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Stewardship Best Practices

Members of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, while marketing or promoting themselves as ACMG members, offering professional services, fulfilling their professional duties, and otherwise engaging in activities directly associated with the ACMG, shall practice responsible stewardship as defined by ACMG stewardship best practices and identifiable land manager guidelines and regulations.

May 31, 2021

1.1 Introduction

The natural environment is an integral part of the overall experience that attracts people to adventure sports.

In ways, the mountain environment can be harsh on plants and animals, but it is also extremely fragile and sensitive. Chemicals in sunscreens can affect aquatic life; walking and setting up tents on fragile vegetation may scar the landscape; and a lack of respect for wildlife may lead to animal-human conflict. While the actions of individual backcountry users seem small compared to the vastness of wild spaces, every single behaviour adds up over time.

With the growing participation in mountain sports and backcountry travel, it is critical for guides to practice and promote sustainable use to protect the environment.

Responsible backcountry use and stewardship not only protect the overall mountain experience for the long term, but it also helps to safeguard future access to the public and to guides. Part of stewardship involves practicing leave-no-trace principles, adhering to land manager regulations and requirements, modelling responsible practices, and educating others when possible. Professional guides are expected to be leaders in safe travel and in environmental protection.

When it comes to guiding, there are 12 key principles for guides to adhere to. Combined, these principles form the best practices that all guides should follow. These include:

Plan and prepare.
Choose durable and resilient surfaces for travel and camping.
Responsibly dispose of waste.
Protect the natural experience.
Reduce the impact of campfires.
Respect wildlife.
Respect other users.
Promote environmental protection through education.
Protect routes and trails.
Participate in environmental restoration.
Report observations (e.g., damaged areas, wildlife problems).
Reduce the impact of mechanized use.

1.2 Plan and Prepare

Pre-planning and preparation avoid surprises and unnecessary problems on a trip.

Research the rules and regulations that apply to the area where the trip will take place. This includes awareness of:
- Group-size restrictions
- Possible closures
- Required permits
- Local restrictions or guidelines
Research expected conditions, including weather, general conditions, and the potential number of other users.
Ensure all trip members have the applicable permits, necessary travel, and health insurance, and have signed waivers and other required documentation.
Reduce as much packaging as possible before the trip. This limits the amount of waste that needs to be packed out and reduces the risk of accidentally leaving behind garbage, such as wrappers.
Educate clients on the ethics, regulations, and practices that will be followed during the trip, including systems for collecting and storing garbage, toilet paper, and other waste. Never assume that clients already know how to effectively reduce their impact.

1.3 Choose Durable and Resilient Surfaces

Understanding where to travel and camp can help reduce long-lasting damage in fragile ecosystems.

Travel

Where possible, use trails and roadways, and when travelling off-trail, use hardened surfaces such as rocks, sand, and gravel.
Use snow-covered ground to reduce impact on vegetation (when snow depth is sufficient to protect the underlying vegetation).
If you need to step on vegetation, try to avoid walking on fragile plants such as alpine flowers, heathers, moss campion, and wet meadows. Instead, select routes with drier grasses and plants that are more resistant to impact. This is especially important at higher elevations, where the growing season is extremely short.
When travelling through areas of vegetation, spread out group members (not in a single file) to lessen the impact.
Resist the urge to walk through muddy sections of a trail or along its edge; this causes erosion and can make the trail braided. Instead, walk through the mud and encourage clients to do the same.

Camping

When setting up camp, locate the sleeping, kitchen, food storage, and bathroom areas at least 60 metres apart. This reduces the chance of attracting animals to tents and sleeping spaces.
At well-used campsites, locate tents, travel routes and cooking spots in areas that have already been impacted.
In pristine areas, try to spread tents apart on durable surfaces and avoid establishing repetitive travel routes and social trails. Also, try to relocate the camp each night to avoid excessive trampling of sensitive areas.

1.4 Dispose of Waste Responsibly

The safe disposal of human waste and food scraps is crucial to keeping the natural environment free of harmful pollutants. Water pollution is one of the greatest impacts of backcountry travel. When disposing of human, food, and water waste, avoid polluting water sources with chemicals, food, and harmful bacteria. This requires that backcountry users follow the appropriate guidelines and principles specific to their environment.

Waste water (grey water) should be disposed of as far away from water sources as possible (60-plus metres) and should be scattered widely. This includes all food scraps, toothpaste, and soaps (even biodegradable soaps). Never dump food waste, soaps, or detergents directly into a water source (or else a decrease in oxygen levels can result, which leads to damaging levels of algae growth, which is then harmful to aquatic and insect life). Before disposing of grey water, use a strainer to capture any remaining food scraps and pack them out.
When draining pots and washing dishes, use a strainer to avoid leaving larger food particles that may pollute water sources or attract animals.
Dispose of toothpaste by spraying, not spitting; this disperses the toothpaste over a greater area and helps accelerate decomposition.
Where possible, remove sunscreens, cosmetics, and insect repellents from the skin before washing in creeks, rivers, and lakes. These products can be very harmful to the environment.

