TNB: Death on Forbidden Peak – Was the NPS Complicit?
On September 14, Tyler Barton, a 31-year-old man from Seattle was struck by a falling rock while descending from the West Ridge (III 5.5) of Forbidden Peak in the North Cascades of Washington. According to some reports, he had been forced into a loose rappel gully because park rangers had chopped two bolted rappel stations. This raises the issue of whether the NPS was directly or even indirectly involved in Barton’s death.
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![A climber rappelling the <em>West Ridge</em> on Forbidden Peak.” title=”A climber rappelling the <em>West Ridge</em> on Forbidden Peak.”><b>On the afternoon of September 14,</b> Tyler Barton,<br />
a 31-year-old man from Seattle was struck by a falling rock while descending from the <em>West Ridge</em> (III 5.5) of Forbidden Peak in the North<br />
Cascades of Washington. The rock knocked him off his stance, he fell about 300 feet and died. According to some reports, he had been forced into a<br />
loose rappel gully because park rangers had chopped two bolted rappel stations that had been placed to keep climbers out of the rockfall zone. This<br />
raises the issue of whether the NPS was directly or even indirectly involved in Barton’s death. </p>
<p>The <em>West Ridge</em> is a popular route with easy rock, moderate snow and epic views. It’s one of the <em>50 Classic Climbs</em> (Roper/Steck) and this<br />
notoriety combined with the quality of the climbing make the route a highly sought-after prize. The day the accident occurred, the route was crowded<br />
with multiple parties. </p>
<p>The descent from the <em>West Ridge</em> involves five or six rappels (or two or three if double ropes are employed). The rappel stations consist of blocks<br />
tied off with “nests” of tat and there are various, more-or-less reliable descent lines you can take. Several years ago, the very last anchor, the<br />
one that climbers commonly used to access the glacier—a big horn—started to wobble, and someone established a two-bolt station so that<br />
climbers wouldn’t have to rap off the loose block. </p>
<p>In August 2012, a Cascades guide named Kurt Hicks decided to establish another bolted anchor near the top of the rappels that, he claims, would allow climbers<br />
to stay on more solid rock to the climber’s left of the gully which, by all accounts is a potential shooting gallery made more treacherous by the increasing<br />
number of climbers who kick through loose sections, repeatedly weight blocks, and pull ropes through choss. Hicks reasoned that the bolts would increase<br />
safety, reduce impact and allow him to remove pounds of unsightly webbing—“leave no trace,” and so forth—thereby preserving a little of<br />
the wilderness character on this “Crowded Classic.” </p>
<p>According to Kelly Bush (the wilderness district ranger that supervises the backcountry of North Cascades National Park), on the morning that Hicks placed<br />
the bolts, he crossed paths with two climbing rangers and they hiked together for roughly 30 minutes before heading off to different routes. When I<br />
reached her by phone, Bush noted that Hicks didn’t mention his plan to place the new anchor on the <em>West Ridge</em> descent, but that later in the<br />
day the climbing rangers heard the clinking of hammer and drill and subsequently discovered the freshly drilled bolts. </p>
<p>When Bush found out what happened she called Hicks. “I told him that the park has a no-bolting policy and that I really wished he would have called me.”<br />
Hicks offered to take the bolts out himself, but Bush told him the park would do it, and six days later the bolts were removed. In addition to the<br />
bolts Hicks added, the lower station—the bolts that had been there for years—were removed and climbers were again forced to rappel off<br />
the loose horn. </p>
<p>
<blockquote-right>Why did this park impose an outright ban on a few anchors that clearly have a resource protection and safety purpose? Several other parks nationwide—Yosemite,<br />
Joshua Tree, Zion, Grand Teton—all accept a basic level of fixed anchors.</blockquote-right>Troubled by the incident, Hicks contacted Jason<br />
Keith, the Access Fund Senior Policy Advisor, who felt that the Park’s negative response to the new anchor was an over-reaction and inconsistent with<br />
established Park Service wilderness management policies for climbing. According to Keith, there are some bans in Forest Service wilderness areas, not<br />
