This is what I'm not getting, how is this so far from being different? Just because? I guess I must be missing the point.

Why do we endeavor in so much conservation and advocacy if, in the end, we are just not aestically pleasing enough to enjoy our parks?

It's a question of fragility and scale.

• Delicate Arch is a fragile, small formation composed of soft sandstone that is a symbol of the state of Utah. Any climber-induced degradation to this landmark could have signifcant aesthetic and structural impact.

• El Cap, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, and Black Canyon are huge and less susceptible to aesthetic and structural degradation by climbers. Chunks of rock the size of Delicate Arch probably fall off the Grand Canyon and Black Canyon from time to time, and no one even notices.

Sounds fair enough to me, this is the heart of the matter then, natural resource protection.

Are the arches & formations that are permissable being afforded a similar standard of care from the climbing community? What about the corkscrew atop the Fisher Towers? It seems to me a trade route, is this not also due such a high regard of protection from us? If Dean has made the arch structurally unsound, has the park service issued any closure protecting the general public?

I think the answer to my questions is a "No." It seems to me this issue is more about keeping access without any regard to natural resource protection. This is what I find disturbing with the climbing community.

Whether or not the Delicate Arch was damaged does not seem to concern anyone. It's the loss of use, reputations, and public perceptions that people seem to be more concerned about; but then we use our advocacy to put ourselves as caretakers for the environment. I find this very disturbing indeed that we did not say: "Dean has done nothing wrong as he did not damage the natural resource nor endanger the general public by his actions. He was just not pleasing look at on the news."

what is the symbolic gesture behind potters actions? don't claim to know the guy, and i recognize his ability to "push the envelope",but this strikes me as selling out. to who? the industry thats who.$$$$$$$$$$ yall. no different in my mind than a typical whore who shows off the goods on a street corner. got to flash that ass to make that cash. who cares what any body thinks, right? gotta make a livin'. even if it means you gotta ignore the rules a little.

i am probably way off. perhaps he did do it to connect w/the universe, and the camera.

I have a sneaking suspicion that those who are praising and supporting Dean feel as if they have something to gain (or cover up). While those who feel Deans actions were selfish and unacceptable feel they have a lot to lose. I have talked to a lot of people, climbers and non climbers, about this and the general consensus is apologies are in order. Dean may not have damaged the arch but he has damaged climber credibility with the public. Now if Dean can get spin master Karl Rove to convince everyone that he was just flushing out an Al-quida sleeper cell as an ambassador for the department of fatherland defence everything will be OK. Heck he might even get the Congressional Medal of Honor for his selfless heroism.

For my part, I thought my positions & inquiries were on the level. If not, I think John G. would have hammered me. I think I would just be beating a dead horse now with further discussion on this issue as I think I've adequately discussed a position with integrity. I can appreciate the parody to right-wing conspiracies, but I would be grateful if the Medal of Freedom were used as context and not the Medal of Honor.

"For my part, I thought my positions & inquiries were on the level. If not, I think John G. would have hammered me."

Damn, am I that bad??? I will try to take it down a notch if that is the case. I am pretty opinionated, but I try not to be a jerk. (usually:)

Although I have much respect for Dean I am disappointed by his choices(unintentional I'm sure) that place the climbing community under a negative light among the NPS and mainstream media crowd. I question his intentions when he climbed it on a weekend, with prearranged photographers. Would he have received the same personal rewards and experienced the same energy if he had climbed it mid-week with only a single companion and then kept the account of the ascent to himself? I hope Dean would answer yes.

Climbing Delicate Arch puts a strain on access issues for other climbing areas. Even before I started rock climbing, I had the desire to find a way to the top of the arches in the National Park. But I knew it would cause problems. I've since come to enjoy rock climbing, but have chosen not to climb an arch in the park.

There are other arches outside the park that can be climbed. For instance: Corona Arch. It's nearby, outside of the national parks, as scenic as Delicate, taller than Delicate, and about 5.7R. Many people have been to the top (not all have climbed) and there is some signs of wear and tear, plus some name scratching.

Agreed, Charles, Corona Arch is a really fun climb, and completely legal. But I think it's easier than 5.7, I did it unroped. Gerry Roach told me a funny story about TRing a route from the top which goes up the outer buttress. Was this your 5.7 route? Gerry told me they realized when someone was in the middle of the TR that if the climber fell, he could swing into the main opening of the arch and there wasn't enough rope to lower to the ground (tricky geometry here)! Fortunately, he didn't fall.

I heard someone once flew a plane through Corona Arch! It also appears in the IMAX Everest movie, during a mtn biking scene. Kinda funny since mtn biking is not allowed in that area. Maybe we can blame Ed Viesters! But I think he actually got a special exemption for that scene.

George,
Yes, there is the scrambling route to the top that used to have cables along the way. I had a friend who got sketched out on it, but the rest of us were fine on that approach. On a third trip to the arch I trad led the buttress that sticks out from the main wall. I think I put a cam in low, then 4 small nuts along the way, and another cam in near the top. My follower said he was kinda sketched out since at the second piece he picked up the next three nuts that had popped out...a fall would have been a wild pendulum.

There were potential places for pitons, but since there were no pitons along the route, I left it as is, and did the route as close to the first ascent (whatever that was) as I could imagine. We did a two rope rappel off the existing anchors at the top and got some fantastic pictures nearing sunset. We had no hassles from people and had a memorable experience.