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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 13050
[Native]
Date Posted:
5/30/2005
3:14:26 pm EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,202
RSS: 8,198
Comments: 4
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Devils Tower: Rising To The Top
Author: Dustin Bleizeffer Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY)
Title: RISING TO THE TOP
Just as the potato salad and left-over fried chicken is packed away in the cooler after the Memorial Day picnic, hundreds of rock climbers from all over the world will be asked to pack their ropes and carabiners somewhere else for the next month.
June is the time of summer solstice, the most religiously reverent season for American Indians who see Devils Tower as something other than a majestic natural wonder and a physical challenge.
For many descendants of the Plains Indians, it is a holy place. Yet more than 4,000 people climb the tower every year.
For the past 10 years, climbers have been asked to voluntarily refrain from climbing the tower during June, which has cut the number of climbers during that period by 69 percent. That's down from an 85 percent compliance rate a decade ago.
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Community Thoughts: There are 4 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| No True Answer To This At All. | May 30th. at 7:20:29 pm EDT
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Lady Rain StarDragon (Teresa Garcia) (Bieber, California) - Email Me
I have no problem with religious climbs, and I happen to be quite proud of the native blood running through me. Many cultures would climb mountains seeking visions and guidance.
I do have a problem with climbs on holy sites that are solely for the challenge.
As an example, Mt Shasta is holy. Yet there is a ski park on the mountain, and most people that go there do not respect the fact that it is still holy ground. When I go up there, I go to commune with the mountain and dance with it. It is the same with all of my friends. I can not runn others off of the mountain though, as much as I would like to at times, since this world is for everyone.
Sadly, there is no correct answer in this problem. We can only pray that others beliefs are respected, including our own.
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| Why Not? | May 30th. at 4:55:59 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
Frankly, I see little reason why they can't close it through June. Surely some provisions can be made and-- yes, I agree with environmental concerns as well.
Those who climb usually can afford to go elsewhere if they can't help but climb. After all, there ARE other places which offer a similar if not a greater challenge to those seeking to scale the heights.
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| Enviro Reasons, Too | May 30th. at 3:39:53 pm EDT
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Gary Penzler (Burlington, Ontario) - Email Me
Something a lot of recreational rock climbers don't realize is the envirnmental impact of their hobby.
Even a small amount of lichen dislodged from a cliff face, in some cliff ecosystems, can produce tremendous harm to local flora and fauna. Because it is a vital link in the food chain, and because there is generally so little of it and it is affected so greatly by air and water pollution and other factors, any further harm to lichen populations can mean the entire local biosphere begins to destabilize.
I don't see why people can't climb on walls in gyms, and enjoy these precious natural spaces in other ways. Perhaps it's just another expression of the human desire to dominate, which is what got this planet into the fragile position it's in in the first place.
~Gary
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