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Show THE ZEPHYR/JUNEJULY again, just to be sure he got all the camera angles he needed. Salt Lake media received news of the climb from the Patagonia outdoor clothing store in Salt Lake City, and advised them that HighDef video of the dramatic first ascent was available. She also provided the climber’s contact information for interviews. And the media, always looking for good “visuals,” came running. The climb was featured on Salt Lake television stations and made page one of the Salt Lake Tribune. The climb should also have been illegal. It was illegal for decades, but when the NPS took the teeth out of its own climbing regulations in 1988, this kind of stunt was bound to occur. Three years ago, then-NPS SE Group Superintendent Jerry Banta called the Arches policy the “weakest” he had ever seen. But the climber read the regs closer than the rangers—the wording only said that named arches “may be closed” by the superintendent. So a bureaucratic misstep allowed the climb to occur. Reaction to the ascent has been mixed. FOX13 News interviewed a sales person at a Moab climbing shop who had nothing but praise for the man and his achievement and suggested, “He deserves our respect.” However, Arches Superintendent Laura Joss was not impressed and told the Tribune, "I'm very sorry to see someone do this to Utah's most visible icon.” The next day she strengthened Arches’ climbing policy and banned climbing on all named arches. No “may be” this time. The climber was also interviewed by FOX13. He talked about “cherishing the moment” and being “close to Nature,” and that he viewed the arch “with great reverence.” His name is Dean Potter and he is known among his peers as a world class climber. I Googled Mr. Potter and found his footprints all over the web. He is best known for the speed with which he scales rock walls. His speed climb up a particularly difficult route on El Capitan in Yosemite is 2006 climber who will actually condemn this stunt and use his real name. And I'll give another 500 words to one of Potter’s allies who wants to tell me why it “deserves our respect.”. T look forward to hearing from you. IN THIS ISSUE OF — THE ZEPHYR AND A POSTSCRIPT FOR ENVIROS... Do any of you dare speak up? Is this still the kind of nonmotorized recreation that you think represents a huge wilderness advocacy group or is it finally sinking in that these kinds of exploits have nothing to do with wildland ‘protection? In response to a heretical notion (I suggested a short press release f i tal groups, condemning that kind of outdoor behavior) one leader replied in part: “He was an asshole to climb Delicate Arch and I would have VOLUME 18 NUMBER 2 JUNE/JULY 2006 5...POINTBLANK: “Small Victories" By Robyn Slayton-Martin ",..1 would have arrested him happily if | was a ranger... But, if you got there five minutes after his desecration, there would have been no visible trace." 7...1HE BULLETIN BOARD of DOOM! HUMMER sales are UP! HAPPINESS in Britain is DOWN Where's Louisiana? Don't ask the kids. CHIMPS counter-attack! Board member of Utah environmental group arrested him happily if1 was a anger = But, if you got there five minutes after his desecration, there would have been no visible trace. So, should the enviros, who really are just a few 8...LOSING SOLITUDE ...By Martin "Sure...why not?" people, prioritize going after him instead of dealing with the largest oil and gas lease sale in Utah history, or the fact that Norton's parting gift was to declare that all the county road claims everywhere are valid, or Bennett's proposal, or Hatch's seprate one, to sell off large blocks of public land to provide funding for water pipelines and roads and utility corridors?” Murie No, I replied. I didn’t suggest they abandon any of that. I proposed “a three sentence press release.” It still bewilders me. BR 9 LimBING vo : ..AMERICAN INDIAN STEREOTYPES A Rebuttal to comments in last issue's FEEDBACK By Karen Hastings AMGASSA a 15... NEW FESTIVALS FOR SE UTAH!!!! The Cloudrock Festival of The BITING MIDGES!!! Not much time for spiritual Dean? Potter is also a paid “climbing ambassador” for the outdoor clothing company Patagonia, who, we now know, leaked their representative's feat in the first place. However, as his climb draws unwanted publicity, Patagonia seems to be distancing itself from Potter's dubious accomplishment. For myself, I have to wonder...is there anything off-limits to aclimber like Dean Potter? To paraphrase the great David Brower, who was