder and shrubs. No one complains today because few people know what it was like before. I suspect most people believe that its current state is natural. If you can manage to do this you'll find your critics are fewer.


Also, I know exactly why you love to develop routes. It's the satisfaction to find from creating something based on your own vision. Your routes are a refection of you, so when people say "your route sucks!" what they're really saying is "you suck!" Whether you're putting up routes to prove to the world or your self that you're bass-a$%, or your putting up routes to gain the satisfaction of seeing others enjoy what you've created, it all comes down to your ego. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, that's just how I see it.

[Devonian]

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your comments and agree with most of what you said. I can tell you that I am pretty meticulous when it comes to cleaning. As a rule I don't leave behind any messes from my work and I like it to look as natural as possible when I am done. I cut stumps as low as I can and if possible cover them with forest duff. The cliff I am working on is not park land it is crown land. I am not cutting any super old trees. We don't have that sort of vegetation at our crag. It is actually very similar to the Smoke Bluffs but on a much smaller scale. Anyway I have been doing some reading of old posts here on this forum and I have gleaned a lot of very useful information. I think I am going to continue to clean/develop new routes until I find a good reason to stop.