This may seem like a bit of a rant, but maybe this is something that needs to be addressed as Okanagan bouldering becomes more popular and widely accessed?
Just last week it was discovered that some very unfortunate destruction had occurred in the Winter Pig Hotel. What it boils down to is Jay was in the Pig Hotel on the weekend putting up new lines and when he returned mid-week, he encountered what could be considered uninformed, over-cleaning with a little bit of problem destruction thrown in. As he moved up the cave, from bottom to top, he saw a large amount of rock had been pulled off the wall, with some pieces possibly 3 feet in length. Now, don't forget that this cave is about 200 feet long! In all fairness, there's no doubt that in spots of the cave, some of these holds would have likely been taken off in future cleaning. However, the real problem comes in the fact that some of these holds were safe to climb on, and even more disastrous is the fact that holds on already established, recently climbed lines or viable projects have been removed, forever altering these lines. Two problems, in fact, are now substantially easier than before (from V10 to moderate and from V11/12 to V9ish), and much less satisfying in their movement. It remains to be seen how many more future lines may have been altered or possibly rendered unclimbable. What's even worse is that it seems as though no development has occurred to justify the destruction. It seems as though a large amount of cleaning was completed without the intention of actually putting up a single line?
I'm personally very disappointed because in the Okanagan, we generally have a tight-knit, ethically consistent group of climbers. We share information readily and are happy to point people in the direction of the best bouldering in the region with the assumption that local ethics will be adhered to and questions will be asked to avoid any problems. In the past couple years, we have done a ton of work to get information out about bouldering all over the Okanagan, and it seems to be having the desired effect of getting more people out enjoying what the OK has to offer. However, incidences such as those in the Winter Pig Hotel are disheartening because we've invested so much physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally into developing bouldering areas, and it causes us to reconsider if we are taking the correct approach.
What if such acts occurred in some of the other amazing bouldering areas in the OK? What if some of the classic, amazing problems or future projects people have put many hours into developing were altered? To take it even further, what if the increased traffic in areas really does have a negative impact environmentally, in terms of access, or in other manners? Fear and re-consideration of sharing information so freely have undoubtedly been experienced by more than a couple OK boulderers in the past few days.
What occurred last week is not consistent with the ethics in this area. Now, I know ethics are always a sticky issue, but the fact of the matter is that in most bouldering areas in the world, it is not acceptable to do a mass purging of rock on a piece of stone when some of those holds are safe to climb on, and especially when those holds are part of already established problems. It is the decision of the developer of each line to decide what will stay and go on a climb and to what extent the line will be cleaned. Man, I'd love to see what would happen to the poor bugger who thought it might be alright to pop holds off Midnight Lightning in Yosemite. It just shouldn't happen. Yes, it is true that the Okanagan isn't Squamish, Bishop, Hueco, or one of the other major bouldering destinations in North America, and we may not yet have a guidebook describing each line that has been developed in each area. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean that the established lines here are any less important, valuable, or classic than in major areas. Moreover, it is not very difficult to contact one of the local developers to become better informed before attempting to clean new problems in unfamiliar areas. Would this have happened if the lines in the Winter Pig were situated in Squamish with a guidebook clearly explaining them as established problems or projects?
Here's my plea, and I'm sure that of others in this area. Please, be objective and critical when developing boulder problems in the Okanagan. Don't clean more than is necessary, don't chip, don't glue, don't drill, don't alter existing problems, pretty much the usual set of ethics in most bouldering areas. Definitely don't start popping holds off a terrific cave when you aren't going to actually put up a problem. If you're unsure about something or have questions, email me (okbouldering@gmail.com) or contact another local developer and we'll give you any info you need or point you in the direction of someone who can. Possibly one of the things that bothers us most is that the Winter Pig is a new area being developed by locals and anyone getting in there would have gotten the information about it from a local boulderer in one way or another. So, why not ask for some beta before starting to "develop" more lines?
Alright, enough of the doom and gloom, I suppose. After having a couple days to think about it, the feelings of anger and disappointment haven't necessarily subsided, but I think some of the main developers in the region would still agree that we should share information and promote the incredible bouldering areas of the Okanagan. It is a very special place and we enjoy it when others have the chance to experience it as well. All we can do is trust in the common sense and goodness of our fellow climbers and hope that our outdoor playgrounds are available for future climbers to experience in a similar or even more enriched manner.
Finally, I'd like to give a huge shout out to all those people who have put time into developing Okanagan bouldering areas. Thanks for all you do, and please don't be discouraged by acts that may seem like they take away from your hard work. Keep on truckin'!
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