also a world class climber, would Dean feel the need to scale the Sistine Chapel to pay tribute to the Ceiling? When they finally build the Freedom Tower in New York, will he be compelled to scale its 1776 feet in order to honor the 3000 who died on September 11? Should he climb the Washington Monument to pay homage to the Father of our Country? Is there anything so tasteless and inappropriate that it might give a stunt climber second thoughts? Is there anything off limits to a climber like Dean Potter?...When they finally build the Freedom Tower in New York, will he be compelled to scale its 1776 feet in order to honor the 3000 who died on September II? Increasingly, this is what a wilderness experience has become. It’s not about solitude and quiet and peace. Solitude is actually a legal component of wilderness as it was written into law by Congress in 1964. The problem with “solitude” is that it’s not an easily marketed commodity. Potter’s stunt is not an isolated incident and reflects a growing recreational culture that lives for speed, not serenity. In 2006, these kinds of experiences have little or nothing to do with the beauty of the land or any spiritual connection with it. This was just another adrenalin ride in an outdoor jungle gym, taped in ' HighDef, perhaps to sell some more outdoor gear, and for self-glorification at a later date, just to make sure the ego ride never ends. A POSTSCRIPT FOR CLIMBERS... And what about the rest of you climbers? Is there any outrage out there over this incident? I'd love to hear from you. I’ll give 500 words on the POINTBLANK page to the ABOUT GNATS I believe this is the first time I’ve featured an insect on the Zephyr cover. It may be a sign of desperation (“NOW what am I going to write about?’) or maybe it’s just a fear, aggravated over the last 25 years, of the little biting bastards themselves. Whether you call them biting midges, or gnats or no seeums or something unprintable, they are a force to be dealt with in the canyon country in the early summer. I'll never forget the first time I encountered gnats, at the Devils Garden campground, where I watched dozens of unsuspecting tourists practically go mad from the itch. The gnats loved to crawl inside the hairline and do their thing. It was an ugly sight to witness. ButI must admit, I heard a hilarious story, which may be nothing more than that, but it makes the gnats a bit more bearable. It’s the tale of a well-known developer, 16...13 YEARS AGO in the ZEPHYR An Excerpt from “New West Blues" Ken Davey's "Facts & Opinions" Willie Flocko's Country Kitchen 18...FROM the CRAWLSPACE of HISTORY "it's all about the JUICE." By Ned Mudd who discovered that Johnson’s Up on Top was a haven for biting midges, and that, in a panic, he wondered if the mesa could be fogged with insecticide, before would-be rich weasel clients showed up. One thing’s for sure, I wouldn’t try to sell high end lots in May and June, ol’ buddy. That's the kind of sale that could come back and bite you on the ass, and everywhere else to boot. FINALLY...A BOOK After 17 years, I’ve finally written something longer than 3000 words and hopefully something that won’t fit into your bird cage. But I did it a page at a time and some of it will sound familiar to regular and longtime Zephyrreaders. For the last two years, particularly, I’ve used you unsuspecting readers as guinea pigs of a sort...trying out some themes and ideas that will now appear in: : BRAVE NEW WEST: When Green meets Greed in Moab Utah 21... HERB RINGER'S...American West Slow Summer Sundays circa 1940s It’s a theme qos grown accustomed to hearing from me but I’ve finally assembled my version of the last 25 years in Moab, from the Uranium Capital of the World, to the Mountain Bike Capital of the World, to...whatever the hell it’s become today, in one 250 page rant. eel, and 24 minutes. connections and cherishing the moments on that ascent, eh - : It will be published by the University of Arizona Press, but you won’t see it until early next year. I’ve discovered that the process of a producing a book is nothing like cranking out a newspaper. 27... THE ZEPHYR BACKBONE And I’m hoping that a painting by the Great Artist John — Depuy will grace the cover. Whether anyone will buy the damn thing, and whether, once you've read it, you'll still want to jam it into the bird cage, remains to be seen. : 22.. -PHILIP HYDE: 1921-2006 Hyde's stunning image of Cathedral in the Desert i) hours =] chronicled in an OUTSIDE magazine story. He did it in 3 — 29... FEEDBACK: |