Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

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Fre
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Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by Fre » Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:55 pm

For some mysterious movie... with security posing as fishers at Murrin Lake... and security is super eager to kick your butt as soon as you step past their sign at the beginning of the path to Pet Wall, just off the lake.

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by squamish climber » Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:27 pm

The Squamish Access Society posted this on their website:

The SAS received notice that filming is happening at Pet Wall and surrounding area.  The SAS is investigating the short notice  and nature of these filming activities.  Below is an exerpt of the notice:
“Most of our filming activities will be on and around the Petrifying Wall at the south end of the park, with some filming will being done on the rock bluff adjacent to the parking lot.  For workplace safety reasons, these areas must be closed to climbing while we are working in the park.  These closures are scheduled to begin on March 16th and will continue until approximately April 2nd. Our filming is scheduled for only two days, with set up, rehearsals and wrap out taking up the rest of the time.  Our work is also subject to weather conditions, and these dates may be forced to shift a bit.
We are also doing some filming on the trail that leads to the Petrifying wall, and on the trail beside Murrin Lake.
All of our film vehicles will be parked in the main lot on our film days, and leave once filming is completed.”
Dave Jones - site admin
When you reach the top, keep climbing -- Zen proverb

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by slopr » Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:17 pm

It would be nice if BC parks made lots of money off these movie types since they are generally dictating the usage of an area and have been known in past years to go against many local ethics such as cutting trees, placing bolts, trampling undergrowth,etc. If BC parks used these opportunities wisely perhaps some of the "budget shortfalls" that are often mentioned on this site could be overcome? I am skeptical however though as a friend told me a rumor that they pay around $400 per day to film in the grand wall forest where they have permission to bust out chainsaws, trample off trail and pretty much do as they please and leave the mess behind.

By my calculations if we could get 40 people to pay $300 we could rent out the boulders for the entire month of Sendtember! Any takers?

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by gnarnaphobe » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:34 pm

bearbreeder wrote:there is still some fake rock on the trail near neat n cool where they did that movie shoot from a few weeks ago ...
I've been wondering what the deal with that is? are they commin back to pick up thier garbage or what...
Imaging how much funner this could be with booze and explosives

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by psi4ce » Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:48 pm

Regarding the current filming, I don't know what the movie is, but it's apparently no secret that Taylor Lautner (of Twilight fame, you know, the buff werewolf dude) is staying in the Squamish area. I'm guessing there is a connection...

My guess is that it's werewolves vs. vampires in a sport climbing competition. Cruxing hard and sh*t, but vampires would for sure win on account of their ability to levitate.

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by gnarnaphobe » Tue Mar 29, 2011 7:47 am

psi4ce wrote:Regarding the current filming, I don't know what the movie is, but it's apparently no secret that Taylor Lautner (of Twilight fame, you know, the buff werewolf dude) is staying in the Squamish area. I'm guessing there is a connection...

My guess is that it's werewolves vs. vampires in a sport climbing competition. Cruxing hard and sh*t, but vampires would for sure win on account of their ability to levitate.
I went to pet wall the other day, and got turned around by security, when i asked what kind of movie they were shooting he insited that it was a tourism B.C. film they were making. And when we started up to Up Among the Firs he 'warned' us that the trail is a bushwack, and super intence, and tried to imply we wernt skilled enought for the trail....
Imaging how much funner this could be with booze and explosives

Fre
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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by Fre » Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:44 pm

I'm impressed they let you get to Up Among the Firs... in my case I couldn't enter the forest from the lake in that general direction at all.
Last weekend Stephanie Meyer was in town (the author of the vampire books) and her publisher.
It would be great if climbers and movie people would benefit both from the crag... but dunno who the SAS should talk to in this case...

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by Peter » Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:24 pm

I'm actually getting tired of this. Pet Wall is not in the Park, it is on Crown land. I don't believe the movie company (and it is Twilight btw) has any more right there than we do. This is becoming more of a trend, as climbing gets more popular it appears in more movies etc. I don't think it's fair for them to close off entire crags, doing damage, and then not compensating the climbing community......

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by psi4ce » Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:19 am

Driving into North Van this morning I couldn't help but notice that in the Chief gravel pit area (which is for sale by the TLC--another story, another posting), a huge artificial rock wall has now been built on scaffolding.

Presumably this is because no other suitable rock wall, such as Pet Wall, could be found, or is currently infested with vampires.

Meanwhile, down at Murrin, the production team is in full swing. The parking lot is packed with movie vehicles. I thought I saw a vampire or something, but it turned out to be a old dude floating in the lake, fishing. I don't know how he got past security.

Yesterday, there were screens up--it looked like they were filming at the traverse right by the Bog Wall.

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by jipstyle » Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:29 pm

Peter wrote:I'm actually getting tired of this. Pet Wall is not in the Park, it is on Crown land. I don't believe the movie company (and it is Twilight btw) has any more right there than we do. This is becoming more of a trend, as climbing gets more popular it appears in more movies etc. I don't think it's fair for them to close off entire crags, doing damage, and then not compensating the climbing community......
The climbing community doesn't own Pet Wall nor do we have any right whatsoever to compensation. The fact that we're inconvenienced doesn't hold any weight.

These movies bring money into the local economy and are a temporary annoyance. I think that we can put up with it given the benefits to the non-climbing community in Squamish.

Having said that, they absolutely should practice a leave-no-trace ethic.

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by pbeckham » Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:33 pm

"Having said that, they absolutely should practice a leave-no-trace ethic."

A previous poster also complained about film productions violating local ethics by cutting vegetation, trampling underbrush and placing bolts.