so in the National Parks. </p>
<p>Technically there was no rule against bolting in North Cascades wilderness when Hicks hand-drilled that anchor. </p>
<p>Keith contacted the North Cascades National Park Chief Ranger, Kinsey Shilling, who advised they would look into the matter, but by that time, the bolts<br />
were already chopped and patched. </p>
<p>Why did this park impose an outright ban on a few anchors that clearly have a resource protection and safety purpose? Several other parks nationwide—Yosemite,<br />
Joshua Tree, Zion, Grand Teton—all accept a basic level of fixed anchors. </p>
<p>On May 13, 2013 the National Park Service released a policy directive entitled Director’s Orders #41 (DO #41) which contains the latest direction for managers<br />
within all national parks with designated wilderness. Section 7.2 of DO #41 authorized the use of fixed anchors in wilderness if climbing was deemed<br />
to be “appropriate.” Climbing advocacy groups were carefully optimistic that the climbing management plans mandated by DO #41 would allow bolting either<br />
on a case-by-case basis, or “programmatically.” </p>
<p>The powers at North Cascades National Park had a different interpretation of DO #41, however, and on August 23, Keith received a letter announcing a “moratorium”<br />
on bolting in all North Cascades designated wilderness. Park Superintendent Karen F. Taylor-Goodrich cited the authority of rule 36CFR 2.1 (a)(1)(iv)<br />
which prohibits “possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing, from its natural state: (iv) a mineral resource or cave<br />
formation or parts thereof.” </p>
<p>Then, on September 14, Barton was killed by rockfall in the descent gully on the West Ridge of Forbidden and the question of fixed anchors in the Cascades<br />
took on a new dimension. Washington climbing forums and Cascade guides’ Facebook pages lit up. Surprisingly, the rhetoric was pretty restrained. Most<br />
climbers were in favor of the responsible use of fixed anchors in the wilderness for two reasons: 1) increased safety and 2) the leave-no-trace ethic.
</p>
<p>Guide Marc Chauvin wrote in a Facebook post: “The huge amount of slings and junk is also a problem. This is the kind of discussion we should be able to<br />
have with well-informed land managers. We need more public servants informed about the types of use our lands get and less law enforcement specialists.”
</p>
<p>The implication, of course, was that the present land managers were, basically, ill-informed policemen. </p>
<p>==</p>
<p>At the heart of North Cascades National Park’s fixed anchor moratorium was the justification that it had been enacted: “In order to preserve a wilderness<br />
experience that reflects a raw style of mountaineering in a range that has changed little since Fred Beckey made first ascents of now-popular peaks.”
</p>
<p>
<blockquote-right>The question hung in the air: Was the park somehow complicit in this guy’s death?</blockquote-right>Leaving aside the notion that not much has changed,<br />
a poster with the avatar dberdinka pointed out on cascadeclimbers.com: “Fred Beckey was willing to drill MANY bolts on numerous first ascents in the<br />
North Cascades and elsewhere if they proved necessary. In large part it amounts to the mentality that a certain perceived stasis must be enforced with<br />
no regards to actual historical, cultural or environmental merit. So the question remains: Is removal of existing anchors part of their official policy?<br />
When will—and will they—actually develop a climbing management plan that involves the input of the community?” </p>
<p>The elephant in the room, however, was the death of the climber. The topic played around the edges of the discourse in terse posts like: “That would be<br />
unfortunate if the recent accident was partially a result of the bolt chopping.” </p>
<p>The question hung in the air: Was the park somehow complicit in this guy’s death? </p>
<p>Kelly Bush has been a ranger at North Cascades for 30 years. She’s well respected by climbers who appreciate her search and rescue efforts—she heads<br />
up the SAR team—and consider her a climber, too. She told me she had climbed more in the past, but these days only climbs a couple of peaks every<br />
summer. Regarding the accident, she seemed sure that the removal of the bolts and the accident were “in no way related.” She had talked to Barton’s<br />
partner and they (Bush and the partner) both concluded that the rock had been knocked loose when the climbers had pulled the rope after the third rappel.
