Signs Missing on the High Passes?

[Shawn]

Certainly odd events to say the least. Here is the message thread on summit post that I refered to:

http://www.summitpost.org/show/mread.pl ... 591&page=1

[JM21760]

That thread you linked to Shaun, is just too bizzare.

[gdurkee]

I just talked to the head of Yosemite's backcountry. She confirms that the removal wasn't offical, just two over eager rangers acting on their own. It's pretty bizarre that they weren't in uniform 'cause the uniform causes confrontations?? Weird, but everyone is young once. Or twice.

I will also take exception (though on shaky ground myself) that Sequoia Kings backcountry rangers don't climb peaks:

I'm just wondering how rangers, some of which are certainly back country, find the time to bag peaks? I've never met a ranger on a summit.

With the exception of yours truly, that's not correct. All the other b/c rangers get on several peaks per summer. Kind of like Brownian movement -- not running into a ranger is not evidence we don't climb them.

I also talked to another climbing friend who says there's been a fair amount of discussion in the peak bagging (ugh, that's why I don't go up peaks -- that phrase alone makes me cringe...) on the mystery of disappearing registers. It's not SEKI rangers for sure. I think Buck's right that it's a few people -- maybe not even connected. Strange that no one claims credit.

George

[wingding]

I would have liked to find a register on the top of Mount Williamson this past 4th of July after struggling through the snow to get to the top.

[sierra cyd]

Bummer about the Williamson register.

I personally really enjoy finding, reading, and signing registers. I'm dismayed to hear that they've been going missing. I usually don't get up on anything with a register that goes back more than a decade or so, but still!

Anyway, it sounds like there are two different things going on here:
1. Removal of the entire register, i.e. can/box and contents;
2. Removal of only the contents of the register.

The folks that are doing #1 are presumably a minority of people who dislike the existence of registers or something. This is a real bummer for the rest of us. If only they'd go looking for all those deflated balloons and other litter scraps, we'd be much better off.

The folks doing #2, I'm not sure about. Maybe they are taking the contents out of full registers thinking they'll send them in and preserve them. To where, I'm not sure, but they have to be emptied at some point, don't they? Who maintains them? I imagine the most popular ones get full pretty quick.