| Page 1240 | National Parks Traveler

This is a friggin' disaster. Un-ruddy-believable. Now testimony is percolating up (ok, bad pun) about an argument between BP and the owner/operator of Deepwater Horizon about safely shutting down the well just the day before the accident. This is going to turn into a corporation or one of its highly-pressured subcontractors cutting corners on safety for the sake of profits.

Updated: Two Ice Climbers Die in Fall Into Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

May 26th - 18:12pm | KGB

These were 2 great guys doing what they loved. RIP fella's, you will be missed.

May 26th - 15:18pm | jim.hiker

Climbing has huge risks associated with it whether it is rock, mountain or ice climbing. It is very sad that the young men fell as they did and their families, friends, and others will miss them dearly.

May 26th - 14:58pm | Anonymous

ditto on rich and now's not the time to talk about taxes or who's paying what for what we all pay taxes too. two young men died for god's sake!!!

May 26th - 13:17pm | y_p_w

My understanding is that the rock is rather crumbly because of exposure to geothermal activity, which gives the rock that yellowish hue. Apparently the occasional steam vent opens up in the rock. It's not supposed to make for very good climbing conditions, and of course it's prohibited in lots of areas. I suppose ice climbing comes with certain risks.

May 26th - 12:32pm | MikeD

"[H]iking and climbing in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is prohibited... but not including, the Silver Cord Cascade drainage."

May 26th - 10:42am | Deb

My heart and prayers go out the the families and friends of these 2 young men. You concern me Rich that the first mention in your comment was the financial cost of their recovery. I won't repeat some of which has already been said above, but where is your human compassion. Enough said.

May 26th - 10:40am | y_p_w

Just as an aside, there are some extremely well-known and well-respected members of the ice-climbing community. Wasn't Yvon Chouinard extremely influential in the field of modern ice-climbing techniques and equipment?

May 26th - 09:10am | Anonymous

I knew one of these men. I would give my "tax dollars", and what net profit I have willingly, to their recovery or any other doing what they did, than indulging the sense of entitlement, laziness, and selfishness that has taken over the American attitude and behavior.

May 25th - 23:16pm | Anonymous

Weirdo who criticized the ice-climber rescue efforts. Extremely offensive, especially if you were acquainted with these men. How would their families react to that criticism? Yikes! IMO should re-think that out of respect to the fallen. Maybe post a tad later.

May 25th - 23:01pm | Some Dude

I'd bet we spend a whole lot more rescuing dumb lost fat dudes in our national parks then Ice climbers

May 25th - 21:08pm | Anonymous

They lived life and followed their dreams. It is all loss for everyone.

May 25th - 19:52pm | NateH

Great guys! The world is a darker place without them...they will be missed. They were two best friends doing what they loved. RIP

May 25th - 17:25pm | babbchuck

There are objective risks in ice climbing - no doubt. I've been doing it for 28 years now, and know a bit about the topic. I'm also on the Gallatin County SAR technical/heli rescue team. I estimate that for every climber we have to rescue there are at least 50 lost/injured/drowned hunters, horseback riders, 4-wheelers, fishermen or hikers. That's where the bulk of the SAR budget goes.

May 25th - 17:13pm | Anonymous

Yo Rich, why don't you encase yourself in a bubble forever and we won't have to get stuck with the cost of you living life to the fullest.

May 25th - 16:36pm | friend

Good men, they were the kind. My love to their families. We miss you boys.

May 25th - 16:30pm | Rich Deline

Ice climbing is an incredibly high risk sport and the cost to public for either recovering bodies or rescuing stranded climbers should be borne by the sport in some way. The same is true for many other types of climbing. Maybe there should be either a fee/tax added to the equipment or a specialty insurance required for these activities, rather than always trying to ban them.

May 25th - 15:49pm | Bozemanite

They were two wonderful Dudes! so full of life, funny, and great ice climbers... they just recently got back from a trip to AK climbing some gnarly lines.. thoughts and prayers go out to the families.. I will be drinking some beers tonight for my Bros Mark and Mike!!! you will be missed!!!

