Deer Creek Grand Canyon

This was posted by Rich Rudow recently in Canyons (Yahoogroups)

Re: Deer Creek Now Closed

The closure of Deer Creek feels like a stake in the heart. We've spent the last
three years trying to work with the NPS to keep it open. dNally removed bolts
that some people felt were offensive and others removed ropes left behind in the
180 final falls rappel on two occasions in the last few years. Deer Creek is
one of the finest slots on the entire Colorado Plateau. Closing Deer Creek is
akin to closing Heaps in Zion. Would you stand for a Heaps closure? Would you
get more involved in the community if you could impact these decisions?

Todd Martin and I spent our day yesterday removing 600' of rope left behind in
Garden Creek Canyon in Grand Canyon. We were joined by the Canyon District
Ranger. I descended Garden Creek with a group two months ago. Since then, not
only did 600' of rope get left behind, but there was red webbing on anchor two
where black webbing was already installed and there was 50' of neon orange
webbing near the exit. Black is the only legal webbing color in Grand Canyon.
No exceptions. Some NPS rangers recognize our efforts to self police and clean
up our own mess, while others see us see us making a mess of canyons that were
otherwise pristine, even if we do "fix it" after the fact. We have got to clean
up our act. I'm appealing to entire community to get involved and act
responsibly. The pivotal regulations governing slots in Grand Canyon are being
decided now. The resulting regulatory regime will last for the next 20 years.
Your actions now will determine if your kids ever get a chance to see the slots
in Grand Canyon. The current rules governing canyoneering in Grand Canyon can
be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/3tlfuy8

Finally, some canyons require advanced skills to do safely. Heaps, Deer Creek,
and Garden Creek are great examples. Heaps is very intense on the exit
sequence. Deer Creek is the same way with the added complexity of loud roaring
water. Garden Creek requires a mid wall transfer in a waterfall at the 400'
rappel if you choose to not carry 800' of rope. All of us need to consider if
we have the skills to do these canyons. Most importantly, do we have the skills
to get through the canyon without trashing the place (or requiring a rescue) if
something goes wrong? They're easy and great fun, until they're not. They can
turn on you in an instant.

What can you do? American Canyoneering was recently formed to address access
issues. The interim Board has put the organizational framework in place and the
organization is prepared to get involved with land managers to fight for our
access. We're prepared to fight enormously hard to reopen Deer Creek as part of
the Backcountry Management Plan process that is going on now. Become a member
and support the cause.
http://www.americancanyoneers.org/forum/index.php

Well said :2thumbs: