Waste Bag Programs Expanding
July 2007The AAC's Restop human-waste bag dispenser at Lumpy Ridge, Colorado.
The AAC-built human-waste bag dispenser installed at the old Twin Owls parking lot at Lumpy Ridge in Colorado is going through about 20 bags a week, according to the National Park Service. Now, the NPS has approved a second dispenser for Rocky Mountain National Park, to be installed at Chasm Lake, below the Diamond on Longs Peak, in August. Greg Sievers, leader of the AAC’s Central Rockies Section, commissioned the construction of two oak boxes for the bags, and the section donated the first two cases of Restop 2 human-waste bags for the pilot program. For more info, contact Greg Sievers.
The AAC is also working with Grand Teton National Park, hoping to provide carry-it-out waste bags at the Grand Teton Climbers’ Ranch and the Lupine Meadows trailhead, the primary access for the central Teton peaks. And this fall discussions will be held with Yosemite National Park.
The AAC has been a leader in human waste-removal efforts for climbers since 2001, when the club provided seed funding for Denali’s Clean Mountain Cans program. Climbers are now required to carry down their waste from Denali’s high camp. The AAC also was a key backer of the Friends of Indian Creek’s carry-it-out waste program.
UPDATE (August 2007): Click here for the latest on the AAC waste initiatives, including major funding for the Tetons waste program, expansion of the Rocky Mountain National Park program, and an AAC-sponsored international conference on human waste in wilderness, slated for November 2008.