Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Condition of Nine Corners Lake

Below you will see an email chain that I received last night from Buzz and Francis expressing their concerns for the current condition of the boulderfield at Nine Corners Lake.  Please spread the word to your fellow climbers to abide by the "leave no trace" climbing ethics.  Carry in, carry out...if you see some trash when you are in the woods enjoying a bouldering session, please do your part and pick it up.  Also, avoid excessive chalking of holds, if you use tick marks while trying a boulder problem please remove them once you are done.  Also, please avoid excessive chalk on footholds as they do in fact become overly greasy and slick making it much more difficult for other climbers.

Let's do our part to ensure that we as climbers have access to the boulders at Nine Corners Lake and other Adirondack gems for generations to come.

Thanks in advance!!!

The Email Chain:





From:
To:

CC:
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:12:01 -0400
Subject: Nine Corners Lake Bouldering

Yo Jut!  How are things?  you been getting out?



I’ve been meaning to email….Fran and I took the day off last Friday and headed up to 9.  We were surprised to see what poor shape it was in.   we just want to put a shout out there to the crew to get on people if they see people trashing the place.  We had to cover up a bunch of fire pits and coals that were right under landing zones and those white foam pads all over the place.  Also, tick marks all over and people chalking foot holds making them greasy as sh*t.  the one in particular was the left foot on Gate Keeper.  We were pretty disgusted.  Any way, we hiked out a bunch of crap like those silly white foam pads and was hoping you, Banta, Ryan, Sully and whoever you can contact can spread the word.  It was starting to look the area around the rope swing.



You getting out this weekend?  hopefully the weather is decent.  Let us know….would be cool to link up!

_____________________________________

Yea, I'll reiterate that. Thanks Buzz. Place looked bad. I'll try to carry some shit down every time I go up there, and tell others to do so. Gotta keep the access legit.

francis



9 comments:

  1. Found a full stereo (two speakers and a central unit) up there. Why anybody would bring that is beyond me... While the foam pads and tick marks fall on climbers shoulders, its my understanding that the bulk of the litter comes from the heavy day-hike traffic the trail gets.

    Any word about another festival up there this September? I would try and fly home for it. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to incorporate a trail clean-up day as well?

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  2. no doubt 99% of the trash is coming from non climbers. Unfortunately, I have made it a point to always have a spare trash bag with me when I go up there to boulder to help pick up other peoples garbage. Two summers ago, I carried out over 60lbs. of trash in a single day (people abandoned their campsites leaving everything behind but the tent poles).

    Let's do out part and be sure to brush off tick marks and avoid excessive chalking of holds.

    As for the bouldering festival...it WILL be returning again this year! Not sure when exactly though.

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  3. those foam pads were very useful when I started I had no pad at all and that's all I used I know others did to they were stashed and very durable they have been there for years other new people could have used em as well lest we not forget.

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  4. i agree, the stashed foam was useful at one point...but lately, they have been abused. People use them and don't "re stash" them...one was ripped into a ton of small pieces and left as trash, two of them were used by someone over the winter as the flooring for their homemade leanto that was built up against the start to pop or drop along with a firepit and about 60 empty beer cans. I think as climbers we have to set the example and try to not stash things in the boulderfields so non climbers don't mistake those stashed items as "trash" and then add their trash on top of what they think is a mess. Let's help eachother keep this gem clean...i'd love to be able to climb here until I am a very old man. Kyle, JP...I know you guys are always low impact on the lands...let's spread the word. Thanks

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  5. Yes, Jut is right that while the pads may have been used responsibly in the past, this is no longer the case. @Kyle--Too much traffic is just bound to create more issues with stashed pads. Out in Colorado stashed pads almost got the boulder field with Nothing but Sunshine shut down. Last time, as we walked up to the Gatekeeper boulder two of them were just lying there in plain sight. I know that they come in handy Kyle, especially for beginniners, but if people want to use those pads and not built pads then they should be carried out as well. The best thing is to give people a clean place to boulder so new comers get the idea that it is not ok to have trash lying about.

    And thanks Jut for doing more pick up than anybody, and for fielding the conversation, which is VERY important if we want to keep in good standing with the park service.

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  6. Stashed pads are in my opinion generally a good thing. However, they become inappropriate at a field like 9corners that experiences a lot of traffic from people who may not know what they are/why they are there/where they are stashed. I also bring a bag with me and carry out more than I bring in each time I head up there.

    What's the word on a trail clean-up day as part of the SAdk Fest? Sounds like a perfect way to raise awareness about the issues there while giving back a lot.

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  7. Will do command center with all the new people that we have seen and the comp. spreading the word is really important .PEACE

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  8. The litter in and around the lake has always been a problem, that's not going away, but it's sad news to hear about excessive chalking, fire pits under problems, and foam pieces everywhere -- that's largely climber related. I know the lake is always going to be a mess, but I really don't want to see that crap migrate to the boulders.

    Props to Jut for the awareness post!

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  9. I'm led to believe that the firepits are definately not from climbers...every cliber knows what heat can do to the rock and climbing holds...some moron probably was seeking shelter under an overhang for the night. The stash foam has been removed and regarding the excessive chalk, keep in mind that Caroga Lake hasn't seen any rain in over two weeks with lots of climbing activity. The rain this week with wash away 90% of climbing evidence but we should all try to remember to remove tick marks from the problems when we're done with the session. As a unified group we can keep Nine Corners beautiful and accessible for generations to come. Thanks to all for spreading the word!

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