Niagara Glen Climbers – Carry Your Permits
Police officers have been asking to see boulderers’ permits at Niagara Glen more this year than in the past.
The Ontario Access Coalition has reported a rise in permit enforcing at Ontario’s Niagara Glen this summer. Climbers have been expressing frustration over the situation because they are the only park users who require a permit.
In 2013, the Niagara Parks Commission put out a press release that said:
“Working in concert with the Ontario Access Coalition (OAC), a user group established to promote bouldering as a recreational pursuit this is exactly what has taken place. Over the past two years, The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) and the OAC have worked together to develop proper bouldering management guidelines, which promotes mutual respect between all park visitors and the natural environment.
“As part of this progress, a permitting process has been developed for bouldering. For an annual fee of $20.00, climbers are permitted to boulder in the Niagara Glen on approved boulders, in designated areas. The fee from each permit is then used to help maintain and conserve the Niagara Glen and adjacent natural areas for future generations.”
On Aug. 8, 2015, Garrett Hutson wrote a lengthy article on the OAC website, of which some read, “The argument against having a permit only for boulderers makes sense and the OAC appreciates why this is frustrating for many within the climbing community. However, the Glen is a unique climbing resource and the OAC continues to support the use of bouldering permits.”
Hutson goes on to list three good reasons why climbers must pay for permits. Visit here for the full article.
On the Niagara Parks website is a list of rules and a map to the bouldering at Niagara Glen. Visit here for more of that information.
In Canada, there are some climbing areas closed to access, some with limited access, some with permit access and some with full access.
As more climbers take to the stone, it is important to maintain good relations with land owners. In some cases this includes private land owners and in other cases national or provincial parks.
Access groups such as the OAC are invaluable parts of our climbing community. For more on the OAC, visit here.
An afternoon bouldering in Niagara Glen from Daniel Barrios-O’Neill on Vimeo.
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