Ultra Runner in Court for Cutting Switchback

[Istoodupthere]

LAWLESSNESS
I can’t tell if people are being serious or not. It’s spring. Go outside and play

[Boggy B]

Finally we can get some legal precedent to launch some much needed regulation of our outdoor spaces. I want to see an educational course requirement to get your hillwalking license, a QR code liability waiver at every TH, and compulsory GPS trackers on every user. One step out of line, and it's right to jail and the electric chair. If there is no trail, close access until we can get a CFInterstate to the top to protect the mountain. If you have to bushwhack to get to a spring snow line and the approach dries out: season's over. These criminals need to be made an example of to learn we take LNT seriously, dammit.

+1000

[seannunn]

Or convert all the switchbacked trails in Colorado to like they have in New York mountains; No switchbacks, just straight up regardless of the terrain in their way. Can't really veer off from the trail because there's usually no other way unless an entirely different route so cutting switchbacks...is a non issue.

Is it really like that in NY? Doesn't that cause a lot of erosion?
Just curious.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[madmattd]

Or convert all the switchbacked trails in Colorado to like they have in New York mountains; No switchbacks, just straight up regardless of the terrain in their way. Can't really veer off from the trail because there's usually no other way unless an entirely different route so cutting switchbacks...is a non issue.

Is it really like that in NY? Doesn't that cause a lot of erosion?
Just curious.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

I can't speak personally to NY (despite being from that state), but in NH/ME the trails are infamous for this same lack of switchbacks. And yes, erosion is a massive issue as a result. Last I was there (closing in on a decade now), when rebuilding trails in NH washed out (such as by Hurricane Sandy), the AMC was frequently adding switchbacks in part to ease erosion issues.

[justiner]

It's more like that as the substrate allows that. Have you noticed in CO our topsoil is very thin and then turns into rocks of assorted sizes? Also many steep trails are older and have had more time to be turned into rock steps.

[nyker]

Or convert all the switchbacked trails in Colorado to like they have in New York mountains; No switchbacks, just straight up regardless of the terrain in their way. Can't really veer off from the trail because there's usually no other way unless an entirely different route so cutting switchbacks...is a non issue.

Is it really like that in NY? Doesn't that cause a lot of erosion?
Just curious.

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

Yes I think every major named peak. I don't know if I can think of one that incorporates many switchbacks (sure there are bends and sharp turns that "switch back" but not repeated switchbacks as defined to aid in elevation gain like those in say, Angels Landing or Whitney Main Trail in extreme cases), and in some cases yes, though most of the routes in the steeper sections either are on slabs/rock or follow a ravine up where water is usually running (basically following a stream). So I don't think there is a class 1 equivalent trail in Adirondacks I can think of, most even the easiest 46er has sections of "easy class 3" that reminds me of North Eolus, or Half Dome smooth rock on easier parts, or much steeper hell-like boulders that seem to never end.

Due to the rock/granite/slabs, there are less areas where erosion will happen that hasn't happened (i.e. has already happened wiping out all the soil), but where someone cuts the route in favor of a shortcut, then that could erode away over time pretty quickly. Trail maintenance is sorely needed on many peaks. Some have had improvements such as rock/boulder steps installed or log ladders on very steep parts or boardwalks (usually over very perennially muddy sections), which help erosion. Also most if not all routes you'll need to contend with exposed tree roots which create another unique hiking experience vs trails in Colorado, Sierra, etc. Remember a third of the well known mountains have no marked trail above certain points so many cases social trails have eventually defined the "best routes" over time. These have become better over time but 15-20yrs ago those 46ers with unmarked routes were a nightmare and in many cases resulted in people climbing wrong mountains and sometimes never knowing it (especially after summit registers were removed (LNT). Some of the worst erosion if you can call it that is by nature itself, in the form of great landslides where entire sections of the mountain is wiped clean, typically after a heavy rain session/hurricane, creating 1. a clean granite highway, known locally as a "slide" and 2. a huge amount of debris at the bottom, which consists of basically an entire forest, trees, shrubs, soil and all.

In the east, "routes" to use the term loosely in most cases, were crafted following streams or game trails or were simply the shortest line between two points; in contrast to many trails in the west which often were made to allow pack animals to carry supplies over passes and mountains to access mining areas or settlement regions and were by design made using switchbacks allowing animals to carry loads, i.e. the "mule way" in the words of John Muir.

[Ed_Groves]

Or convert all the switchbacked trails in Colorado to like they have in New York mountains; No switchbacks, just straight up regardless of the terrain in their way.

I noticed that about the northeastern peaks. Since I don't live there I have only done a few in the Adirondacks, the White Mountains, and in Maine, but on all of them there have been little to no switchbacks. Thankfully, the elevation is lower because they would be a real PITA if they weren't. Due to the erosion, the trails are littered with boulders that can often be waist high or higher in some places.

[Jim Davies]

Barr Trail and the Manitou Incline are an interesting example. The Incline draws a lot of athletes and goal-seekers and also many, many inexperienced first-timers who aren't well schooled in trail-use ethics. The result is a lot of switchback-cutting on the Incline return trail and Barr, despite the presence of fences in many places. The ultimate "switchback cut" is going back down the Incline, which is discouraged but allowed, and universally used by the regulars (there are about a dozen people who have now done it 500 times in a year). However, the bigger problem is on Barr Trail - the fences regularly get broken by people climbing over them or cutting under, and a trail maintenance group we're involved with has spent a lot of time over the years repairing them. For a while, there were Army groups using the Incline for training and returning via Barr Trail, and being competitive 20-something guys mostly, they'd cut switchbacks on the way down all the time. Contacting their superior officers helped put an end to that, but there's still the random first-timers and such.

I think there's a neverending need for education on responsible trail use; every kid wants to take shortcuts, and it's up to the adults to teach them why they shouldn't (and it does require that they care about things beyond themselves). In a way, the FKT controversy reflects this, since the guy cut the switchback explicitly to advance his own interests, including financial. I think a fine and short ban would be a good object lesson. I'm surprised he took it to court, since I'd think he could have countered with a shorter ban and smaller fine plus maybe doing trail work, etc. Maybe he did and the park rangers refused because they wanted to call people's attention to it. I think it worked, if that's what they did.

[Jim Davies]

There's a followup article; the trial is over and awaiting the judge's decison. Apparently he did offer to take community service but the prosecutor refused. Also, he cut other switchbacks further up and "a trail crew [] reported seeing the athlete knocking rocks down in their general area. The park service considered issuing a further violation for creating a hazardous situation there". His status as a professional athlete influenced their decision to charge him.

https://wyofile.com/grand-teton-trial-r ... harge-him/

[climbingcue]

FKT athletes that are professional or sponsored by thanks mom and dad mountaineering (trust fund kids) should have to beat the time of real working people by 10 percent for their record to count. All they have is time to train, nothing else to stop that pursuit. Therefore if they want to show how much better and faster they are then the rest of us with jobs that contribute to society and not being professional sponges. Do an even longer route and at the bare minimum do the full route. Also all FKT records on busy trails should be banned on weekends and all holidays. They don’t have real jobs they can just attempt it on a random Tuesday or Wednesday. Throw the book at him and make him an example of everything that is wrong with his tactics.

[justiner]

Things get ugly in these threads. Bummer to see.

[Monte Meals]

^ "Things get ugly in these threads. Bummer to see."

Some of the elite mountaineers ( like Justiner ) are our role models

Others ... not so much