So…my topic has shifted in a…somewhat substantial way. I am no longer focused on the evolution of risk, but on the access to this risk. That is, I’d like to examine the complications of access on many scales, from Mt. Everest to the Gallatin Valley. I’ll do so by calling on examples from each scale, with the permitting process and Tibet/China border issues taking center stage in the high altitude range. Locally, I will chronicle the history of Croc’s Rocks; a local bouldering area what was closed to the public nearly two decades ago. During this time there have been a number of efforts to re-establish climbing, hiking, and walking access, but to no avail. This is, fortunately, an extreme case, but I feel as though it calls into light challenges shared around the globe and on many levels. I’ll rely on a mixture of mountaineering literature and journals, along with historical documents and reports, to assess the state of things up high. The local climbing community has provided a wealth of first hand information, while magazine articles and publications from groups like The Access Fund will help fill in the bigger picture of access challenges closer to home.

(Abbreviated) List of Sources:

Click to access HimalayaByNbrs.pdf

http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i8782.html
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669580108667413#.VxaLyHrd18E
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/61/2/213.short

Seven Summits – Dick Bass, Frank Wells, Rick Ridgeway
Into Thin Air; Eiger Dreams – John Krakauer
Mountain of Storms; The American Expeditions to Dhaulagiri – Andrew Harvard, Todd Thompson
Thin Ice: Unlocking the Secrets of Climate in the World’s Highest Mountains – Mark Bowen

Bozeman Rock:1st – 3rd Editions – Bill Dockins & Co.

Rock Climbs of Southwest Montana – Kyle Vassilopoulis

Southwest Montana Climber’s Coalition
Gallatin Valley Land Trust
The Access Fund

Bill Dockins
Tom Kalakay
Pat Dyess

Charles Bolte

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/mount-everest-to-be-declared-off-limits-to-inexperienced-climbers

https://rootsrated.com/stories/outdoors-etiquette-in-boulder-6-helpful-tips-from-locals

Introduction to a source:

To say that Bill Dockins is a fixture in the Bozeman climbing community would be a rank understatement. Bill has been climbing around Southwest Montana since his days as an MSU student in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. He was instrumental in pushing the boundaries of difficulty on technical rock, setting the benchmark with area routes like The Fugitive (5.12) and Straw Man (5.13a) in the Gallatin Canyon, Tough Trip Through Paradise (5.11+) in Hyalite Canyon, and innumerable other first ascents around Helena and Missoula. This quest for new rock led Bill to new country, often a combination of public and private land. Bill’s long history here has given him the pleasure of participating in successful access agreements when the issue of land use has arisen, but also lead to pain as access to local areas has been lost. Croc’s rocks is a small cluster of granite boulders along the West Gallatin river that exemplifies this unfortunate process. After years of constructive interaction with the climbing community, the land owners decided to close all public access following overuse and abuse of the area. This is a striking local example of how quickly access policies can chan