Opinions: Do you think social media has had a positive or negative impact on outdoor recreation in Colorado?

[speth]

In terms of contribution to the timing and magnitude of s**t-showiness:

14ers.com < 14ers Facebook Group <= Instagram

Also: Social media can make outdoor stuff look deceptively easy. I still wonder whether that really sad streak of deaths of inexperienced hikers a few summers back on Capitol Peak was linked to glamor promo photos on the Knife Edge, etc.

I'd put money that there's one website in particular that they all visited.

This podcast episode might give a hint - the photos in the show notes are a clue. The Sharp End Podcast - Episode 78 - Rescued off Kit Carson Peak

[BillMiddlebrook]

Also: Social media can make outdoor stuff look deceptively easy. I still wonder whether that really sad streak of deaths of inexperienced hikers a few summers back on Capitol Peak was linked to glamor promo photos on the Knife Edge, etc.

I agree. If people would spend more time reading actual route descriptions (books or online), studying maps, weather and detailed trip reports, we would likely have less incidents like the string on Capitol.

[d_baker]

Also: Social media can make outdoor stuff look deceptively easy. I still wonder whether that really sad streak of deaths of inexperienced hikers a few summers back on Capitol Peak was linked to glamor promo photos on the Knife Edge, etc.

I agree. If people would spend more time reading actual route descriptions (books or online), studying maps, weather and detailed trip reports, we would likely have less incidents like the string on Capitol.

While also being honest with themselves in regards to their experience on said peaks. Sometimes you don't know until you try, but a steady progression toward the more challenging peaks, be it a scramble or just route finding off-trail, is to me a safer way.

I don't doubt for a minute the negative effects social media has played on the downward spiral of humanity. January 6th, degradation of Ice Lake Basin and similar areas, writing on rocks, etc.
There's good in it, yes, and like others have said it's what you do with it.
I also think all of us that have contributed to this site has had some impact, but would like to think not as negatively as the rando's on the socials. I don't use social media, other than this forum.
But I'm guilty of some negative effects, I don't doubt. I mean, CaptCo doesn't really like me...go figure.

[speth]

Also: Social media can make outdoor stuff look deceptively easy. I still wonder whether that really sad streak of deaths of inexperienced hikers a few summers back on Capitol Peak was linked to glamor promo photos on the Knife Edge, etc.

I agree. If people would spend more time reading actual route descriptions (books or online), studying maps, weather and detailed trip reports, we would likely have less incidents like the string on Capitol.

I agree with this, and I think it's like leading a horse to water. The system in place now, where the information is readily available to basically anyone with an internet connection, is different than at any time in the history of outdoor recreation.

The old way of handling access, where you had to know someone who knows someone, or pay up to be a part of a system or group seems wildly outdated in 2022 - the internet is a game-changer in that regard. I don't have any evidence to back it up, but I would guess that with the proliferation of trip reports, hiking guides, easily accessible maps, etc - that the incidence of injury and fatality has gone down (even if the total number has gone up).

Hundreds of thousands of people are in Colorado's backcountry every year, and more year over year - we don't hear about people dying at some exponential rate.

[JROSKA]

As a few others have said, I see positives and negatives.

On the positive side is the pictures that can be shared. We all have our limits in terms of what we can (or want to) do in the mountains. For me personally I’ll never climb in the Himalaya’s but I enjoy being able to view pictures from those who do. Some 14er hikers may never climb Capitol or Little Bear but can enjoy pictures from those who do. Others may never climb a 14er but the ease of viewing pictures from others can bring the experience closer to home.

On the negative side is the tendency for so many people to post “what do you think …” because it’s just so easy to mindlessly do that on social media. I remember way back in 2009 / 10 when I had decided I wanted to try a 14er, and didn’t know which one to start with. I wasn’t even on the .com then. I had just joined FB but none of my friends knew anything about mountains. So I had to figure it out the old fashioned way. Research & pulling information together. I sort of knew what I wanted, minimal elevation gain, minimal chance of getting lost, and other people around. I chose Mt Democrat. I made the choice based on my criteria and my own research. I recall a lot of critical thinking, with no “what do you think …”.

Seems like on social media now it’s so easy for people to default to “hey I want to climb my first 14er, what does everyone think is a good choice”. Seems harmless, you’ll get solid insight and a majority opinion but it doesn’t develop any skill in terms of being able to make a decision. One thing I’ve learned in the mountains is you usually can’t rely on others to guide you in important decisions. Just yesterday at Maroon Peak I had to make a difficult turn-back decision because I was not feeling well. That’s not something that the masses or even my hiking partners could be involved in deciding. I had to make the call myself. Time is short. We can’t always sit there and evaluate various angles or scenarios. Often, weather decisions call for a quick “yes or no”. Once I had a hiking partner getting irrational over exposure, we hadn’t summited, no one else was on the mountain, and I had to make a quick decision to just head back down. Other times there are route finding decisions to make. In my case, no one could tell me whether I should use a guide for Capitol Peak or whether I could tolerate the risk of rockfall in the Hourglass of Little Bear. These were decisions I had to evaluate personally. At Capitol, after never having any issue whatsoever with exposure on any previous peak, when on the knife edge, it started getting into my head and no amount of “what do y’all think of exposure” could have helped me deal with that experience. I had to work through it, in the heat of the moment.

