ACCESS FUND NEWS

Wilderness & Fixed Anchors: The proposed prohibition on fixed anchors in forest wilderness land was suspended, to allow a "rulemaking process" (i.e. negotiations), which may take a year.

Camp 4: Thanks to its Friends , Camp 4 is being considered for the National Register of Historic Places (!). Until the final determination is made, there are stricter limitations on development. The Sierra Club won a preliminary injunction against rebuilding Yosemite Lodge, so the National Park Service must now conduct an Environmental Impact Study, and consider alternatives.

Yosemite Valley: Several lower Valley cliffs will be closed for two years, during road construction on highway 140. They include the Rostrum, the Cookie, Elephant Rock, Arch Rock, and Reed’s Pinnacle.

Joshua Tree: A supplement to the draft backcountry and wilderness management plan was released in November. It recognizes the park as world renowned for its rock climbing, but protects it from over-use. The Access Fund believes the supplement is a reasonable compromise between climbers and environmental groups. Key issues in negotiations were the park’s carrying capacity for climbing routes, the experiences which should be protected for future climbers, climbers’ impacts on the human and natural environment, bolting in wilderness, and the use of field data for developing management strategies. There would be a climbing committee, which will advise the park on these issues, in particular proposals for new bolted routes in wilderness zones. The supplement has not been officially approved, and the Access Fund has some concerns about it – it is unclear how the permit-granting process would actually work, it still includes unjustified restrictions on climbing, many important management decisions will be made later by the National Park Service, there will be a cap on new routes everywhere, and there is no guarantee that any new routes will be allowed in wilderness areas. In other words the devil, as usual, is in the details. The deadline for commenting on the supplement has passed, but there’s no report yet on what happened.

- Vertical Times (summarized)
MEMBERSHIP

Current 174: 12 student, 110 regular, 21 family, 25 corporate, and 6 club members. Distribution: Kootenays 5, north Okanagan 8, central/south Okanagan 6, greater Vancouver 105, Fraser Valley 9, Squamish-Pemberton 21, Sechelt 2, south Island 6, north Island 5, U.S. 6, Alberta 1. If this mailing includes a pink "Membership Renewal", your membership has expired. Renew today!
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Webpage: Adrian Burke, Bluesoft Internet (Robin Tivy).
MT. ARROWSMITH

In September, the Minister of Environment, Lands & Parks wrote to the Regional District of Alberni-Clayoquot (RDAC), and told it that its proposed plan for Mt. Arrowsmith regional park had to provide for all-season public parking, and public access which was "…somewhat consistent and [which would] connect to the old Arrowsmith trail, thereby providing a route through the park and overnight camping opportunities in the traditional areas for hikers and skiers." RDAC responded that public access will be granted on Arrowsmith, Rousseau, and lower ski area trails, and it will build a free public parking lot just outside the gate. Arrowsmith Ski and Park Limited operates the ski area, which includes both the park and surrounding land. It hopes to build lifts up to Cokely Peak, with up to 48 runs. To make this possible, RDAC has applied to extend the regional park’s boundaries; confusingly, this land is within the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN). The Public Access Resolution Committee supports year round free public access throughout the park when the ski area isn’t operating, and is lobbying the RDN and the provincial government for protection of much of the crown land bordering the regional park, including the peak of Arrowsmith and Mt. Cokely.

- Wild Isle #5 (summarized)
MISCELLANEOUS
Dave Jones continues work on a new Selkirks guide. If you have any information, contact Dave at dj@uilo.ubc.ca or (604) 276-2684.
Squamish Rockclimbs should be out in time for the climbing season, and Whistler Rockclimbs will follow. Both by Elaho Publishing/Kevin McLane.
Interested in climbing in Korea or central India? 

