Local climbers enlist help of USFS, National Forest Foundation

By Don Nelson

The local rock and alpine climbing community is hoping to team up with the U.S. Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation (NFF), The Access Fund and other organizations to restore the chaotic system of access trails to the popular Liberty Bell Mountain and Early Winters Spires climbing areas.

CB Thomas, general manager of Goat’s Beard Mountain Supplies in Mazama, is helping spearhead the proposal, which he said is intended to both restore the landscape and make the access trails safer and more accessible.

Currently, a maze of trails and tracks lead up from the Blue Lake Trail to the climbing areas. Thomas said some of the trails are “trenched out” with ruts up to 3 feet deep, “meander all over” and generally “are a real hazard” to hikers and climbers alike. The trails are “non-system,” meaning they are not officially designated or maintained by any agency.

In a recent letter to Methow Valley District Ranger Mike Liu and Mary Mitsos, president of the nonprofit NFF, more than 30 co-signers from the Methow Valley and elsewhere in Washington state asked that the access trails be included in the Treasured Landscapes/Majestic Methow projects list developed by NFF to support rehabilitation efforts around the valley.

NFF is partnering with the Forest Service in several landscape restoration projects in and around the valley as part of a campaign called The Majestic Methow. Launched in 2012, the campaign identified several forest restoration projects that the Forest Service would be unable to accomplish without support from NFF.

Increased usage

The letter notes that the Liberty Bell area has been popular with climbers since the 1940s, as well as hikers exploring the terrain. “Users from all over the world come to climb, paraglide and simply hike up towards the spires to enjoy the incredible landscape,” the letter said. Usage has increased in recent years, according to the letter.

“However, over time the route from the Blue Lake Trail towards Liberty Bell and the Winters Spires has become braided and severely eroded in many places,” the letter continued. “The fragile sub-alpine fir habitat is being significantly impacted by visitors attempting to explore or find a safe way up … With no well-defined routes, networks of paths have developed, and runoff from snow melt and thunderstorms has channeled water down these trails, further impacting the landscape.”

Safety is also an issue, the letter said, because loose rock and the eroding soil make access problematic.

“According to the Okanogan County Sheriff, there have been over 20 rescue missions in this area over the past 15 years in which search-and-rescue workers have been required to access this zone for injured users,” the letter said. “Some of the injuries have been sustained from falling rock and from visitors falling in the eroding gully.”

The letter proposes that the trail project is a good candidate for both the Forest Service and the NFF’s Majestic Methow projects list. The project was on a preliminary list but did not make the final cut. “If improvement work is not done in this area, users are put at risk and the environment will be further degraded,” the letter said.

Supporting the effort are organizations and businesses including the Washington Climbers Association, American Alpine Club, Washington Trails Association, Methow Trails, North Cascades Mountain Guides, Aero Methow Rescue Service, Okanogan County Search and Rescue, and The Mountaineers.

Thomas said The Access Fund, a Colorado-based nonprofit that works toward conserving and protecting climbing areas around the country, could be one source of funding for the project. Seattle-based Joe Sambataro, Northwest regional director for The Access Fund, signed the letter, as did local resident Jason Keith, the fund’s senior policy adviser.

Recent success

Thomas said one impetus for the trail restoration effort was the success of a recent joint project involving the Forest Service and National Forest Foundation to build a trail to a popular climbing area called the Matrix, off of Goat Creek Road near Mazama. The Forest Service “really went out of the way to help us,” Thomas said, particularly praising Liu’s involvement.

The new trail, less than half a mile long, initially follows the Community Trail from the Goat Creek Sno-Park, before branching off to access The Matrix climbing wall through a series of switchbacks. The work is part of The Majestic Methow.

Thomas said a September meeting is planned, tentatively involving the Forest Service, the foundation and Access Fund representatives, to further discuss the Liberty Bell/Early Winters Spires proposal.

“There could be a fair amount of fundraising power behind it [the proposal],” Thomas said. In a best-case scenario, he said, some preliminary work could begin this year.

Thomas said that a new Forest Service position — climbing ranger — funded by a state Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grant could be meaningful to the Liberty Bell/Early Winters Spires proposal. The grant, for $31,939, will partially support two seasonal rangers and two seasonal volunteers who will educate climbers about popular climbing routes in the Methow Valley and nearby. The Forest Service will contribute $21,815 in funds and labor.

The access trails project  “would go perfectly hand-in-hand with the RCO funding,” Thomas said.

Thomas said climbing interest has been on the rise in recent years and is a “big part” of the Mazama-area economy, and the Forest Service has helped make that possible.

“We really want the community to understand how great it is to have a district ranger who listens to the community,” Thomas said.

Natalie Kuehler, the Winthrop-based volunteer and community engagement coordinator for the National Forest Foundation’s Methow Valley projects, said the foundation is enthused about being part of the access trails discussion. She noted that the Liberty Bell/Early Winters Spires are used by many hikers as well as climbers.