Escalante - Cabin Wall closed to climbing

Unfortunately this evening Randall sent me some pictures from today that show No Trespass signs have been added to the barbed wire that specifically mention climbers. I am still trying my best to work with the owner. Please respect the No Trespassing. The Coalition will be having  a public ZOOM meeting in the next week or so to discuss strategies to avoid any more closures throughout the canyon and answer any questions we can. We will be issuing a statement soon as well. 

I would also like to apologize for lumping Randall in with my comments about the Italian Cowboy. I made some incorrect assumptions and it was unfair of me to talk ill about Randall as he is a former board member and a valuable member of the community.  

The Italian Cowboy on the other hand, has a lot of growing ahead of him before he can become an effective communicator and by extension a helpful addition to the community . 

We warmly welcome anyone who is interested in becoming a member and applying to become a board member to help us continue our mission and better communicate our process. 

-Jesse Zacher

I ran into the signs at Cabin Wall this past weekend as well.  It’s a bit heartbreaking as it’s arguably the best climbing in the canyon.   We rolled over to the interior and happened to run into Randall who happily filled us in on what he knew about the situation. Him and his crew were a delight to share the crag with and all seemed respectfully concerned about the new closure.  

Honestly, I can see why the landowners would not want the influx of people in the canyon like last year.  It was crazy, every campsite and then some was packed.  I’m obviously biased but the OHV-ers seem like the problem child to me.  They haul ass through that canyon and make the most noise.  The graffiti destroying the various petroglyphs/historic modern carvings throughout the canyon probably doesn’t help either.  Perhaps the ranchers think it’s climbers?  A fenced in area similar to Newspaper rock might help that but who knows.  

Whatever the real reasons for the closure, I hope we can negotiate access for climbers to the cliffs.  I would easily pay $100 for an annual pass to climb the canyon.  If I was a landowner in the canyon I’d be concerned about getting something in return. 

DWF 3wrote:

I ran into the signs at Cabin Wall this past weekend as well.  It’s a bit heartbreaking as it’s arguably the best climbing in the canyon.   We rolled over to the interior and happened to run into Randall who happily filled us in on what he knew about the situation. Him and his crew were a delight to share the crag with and all seemed respectfully concerned about the new closure.  

Honestly, I can see why the landowners would not want the influx of people in the canyon like last year.  It was crazy, every campsite and then some was packed.  I’m obviously biased but the OHV-ers seem like the problem child to me.  They haul ass through that canyon and make the most noise.  The graffiti destroying the various petroglyphs/historic modern carvings throughout the canyon probably doesn’t help either.  Perhaps the ranchers think it’s climbers?  A fenced in area similar to Newspaper rock might help that but who knows.  

Whatever the real reasons for the closure, I hope we can negotiate access for climbers to the cliffs.  I would easily pay $100 for an annual pass to climb the canyon.  If I was a landowner in the canyon I’d be concerned about getting something in return. 

It was great chatting with you yesterday and hearing the passion you have for the canyon. Such a breath of fresh air!

Thanks Don, it was great running into you as well, hope you and your crew had a great weekend.

I don’t always use words good, and find my intentions are often misunderstood so I’ll take a moment to try and clarify at least my intentions, I don’t speak for anyone else. If anything I say here offends you or you would like clarification please free to DM me, I’m happy to speak with anyone, especially if you disagree with me.

I fully support the WCCC and think they have done a great job of keeping an open dialog with the land owner and land managers. I believe they should be the only ones to work on any kind of negotiations in the canyon and I personally have no intention of being the voice of anything. What I would like to see is the climbing community coming together and talking about what is going on. To have open dialog and discuss the issues that are being brought to our attention by the property owner and land managers through the WCCC.

We can point fingers at other user groups all day but we also need to look at our own group. If you think that climbers aren’t the problem, I would like to thank you because you are likely a good steward. But we can’t ignore that some of us aren’t as good of stewards. I have no idea how to fix this, and I don’t feel as though it is my job to fix it, but I would like to encourage an open dialog that brings us closer to a solution, or at the very least progress in that direction.

The land owners and managers are aware of who’s who in the canyon and can tell the difference between an OHV and a Subi. They live there and see it day after day, they know better what is going on in the canyon than anyone that visits. If they are telling the WCCC that they have concerns about our user group, you can trust that it’s problems within our user group.  

I drive an Outback with a ski rack, I dress like a skittle, I drive the speed limit and I smile and wave to every rancher and find that they usually smile and wave back. We need to remember that this is their home and we are the visitors, lets be good house guest and do what we can within our group to promote positive interactions, let the other user groups worry about themselves.

In regards to the Italian Cowboy, he’s a good guy with the best of intentions and while I don’t always agree with his methods, I agree with his desire to build a strong community and do what we can to protect our climbing areas. He is a prolific local developer and teacher; he is a good steward of our climbing areas. He is very passionate, and like many passionate people he is very vocal. If you think he’s just an asshole, talk to anyone of his friends and they’ll tell you otherwise, myself included.

This is not the time to shut down dialog but a time to open it up, even to those we don’t agree with. None of us have the answer right now but maybe if everyone gives input the hive mind can come up with a solution, or least move in a positive direction towards this goal.

