Ultra Runner in Court for Cutting Switchback

[Ed_Groves]

https://wyofile.com/grand-teton-switchb ... dict-soon/

Michelino Sunseri's FKT on the Grand Teton was not recognized because he confessed he cut a switchback on the descent. His confession led to a ticket from National Park Rangers. The maximum penalty for his offense is a $5000 fine and 6 months in jail though the article does not mention a minimum. Prosecutors offered him a plea bargain of a misdemeanor conviction, a five-year ban from the national park, and a fine. He decided to fight this in court and he claims that he followed FKT rules in the additional link on his FKT rejection sited in the article.

Like many, I do not agree with cutting switchbacks for environmental reasons. However, this takes the issue into new territory. Thoughts?

[Scott P]

Good. FKTs and runners are fine as long as they don't cut switchbacks. It's common on Longs peak and other trails as well and its about time something was done about it.

[ekalina]

That's a harsh potential punishment, but a verdict hasn't been rendered yet. I suspect he will not get the maximum possible punishment.

I tend to agree with Scott though. We're living in a society where people think the rules don't apply to them, partly because they aren't typically enforced.

[Boggy B]

There's an illuminating discussion on this topic on MP starting about halfway through the first page of this thread: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/t ... -os-is-icy

Sounds like a real Lance Armstrong of a situation. (Yes it's cheating, everyone's cheating, the cheat has been tolerated in the past, he's the fall guy, etc.)

[cottonmountaineering]

this is good news, i wish the national park folks would hand out more tickets to people

[blazintoes]

Here are some better questions to ponder.

If Sunseri had disclosed beforehand that he intended to follow the social trail as part of FKT attempt, would that route have been accepted?

Is it a double standard that you can’t follow social trails on the Grand Teton FKT but you can on the RMNP LA Freeway FKT?

Is it favoritism when Erin Ton gets an FKT on the Public Lands only 14er FKT when she clearly violated the rules of trespassing?

How is doping controlled with FKT's?

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
I tend to agree with Scott though. We're living in a society where people think the rules don't apply to them, partly because they aren't typically enforced.

Agreed. There are a lot of shittily behaved people, and they should be held accountable when doing shitty things in our National Parks. This news, I suspect, will travel through the FKT community and perhaps we'll have a FEW less people cutting switchbacks like a$$holes.

[astranko]

There's an illuminating discussion on this topic on MP starting about halfway through the first page of this thread: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/t ... -os-is-icy

Sounds like a real Lance Armstrong of a situation. (Yes it's cheating, everyone's cheating, the cheat has been tolerated in the past, he's the fall guy, etc.)

One of my favorite peices of writing about this kind of thing was actually written in 1967 by Lito Tejada-Flores. Some of the touch points are a little dated, given that it's almost 70 years old, but it's overall thesis I think still holds true and can be cross-applied to different things like running or cycling.

https://web.mit.edu/lin/Public/climbing ... s_Play.txt

Tejada-Flores is talking about "climbing" but includes in it things that we would now consider mountaineering and alpinism. The ultimate point that he makes is that while most climbers play the games, there is an interplay between the way that elite athletes set standards for their events and more "normal" climbers reinforce those things as norms. This situation seems to be an example of where the norms and style for the event, as created by the elite group like Jornet, Kuenzie, Forsberg, etc. is at odds with what the Forest Service wants. Sunseri's social case amounts to, "I am abiding by the rules of the climbing game we're (all?) playing." Ultimately, I think that is true, if not necessarily sufficient. It is the case, however, to shift from an open track to closed track route is changing the game. The Forest Service has the right to do that, and likely should, but a public hanging of Sunseri probably isn't going to actually make that happen. It's worth remembering as well that the number of people doing honest speed attempts on these things is vanishingly small, to the point that I have listed most of them by name. They're not the ones creating social trails.

I think it's a little rich the way that people beat their chests here and hoot about resource damage when the majority of 14ers and centennials have huge social trail systems and shortcuts. Even the low altitude trails around Boulder, where I'm located, are a mess of braided and eroding paths. The games that WE play include using social trails as well.

I see this as a misguided attempt to "make an example" of Sunseri. There are easier and less socially wasteful ways to do this, like putting up a darn fence. As usual with these kinds of things, a local with less fanfare would probably not have received so much guff.

