Suspected climbing &^&%$ uses paint to mark trail and jeopardize access!?

Chris Jones wrote:I once caught a group of teens spray painting at Cooper's Rock asked them to follow me and called the ranger to come speak with them. He made them return to clean the boulders. I ask that the climbing community in WY try to do the same. The person who did this needs to own it or it will continue.

climbing friend,

why did the teenagers they not run away? you intimidated the children?

The guy behind the curtain deleted my post. So I guess the administration wants to protect the criminal and censor the rest?
But I tell you what you can take the cuss words out and put the post back up and I won't go to the authorities.

Rollingrock wrote:But I tell you what you can take the cuss words out and put the post back up and I won't go to the authorities.

Go to the authorities over what? Your post getting removed? Or some dude spray-painting everything in sight?
I'd say #1 will give everyone a good laugh and #2 will result in new / worsening access issues.

And since you asked, yes, 20 kN probably meant that you, personally or with the help of other concerned climbers, should scrub this stuff off. As annoying as it is to clean up behind some asshole, it's probably your best option to avoid issues with land managers (along with trying to prevent said asshole form doing further damage). Once the crag is closed it won't matter who's responsible...

There is a way to remove this, check with your local hardware store.

caesar.salad wrote:There is a way to remove this, check with your local hardware store.

Here, I'll help, this stuff works really well, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance has used it in graffiti removal projects by, gasp, volunteer climbers concerned about access.

Rollingrock wrote: Great! thanks for the offer, come on over and start scrubbing! When you say "you" do you mean me? or the OP, or the guy who did it? Because if you think I'm going to clean up this guy's mess, well I guess you were raised different then me?

1. Your spelling is incorrect in all of those pictures

2. Instead of screaming, I think he means you can do something about it; if you're offended at the spiritual level you appear to be. The other weekend I went and helped clean up a crag that I'd never even been to before. So if you actually love and use this place, then it makes sense you'd be a force of change to keep it the way you'd like it to appear. At the very least, make low impact sign asking whoever is making the graffiti to stop and leave it up next time you go on a photo hike...

Boissal wrote: And since you asked, yes, 20 kN probably meant that you, personally or with the help of other concerned climbers, should scrub this stuff off.

Indeed I did mean him and anyone else that cares about the area. It's easy to want to blame the responsible party for the action (and rightfully so), but as others have pointed out if the area gets closed down it wont matter in the slightest who did it as no one will be climbing. Most land mangers group climbers as a whole. Either "the climbers" are taking care of an area and using the resource respectfully or they are not. Most land mangers are not going to differentiate between individual climbers as they dont have time to run a witch hunt.

We scrub graffiti around here, and let the land manager know we're doing it. When someone called the paper to complain about "climbers" leaving graffiti in the park, the land manager's response was "no, they usually are the ones who clean it up."

If you are one of the internet benefactors who want to go generously "clean" these trail markers this weekend, please go for it. For those of you not regularly climbing in SE Wyo, perhaps consider the idea of respecting local ethics. I read serious, thought-out reasoning behind why the trail was marked this way by someone who has spent countless hours (seriously more time than you can imagine) over the past 50 years developing routes throughout Wyoming. Front Rangers: It's been a while since I've been on Long's Peak but I think there is some paint near the summit on the trail that might be worth scrubbing.

1. It is curious that in Mr. CLandis’ original testimony dated 31-Dec-13, no photographic evidence or written descriptions was presented that would indicate the painting was as profuse as in Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock photographs and allegations dated 25-Oct-16.

2. Coincidently, Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock first online complaints about the development of the crag was almost 2 years ago to the day. 24-Oct-16

[STRIKE FROM RECORD "Coincidently" IN POINT 2. We don’t wear foil hats around here.]

3. Messrs. Laird, buckie06, and Hunt also failed to mention in their comments about the area any egregious paint markings. [See area comments]

4 Stories

FINDINGS

1. There is no evidence, other than that of Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock that the additional markings were the work of Mr. D. McGee.
2. Mr. McGee is a well-known contributor to the climbing community of WY, whereas Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock is an anonymous online account.