Access News #16: March. Access to Skaha, the climbing strategy for Squamish, and other hot news. Needed: information on access developments in your area, significant ascents, new routes or cliffs, and upcoming special events and competitions.
Climb Nova Scotia: We have been in touch with this group, which looks after climbs and climbers there. There’s a guidebook, and both summer and winter climbing. They’re thinking of purchasing a power drill, for use by members. There aren’t many bolted routes in Nova Scotia yet, but there is some potential. (We assume no climber there owns a Hilti yet.) They’re wondering about how to manage this, and what responsibility they would have for its use/misuse. If you can help, contact Sean Cassidy (SCASSIDY@jacqueswhitford.com).
Little Smoke Bluffs: CASBC is considering arranging for occasional cleaning/maintenance of the new toilets, starting in the spring.
SKAHA – 1998 CLIMBS

An eventful year at Skaha. The sudden closure of Braesyde in March, and the scramble to get it reopen it for Easter weekend, weren’t a great start. However, the new guidebook provided a lot of stimulus, especially to the growing community of local climbers. A slew of new routes appeared, many in the 5.12/13 range. They include:

Teen Wall (Great White)
Breakfast of Champions (5.13a) – an extended Acid Test, with the crux at the top (Peter Arbic).
Air Test (5.13b) – a dramatic sustained line up the middle of the wall (Hugh Lenney).
Teen Edger – Hugh continues work on an extension to this route.

Doctor’s Wall
Building a Mystery (a.k.a. Spanking the Monkey, after a guidebook error) became a bit of a trade route. Mike Doyle added the 10 m from the belay to the clifftop (Improbability Conquered, 5.13c).
Todd Guy established a direct line (5.13a) between Doctor Megatrip and Building a Mystery. Destined to be a classic.

The Wave
Not Fade Away – Peter Arbic established a direct start (Quicksilver, 5.12d) and Mike Doyle redpointed a direct finish (No Visible Means of Support, 5.12d). The combination of the two is also 5.12d (?).

A steady trickle of moderate routes was also established. Dave Jones’ unusually low profile left a few lines for others to pick, including:
Blipvert Tower – Terry Schmidt added two routes on the south side (5.7 and 5.11). John Fantini put up two on the west side, one of which is 5.12b.
Little White – This cliff was rediscovered. Some abandoned projects were climbed at 5.12a/b, and there has since been a cleaning frenzy. Once the dust settles, this crag will rival Morning Glory for quantity and quality of its 5.11/12 routes.

A lot of rock at Skaha remains to be examined. However, solving the parking issue to ease access concerns would be a big step toward realizing Skaha’s full potential.

- Sean Dougherty
OCCUPIERS LIABILITY ACT

[The following is a summary. It is not legal advice, and should not be relied on.]

The purpose of this Act is to protect people ("invitees") who are on private land, and to do so it places a duty of care on owners and renters ("occupiers"). An occupier has to take reasonable care to ensure that invitees are reasonably safe while using the occupier’s land. This is usually done by minimizing hazards, and warning invitees of their existence (e.g. "pitbull in yard"). If an invitee is injured, and the hazard could have been foreseen or eliminated, or the invitee warned, then the occupier may be liable. The classic example is the postie slipping on the walk, because the occupier didn’t shovel the snow. This is why owner’s/renter’s insurance includes third party liability.

The law evolved, and "litigation paranoia" developed amongst occupiers and insurers, because:
There were more lawsuits, and it is costly to defend a claim, even if you win.
In a few cases an occupier was held liable, even though the hazard was a natural one on undeveloped land, and/or the person was not an invitee but a trespasser.

The 1998 changes to the Act must still be interpreted by the courts. However, they parallel reforms in other places. The changes limit the duty of care owed by an occupier to non-paying recreational users of, and trespassers on:
Premises used primarily for agriculture.
Rural premises used for forestry or range purposes, or which are vacant, undeveloped, forested, wilderness premises, or are private roads reasonably marked.
Recreational trails reasonably marked.
Utility rights-of-way and corridors, excluding structures located on them.

There is now no general duty of care toward such persons. The new, reduced, duty is not to:
Create a danger with the intent to do harm to a person or damage a person’s property; or
Act with reckless disregard for the safety of a person, or the integrity of a person’s property.

