Mt Habrich via ferrata proposal

Squamish Access Society learned recently of a proposal to build a Via Ferrata (“VF”) on Mt Habrich. The proponent is Stanley Yntema, a self-described “community organiser” based in Surrey, BC. Mr Yntema is not well-known to the Squamish climbing and mountaineering community and has not sought feedback on his proposal locally, as far as we know. We debated this proposal at our last board meeting, having first sought opinion from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and various Vancouver-based mountaineering groups.Though we do not consider the VF proposal a primary access issue, we believe that the individual opinions of our board members toward the proposal are meaningful, as we are a representative sample of active Squamish climbers. We are overwhelmingly opposed to the proposal. Our reasons are encapsulated very well by a letter that we received from Kevin McLane, one of the original founders of SAS and a highly-regarded advocate for climbers and mountaineers since the 1980s:“Habrich is a unique mountain in southwest BC. A granite tower that cannot be climbed without ropes and some skill, an iconic peak on the horizons, but easy enough for modest climbers to get up. To open it up to the general public for entertainment will erase the core values that give Habrich its unique place in BC. That would be an irreparable loss, whereas a via ferrata could be put up in countless places where little harm would be done.”Our understanding is that a fixed equipment installation of this magnitude would require Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations approval. We recommend that this approval is not given.