May 25th - 14:45pm | Kurt Repanshek

Yes on your first question, Mike. Not sure on your second, though the park did note that it was a "late season" climb. Truthfully, I didn't know they allowed ice climbing in the park. Something to follow up on.

May 25th - 14:32pm | MikeD

Kurt - Are these basically frozen waterfalls? Is it typical to climb these cascades in late May?

Reader Participation Day: Do You Send National Park Postcards?

May 26th - 14:16pm | murphy

I send postcards that I print myself. I take photos and make them into postcards of the NP. I've looked at many postcards and the pictures just don't look like what I've seen in the park so I make my own. You can't really tell the difference, at least thats what I'm told.

May 26th - 10:52am | y_p_w

The postmark can be important too. It adds to the effect. I remember sending postcards of Arches NP from Moab. I probably should have had them hand-cancelled if possible. When I saw some of them I sent to friends (and myself) I was a little bit shocked that they were postmarked with Provo, UT on them. The same thing went for postcards of Zion NP I sent from Springdale.

May 26th - 09:12am | Karhryn

Yes we still send postcards! I have mailing labels ready to print, now I need to buy postage before we leave on our West Coast trip! I'll blog about trip later, because I want to take full advantage of seeing the parks, so writing postcards at night keeps friends updated while we're on the road.

May 26th - 08:06am | Anonymous

My daughters send NP postcards to their friends. In this day of high tech I think it's great for kids to realize the fun of actually going to the mailbox and finding a letter from someone.

May 26th - 07:48am | Gaelyn

I see many visitors buying postcards and stamping them with the NPs Passport stamp. Then they ask where to buy postal stamps. Somebody must be getting exciting news from the parks.

May 26th - 07:25am | Danny Bernstein

Of course, I send postcards - from everywhere. Like Bob above, I take my little address book and postcard stamps. On a long trip, I wait until I've actually hiked or been to the place pictured on postcards. And then I write them out and send them.

May 26th - 06:55am | Bob Janiskee

Sending postcards from national parks is something that I really enjoy doing, and to make sure I don't get forget addresses or get caught short of stamps, I carry an address list and at least ten 28-cent stamps in my wallet when I go on trips. It's sometimes inconvenient to write, but the cards don't take long and there are always quiet moments available.

May 26th - 05:56am | Anonymous

I still send lots of postcards when I'm visting the National Parks. I have lots of friends and family that don't have cell phones or email. This is a way I still can share what wonderful sites I'm seeing. I also have some young relatives and friend's children who love to get something in the mail.

May 26th - 05:50am | Davey J

My wife and I send postcards. We are in a race with my in-laws to see who can get the most NP passport stamps and we started sending them postcards with the park stamps on the backs of postcards.

Republicans on House Natural Resources Committee Complain About Northern Border Problems

May 26th - 13:16pm | Jon

Obviously, those pesky Canadians would just tunnel under any fence. How deep would that fence need to go?

Senators Pushing to Rollback Fees for National Parks and Other Public Lands

May 26th - 13:07pm | Jon

Not all visitors to National Park units are tax paying Americans. Large numbers are from other countries. How do they pay their share? Not all NPS units charge fees. Even with the current fee program and funds staying within the NPS system there is still a hugh maintenance backlog, due to lack of funds, agency wide.

May 25th - 19:30pm | Barky

Thanks for the clarification on that, KBenzar. You almost calmed my nerves with your reason, but ... This is a topic that periodically gets my dander up. Normally intelligent people tend to forget all their high-school math lessons when it comes to taxation and government spending. They say such inanities as "it should be free because my taxes pay for it".

May 25th - 15:25pm | KBenzar

"The spending request by (name redacted to avoid offense) for fiscal year 2009, included $515.4 billion for the Department of Defense and $10.6 billion for the Department of the Interior. How much of that DOI money do you think the NPS saw?" Julie you may have meant your question rhetorically, but answers are available.