"Reckless disregard" means that the occupier knew of the presence of persons on the land, or that that presence was very probable, and did or omitted to do something which the occupier should have recognized as likely to cause damage or injury, not caring whether damage or injury results.
VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

February 25-28, 1999, at North Vancouver’s Centennial Theatre. Presented by W.L. Gore & Associates and Mountain Equipment Co-op. CASBC is a supporter. The tentative program:
25th(19:00) Mountain biking films and slides.
26th(13:30) Youth and senior program, with North Shore Search and Rescue.

(19:00) Don Serl on "Exploring the Waddington Range", Richard Wheater on "Climbing at Squamish", and films.
27th (14:00) Polish mountain film retrospective.

(19:00) John Bachar on "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow: Reflections of a Free-Solo Climber", and films. (CASBC promotion – volunteers needed!) Saxophone concert later.
28th (13:00) Christian Griffith on "Sport Climbing in America: the Death of Adventure".

(18:00) – Voytek Kurtyka on "The Art of Climbing – The Path of Life", more films, and winners.

A few of the films:
"Skullduggery"(Canada) – an animated short featuring a child, an ogre, and a desert spire.
"118 Days on Ice" (Slovakia) – the first unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean.
"Hard Grit" (England) – hard, risky climbing on the famous edges.
"I Made It!" (Sweden) – Goran Kropp cycles 12,000 km (with all his gear!) to Everest, and climbs it.
"Il Etait Une Voie Edlinger" (France) – what Patrick Edlinger is doing now.
"Martina" (Slovenia) – the story of Martina Cufar, Slovenia’s strongest women rock climber.
"Pumori: Daughter of Everest" (U.S.) – an expedition raises $30,000 for a safe house in Kathmandu.
"The Khan Tengri Challenge" (Switzerland) – the annual August competition in the Tien Shan.
"The Wall Crawler" (U.S.) – Alain Robert climbs the world’s tallest human-made structures.

Tickets available at Mountain Equipment Co-op, the Edge, and Centennial Theatre (604) 984-4484. C$45 for the whole event. For more information: www.quatronix.net/vmff. There will be a "Best of" presentation in Seattle on March 4, 16 & 17 – call (206) 284-6310.
ACCESS IN EUROPE

Most of England is privately-owned, and access is often a problem. A famous example was Kinder Scout, in the Peak District. It is about 550 square km of private moors, surrounded by industrial cities. The land was reserved for grouse hunting, and the public largely forbidden access. As early as 1888 there were proposals in Parliament to open uncultivated mountains and moorlands to the public, but they failed. Ongoing efforts by groups like the Ramblers’ Association were also unsuccessful. Confrontations between ramblers and gamekeepers became common. In April 1932 there was a mass ‘trespass’ on Kinder Scout. About 600 participated. There were speeches, demonstrations, tussles with gamekeepers, and arrests. Four ramblers were convicted of unlawful assembly/breach of the peace, and imprisoned for two to six months. These events raised public and media awareness of the issue, but reform (the "Access to Mountains" Act) did not finally occur until the late 1940s.

- Mountain 32 (summarized)

Access to public pathways in Britain is still not secure. A large landowner is building a US$49 million house ("Hamilton Palace"), and insists that "..ramblers are riffraff who have no right to trespass on my land." The public footpath is officially mapped, but he has blocked it with razor wire, a steel gate, a barn, and heaps of junk. The Ramblers Association organized a protest walk and, with government support, is taking him to court. It reports that 40,000 km of public pathways are illegally blocked. 85% of Britons favour legal freedom to walk over mountains, moors, etc., subject to common sense restrictions to protect the environment, crops, and animals. Landowners complain that hikers trample fields and leave gates open, and will fight any move to force them to open their land.

- Christian Science Monitor (summarized)

There is a legal right to recreate on private land in Norway ("allemenns rett"), established in the 1920s. You can go anywhere (on foot!) for recreational purposes, including picking mushrooms and berries, as long as you behave responsibly. You must not disturb crops or livestock, pollute the water, fish, litter, cause uncontrolled fires, or camp within view of dwellings. This works well, although the culture, history, and population density of Norway are very different from England.