OPINION

1. It would seem Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock has a proverbial hard-on for Mr. D McGee, based on the online dialog between the two on the area page.
2. It seems suspicious that the only complaint of excessive painting is from Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock.
3. Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock presented evidence in the late fall, when third party verification was increasingly difficult.
4. Due to Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock’s anonymity, their testimony is suspect.

DISCLOSURE

1. I have not personally climbed at the area.
2. I have not personally met Mr. D McGee or Mr./Mrs. Rollingrock

use some of the junk made out of orange peals and get it off there fast before the land owner sees it

Neil and Cassidy wrote: Front Rangers: It's been a while since I've been on Long's Peak but I think there is some paint near the summit on the trail that might be worth scrubbing.

You mean this?

summitpost.org/clark-s-arro…

These threads get too complicated for me to figure out who is arguing about what with whom.

caesar.salad wrote:These threads get too complicated for me to figure out who is arguing about what with whom.

In short an entitled noobish or just a average stooge is upset by some landmarks in paint they offend him enough to complain but not take a brush and some hand goo or paint remover and take action to correct a situation that is given the whole picture , a storm in a tea cup.
As others have said take the offending painted rocks trees and Gaurd rail as what they are. . .
Meant as what they are . .,
sign posts to stay on the trail.

I've cleaned up a lot of offensive stuff.
One thing I especially recall doing was spending a whole summer
Trying to stop markers from A trail that needed no markers at all
Some one in a spoiled rotten rich town in Conneticut was getting paid to "Open"
this bike trail that was stuck next to a busy road that one can hear if not see from the trail.
No chance of getting lost, no need to worry about the northern hardwood forest, just human blight.

For three months twice a week I stripped tape, moved Carins and log breaks, until the trail opener went nuts with a chain saw!

these "4" shaped large painted blazes are what comes from
stripping a trail of stacked rocks, or tape on branches.

The next step is the OPs
If he had not already said he was not going to lift a finger with a brush attached ,
but continue to Tap furiously about the eye-sores that helps get a visiting climber to a cliff,
There is no chance at any sort of resolution.

Look at it this way
The bleeding alien has left a trail to a cliff face.
so what?

Unless you are pure, use no gear or chalk, the marks left by user
groups are just a price. . .
a price of existence ? Maybe?

The access issue? There have been some concerns due to spidering of trails through sensitive
Eco zones,
more of that , then any worries over painted trail blazes.

Michael Schneider wrote:... these "4" shaped large painted blazes are what comes from stripping a trail of stacked rocks, or tape on branches....

This is not what Horning said happened.

RANT WARNINING

I never meant to say "this is what happened", in this case i

Doug Hemken wrote: This is not what Horning said happened.

I was sighting that IT Could be why, or that in my example the results were far more destructive in the long run.

The trail I was commenting on is a tic infested side of a highway "old road" with blacktop, still in places , in Fairfield County Conneticut !

It is a strip of woods, stuck between a public swimming pond and parking lot
that runs along-side of a Golf driving range, that was a fun family Miniture Golf course that had trails for pony rides.

there are Four great boulders in the vicinity, (not along the trail.)
Showing the way into the woods with markers set me off, and in the end I lost, idiots on bikes with spray paint showed up,trashing the nice spots.

then I asked the town to provide trash cans and signage at the 2trail heads.
That of course led to access issues; and private property signs going up
in a three(3) acre wide strip of woods.

I just don't go there much anymore. ( maybe 5 people bike the trail with any regularity)
That is sad, after decades of stewardship, removing "Classic Grafitti
picking up trash and stuff.
it was part of my childhood domain and I'm sorry it has been "0pened"

and as I've tried not to pile on here, it is Not worth bringing Names into it.
Also:
given the seeming in-balance of the response.
Do not go to the Rangers, land owners/managers with things that we can and should self police.