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Backcountry
Impact Series:
Climbing

THE MOUNTAINEERS
 WHEN YOU HEAR
CONSERVATION, WHAT
DO YOU THINK? (1 minute)
 LEAVE NO TRACE

7 Principles
 Plan Ahead and Prepare
 Travel and Camp on Durable
Surfaces
 Dispose of Waste Properly
 Leave What You Find
 Minimize Campfire Impacts
 Respect Wildlife
 Be Considerate of Other
Visitors
4 LOW-IMPACT SKILLS FOR CLIMBING IN
WASHINGTON

Traveling in Different
Environments
Human Waste
Wildlife
The Human Experience
DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS ONE MIGHT
CLIMB IN HERE IN WASHINGTON
Alpine
SubAlpine
Rock
And how to travel in
Wet
them…
Semi-Desert
Crags
Wilderness
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ALPINE ENVIRONMENTS
 ALPINE COMMUNITIES (SUBALPINE)
Some alpine heather communities on Mt. Rainier have
been carbon dated to 10,000 years old.
 ALPINE FELL FIELD

A community of widely scattered dwarfed vegetation

that grows in the barren land above the timberline.
 DON’T BUST THE CRUST

Important for the ecosystem! It

holds desert sands together, Cryptobiotic soil is a mixture of
absorbs moisture, produces
nutrients, provides seedbeds for cyanobacteria, mosses lichen,
other plants to grow… fungi and algae.
 TRAVEL

“Durable Surfaces”
are areas that are
hardly affected by
the passage of
humans.
Includes established
trails, sand, gravel,
snow, dry grasses
and more.
 TREAD LIGHTLY

Thick snow Patchy snow

PARADISE, MT. RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
 TRAIL BRAIDING AND SOCIAL TRAILS CAN LEAD TO:
SOIL LOSS, SOIL COMPACTION, EROSION, TRAIL
WIDENING, VEGETATION TRAMPLING

Social Trails
Trail Braiding

Social Trails

Photo credit: NPS/Lucy Lieberman

Yay for
Switch
Backs!
 BEST PRACTICES (2 MINUTES)

In pristine areas… On established trails…

 URINE

Minimize interaction with wildlife Consider the social impacts of urine

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WHEN NATURE CALLS…

Avoid polluting
water source
Eliminate contact
with animals and
insects
Maximize
decomposition
Minimize the
chances of social
impacts
+ WHEN NATURE CALLS…
Pack it in, Pack it out.
WHEN NATURE CALLS…
PACK IT IN, PACK IT OUT.
FOOD
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“FED IS DEAD”
CASCADE FOX

Photo credit: Lee Rentz Photography

TIP: REPACKAGE YOUR FOOD
TIP: SECURE YOUR FOOD

Grubpack
 THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Charred rocks
Destroy organic matter
and sterilize the soil
up to 4 inches deep
Damage to trees
No downed wood
GET CREATIVE!
+ REMEMBER THE SCOUT MAXIM, “LEAVE IT
BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT”
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LEARN MORE/NEXT STEPS

• Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor

Ethics
• www.lnt.org

• Stewardship Opportunities:
• https://www.mountaineers.org/explore/
acti
vities#b_start=0&c4=Stewardship
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RESOURCES
http://www.mountaineers.org/
CONSERVE Click icon to add picture

Conservation Currents
http://www.mountaineers.org/source/
amembers/subscription.cfm
Click icon to add picture