Wilderness Climbing Ethics?

[Dan_House]

So follow this link to Bill Mahers post and tell me what you think?

http://www.treeclimbing.com/wwwboard/messages/6188.html

 

[Kevin]

When I read ...leaving your lunch behind wouldn't be nutritional for the animals I became a little skeptical and stopped reading.
Wild animals are opportunistic and don't really give a rats ass what they eat as long as it doesn't get them killed.
It would be more realistic to say ...take your garbage and and any left over lunch with you when you leave, you shouldn't have to explain why?

 

[Yoav]

Dan:
Here's a thought that may run counter to the grain. I'm not sure if its a wagonload of poppycock, or if it has some merit.

Biodiversity is created by multiple niches....in an old forest you have these so called "climax" species that have taken over after the "pioneers" did their thing. So, in a relatively undisturbed forest, you have no pioneers anymore? If the end goal of forest management is biodiversity, within the confines of that forest patch, perhaps climbing without friction savers and knocking off a branch or two or ten is actually good. That tree is an environment for diversity, and perhaps killing some branches, for example, will open up an opportunity for some insects and fungus that wouldn't otherwise be there....(or it may be an infection that kills the whole tree...but then dead trees harbor biodiversity)

So, which are we hoping for? Tree care or forest diversity care?
It is almost exactly counter to wise tree doctoring, so I look forward to hearing everyone's comments.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

When I do wild climbing I follow the same principles that I practice when camping. Minimum impact on the ground and in the trees. If I were to abide by No Impact, I wouldn't even climb. There are places where No Impact rules. The same as respecting religious, spiritual and cultural places.

I have no problem cutting off dead wood and even an occasional live branch. If there is an option of not cutting by changing route, we move.

Yoav has some good thoughts. I've talked with people who have been on wilderness camping trips with others who clean their hair brushes into the trash and bag up thier toe nail clippings. If a place is that sensitive, then maybe humans shouldn't even walk there.

Tom