The recent insurrections in Egypt and Libya changed a lot of people’s travel arrangements and earlier this week, Russia closed off tourism around Mount Elbrus (18,510 ft./5,642 m.) in the Caucasus mountains near Georgia because of increased violence.  Several were attacked, others were killed and bomb plots were discovered.

Political instability has always endangered our adventures.  Mountaineering accomplishments practically ceased globally during World War II, except for a few rare exceptions.  Nepal’s recent communist insurrection caused some hiccups for the climbers heading in-country, though most were unfazed.

It upsets me whenever regulations, fees and politics gets in the way of me enjoying wilderness on my terms and schedule.  I realize that’s probably indicative of the selfishness of this era (and I am trying to fix that about me, really.)  But the political dangers are risks that have to be considered.  For instance, when Argentina’s economy deflated several years ago, that nation was on the brink of an even greater crisis.  It was possible, though a lower risk, that we might not have been able to safely camp near El Chalten.

One’s nationality (and the implied loyalty to a cause that comes with that) is always an issue that needs to be considered; not know what the level of risk is could put a traveler at great risk of succumbing to the violence because the proper precautions were not taken.  American citizens should check the State Department’s website before any international trip (except I never check before visiting our great friends in Canada, who does?)  Other governments provide similar resources on their websites or through their embassies.

Be careful out there!

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Remember the old National Parks Pass?  For $50US it allowed users access to America’s National Parks where fees were charged for free for up to one year.  But it had a shortcoming among the complicated land management system in the United States; if your trip took you to a differently designated public land, such as a National Forest or Bureau of Land Management area, the National Park Pass did not work.

At the same time, the government of the United States offered the Eagle Pass.  For a much greater fee, it gave the user and his or her immediate family access to all of the federally managed parkland.  But it was a difficult pass for the various park agencies to coordinate (accepting fees, issuing cards and maintaining records).

Around 2005 the National Park Service lead the way for the other land mangement agencies to issue a new pass, the America the Beautiful Pass, to replace the National Pass, Eagle Pass and the other annual park passes.  The pass costs $80US and gives access to all of the publically accessible land under the control of the United States government (but not the state governments, such as state parks).

I worked on Capitol Hill when this transition was being finalized and at the last minute I worked with the Congressman I served to make this pass available at a significant discount to Veterans that have been discharged under any category other than dishonorable (honorable, medical, and so forth) . We thought it made sense: Give veterans free access to the very land that they served and fought to defend.

We faced resistence from the National Park Service, but we succeeded in starting a chain reaction among the federally controlled public land managers: One by one they announced that on Veterans Day (November 11) each year, US servicemen and women and veterans would be permitted in the park for free.  It was a small consolation, but we took it.  The Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act continues to be introduced in Congress and seeks support for enactment.

Through this effort, I learned that the land managers missed some opportunities to decide what the right prices ought to be and who could or should be given special access.  Of course, politics hampered some of that discussion.  Admitedly, my boss and I probably did not help with out last minute efforts.  Currently, the pass gives a lifetime benefit to permanently disabled Americans for free and sells the pass to Senior Citizens (Americans over the age of 62) for $10US and is good for the rest of their lives.  This is great, but my boss and I felt that veterans were also deserving.

So why not veterans?  And why was it priced at $80 for the year?  The park service deemed that properly identifying veterans was too difficult and that the $80 price tag made sense to raise revenue while covering expenses.

Land management agencies are all feeling the pinch of the down economy.  Inflation has been creeping upward and governments are all seeking more revenue to pay their employees (wage earners just like you and I) pay for their overhead.  This even applies to the park rangers and other workers in public land management.

What is really dismal, is that it is possible that the land management agencies could increase user fees and access fees to prohibit we hikers and climbers from accessing these great lands regularly.  Most notably, we have heard a lot of discussion about this at Mount Rainier and for climbing Denali.  Theoretically it could become cost prohibitive.

The American Alpine Club (AAC) points out in its policies that revenue to access fees are often arbitrary.  Arguably, fees are sometimes assessed just for the sake of revenue even though there is no cost of maintenance.

We ought to scrutinize the fees charged at the parks we visit.  They are a tax on our ability to enjoy the land.  We ought to weigh in on and speak up.

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