Just to be clear the is still a Ban on climbing in summit county metro parks. even with the Neocc efforts to gain Access to parks and land that belong to the metro park that SERVE summit county well the climbing community of summit has been treated and viewed as a subversive element of park users. WE ARE NOT THAT!
we have packed out multiple bags of garbage with out looking for thanks or payment just access the truth of the matter is we as a climbing community are in partnership with the Metro park as stewards (the park system does not yet recognize this YET)
Much of the problem is with the parks insurance policy which may be seriously out dated and not in line with metro parks that do allow so called high risk activity's such as climbing to occur in their parks. the concerns of a possible death or injury is a valid one but climbing is an assumed risk! the park is not liable and not responsible if a climber is injured (except if the insurance policy the park carries has a permit only policy. this a way for insurance company's fleece our parks out of more $ and the effect is a park that you can only picnic and hike in. the park is now aware of this fact and aware of our presence and have indicated they will ticket those who are not following park policy! However they have also put their policy on the table and have given us the opportunity to prove we are not some lawless desperado's with no respect for the parks authority. and we must also prove we have the environmental impact of what we do in mind when we set out to recreate in our park multiple endangered plants an reptilians find their home in the Gorge so we must take care and be aware of the what damage our presence may bring. we may have trespassed in the past but there no malicious intent. in fact we only wish to bring this beautiful area to attention of all Akron residents so they Know whats at stake . currently areas off limit are contaminated and filled with garbage and this should not be a issue for residents of akron to aspect reasonable access we will en devour put together a concise report and impact study that will help bring the park up to the standard with metro parks throughout the country. and help make the Akron gorge an example for other ohio parks to follow.
as avid outdoors people we have respect and concern for the enviorment that bring us so much joy! we Now have the opportunity to prove this to the park officials that we are allies in their quest to preserve and protect the gorge but we require access if none is given then there is nothing for us to respect. so long story short all local climbers should avoid climbing at the gorge for now.
but Akron locals are encouraged to contact the Metro parks serving summit county and ask them when they will update their access plan and what you can do to help them bring it into this century. nuff said fer now we love our parks and will prove it!