Principles of Human Waste Disposal

Use a disposal method that reduces human, animal, and insect contact, accelerates decomposition, and protects water quality. The most commonly accepted method is to dig a cat hole:
- Find a location with deep organic soil.
- Use a trowel to remove the top layer of soil (moss, vegetation, etc). Place this top layer aside, and then dig a hole 15-20 centimetres deep by 12-15 centimetres wide.
- When the user is finished with the hole, they should cover their waste with soil (not with the top layer that was set aside—that is for the final step), then use a stick to mix waste with the surrounding soil to accelerate decomposition, after which the stick should be buried.
- Lastly, the original top layer of soil and vegetation is placed back over the hole so the site blends in with the natural surroundings.
Cat holes should be located at least 60 metres from camping and cooking areas and any water sources.
If a group is camping in one area for an extended period, cat holes should be spread out over a wide area.
If a larger group plans to use an area for several days, consider digging a single communal latrine rather than numerous individual cat holes. Essentially, cat holes are designed for one-time use, whereas latrines are meant to be used repeatedly. For latrines:
- Instruct users to add a layer of dirt to cover waste after each use to accelerate decomposition and reduce the risk of contamination.
- Note that these are not suitable in high-alpine environments, tundra, or deserts due to the slow rate of decomposition.
In busy alpine climbing areas, there may be marked spots where human waste can be disposed of in crevasses or already-established latrines.
Where facilities do not exist, climbers need to dispose of their waste in a way that reduces the risk of contamination and addresses the impact that improperly disposed of waste may have on others' experience. This could mean that climbers are required to pack their waste out.
While urine is generally considered to be free of harmful bacteria, it can be rich in salts, which can attract animals. As such, avoid urinating on plants so that animals are not drawn to defoliate vegetation. Instead, urinate on rocks, soil, and pine needles.
Toilet paper should either be packed out (in a separate plastic bag) or buried deeply in a cat hole. Toilet paper should never be burned, as this could cause a forest fire. Toilet paper should be used sparingly and should be white and non-perfumed. Options for natural toilet paper include stones, vegetation, and snow.
To avoid polluting water sources with harmful bacteria, do not wash your hands directly in a water source after defecating. Use hand sanitizer instead.

It is recommended that guides pack out human waste when:

There are no facilities such as pit toilets or bathrooms.
The depth, quality and amount of organic soil are insufficient to effectively bury waste.
The environment or climate is not well-suited for waste to decompose if left behind on the surface or buried (for example, on alpine, desert, tundra, or glacier surfaces).
Leaving waste (even if it can be buried) negatively impacts the overall experience of others in high-use areas (for example, in a base-camp setting, on highly travelled glacier or alpine routes, in an exposed climbing area, or in a big-wall setting).

Note: It is important to check with authorities about where to dispose of human waste (including portable sanitation products such as WAG Bags and Restop bags) when the guided trip returns to civilization. For example, authorities may not want human waste disposed of in the garbage but rather at a waste-treatment facility. Trip members need to know where to responsibly dispose of their waste.

Considerations for Winter Travel

When digging latrines or cat holes, consider where other users might set up their tents, cook, and socialize. Waste buried in the snow will eventually be uncovered when the snow melts, so avoid flat, open areas (where people tend to walk, pitch their tents, etc.) when disposing of waste.
Try to anticipate what the landscape will look like in the summer, and consider how waste disposal will affect the environment when the snow melts.
When digging cat holes, latrines, or disposing of wastewater, care should be taken to identify where drainage routes and water sources may be located beneath the snow. A deep snowpack might conceal water sources, such as creeks, making them less obvious.

1.5 Protect the Natural Experience

It is important for all visitors to preserve the backcountry in its natural state so that future users can enjoy the same authentic experience for generations to come. To ensure this, consider the following steps:

Do not dig trenches for drainage or build structures such as chairs, furniture, or sculptures.
Rock cairns should be built sparingly and only for the purpose of marking routes.
Refrain from picking flowers and taking natural objects such as rocks, fossils, or cultural artifacts.
In winter, dismantle igloos, snow caves, and windbreaks when leaving camp.

1.6 Reduce Campfire Impacts

Fires in the backcountry should be built sparingly and in a way that minimizes scarring and reduces the risk of forest fires. While some people consider a campfire an essential part of the outdoor experience, fires can have significant, long-lasting effects on the ecosystem if built in the wrong place and at the wrong time. In pristine areas, fires can scar the landscape. Fires also consume necessary fuels (like deadwood) that would otherwise break down to provide vital nutrients for vegetation. As a result, careful selection of where and when to build a fire and how to clean up afterwards is important.

