In mid-May, the print and
electronic media in Salt Lake City, Utah, reported the first ascent
of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Delicate Arch is one of
the most revered and recognized features in Utah, and if any
natural feature deserves to be called an icon, it’s Delicate Arch.
But on a recent Sunday morning, a rock climber hiked the
one-and-a-half-mile trail from Wolfe Ranch and began the first of
several ascents. He brought a High Definition video camera to
capture the moment and even carried the camera with him up the
arch. He established photo points and staged his climb over and
over, just to be sure he got all the camera angles he needed.
Salt Lake media received news of the climb from the
Patagonia outdoor clothing store in Salt Lake City, and advised
them that HighDef video of the dramatic first ascent was available.
The store representative also provided the climber’s contact
information for interview, and the media, always looking for good
“visuals,” came running. The climb was featured on Salt Lake
television stations and made the Salt Lake
Tribune.
The climb should also have been
illegal. It had been illegal for decades, but when the National
Park Service took the teeth out of its climbing regulations in
1988, this kind of stunt was bound to occur. Four years ago, the
agency’s then-group superintendent, Jerry Banta, called the Arches
Park policy the weakest he had ever seen. The climber may have read
the regulations as well: The wording only said that named arches
“may be closed” by the superintendent. They were not, and so a
bureaucratic misstep allowed the climb to occur.
Reaction
to the ascent has been mixed. FOX13 News interviewed a sales person
at a Moab climbing shop who had nothing but praise for the man and
his achievement, adding, “He deserves our respect.” Arches
Superintendent Laura Joss was not impressed and told the
Tribune, “I’m very sorry to see someone do this
to Utah’s most visible icon.” She strengthened Arches’ climbing
policy the next day by banning climbing on all named arches.
The climber was interviewed by FOX13, and there he talked
about “cherishing the moment” and being “close to Nature.” He said
he viewed the arch with “great reverence.” His name is Dean Potter
and he is known among his peers as a world-class climber. I Googled
Mr. Potter and found his footprints all over the Web. He is best
known for the speed with which he scales rock walls. His speed
climb up a particularly difficult route on El Capitan in Yosemite
is chronicled in an Outside magazine story. He
did it in 3 hours and 24 minutes. Not much time for spiritual
connections and cherishing the moments on that ascent, eh Dean?
Potter is also a paid “climbing ambassador” for the
outdoor clothing company Patagonia, who, we now know, leaked their
representative’s feat in the first place. However, as his climb
draws unwanted publicity, Patagonia is fast distancing itself from
Potter’s dubious accomplishment. Whether the company knew in
advance of Potter’s plans is unknown, since its public relations
department in California refuses to answer questions.
I
have to wonder: Is there anything off-limits to a climber like Dean
Potter? To paraphrase the great David Brower, who was also a
world-class climber, would Potter feel the need to scale the
Sistine Chapel to pay tribute to the ceiling? When they finally
build the Freedom Tower in New York, will he feel compelled to
scale its 1,776 feet in order to honor the 3,000 who died on Sept.
11? Should he climb the Washington Monument to pay homage to the
father of our country? Is there anything so tasteless and
inappropriate that it might give a stunt climber second thoughts?
Increasingly, this is what a wilderness experience has
become. It’s not about solitude or quiet and peace. Solitude is
actually a legal component of wilderness as it was written into law
by Congress in 1964.
The problem with solitude is that
it’s not an easily marketed commodity. Potter’s stunt is not an
isolated incident and reflects a growing recreational culture that
lives for speed, not serenity. In 2006, these kinds of experiences
have little or nothing to do with the beauty of the land or any
spiritual connection with it. This was just another adrenaline ride
in an outdoor jungle gym, taped in HighDef, perhaps to sell some
more outdoor gear, and for self-glorification at a later date, just
to make sure the ego ride never ends.
Jim
Stiles is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of
High Country News in Paonia, Colorado (hcn.org).
He is the editor of the Canyon Country Zephyr in
Moab, Utah.
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