ACTION ALERT
Darrington Road Closure, Washington
Right now, the road serving the nearly fifty-year old climbing area known as Darrington is closed by a concrete barrier. The road suffered severe washouts this past winter, and Forest Service work crews repaired the damage but the maintenance supervisor declared the repair "unsafe" and ordered the road closed. Climbers can still walk or bike up the road, but the trailhead for the most popular crag in the area is about five miles beyond the closure and the trailhead for Dreamer, the most famous climb in the area, is two miles beyond that. To read more about this at the Washington Climbers Coalition website please visit:
http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/Current/Darrroad.htm
To read more about climbing at Darrington: http://www.seanet.com/~mattp/Darr
The issues are purely monetary, and a matter of priorities. The District Ranger confirms there were no other management concerns and reports that he is aware of no environmental, safety, or police concerns ever associated with rock climbing in the Clear Creek drainage.
The Forest Service has not fully evaluated the situation, but we are told they believe the damaged area requires substantial work with heavy equipment and that the repair will be expensive. Roadway budgets for the next two years are severely strained, they tell us, and the Clear Creek road is not high enough on their list of priorities to justify spending that money on this repair. They have not made any formal decision.
Climbers were not consulted prior to the decision to close this road. In fact nobody was. The is no comment process or public consultation in this kind of management decision, but Forest Service staff members tell us that other user groups voice their interests and some have gotten their legislators involved or undertaken other organizational efforts in order to bump specific roads higher up on the list of priorities. We fear that if the road beyond the current closure is left completely unmaintained for two years, what are now minor problems will become major ones and there will be increased likelihood that they will decide to let the road go entirely. If you care about access to this historic climbing area known as Darrington, it is time to get involved.
The closure of a fifty-year old climbing area should not be taken lightly. We hope climbers will write or call to ask how we may help Forest Service officials obtain the funding they need in order to maintain access to the spectacular recreational resources in this area. We also hope climbers will voice their opposition to the closure of the Clear Creek Road.
Please take a moment to write or call. Mention in your letter that you believe the road serving the major climbing crags in the Darrington area, the Clear Creek Road, should be kept open. The road serves the climbing area and a hiking trail. Please emphasize that the Forest Service should place a higher priority on maintaining recreational access and providing more money for maintenance.
John Vanderheyden, Acting District Ranger
Darrington Ranger Station
1405 Emens St.
Darrington, WA 98241
(360) 436-1155
US Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA 1st)
House Forests and Forest Health Committee
403 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4701
Phone: (202) 225-6311
US Representative Rick Larsen (D-WA 2nd)
(Darrington is in WA’s 2nd Congressional District)
107 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4702
Phone: (202) 225-2605
US Representative Norman D. Dicks (D-WA 6th)
US House Appropriations Committee – Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (ranking minority member)
2467 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5916