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#398594 - 09/29/04 10:56 AM
Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 11/29/00
Posts: 1692
TRs: 28
Photos: 329
Loc: Bellingham
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Maybe I missed the discussion in the last two weeks but I'm a bit surprised not to see anything on the impact of the Subaru Primal Quest Adventure Race on Exfoliation Dome and the Clear Creek Area in general.
One leg of the race required the approximately 280 participants to follow a fixed line up the Granite Sidewalk, then jumar 600' long static lines up the "headwall" of rock possibly between Jacobs Ladder and Rain Man. At the top they were switched to a rappel setup by hired guides and retraced their steps back to the logging road.
As it turns out a number of friends of mine who work in the guiding industry for several different outfits were involved in the rigging and general support work. I was told that......
Approximately 30 bolts were placed for anchoring 12! 600' static lines on the headwall along with all the other lines used to access it. About a dozen of these bolts were placed on the Granite Sidwalk and below the headwall. All bolt hangers were removed and about 1/3 of the bolts were pryed out and expoxied.
In addition 1/4" buttonheads where used to anchor edge padding on the headwall. Considering the onionskin like nature of X-Dome there were probably numerous edges to pad. These were in theory all removed.
While there are already LOTS of bolts up there, the placement of bolts for short-term use and their incomplete removal seems like really poor form.
Of greater real enviromental impact, evidently there was no waste management. I was told "people were leaving their dookies and TP everywhere" With support staff, TV crews, guides etc thats probably 400 people in the area over a 36 hour period. No honeybuckets, no nothing.
Of course the irony in all this is that Subaru is also a Principle Partner of the Leave No Trace program, evidently those ethics weren't applied in this situation.
X-Dome is somewhat of a sacred place for many us. Remote, adventurous, pristine. Kinda makes my skin crawl to think of the blast of commercial exploitation it just experienced.
_________________________
You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm!
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#398595 - 09/29/04 11:15 AM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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sprayer
Registered: 03/29/02
Posts: 6736
TRs: 4
Photos: 4
Loc: Between Bliss & Madness
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That fucking sucks ass. Bring it up on Subaru.com, man
_________________________
"...and on the eighth day/God created the art of war" - Nevermore
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#398598 - 09/29/04 11:33 AM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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old hand
Registered: 10/07/02
Posts: 843
TRs: 3
Photos: 2
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I think we need to contact some people. They're not done cleaning up yet. That is unbelievable.
Primal Quest LLC
16315 Vineyard Blvd. Suite A
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
408-779-7969
408-779-7982 FAX
Contact Dan Barger at: dan@ecoprimalquest.com
Contact Maria Burton at: maria@ecoprimalquest.com
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#398608 - 09/29/04 12:47 PM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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sprayer
Registered: 03/29/02
Posts: 6736
TRs: 4
Photos: 4
Loc: Between Bliss & Madness
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I'm available to hike/climb up there next Sunday if someone's got a digital camera.
_________________________
"...and on the eighth day/God created the art of war" - Nevermore
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#398610 - 09/29/04 01:27 PM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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sprayer
Registered: 03/29/02
Posts: 6736
TRs: 4
Photos: 4
Loc: Between Bliss & Madness
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cut and paste, or give me your password and id.
_________________________
"...and on the eighth day/God created the art of war" - Nevermore
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#398611 - 09/29/04 01:32 PM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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Pooh-Bah
Registered: 05/27/01
Posts: 2277
TRs: 8
Photos: 29
Loc: Olympia
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Pfft. Go register yerself if you want to contribute to the thread. (You can use a fake name, just need an email address.) It starts like this: Quote:
A recent discussion on cascadeclimbers.com has made me concerned about the impact SPQ has had on the backcountry. From what I have heard, SPQ has been irresponsible in cleaning up two sources of backcountry pollution: bolts and human waste.
Race officials or their contractors (guides) drilled bolts in the granite of Exfoliation Dome to fix static lines and to secure padding for those lines to the rock. Some, but not all, of those bolts were subsequently removed. Several of the bolts were installed on a low-angle feature called the Granite Sidewalk, which is popularly used for hiking access to established rock climbs on the Dome. My concerns regarding the bolts are four:
1. Why bolt a feature that has a long and publicly documented history of hiking use? This is unnecessary impact.
2. Why bolt padding onto the rock? Surely anything that projects enough from the face to warrant padding could have padding secured to it by temporary, non-scarring means (i.e., something other than bolts). Duct tape leaps to mind, but I'm sure more sophisticated techniques are available.
3. Most alarmingly, several bolts placed expressly for this race were not removed. This oversight is utterly incompatible with the Leave No Trace philosophy to which SPQ claims to adhere (link).
4. Recent local controversy regarding the (illegal) use of power drills to place bolts in a wilderness area begs the question: how were the bolts installed?
Regarding the problem of human waste: I have read that participants or support staff left feces on the ground without disposing of it properly and there were no port-a-potties available. It's not clear at what locations this waste was actually left, nor who was responsible for it. Given the large number of participants and support staff (~400?), the amount of potential pollution along the course and at checkpoints or support locations is huge.
I am curious to know what waste-disposal facilities were available along the course and at support stations, and how many people each of those facilities had to provide for. Compelling each team to carry a trowel is one thing, but actually cleaning up after the intestinal byproducts of 400 people is quite another.
I would appreciate hearing from any of the race officials, participants, or sponsors regarding these concerns.
_________________________
you know the purpose of this message board is to exchange information not insults.
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#398613 - 09/29/04 01:43 PM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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sprayer
Registered: 03/29/02
Posts: 6736
TRs: 4
Photos: 4
Loc: Between Bliss & Madness
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slothrop, your link allows me to post messages under your sign-in. You might want to change this.
_________________________
"...and on the eighth day/God created the art of war" - Nevermore
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#398614 - 09/29/04 01:55 PM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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sprayer
Registered: 03/29/02
Posts: 6736
TRs: 4
Photos: 4
Loc: Between Bliss & Madness
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If you can get into the forums, you can post without being a member. I did.
_________________________
"...and on the eighth day/God created the art of war" - Nevermore
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#398617 - 09/29/04 02:56 PM
Re: Impact of Primal Quest on X-Dome
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old hand
Registered: 04/03/04
Posts: 707
TRs: 1
Photos: 19
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