Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

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pmeadco
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Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by pmeadco »

The Aspen Times posted this article: Forest Service will implement camping limits at Conundrum before expanding in Aspen-area wilderness
I suppose restricting access was inevitable. People have been grumbling for years about how overrun Conundrum Hot Springs has gotten. I know I've done some Four-Pass Loop trips where I was disgusted by what I came across (trash, human waste and TP strewn around right next to camping spots). As Colorado gets more popular and crowded I suppose we should expect more of this kind of thing.
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Bombay2Boulder
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by Bombay2Boulder »

I am curious to see the results and how well it is implemented. I do feel like having a permit system will deter some crowds from visiting the spots mentioned in the article.
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AnnaG22
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by AnnaG22 »

About damn time. I hope it helps.
"The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need – if only we had the eyes to see." -Ed Abbey

"I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it's not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I'm out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark—I'm on fire almost—I'm burning away into nothing—but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." from The Things They Carried
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SoCool
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by SoCool »

Agreed this was inevitable, like any very popular area in the mountains.

But I would like to point out that over the course of six different trips there, I have seen very few people breaking rules, very little trash, and no extreme impact to the land.

Furthermore, only rarely did they find any nasty bacterial-type stuff, and only in very tiny amounts only within the hot spring itself which is often crammed full of human bodies. People sometimes make dramatic and exaggerated negative statements about the level of "pollution."
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RyGuy
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by RyGuy »

It's very sad that this has come to pass, but hopefully it will help curtail the ever increasing trash problem and just plain overuse.

When I was at Snowmass Lake last memorial day, it was appalling how much TP/Poop was just sitting behind what seemed like every bush on the east and south sides of the lake. Tons of wrappers, bottle caps, and other junk were just everywhere. Little fire rings scattered about, etc. It was very evident that the place is being loved to death and something needed to be done, as much as the idea of permits saddens me. Not to open a bigger can of worms, but I also can see this quickly happening in the Chicago Basin, Willow Lake, and South Colony Lakes in the next couple years. They have the same problems, and if this solution works...it will be applied to those areas as well.

-Ryan
"Climbing mountains is the only thing I know that combines the best of the physical, spiritual, and emotional world all rolled into one." -Steve Gladbach
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by Trotter »

RyGuy wrote:It's very sad that this has come to pass, but hopefully it will help curtail the ever increasing trash problem and just plain overuse.

When I was at Snowmass Lake last memorial day, it was appalling how much TP/Poop was just sitting behind what seemed like every bush on the east and south sides of the lake. Tons of wrappers, bottle caps, and other junk were just everywhere. Little fire rings scattered about, etc. It was very evident that the place is being loved to death and something needed to be done, as much as the idea of permits saddens me. Not to open a bigger can of worms, but I also can see this quickly happening in the Chicago Basin, Willow Lake, and South Colony Lakes in the next couple years. They have the same problems, and if this solution works...it will be applied to those areas as well.

-Ryan
yep. snowmass lake, I was disgusted at how many people apparently poop 3 feet from the lake.
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -Nelson Mandela
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called Ego. -Nietzsche
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by jmanner »

A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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Re: Permits for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness

Post by AnnaG22 »

Good link, John. Sadly, the accompanying photo of the hot springs isn't even representative of the hot springs being crowded. :wft:
"The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need – if only we had the eyes to see." -Ed Abbey

"I get scared sometimes—lots of times—but it's not bad. You know? I feel close to myself. When I'm out there at night, I feel close to my own body, I can feel my blood moving, my skin and my fingernails, everything, it's like I'm full of electricity and I'm glowing in the dark—I'm on fire almost—I'm burning away into nothing—but it doesn't matter because I know exactly who I am." from The Things They Carried
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