Orange tape trailmarkers

Submitted by tq on Wed, 12/21/2005 - 09:49
Last year on the way up to cleos and unnamed wall i pulled off half a backpack full of orange tape that was on tree branches every 40 feet up a well trodden and packed trail, over 50 meters worth. Its not that hard to find these routes and it is actions like this that will cause problems in the future, especially in the summer. As well maybe people could spray paint bolts that are next to trails.....

Greetings Mr. tq and All, First off I'll fess up to moving blowdowns and trying to make the approaches to our climbs a little more skiable. Three years ago when I enlisted the help of two other local climbers to move the logs I placed a small amount of flagging, color green. Once an OK trail was established the flagging was pulled off. My hunch is that other user groups of the forest might have added the tape on a subsequent date. We all appreciate your removal of said tape. Regarding the bolts next to the trail, please let me know where they are and I'll gladly swap them out for camo units. If any one would like to trade new hangers for camo units, let me know. Multiple thin layers of primer paint applied in the heat of the sun make for near factory quality coatings. Climb safe, Conrad

Mr. TQ, Are you that troubled by some flagging, seriously?? Of all the user groups, or better yet, abuser groups out there, climbers (at least in MT) are far and away some of the most enviromentally sensitive people I have had the pleasure to meet. Do you think that we climbers are the only people who might read these posts??? Think again, by pointing fingers at a group condemed by the FS and many other user groups only increases the chances that we might lose Hyalite for climbing. Was Conrad wrong-NO! After spending today on Cleo's, I was amazed at how many variations I have seen in the last few years on the approach trail. So a couple flags here and there, are they bad? NO, considering they were placed in the summer when the ground was exposed. This allowed for a trail to be layed out in the correct area rather than sending people to wander free into the many of the fragile riparian zones that exist in Hyalite. It is our duty to self regulate each other, but I don't believe it should be done on this web site. Conrad, I think I can safely say that you are looking out for the best interest of our climbing community and more importantly our enviroment. Thanks for your efforts. TQ, Don't be a nark, the flags had a legit right to be there.

To Whom it Concerns: First of all Iam not trying to be a "nark" or bitch and whine for that matter. There was tape every 20-40 feet, on the wall with lots o names and cleos trail. Add the elevation gain and it accumulates, for instance unamed had 20 markers and cleos 30+. So should people mark every drainage in hyalite, how about g1? What other areas in the state or country for that matter have this marking, the Beartooths or Glacier what about Cody? Don't these trail markers also invite people to hike up to these places in the summer as well? The bolts are the switchback cuts and the dry tool areas, who cares if you bolt off the trail, but when its next to 'em its a little obvious. I appreciate the time it took to clear trails etc, even though hyalite has the easiest approaches in state. I wont go into the diversions in hyalite and the beartooths, but anyone who has climbed g1 a while ago can attest. Yeah its a really fun area but this was the first conflict with the FS. Everyone should be able to access hyalite, including non-climbers, but with stuff like this occuring there is going to be more problems. I just wanted to express my opionon, which is what I thought this site was for. As for the "fragile riparian zones," when there is four feet of snow how does it affect them? Think about it, marking trails takes away from the serenity and adventure and is littering in my eyes and the FS's eyes as well.

Greetings Friends, At this point the markers have been removed from the winter trails to the ice climbs. The paths / trails involve moving blow down to allow for skiing to the climbs. With a track set in for the winter to each of these areas the overall impact should be minimal. Thanks TQ for bringing this to our attention. With good feedback from with in the community we can keep our areas pristine. If the tracks detract from your wilderness experience, I apologize. There is a big forest through which one can walk through. One could, in theory, walk a different, wild and "new" route for each day of climbing. Yes, the hangers on Sun Vow and Desert Dance should be replaced with camo units. Any takers? Climbing is a frivolous sport, isn't it? pax vobiscum - peace be with you (Latin) Conrad [i][/i]
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