Check out this cool little vid on Nau's website about climbing champion trees in Washington's Olympics:

https://www.nau.com/homepage/index.jsp#/thecollective/ascending_the_giants&6

Cool video. I'm from WA and I've visited that big cedar before. It's a helluva tree, and a kick in the pants to climb, I bet.

Nicely done video. The desire to climb champion trees is exactly what old-growth researchers are worried about from rec climbers. I'm hoping that rec climbers will go out and find their own trees to climb rather than go after the known champs. If you subtract the "peak bagging" mentality (well known in mountaineering), the low impact climbing philosophy expressed in the video was a good message. There are so many interesting trees to climb without trying to get into a champ.
-moss

Moss, my thoughts exactly. That was the first thing that got my attention in the video: "You want to climb the champion trees." Rec climbers often avoid the champ trees as a sign of respect and care. To me also, this is what separates the true rec climber from the thrill seeking, extreme sport, me-first climber whose focus is on themselves. I like to think that with the true rec climber the focus is on the experience, the tree, the forest, and his/her relationship with them. Unfortunately, as the sport grows, these sorts of distinctions may become anachronistic. I put a few personal thoughts about what "recreational" tree climbing means on my website. http://www.treeclimbingcolorado.com/about.html#FAQ%27s

I should make it clear that although I think the video is cool, I'm not condoning bagging champion trees. They broke the "rules" to make the video, but it is a cool video. And they shouldn't do it again.

This raises an obvious issue. Many climbers want to see their pastime grow, yet they oppose the inevitable effects of that growth. Me, I'm perfectly happy keeping the pastime small and obscure. I've been to Joshua Tree when it's crawling with rock climbers. I'd just cry if I saw the same thing in the woods. I don't believe the pastime can grow without also diluting the prevalent climbing ethos. This is just what humans do. Trust me, I've worked with them.

rmbnxs wrote:
I should make it clear that although I think the video is cool, I'm not condoning bagging champion trees. They broke the "rules" to make the video, but it is a cool video. And they shouldn't do it again.

This raises an obvious issue. Many climbers want to see their pastime grow, yet they oppose the inevitable effects of that growth. Me, I'm perfectly happy keeping the pastime small and obscure. I've been to Joshua Tree when it's crawling with rock climbers. I'd just cry if I saw the same thing in the woods. I don't believe the pastime can grow without also diluting the prevalent climbing ethos. This is just what humans do. Trust me, I've worked with them.

I'm counting on the fact that rec tree climbing is an activity that requires skill development over time, at least 3 hours to complete an average climb and massive amounts of patience on the ground and in the tree. That immediately rules out a large chunk of the population. Because of these intrinsic qualities I believe tree climbing will never be "the next big thing". There is nothing sexy about from-the-ground tree climbing (as opposed to facilitated zipline activities) from a marketing point of view, I'm hoping this will save it from exploitation and too rapid growth. Slow growth is a good thing, we actually have a chance to cultivate an eco-centric ethical stance going forward.
-moss