Scott wrote:I don't like it being mandatory either, but on the other hand it is their country.
Fair point, Scott. But just because they
can do something doesn't mean it's a good idea to do it. They could instigate a small climbing fee that is turned back into the local community, rather than giving licence to outsiders to profit from a natural resource owned by all Ecuadoreans.
I think the rule probably has to do more with employment rather than for safety.
Yes, probably, or at least business if not employment. But if the real reason is money but the excuse given is safety then the policy is based on a lie, and such things rarely end well.
Most the people climbing the Ecuador volcanoes are guided anyway, so I don't know if it will have that much effect on the numbers. It certainly hasn't in places like Kilimanjaro, Ararat, Peru, etc.
1. But for Kili (and I guess Ararat) they are just one trophy peak and there is nothing else there to climb. These new regulations are across
all the mountains, so other groups are affected.
2. It sets a precedent that other countries will see as an opportunity to introduce similar regulations, and in
those countries there are many other peaks that are not guided but are attractive to independent climbers. They've already tried it in Peru, this will encourage them to push again, and Bolivia may not be far behind.
3. I don't have a problem with commercial guiding
per se, but these new regulations are a dangerous example of commerce setting the agenda for climbing, the dog wagging the tail, not climbing being the basis on which someone can make a commercial activity.