</p>
<p>When I asked if the climbers would have arrived at a different stance had they rappelled off the anchors Hicks had drilled, she said, “Same gully. They<br />
would’ve done the same pull.” </p>
<p>
<blockquote-right>“This is the kind of discussion we should be able to have with well-informed land managers. We need more public servants informed about the types of<br />
use our lands get and less law enforcement specialists.” The implication, of course, was that the present land managers were, basically, ill-informed<br />
policemen.</blockquote-right>Bush then explained that the accident happened right before the government shutdown. She had prepared a report about<br />
the accident that would’ve cut short all the Internet speculation and innuendo, but then the government shut down and her superiors got so busy with<br />
budgetary issues that they didn’t have time to read her report and approve it for public dissemination. </p>
<p>As far as DO #41, Bush said she’d been hoping for more guidance, stating that there’s “no strong direction” and that it’s “open to interpretation.” She’s<br />
now awaiting her “superintendent’s directions.” </p>
<p>Bush mentioned that she’d been meeting with climbing groups and the Access Fund. In reference to the AF she said, “We’ve been having a dialog …<br />
well you can’t have a dialog with those guys. We’ve been meeting.” </p>
<p>Bush told me that the main proponents of allowing fixed anchors in the wilderness seemed to be the Access Fund and private guides, adding: “I guess it<br />
makes their job easier. Otherwise I don’t hear too much about it from the general climbing population.” </p>
<p>In a phone conversation, the Access Fund’s Jason Keith told me about a series of meetings with the park where groups as diverse as the Mountaineers, the<br />
Washington Climber’s Coalition, the American Alpine Club, the Wilderness Society and Washington Wild were “on our side, trying to get the park to do<br />
public process to make these rules.” </p>
<p>“Then, the fatality happened … ” Keith said. “We were careful not to point fingers because we can’t say what caused the rockfall, but it doesn’t<br />
take a brain surgeon to figure out that rocks coming down a crowded gully…” </p>
<p>I finished the sentence: “ … were climber triggered.” </p>
<p>“There’s no question the [Hicks] descent is safer,” Keith said, “and less visually trashy.” Keith characterized the park’s position on fixed anchors as<br />
an “extreme outlier.” </p>
<p>“They could right now issue a special permit for two rap anchors on Forbidden Peak,” said Keith. “[The anchors] would be visually not obvious; they’d improve<br />
the use pattern and reduce impact, and make the descent much safer. We’re not disparaging of the park, not saying I told you so. But a future fatality<br />
is less likely if you replace those anchors.” </p>
<p>I was curious about whether rockfall had resulted in other accidents on Forbidden. Bush told me about a “minor incident” in 2010 where a guy was hit by<br />
rock and got a concussion. “Given that it’s so popular its [accident rate] might be low.” </p>
<p>In contrast, several climbers reported that rockfall was relatively common on the descent. Dan Hilden (posting on cascadeclimbers.com) wrote: “I myself<br />
was hit by a rock while rappelling there six years ago (there is a trip report on this site), and things got pretty serious because we were on a chossy<br />
ledge and I was very nearly killed by a second rock that popped when I weighted our anchor as I tried to stop the bleeding. That whole area to the<br />
looker’s left of the couloir is covered in random trash and rap stations, which could be really cleaned up by a few bolts. So what I’m getting at is<br />
that on a super popular route like that, where bolts are far safer and cleaner, what’s the problem?” </p>
<p>I tend to agree that when fixed anchors will make a descent safer and less visually impactful, they should be allowed—even in wilderness. To me,<br />
slings around blocks are unsightly and on routes as popular as the <em>West Ridge</em> of Forbidden, they are, for practical purposes, “permanent.”<br />
Further, the issue of climber-triggered rockfall is one that needs to be addressed on popular peaks. If a descent can be made safer by directing traffic<br />
onto more solid rock, then land managers should allow climbers to install those stations. DO #41 has officially acknowledged that bolts have a legitimate<br />
place in wilderness climbing. The NPS needs to get its bureaucratic house in order and draft climbing management plans so that these important environmental<br />
and safety issues can be addressed. </p>
<p>What do you think about bolts in wilderness and/or the North Cascades bolting moratorium? By choosing to chop Hicks’ bolts, was the park at all complicit<br />
in the death of the climber? Finally, what about bolts used to protect blank faces? Do these have a place in wilderness? Please share your thoughts<br />
in the comments below. </p>
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