Just old news, but good to refresh

There are around 1,000,000 rock climbers in America, which is a small population but a huge increase in the last couple decades. What used to be a very small niche sport is now quite popular and growing. As these people continue to search out new challenging cliffs and peaks to climb, there impact on the environment becomes worse. Easily accessed cliffs quickly become noisy gathering places with overflowing parking lots, braided trails, trash, and trampled ground. More remote or more challenging rock gets impacted as well. Permanent equipment, chalk marks, and destroyed fragile vegetation can all result from climbing. Practicing Leave No Trace can help eleviate many of the problems common to climbing. Besides the general Leave No Trace guidelines to use while visiting rock climbing areas, these special tips just for climbing can help minimize the impact you make. Since many popular climbs are in the arid Southwest, use the Desert Leave No Trace page for more information. Plan Ahead Pick a climb that suits the skill level of you and your group to minimize the possibility of injury and need of rescue. Use appropriate equipment that has been thoroughly checked before the climb. Find out about permits and practices for your planned climb. Some locations do not allow drilling or anchors, or require permits first. Carpool to popular locations to minimize overcrowding at the trailhead. Develop adequate skills in all members of your climbing party. The ability to properly use removable protection preserves the adventure for future climbers. Proper placement and use of bolts or pitons ensures a safe and minimally impacted route. Durable Surfaces If you have a group, ensure the staging area is large enough to accomodate you. Even though rock is highly durable, continual climbing can wear it down and break pieces off. Avoid cliff edges, cracks, and ledges that are prone to erosion, especially on soft rock types such as sandstone. Use quick draws where possible to reduce wear on existing permanent anchors. When Bouldering (low, horizontal climbing across a rock face), ensure the ground is durable so your spotters or crash pad will not destroy vegetation. Excessive removal of rocks or other landscaping to make a bouldering problem safe should be avoided. Land managers may need to implement restrictions if bouldering sites become overly impacted. Since most popular climbing routes have established descent trails, use them rather than rappeling the descent. This avoids leaving anchors in place. In some areas with easily eroded soil or fragile vegetation, rappelling may result in the least impact. If you rappel, leave removable anchors tied off around rocks or trees, using colors that blend and situated where climb...