[seannunn]

I am curious as to how "trail like" the aforementioned social trail is.
Is it a well worn but narrow dirt trail?
Or is it a place where the vegetation is just smashed down a little bit.
Because there is a difference between contributing to the further destruction of vegetation on a mountain vs. taking the path less traveled.
Also, how steep is it? Is taking the social trail going to contribute to further erosion every time someone uses it? Or not?

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

[astranko]

I am curious as to how "trail like" the aforementioned social trail is.
Is it a well worn but narrow dirt trail?
Or is it a place where the vegetation is just smashed down a little bit.
Because there is a difference between contributing to the further destruction of vegetation on a mountain vs. taking the path less traveled.
Also, how steep is it? Is taking the social trail going to contribute to further erosion every time someone uses it? Or not?

Sean Nunn
Peculiar, MO

You can easily see it from Google Maps. It (unsurprisingly) seems a lot more established than actual "trails" I've been on.

The average angle is about 30deg.

401618.jpg

Screenshot 2025-05-23 at 13-20-44 CalTopo - Backcountry Mapping Evolved.png

[DaveLanders]

The average angle is about 30deg.

A plain dirt trail that steep will have a horrible erosion problem. Nobody would build an official trail that steep without doing a LOT of rock work. This is why the switchbacks exist in the first place.

I think a more appropriate punishment would be some community service hours working on a trail crew.

[Boggy B]

One of my favorite peices of writing about this kind of thing was actually written in 1967 by Lito Tejada-Flores. Some of the touch points are a little dated, given that it's almost 70 years old, but it's overall thesis I think still holds true and can be cross-applied to different things like running or cycling.

https://web.mit.edu/lin/Public/climbing ... s_Play.txt

Tejada-Flores is talking about "climbing" but includes in it things that we would now consider mountaineering and alpinism. The ultimate point that he makes is that while most climbers play the games, there is an interplay between the way that elite athletes set standards for their events and more "normal" climbers reinforce those things as norms. This situation seems to be an example of where the norms and style for the event, as created by the elite group like Jornet, Kuenzie, Forsberg, etc. is at odds with what the Forest Service wants. Sunseri's social case amounts to, "I am abiding by the rules of the climbing game we're (all?) playing." Ultimately, I think that is true, if not necessarily sufficient. It is the case, however, to shift from an open track to closed track route is changing the game. The Forest Service has the right to do that, and likely should, but a public hanging of Sunseri probably isn't going to actually make that happen. It's worth remembering as well that the number of people doing honest speed attempts on these things is vanishingly small, to the point that I have listed most of them by name. They're not the ones creating social trails.

I think it's a little rich the way that people beat their chests here and hoot about resource damage when the majority of 14ers and centennials have huge social trail systems and shortcuts. Even the low altitude trails around Boulder, where I'm located, are a mess of braided and eroding paths. The games that WE play include using social trails as well.

I see this as a misguided attempt to "make an example" of Sunseri. There are easier and less socially wasteful ways to do this, like putting up a darn fence. As usual with these kinds of things, a local with less fanfare would probably not have received so much guff.

Good read, thanks. And that's a great way to link together the two separate discussions this was bound to become.

Most of us would not hesitate to use climber's trails, game trails, or other social trails that are not formally designated or sanctioned by the presiding authority, especially when they are the logical means of getting to where we're going without trammeling new ground. On the other hand, when presented with the choice of two paths leading to the same point, one being longer and the other signed as closed, most of us would probably choose the one that's less apt to result in contact with the presiding authority. It's easy to justify whichever route you took after the fact, especially if it's the morally superior one, but as Sunseri implied he was willing to die for the FKT, he likely failed to consider the USFS opinion of his choice in the moment--signed or not--knowing others playing the same game have done the same thing.

Objectively, if the USFS wants that trail closed, has attempted to close it with due notice, and still finds the closure being violated, making an example is one way to go. A fence or other obstruction might have been as or more effective on that specific trail, but is less likely to be considered and applied in similar situations. The trail running community will sure take notice, as will the general hiking/mountaineering community to an extent (and who from the sound of it violate this particular closure on the regular).

I feel righteous indignation when I get a speeding ticket, but I still recognize eventually that I had it coming.