Climbers definitely don't adhere to these ethics at the Pet or anywhere on the Chief for that matter. The development of the Petrifying Wall and every other Squamish crag including the Chief has been characterized by trampling the understory, cutting trees and placing bolts. I'm not advocating any of these practices or a lack of restraint. I do have a problem with climbers waxing possessive of a public resource and holding other users to a standard they routinely violate.

BC's film industry has been bringing approximately a billion dollars a year in business to the province for the past decade and while it's by no means an industry without impact, it seems a little more sustainable than logging, mining, fishing, aquaculture and hydroelectricity. BC's film industry provides full time employment to a surprising number of Squamish residents and the current production at Murrin is employing a number of local climbers and bringing much needed business and revenue to Squamish.

This production is working under the auspices and guidelines of a Park Permit and is being monitored by both a full time Parks Liaison and a representative of the Squamish Access Society. Yes, we're pounding the access trails a bit, trampling some understory and placing a few bolts. We'll remove the few bolts we've placed, take down a few of the danger trees that threaten the access to the Pet and the bit of trampled vegetation will recover. Later this year audiences will appreciate the beauty of our area and marvel at the stunts, climbing sequences and cinematography created at the Petrifying Wall and other Squamish locations. Meanwhile, a number of us locals will be able to continue to pay mortgages, raise families, take climbing road trips and enjoy our Squamish lifestyle.

Please remember it's our Park as well and we have a vested interest in protecting our crags, natural spaces and community for everyone's use and enjoyment. Thanks to all the climbers and non climbers who have shown us great patience and hospitality.

Sincerely,

Perry Beckham

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by rolfr » Mon Apr 04, 2011 10:44 am

Well said Perry.

Your point may very well segue an earlier post about the lack of major industry in Squamish and the loss of small businesses and sustainable business opportunities.

The loss of access for a few days to ONE climbing location is a very small price to pay for the economic community benefit. The trampling of a few trails and underbrush is a far more desirable environmental impact than the old Woodfibre mill.

With the world economy recovering, Canada has what the global economy requires, Food,Fuel, Fertilizer and Forestry which will again be in demand by China and over the short term Japan. Most analysts predict a resurgence in the lumber industry which may well lead to some local Squamish Environmental issues far more detrimental than the impact of the film industry.

It is better to save our outrage for important issues than having the climbing community labeled as short sighted environmentalists.

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by J Mace » Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:25 am

one thing that seems to be missing and is probably the root of the problem is what are the details?

When is it starting, ending, what crags are off limits, can I still park there....seems like these things should be pretty easy to accomplish especially with locals like yourself working on the set.

post up the deets...

Communication... works great every time

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by slopr » Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:26 am

Great post Perry, and some very good points. The movie industry is lucky to have an advocate such as yourself. I hope you have an opportunity to educate the vampires for future visits when shooting outdoors in squamish, or anywhere for the matter as to the importance of preservation and respect for local user groups as well as their developed resources and members. The big deal here is not missing a climbing day. I think the concern with them cutting trees, placing bolts, devastating trails, etc. Is that it is being done in established/developed areas where there already is a trail system is in place to prevent erosion, and has been for years. I look at this in an entirely different way than what we as climbers do when developing a climbing area- we absolutely can not be compared to the movie industry. When developing an area, we are the ones responsible for setting up a trail system/infrastructure first so that people can use it for the future with minimal impacts and erosion. Production companies seem to generally have different agendas as they are visiting already established areas where these practices are currently in place. They are not developing a new trail system for future users, they are actually deconstructing an existing one! Go for a walk up the freeway/titanic trail, there is now a useless new trail going up the hill right next to the old one and when you get to the titanic boulder there is no trail at all! All the logs used to form a trail have been chopped up and moved as well as the rest of the undergrowth and vegetation that appears to have been raked into a pile about 50 yards away, now there is just a large clearing, no vegetation, a pile of firewood and no definite trail. It's like a crop circle. They have long since packed up and left, doing about 5 years of trail erosion in about 2 days with zero effort to restore the area as it was when they "found" it. I spoke with a production manager type a few weeks back in this area and voiced my concerns that they should be wary of the impact left by previous productions in the area and how many in the community perceived it. I told him they had an opportunity to rectify this by respecting the forest and reducing the visual impact after they were gone, and that it would be appreciated by the local community if they could consider this. He was quick to disregard my concern, interrupt me and let me know that i should stay clear of the area the next day as he was going to have 5 guys with chainsaws in the area. After some useless debate it was clear that he felt the movie was more than entitled to do whatever they wanted and did not need the ok from parks to go ahead with it as they had "rented" that area of the forest. His callous, arrogant attitude and standpoint bothered me and set a precedent in my mind as to what the industry standard was. All they really have to do is send a few ppl in after shooting to pick up trash, redefine the trail system and ensure the area at least appears to have been respected by the production company. Sounds pretty simple, right? They could even pay climbers to do it. The only singular resulting outcome of an increased awareness and from actions such as this small example would be a widespread belief that the movie industry is a great steward for the area, which would obviously be great for everyone. Does anyone think the movie industry is a great steward for the area right now? We are all guests in the outdoors and it is kind of like going for dinner at someone's house you don't really know. Generally, unless you are a douchebag you will probably at least take your shoes off and offer to help with the dishes.

I only wax possessive about cleaning up after yourself because IMO and experience it is something that the werewolves have yet to prove that they are capable of. I don't think that short sighted environmentalism is the concern here, it is more one of awareness and respect toward squamish and the outdoors.

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Re: Pet Wall closed till 5th of April

Post by BlahMatt » Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:56 am

Walked past there on Sunday. Fake rock still present.

We planned to haul it away on our way back from penny lane but, a twisted ankle kiboshed our plans.

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