1. + THE MOUNTAINEERS Backcountry Impact Series: Climbing

2. (1 minute) WHEN YOU HEAR CONSERVATION, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

3.  7 Principles  Plan Ahead and Prepare  Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces  Dispose of Waste Properly  Leave What You Find  Minimize Campfire Impacts  Respect Wildlife  Be Considerate of Other Visitors LEAVE NO TRACE

4.  Traveling in Different Environments  Human Waste  Wildlife  The Human Experience 4 LOW-IMPACT SKILLS FOR CLIMBING IN WASHINGTON

5.  Alpine  SubAlpine  Rock  Wet  Semi-Desert  Crags  Wilderness  And how to travel in them… DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS ONE MIGHT CLIMB IN HERE IN WASHINGTON

6. + ALPINE ENVIRONMENTS

7. ALPINE COMMUNITIES (SUBALPINE)  Some alpine heather communities on Mt. Rainier have been carbon dated to 10,000 years old.

8. ALPINE FELL FIELD A community of widely scattered dwarfed vegetation that grows in the barren land above the timberline.

9. Important for the ecosystem! It holds desert sands together, absorbs moisture, produces nutrients, provides seedbeds for other plants to grow… Cryptobiotic soil is a mixture of cyanobacteria, mosses lichen, fungi and algae. DON’T BUST THE CRUST

10.  “Durable Surfaces” are areas that are hardly affected by the passage of humans.  Includes established trails, sand, gravel, snow, dry grasses and more. TRAVEL

11. Thick snowPatchy snow TREAD LIGHTLY

12. PARADISE, MT. RAINIER NATIONAL PARK

13. TRAIL BRAIDING AND SOCIAL TRAILS CAN LEAD TO: SOIL LOSS, SOIL COMPACTION, EROSION, TRAIL WIDENING, VEGETATION TRAMPLING Trail Braiding Social Trails Photo credit: NPS/Lucy Lieberman Social Trails Yay for Switch Backs!

14. BEST PRACTICES (2 MINUTES) In pristine areas… On established trails…

15. Minimize interaction with wildlifeConsider the social impacts of urine URINE

16. + WHEN NATURE CALLS…  Avoid polluting water source  Eliminate contact with animals and insects  Maximize decomposition  Minimize the chances of social impacts

17. + WHEN NATURE CALLS… Pack it in, Pack it out.

18. WHEN NATURE CALLS… PACK IT IN, PACK IT OUT.

19. FOOD

20. + “FED IS DEAD”

21. CASCADE FOX Photo credit: Lee Rentz Photography

22. TIP: REPACKAGE YOUR FOOD

23. TIP: SECURE YOUR FOOD Grubpack

24. THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE  Charred rocks  Destroy organic matter and sterilize the soil up to 4 inches deep  Damage to trees  No downed wood

25. GET CREATIVE!

26. + REMEMBER THE SCOUT MAXIM, “LEAVE IT BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT”

27. + LEARN MORE/NEXT STEPS Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics www.lnt.org Stewardship Opportunities: https://www.mountaineers.org/explore/ acti vities#b_start=0&c4=Stewardship https://www.mountaineers.org/explore/ acti vities#b_start=0&c4=Stewardship

28. + RESOURCES http://www.mountaineers.org/ CONSERVE Conservation Currents http://www.mountaineers.org/source/a members/subscription.cfm