Common Southwestern Native Plants, An Identification Guide

May 26th - 12:47pm | John Byrne

1. National parks may have initially been established because of “scenic quality” but that should not be what uniquely distinguishes them today.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Dispute Places Birds, Turtles, and Humans on Small Strip of Sand

May 26th - 11:32am | dapster

Dear Miffed, At least we know what to call you now! Thanks for clearing that up for the group. In large part, see what my good friend Wheat had to say, as he states it better than I ever could. Otherwise, I’ll take you to task on some of your other key points that were directed specifically to me, such as:

May 25th - 22:42pm | Wheat

Annony-mouse, I'm going to have to call you out on this one....

May 25th - 16:17pm | Ron Saunders

I would sure be interested in that as I'm sure others would too. I have a couple of photos you might find interesting From a few years back. Would like to send them if you could tell me how to do it. Ron

May 25th - 15:53pm | Kurt Repanshek

Ron, I fear the Yellowstone snowmobile issue is going to keep lawyers in business for quite a while. I believe the park is currently working on its fourth full-blown EIS in an effort to come up with an acceptable winter-use plan surrounding snowmobiles. They expect to have a draft in spring of 2011, with a new plan in place for 2011-2012.

May 25th - 15:32pm | Ron Saunders

Hey Kurt, What is going to happen at Yellowstone. Used to do a little skiing out that way and would tie in a trip to the park, a little ice fishing on Lake Hebgen and always finish off with a meal & short one at Enos. Hope you've been there, everyone should experience that place at least once (could tell you some stories).

May 25th - 15:29pm | Anonymous

I’m miffed about where I’m being disingenuous, Dapster admits to purposely framing the picture for best effect and brags about fighting fire with fire while posting an old picture he says is from an environmental group misrepresenting Cape Point (not my pix dude). Don’t see what the big deal is because to me the picture looks exactly like Cape Point on a crowded day.

National Park Mystery Photo 23: Who Slept Here?

May 26th - 09:21am | Kurt Repanshek

Right you are, David, and a close second to Howie. Tomorrow we'll provide a few more details for the rest of the readership.

May 26th - 09:17am | Howie

I believe that's the bed Stonewall Jackson was in when he died at Guinea's Station, VA.

May 26th - 08:56am | MSG David R. Ca...

This is where Stonewall Jackson died May 10, 1863.

90 Years On, Dr. Michael Frome Continues To Lament The State of the National Parks

May 26th - 08:57am | Lee Dalton

Thanks, Barky. A very interesting concept. But would something like that be as well prepared to stand up to tremendous political pressures?

May 26th - 01:13am | Ray Bane

"He was the one who made us realize that we owed our allegiance to the parks, not to the Park Service," Rick Smith. Well said.

May 25th - 19:39pm | Barky

Lee, I'm suggesting that a public trust, as in an empowered legal entity entrusted to be caretaker, be established to manage the National Park Service. This would be a non-governmental entity with a board of directors composed of a mix of environmentalists, historians, preservationists, businesspeople, and other interested parties. These folks would set policies regarding the parks.

Did Developers At Harpers Ferry Ignore NEPA?

May 26th - 08:42am | Bishop

The proposed Hill Top Hotel project in Harpers Ferry will basically clear cut and become a ridge top removal of approximately 6 acres,some of it town property if the private investment firm gets approval to re-zone 17-19 residential properties in the middle of the town and the park.

Updated: Alaska 'Gunners' Wipe Out Wolf Pack From Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

May 25th - 18:28pm | Joe McCraken

For the record, the pilots and "gunners" were not given that particular pack's frequencies. In addition to that this particular pack had their collars for less than a year and were well outside of the park's boundaries. It was a screw up by a bunch or parties and the NPS and AKFG should hold equal responsibility.

Visiting Dry Tortugas National Park: The Logistics

May 25th - 14:44pm | RangerLady

I was lucky enough to get to Dry Tortugas a couple years ago. I only wish that I had been able to go camping rather than just taking a day trip. The boat ride was fantastic and I saw sea turtles and flying fish (and a raft that the captain said was used by Cubans.) I do have to say that the boat I was on (Sunny Days) was way too small.

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