Article misrepresents responsible, caring user group

Editor:

I wanted to reach out and provide an alternative opinion to what your paper published regarding Devil’s Glen.

I grew up canoe tripping and hiking in central Ontario, my family visited the Grotto in my early teens, and I’ve spent many weekends in and around the Beaver Valley rock climbing.

I love the outdoors and believe that we are at risk of losing what is pure and pristine in our parks. However, rock climbers are not the target. Consistently, rock climbers I know are caring of the environment, pick up trash left by other user groups and espouse leave no trace principles. While there are always bad apples, the article you wrote and published misrepresents what in general has been a responsible and caring user group of nature, and comes across as very opinionated. I’d encourage you to reach out to climbers living in, or supporting your community, for an alternative perspective as well as to re-engage with the Ontario Alliance of Climbers (OAC) to learn how rock climbers, and the organization that represents us in the province, are good stewards of the environment.

Dave Irwin,

Toronto.