cocertgoers camping at the coulee suck!

[Charlie]

I went to vantage today- there is new spraypaint on the feathers, zigzagwall, and parking area. There is garbage everywhere. If those freaks want to camp there instead of at the gorge, they should be more respectfull! Who in the hell would think its cool to spraypaint on the rock!!!? I understand they were probably on acid at the time, but really, USE YOUR FUCKING BRAIN!!!

[jon]

I was there a couple months ago during a concert and experienced similar things, although I didn’t see any spraypaint. The place was packed to the walls, the noise didn’t stop until 5 in the morning, and the place was completely trashed. There were campfires everywhere, which I understand where prohibited, and pretty sure none of these assholes had the fish and wildlife sticker that all the climbers are supposed to have and have been ticketed for.

If the climbing community is going to be held to such a high standard by government and local agencies and punished for rule breaking and stripped of rights, then those standards need to apply to everyone otherwise it is purely discriminatory.

I think the best thing to do is make this a really proactive conversation. Share your feelings and your anger, but refrain from being too vulgar. I’ll forward the responses on to people at the Frenchman Coulee Climbers Coalition, the Access Fund, and last but not least our friends at Fish and Wildlife. There needs to be action taken here, against the people committing these acts, and I think against the people who are profiting the most from this, the people who are putting on these concerts. $50 to sit in a grass hill to barely see your favorite group, $20 to camp, what a god damn joke. The mindless and careless free for all needs to end.

 

[Dwayner]

I agree with you Charlie but consider this:

And who in the hell would think it's cool to grid bolt the rock? Just a different kind of vandalism?

RE: "If those freaks want to camp there instead of at the gorge, they should be more respectfull! Who in the hell would think its cool to spraypaint on the rock!!!?"

 

[johnny]

I think you guys (Charlie and Jon) are on to something good here. Dwayner, can we leave the "to bolt or not to bolt" issue out of this one? I have experienced similar nastiness at the Feathers as well and I think it is very inaproppriate for climbers to be concerned about having an access sticker when concert-goers are not dinged for their lack thereof.

Buying an access sticker generates money (I get mine with my annual fishing liscence) but there is a huge opportunity to generate money by having fisheries enforcment hit campgrounds like this during concerts. If word spread that you really would be dinged for not having a sticker on concert nights (not to mention fires or illegal drugs...) then the Feathers would perhaps become a quieter place for those of us who simply want to rack out so we can take a whipper on Sunshine wall in the morning.

I am also fisherman and I realize that agency enforcment is agonizingly understaffed, but can local law officers enforce this sort of thing? We certainly have plenty of those scurring about....

Perhaps an armed climbers militia???????

[goatboy]

Instead of an armed militia, how about climbers arming themselves with trashbags and cleaning up the joint?

John Crock sent me the following message last week:

"I'm the Eastern WA-N. ID board member for the FCCC (Frenchman Coulee Climbers Coalition). We're having a cleanup-gear-auction-keg of beer on Sat. Oct 13 at the Frenchman Coulee (Vantage) main parking lot. We had a

similar cleanup last spring that was not well attended, but we managed to pick up a whole pickup load of garbage. The area is somewhat trashed right now after a summer of concerts at the gorge and unfortunately, climbers get blamed for a lot of the garbage by the WA Dept. of wildlife who manages the land. Garbage bags will be provided and it would be great if everyone picked an area and picked up the garbage in it. We will also have a gear auction to raise money for more permanent toilets. The current toilets are there courtesy of the FCCC and Access Fund. This summer we also bought a gate and had it installed to close off a four-wheel drive/party road that went up the hill from the main parking lot. Also there has been some graffitti spray-painted on some of the rocks and we would like to remove it before it spawns more. Lastly, there will be a free keg at the end of the day to reward your efforts."

I hope that many cascadeclimbers will be able to attend this cleanup.

[This message has been edited by goatboy (edited 09-13-2001).]

[This message has been edited by goatboy (edited 09-13-2001).]

[Self_propelled]

How about next concert season organizing a clean up on the morning after a big concert. Kick some passed out/hungover late night vandalizers out of their tents or backseats at 6AM and "persuade" them to lend a hand. You could also tip Fish and Wildlife off and have them onhand to issue warnings, tickets, or whatever it is they do to ding folks without the proper car stickers.

[Beck]

It's very lousy climbers experience negative collateral publicity with issues like this- This is one of the topics to be discussed during the Clean Climbing Forum at the Fall Ropeup- if anyone is interested in helping out at Frenchmans' Coulee to contact Frenchmans'Coulee Climbers, Jon and Tim have the link on the main page, check it out.

Related to the graffiti, I got an email off their list concerning the graffiti and cleanup- sorrily ironic thing is, the land managers are concerned about the impact of the cleanup methods!- which is a legit concern, but it must be frustrating to the climbers just trying to clean it up!

[Cpt.Caveman]

Charlie next time we go let's set some landmines and sit across the way with some sniper rifles. Halling we need the M4 and any other firepower Team Gander Mountain can loan. How about that ghillie suit too?

-Cpt

[Beck]

Team Rux is standing by, ready to supply ghillie suits, suitable covert ops tiedyes and neon micro bus to infiltrate the concertgoers...if it's the metal head crowd that's causing damage, studded leathers and all the hair gel we need to create headbanger pompadours to assist with infiltration efforts, Teddy's sponsered by Gene Juarez salons.

[gapertimmy]

I know from first hand experience that F&W would be very intersted in knowing there whereaboots of concert party trash. I was concert party trash one day and those dudes jiznacked me and gave me an MIP

[Dru]

What's this about "Spray" paint? taggers giving cc.com a bad name or what? I spray but i don't paint.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Drul I put in some Hieroglyphics for us to gawk at next time I go