The point is, in those instances we won’t necessarily have the opinions of others to guide us. Often in a small group someone just needs to step up and make a decision instead of bouncing ideas around. I think social media, with its community orient, tends to lead people (including me) in a bad direction of always wanting to consult with others before making a decision. Again it seems harmless on the surface but it can lead to bad habits of relying too much on others & not being able to make decisions on our own. This is a very important skill. So even though social media does have its advantages, I think in terms of hiking / climbing 14ers in Colorado, the negatives probably outweigh the positives.

[seano]

I was just thinking of what the equivalent is in other states, for locals. Like California, which has its issues, but it has 14ers, mostly harder and more technical than CO, but it doesn't seem to be a populist thing there to check them off.

CA has its own “sacrifice zones”: Whitney, Yosemite, and the JMT. You can go for days without seeing another person in some parts of the Sierra, but those are unbearable.

WA has Rainier, Eldorado, and the Enchantments. WY has a dozen spots in Grand Teton (recently renamed Delta Lake National Park) and Yellowstone. Social media brings more people to fewer places, which really sucks for those places, but leaves most of nature unaffected. The effort to influence ratio is too high off the beaten path.

[seano]

I have mixed feelings about trip reports… Not sure if I'll ever post a TR again.

I believe social media makes anything and everything worse, but also write a lot of trip reports. I share your ambivalence, but will keep writing them. First, I do not want to be a gatekeeper. I remember posting on Mountain Project once about some ice I saw in the Crestones, getting a PM from some rando asking me to take it down, and thinking “I never want to be that jerk.” Second, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into this without the trip reports of Bob Burd and others, and continue to find some informative and inspiring. The least I can do is to pay that forward.

That said, I almost never post them here. The people who find them are either searching for some peak, or want to see what I have done and are willing to dig through the pile. Lots of my trips are boring or obscure, while some are extreme or even unwise. I think the effect on the world of my continuing to write trip reports is small and positive.

[gb]

Big shift in skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, and surfing from full day out in the field to doing stupid stuff for 6-second glory clip on IG or TikTok. If IG did not exist, would you still huck that rock?

Of course. We just called it "kodak courage" instead of "doing it for the 'gram".

[peter303]

If 14ers.com is social media, then a big positive.

[speth]

On the negative side is the tendency for so many people to post “what do you think …” because it’s just so easy to mindlessly do that on social media. I remember way back in 2009 / 10 when I had decided I wanted to try a 14er, and didn’t know which one to start with. I wasn’t even on the .com then. I had just joined FB but none of my friends knew anything about mountains. So I had to figure it out the old fashioned way. Research & pulling information together. I sort of knew what I wanted, minimal elevation gain, minimal chance of getting lost, and other people around. I chose Mt Democrat. I made the choice based on my criteria and my own research. I recall a lot of critical thinking, with no “what do you think …”.

I think this is absolutely true - big balancing act here. Critical decision making skills play a huge part in travel in the backcountry, I'd say more than several items that are listed as must-haves for Ten Essentials.

Too little information that people can reference, and they might be enticed to try something that they don't have any business doing (ignorance).

Too much information, and people might blindly follow a GPS track or pore over a route description, even when their eyes and brains should be telling them where, or not, to go (over-reliance).

[maff]

Regarding trip reports and the sharing of information, Gerry Roach said it best in the introduction to the 14ers book that I assume we've all read.

[ShadowAviator]

I would say I am conflicted on the issue.

Social media (websites like this one and a backcountry flying forum that I am on) have helped me to enjoy activities that I absolutely love, and to do so safely.

Social media (like Instagram) can also attract people to places and activities. Sometimes thats good, but I feel alot of people are just doing things for attention or to just "see something cool". I think alot of people lack appreciation for the backcountry. They just want a selfie with a mountain in the background.

Of course some of those might eventually grow to appreciate the outdoors, perhaps even on that first hike.

I feel like you need to break social media into different parts and look at the effect each part has. If someone gets into climbing mountains from here, then hopefully they will also pick up on the other valuable info like safety, leave no trace, etc. They aren't so likely to get that from Instagram and then googling "where is Capitol Peak".

Sometimes it just leads to more crowds, but it can lead to more accidents from people in over their heads.

Too many people ruins most outdoor adventures for me. I like solitude so thats my problem though, not theirs. It would be selfish for me to ask people to stay out of the mountains just for me. I think I would ask that they at least have the appreciation and respect for the mountains that they deserve.