Sounds like its time to post the Green Machine Wall to spread out the crowds of FRangers gangbangin' Zappa.

Adam blocwrote:

Sounds like its time to post the Green Machine Wall to spread out the crowds of FRangers gangbangin' Zappa.

No, it isn't

We already y'know where it is.......~  

Adam blocwrote:

Sounds like its time to post the Green Machine Wall to spread out the crowds of FRangers gangbangin' Zappa.

Hush little troll. 

what makes you think peeps aren't already gangbanging green machine?  smokin crack with the lizards is probably a hand crack by now.  green machine is probably green camalots these days.

Escalante is special place, everyone who frequents the canyon knows. It’s not for everyone. It still holds a sense of mystery and adventure for most of us. I love traversing the walls looking at unlisted cracks and hiking around. Such a wonderful place, I don’t see a need for the negativity about others loving the canyon as much as some of us do. It’s actually not as busy as everyone here is making it sound and I have never run into this climber everyone is talking about who disrespects the place.

slimwrote:

what makes you think peeps aren't already gangbanging green machine?  smokin crack with the lizards is probably a hand crack by now.  green machine is probably green camalots these days.

How did you know what I’ve been up to?

Sarah Zwrote:

How did you know what I’ve been up to?

I actually have been bringing my rechargeable Dremel to really make the green machine a little more comfortable for my big fat hands.....

*in all seriousness this canyon is a magical place with such history. I bought the first edition desert rock book just to appreciate the full beauty and history of this canyon. I will gladly advocate however I can to gain access and maintain the beauty of the canyon. We have cleaned up trash every time we have gone to this wonderful gem.

Do folks from Utah go there? If so they should be banned.

M Mwrote:

Do folks from Utah go there? If so they should be banned.

Deal, but you Green Plates are banned from Indian Creek, Joe's, St. George, Maple, Moab, Zion, San Rafael Swell, and Capitol Reef.

I grew up in Fruita and now live in Salt Lake. I feel for your problem, Escalante is a very cool place. Too bad ignorant land owners can't share. 

Can someone remind me what the access fund is good for? Besides moronically suing the Federal Government - wasting MILLIONS of dollars.

Grug Mwrote:

Deal, but you Green Plates are ...

Pretty sure home boy is from the east coast...

Cory Nwrote:

Pretty sure home boy is from the east coast...

No, just an ex mo on the mission of life!

Grug Mwrote:

Deal, but you Green Plates are banned from Indian Creek, Joe's, St. George, Maple, Moab, Zion, San Rafael Swell, and Capitol Reef.

I grew up in Fruita and now live in Salt Lake. I feel for your problem, Escalante is a very cool place. Too bad ignorant land owners can't share. 

Can someone remind me what the access fund is good for? Besides moronically suing the Federal Government - wasting MILLIONS of dollars.

Too bad ignorant land owners can't share. That for sure  is coming from an ignorant climber who believes they can go where they want and do what they want. 

Has anyone considered the role that Mountain Project has played in closing this area? Helpful resource? Sure. Responsible for the overcrowding and trashing of beloved climbing areas? Absolutely! Maybe areas which exist with tentative access issues should be removed from this site. We should take what happened with cabin wall as an example of what happens when sensitive areas are put online. They get trashed by trust-fund-super-van-life-idiots and access gets shut down. If Escalante is removed from MP, the people who really want to climb out there will still go and figure it out but the lazy vanlifers will go someplace else. Food for thought. 

Eli LGwrote:

Has anyone considered the role that Mountain Project has played in closing this area? Helpful resource? Sure. Responsible for the overcrowding and trashing of beloved climbing areas? Absolutely! Maybe areas which exist with tentative access issues should be removed from this site. We should take what happened with cabin wall as an example of what happens when sensitive areas are put online. They get trashed by trust-fund-super-van-life-idiots and access gets shut down. If Escalante is removed from MP, the people who really want to climb out there will still go and figure it out but the lazy vanlifers will go someplace else. Food for thought. 

Hey Eli G,

I think we should wait to hear what the land owners say the problem was. I wonder if the ranchers think climbers have more of an impact compared to the OHV crowd, it will be interesting to hear. Maybe the land owner just got scared about a lawsuit, maybe some climber is suing them that we don't know about, or maybe they don't like seeing people on their walls. Either way it's their land they can do what they want. Escalante is a beautiful place that still holds plenty of adventure for those seeking it, shoot I think half the cracks I have seen are not on MP. This idea that the canyon is overrun is pretty strange given that you can climb in the canyon on the weekends and be the only person at the crag. I was there a few weeks back in Feb; we climbed at Zappa all weekend and maybe 2 cars drove by. This has always been my experience. Everyone else I have run into in Escalante has been kind, cam sharing, and as stoked on the chossy sandstone as the rest of us. I wonder how we might interact in person, I own a van and a copy of Desert Rock '88. Am I the person you are talking about? It would be a wonderful thing if we could use these types of access issues to come together rather than to be torn apart. Let's stop blaming each other and wait for the land owners to tell us what happened.