The Way It Used to Be

Right up there with complaining about crowds, or maybe because of them, people also love to complain about how good things USED to be at almost every major climbing area in the country. Old crusty types seem to relish sitting around the fire, regaling us all with tales of the golden days gone by. Everything was always better in the past, apparently, and we are all doomed to live out our current existences in a shadowy glimmer of the glories of what once was.

Probably the most common area around here that gets this treatment is Indian Creek. Once upon a time, you drove out a one-lane dirt road to a land of endless splitters, with nary another soul for miles. I hear they also used to have dinosaurs back then too, and gold nuggets laying on the ground. Yes, it must have truly been amazing in those days, but world class cragging rarely stays secret for long, and a place like the Creek was destined to be a destination the moment all those splitter cracks came into being.

A quick perusal of the message boards on MountainProject.com yeilds many posts with people complaining about how the place is ruined, should be closed, etc. The most recent debate was sparked by the rumors of a new parking lot created by the BLM. Several years ago, they conducted a study of Indian Creek and came up with a plan for how to manage the area, given the increase in climber traffic. One of the problems they identified was the small parking area at the Supercrack/Donelly Canyon/Battle of the Bulge area. These are three of the most popular cliffs in the canyon, and the inadequate lot only held about 15 or so cars. The rest lined the sides of the highway, creating a hazardous situation for drivers and climbers alike.

This September the BLM began work on a larger parking lot, that will alleviate much of the parking problem, along with installing a toilet, a much needed amenity at this location. Some folks heard the news and were up in arms immediately, as the place continues it’s downward spiral in their minds. The more sensible among us realize that it’s a necessary improvement to the area, and will help a great deal to make parking safer and manage the ever present human waste issue. It’s also not nearly as huge as initially reported, and much less destructive than the miles of road that were paved through the canyon in the first place.

Some folks have taken to calling these people out for their crusty attitudes, but personally I mostly just feel sad for them. Sure, they experienced something special that will never exist again in that area. But how about all the new people that get to experience something similar? Is that not also important?

And if you do want to recreate “the way it used to be,” there is a place very close by that offers what the Creek must have been like 30 years ago. Unless there’s oil or uranium back there, there wont be any paved roads for a long time to come…