A post on facebook regarding the Eldred Valley has been gaining a lot of traction recently and we thought we would post the information here for everyone to share.
Powell River is an isolated community where recreation access is limited to industrial access roads into the backcountry. The Eldred Valley has world class rock climbing and alpine mountaineering potential on par with Yosemite Valley. Logging in the Eldred valley has threatened access in the area since the early 80s and user groups have been fighting to keep the little access we have. At this time Western Forest Products is about to log a large patch of old growth trees at the base of a 500m/1500-ft tall granite dome called “Amon Rudh” that has been a climbing destination since its first ascent in 1999, when Colin Dionne, Chris Wild, Victor Ting, and Aaron Black established “On the Virg,” a 10 pitch 5.10 of the highest quality. Access to the wall is a steep trail established in 2007 through some of the most beautiful old Cedar and Fir trees on the entire coast! The terrain is far too steep, the sandy soil type means the slope can’t be stable after harvest, and, like the rest of the slope, it will be prone to landslides. We have no other access approach to the dome because of obtuse, outdated government policies dictating the “Permanent Deactivation” of existing industrial-strength roads. Your support will help us to show our local governing bodies how important access is to the climbing community and adventure tourism here in Powell River, and convince them to stop logging the last remaining old growth forest and destroying established industrial access to public lands.
For more information, please visit the Reddit article or sign petition below.
