Climbers and hikers may soon have to pay to play at beautiful but heavily used South Colony Basin in the heart of Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Four Fourteeners--Crestone Needle, Crestone Peak, Kit Carson Peak, and Humboldt Peak--tower above the Basin in the Sangre De Cristo Wilderness Area. Last week the U.S. Forest Service revealed a plan to charge backcountry users to hike/climb and camp at the Basin, one of Colorado's gorgeous but also most used and abused mountain areas. Hikers would be charged $10 per person and $20 to camp overnight. The fees would be charged from mid-May to mid-October.
Fees and permits to hike, climb, and camp are nothing new at many popular peaks in California, Oregon, and Washington, where climbers make reservations or bid for a permit months in advance, pay a fee to climb and hike, and must abide by strict regulations regarding where and how long they can camp. This proposal, however, is the first pay-to-play plan for Colorado's popular 54 Fourteeners or 14,000-foot peaks.
The proposal, however, is receiving lots of flack from hikers and climbers who are angry that they might have to pay a recreation fee. A glance at Forum responses at 14ers.com reveals lots of ranting about illegal taxation, government intrusion, and the thought that this is only the first step toward a fee system for climbing all of Colorado's Fourteeners.
The Forest Service, on the other hand, lays out the reasons why they are taking this radical step. The Basin, they rightly say, is being loved to death. Too many hikers and climbers and too little regulation. As many as 4,500 people visit the Basin annually, most during the short window of good weather in summer and early fall. Dozens of campsites scatter across the scenic cirque, trampling the ground and disturbing alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems. Lastly, and this is the biggie, there are all those visitors and no toilets.
It's not hard to imagine South Colony Lakes during the height of the summer climbing season with toilet tissue flowers sprouting from bushes and protruding from boulder edges. In a statement, San Isabel National Forest says South Colony Basin "presents ... many challenges not found in other backcountry locations, such as maintaining costly summit trails, restoring degraded alpine ecosystems, supporting search and rescue operations and dealing with human waste."
The Forest Service needs more revenue streams to make up for budget cuts and federal money going toward two wars, health care, and deficit reduction. Times are lean in the recession and recreation funding is toward the bottom of the list of who gets the dollars. Despite what will be public outcry, this seems like an easy way for the Forest Service to raise dollars. The key for many users, however, is what will be done with the money. Will it actually go toward area improvements like trail maintenance and self-composting toilets or will it just to into a general pot for whatever?
At first glance a user fee could be a good thing. People need to pay their way, yes, but is it the best way? Is this the only way to manage South Colony Basin and its Fourteeners from being loved to death? Would a permit system be better since it physically limits the number of visitors on a daily basis? Government tends to step in to manage us when we fail to manage ourselves, which has happened at South Colony Basin. And then there is the potential that the money we pay to play will not actually be used for its intended purpose at all.
Probably the best way to manage, mitigate, and lessen human impact on the fragile Basin is to close the rough access road just above the Wet Mountain Valley and make them hike in. That stout eight-mile uphill trek will quickly weed out the wanna-bes from the real deal. You want to play? You got to pay...with dust in your throat and an ache in your legs. At the end of the trek, however, is the real deal--soaring rocky peaks with classic scrambles and real rock climbs like The Ellingwood Arête, one of my favorite Colorado alpine routes.
Will the fees be instituted or not? This story has a long way to go. I'll be following it and updating you as it progresses. Meanwhile, if you want to make your voice heard, go to the comment form for San Isabel National Forest or write or call San Isabel National Forest, 2840 Kachina Drive, Pueblo CO 81008, (719) 553-1400.
Photograph above: The Ellingwood Arête, following the prominent prow on Crestone Needle, is one of the routes affected by the proposed Forest Service user fees in San Isabel National Forest. Photograph courtesy Dennis Jackson.
Comments
I’m sorry to say, that it might just be necessary to have ‘these” fees and others, for now!! I don’t like the idea of these fees – taxes “should” be enough, but aren’t -, but with the majority of CO 14′er Users being from Out of State (according to some stats), ALL Fed rec lands inheriting the previous Adm’ns Budget MESS and just too many people being out there; this could be needed in order to Maintain the trails/peaks, parking/sanitation,ect. – until the budget gets redistributed!!
SURE, the Good Old days of limitless Federal lands to play on at NO cost were great from the 1940’s on, but those days are GONE; ;less land, fewer trails, less maintainace , too many people who don’t know how to behave outdoors and More – IS the Reality of the present situation!!
I like the idea of closing that rough access road Stewart mentioned. Serious hikers and climbers who respect nature would still go. It’s alarming to think of local ecosystems being trampled on by crowds for whom that’s just one more stop on the trail of junk they leave behind.