By Paul Barnes
From Gainesville, Georgia
Feb 22, 2011
| Apparently there is some signage saying "please refrain from sport rappelling and climbing" posted in the kiosks at trailheads leading to the cliffs at Sunset Park.
Anybody know what's really goin on??? | 
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By Thierry
From Murfreesboro, TN
Feb 22, 2011
| Is there any sport climbs at Sunset -- pretty easy to refrain then.
But seriously is it a hand made sign or printed and /or from NPS? |
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By Paul Barnes
From Gainesville, Georgia
Feb 22, 2011
| Haha!....ya beat me to it....I was kinda thinking the same thing. Maybe they'll throw in toproping as well...then it would be perfect.
I just had a conversation with a former Sunset rep who informed me that said signage is not new. So...maybe it means nothing and is just a replacement of an old faded memo.
False alarm? |
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By James Arnold
From Chattanooga
Feb 23, 2011
| Paul Barnes wrote: Haha!....ya beat me to it....I was kinda thinking the same thing. Maybe they'll throw in toproping as well...then it would be perfect. I just had a conversation with a former Sunset rep who informed me that said signage is not new. So...maybe it means nothing and is just a replacement of an old faded memo. False alarm?
This is not correct. The poster in the kiosk at the top of the small lot (Sunset proper) is brand new (was installed Saturday), large, and clearly states "please refrain from sport rappelling and rock climbing" but is ambiguous whether it means sunset rock or the whole park...that said, no one has come by to tell us stop, but here is a concern...
Many climbers leave their ropes/gear/shoes strewn across the trail. I asked some people if they could move their stuff when some trail runners came by, clearly irritated by having to "walk" through the area and giving the back "stare down" when they passed. Unfortunately, they didn't move anything, I theorize because they had driven from several hours away and don't give a whit about access. So please, even if you aren't a local, keep the trail kind of tidy so that the people hiking etc don't have step through your junk then complain to the rangers who could possibly "enforce" the "refrain"... |
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By Blake Cash
Feb 23, 2011
| I'm a climber, and I run up on lookout quite a bit as I live below in St Elmo. But I run by Sunset all the time and have seen many climbers standing across the trail belaying, making me jump over their ropes as they are leaning on trees to belay. Pretty dumb as 1.) they are maybe 15-20 feet from the cliff belaying and 2.) that's a hiking/multi-use trail first and foremost, not a climbing access trail.
Be smart. |
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By Mike Anderson
From Dayton, OH
Feb 23, 2011
| The trouble with a crag like Sunset is that it attracts not only "climbers", but "people who occasionally climb" because of easy toprope access. The latter generally don't care/know about access issues. |
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By saxfiend
Administrator
From Decatur, GA
Feb 24, 2011
| Paul Barnes wrote: Apparently there is some signage saying "please refrain from sport rappelling and climbing" posted in the kiosks at trailheads leading to the cliffs at Sunset Park. Anybody know what's really goin on???
Chuck Weber, the SCC's area rep for Sunset, has investigated this new signage, which apparently caught a lot of people by surprise (including the Sunset rangers). He got confirmation that nothing has changed in terms of climber access to the cliff. The following was posted by Chuck on the SCC website:
"These slick new printed banners went into all the trailhead Kiosks on Lookout Mountain Trails in the park last week. The Head Ranger, Rob Turan, says he too was surprised at the wording and had no knowledge the signs were even made and being put in place until he saw them as well. Bottom line is there has been NO CHANGE to the long-standing Climbing Management Plan. The wording on these new banners, as quoted correctly above, does apply to most of the park, but NOT to what we know as Sunset. Climb on!!! Call me if any issues come up."
Thanks for bringing this to light, Paul. It's always good to keep tabs on new developments at Sunset.
JL |
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