Spraypainting Holy Cross Cairns Bright Yellow

[yardman]

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative was just alerted to the fact that someone recently spray painted navigational cairns on Mount of the Holy Cross bright yellow. This is outrageous and in total violation of federal law, Wilderness ethics and Leave No Trace practices.

In the early 2000s, people did get lost on the descent from Holy Cross due to a complex fall line. However, when CFI built that summit trail in 2011-12, navigational cairns and walls were erected to help people stay on the trail during the descent. There was no need then and there is no need now for cairns to be painted bright colors. Anyone who needs bright paint to navigate has no business being on the 14ers. Just stay home until you know how to climb them properly.

CFI will work with the Forest Service to remedy this situation, though that may take time given our busy existing work commitments for the season. If you happen to know who did this, please pass along information so that we can alert Forest Service law enforcement. Recall that an "artist" who began defacing rock formations in several national parks during 2014 was successfully prosecuted for doing comparable things to our public lands. This is illegal and we will do everything to ensure the person committing these offenses is likewise prosecuted.

[Been_Jammin]

really obnoxious post. chill out dude.

[two lunches]

it's not too late to delete your comment, been--

[cottonmountaineering]

as long as we're here, can CFI remove the longs peak bullseyes too?

[supranihilest]

really obnoxious post. chill out dude.

The irony.

yardman is the executive director of Colorado Fourteener Initiative, by the way, so it's no wonder he's pissed. The rest of us should be too, you included.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Holy cow, that is absolutely awful. Lloyd, I share your anger

[yaktoleft13]

Playing devil's advocate (not for yellow cairns, those are an abomination), but why is it allowed to paint blazes and messages all over the alps, but a few bullseyes on longs or a rock on the summit with the name is cataclysmic here? Alpinism is a young sport over here compared to europe, so why the disconnect? I don't particularly care one way or the other, just wondering why it matters here but is accepted there

[Dragonfolly]

I wonder how they chose to do this specifically for Holy Cross. Worries me they might try it on more peaks in the area.

If only there were existing man made structures that marked the route. If only...

[justiner]

Playing devil's advocate (not for yellow cairns, those are an abomination), but why is it allowed to paint blazes and messages all over the alps, but a few bullseyes on longs or a rock on the summit with the name is cataclysmic here? Alpinism is a young sport over here compared to europe, so why the disconnect? I don't particularly care one way or the other, just wondering why it matters here but is accepted there

Europe is civilized.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Well, now my mission is to find and educate this person.
I promise to show restraint.

[JerJerBinks]

I think educating the culprit is definitely the right idea. They obviously thought they were helping. Not saying that makes it ok, but let's have a little grace. Assuming this is on the standard route? I've only been there once and don't recall too many issues with route finding. I do recall giant cairns or corns as some people call them. Yellow corns obviously. It's fascinating how it's acceptable to stack rocks to ridiculous heights, cut trails, build steps, etc, but not ok to paint them.
I really hope it doesn't have anything to do with the 150/250 CMC climbs on 8/1

[Wentzl]

This is pretty funny as I noticed spray paint, not as obnoxious, on the SW Ridge to Sneffels. I thought, should I start a thread about spray painting marks on a less than obvious route? I decided, no, too mundane.

BUT then, on the descent today I discovered a new mausoleum!

So never mind paint, who do we feel about building shrines on routes?

This was a brand new 4' tall cairn with a spanking new ammo box stuffed with a packed of 40 printed photos of someones loved one, I suppose, in an envelope dated 7/27/26 showing the date they were printed along with 7 or 8 pens and 3 brand new notepads. Also a packet of energy gel, supposedly the loved ones favorite? This was located at the bottom of the alternate route to the standard way up from Scree Col. I flipped through the photos, did not bother to look for a memorial note, if any, signed the book and moved on.

I had come up the SW Ridge and met a group from Denver along the way. They asked about the descent and said, do we head for that gigantic cairn? Puzzled, as I had not seen that before, I told them no, that is on the alternate route that you will take, but if you descend via the V Notch, the standard route, you will not pass that enormous stack of rocks.

This feature was not there two weeks ago, neither was the spray paint I found along the ascent of the SW Ridge.

I had found ashes and I had found solid blocks of loved one's remains with engraved words tucked into nooks and crannies of various peaks, and even dead bodies (3). Never before such a structure.

What do we think?

I did not like the paint, I am on the fence about the shrine, but lean toward disapprove. I did not desecrate it, but I wonder how long it will exist.

Will obviously be disorienting for anyone who ascends the SW Ridge and plans to descend the Standard route as I witnessed today!