Fires should be confined to lower-elevation areas where the ability for wood sources to regenerate is greater than the demand for wood. This means that alpine, tundra and desert environments are unsuitable for campfires.
If an area is suitable for a fire and there is no existing fire ring, the fire should be built on a durable surface with a reduced risk of scarring.
Before building a fire, ensure it is permissible under current fire-hazard ratings and land-manager regulations.
Fires should always be supervised, with sufficient water on hand to extinguish them in an emergency.
Afterwards, the fire should be completely extinguished until cold, and all traces of the fire should be removed unless it is in a clearly designated fire pit.

1.7 Keep Wildlife Wild

Backcountry visitors must travel in a way that reduces the risk of animal conflicts and wildlife habituation. For many people, the opportunity to view wildlife up close is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Unfortunately, getting too close to wild animals increases the risk of human-animal conflict and can lead to unhealthy changes in animal behaviour. While guides may wish to provide clients with the experience of seeing wildlife up close, it must be realized that doing so could be detrimental to animals. Always consider the following:

View wildlife from a safe distance. It is recommended to give carnivores (bears, wolves, cougars) 100 metres of space, and ungulates (elk, moose, deer, caribou) 30 metres of space.
When viewing wildlife, even from a respectful distance, watch for signs of stress in the animal. If an animal appears stressed, agitated, or aggressive, immediately leave the area.
When setting up camp, secure all food and attractants in a safe location. This reduces the chance of wildlife conflict and the possibility of animals becoming habituated to human food. This includes safely storing all food, food scraps, soaps, cosmetics, sunscreens, and insect repellents.
Never feed or harass animals.

1.8 Respect Other Users

It is equally as important for guides to respect the experience of other backcountry users as it is to deliver a great experience to their clients. As such, always be considerate of other people and their needs when encountered on a trip.

Considerations:

Share trails, campsites, huts, belay areas, and routes with others respectfully. This means:
- Give other users plenty of space.
- Allow access to communal areas.
- Communicate intentions.
- Do not block trails or hog facilities.

When guiding groups, be mindful of how noise may impact other users. This is especially important in campsites and huts. Large groups can create an environment that may appear unfriendly and unwelcoming to those outside of the group. When possible, reach out to other users to ensure that a negative atmosphere does not develop.
Adopt a mindset that strives to leave facilities, such as parking lots, huts, campsites and climbing areas, in better condition than when the guided group arrived.
Reduce visual impact from “ticking” holds with chalk. Only use this technique for crux moves if required, and encourage clients to rub off the chalk as they pass by.
Remember that guides are often seen as ambassadors. A guide may be judged not only by their own behaviour but also by their clients' behaviour. Thus, it is important to minimize the impact of guide and client behaviour on other users. If there is a problem between the guided group and other users, address it.
When it comes to sharing the trail, horses and pack animals have priority, then hikers, then bikers. Also, uphill traffic always has the right of way.
When allowing horses to pass, talk to the rider to determine what approach would work best for that particular horse.

1.9 Promote Protection Through Education

Guides should take advantage of their unique position to promote environmental stewardship through education and modelling. To accomplish this:

Always model best practices, even when out of public view. Guides are considered role models, and it is important for every guide to remember that every action counts, even when no one is watching.
Use the role of educator, not enforcer, to help change a person’s damaging behaviour. In the event of having to address the behaviour of clients or other backcountry users, begin with phrases like “I am not sure if you are aware...” or “Just so you know….” This helps reduce any sense of conflict and highlights a positive outcome.
When correcting or trying to change damaging behaviour, it is helpful to tell people why it is so important for them to behave differently.

1.10 Protect Routes and Trails

In certain instances, it may be necessary to protect the landscape by hardening or by designating routes in fragile or overused areas to avoid further damage and erosion. Examples:

Mark routes in sensitive, heavily used areas to take advantage of durable surfaces, rather than allowing traffic to spread out as each person picks their own route. In this instance, designating a single route that uses durable surfaces may cause less damage than allowing users to spread out across less durable terrain and vegetation.
Discourage shortcuts by filling in areas where users have left the main trail or route. Use rocks, dead branches and fallen debris to make the eroded area look less like a route and more like the natural landscape. Often, shortcuts occur in areas where users opt for a straighter, more direct vertical route rather than follow the longer, more gently graded trail. Shortcuts in fragile or steep terrain can lead to erosion and loss of vegetation.

Bolting and Route Development

Guides are responsible for the vast majority of work involved in replacing outdated climbing hardware on routes in Western Canada. Despite this community service, ACMG members are often accused of “dumbing down” routes to make them easier to guide. These actions can draw significant criticism and often attract the attention of land managers.

Considerations for new routes:

When constructing or cleaning climbing routes, remove only the vegetation and soil necessary to keep the route safe.
When cleaning routes, be aware of where the soil and vegetation being removed will land. Guides may need to block off trails and runout zones and clean these areas afterward.
When placing permanent protection and building new routes, research and respect the local ethics, land manager guidelines, and best practices.
When retro-bolting, every attempt should be made not to change the character (runouts, ease of retreat) of the route without first consulting the local climbing community and first ascensionists of the route in question.
Although there is a blurry line between aggressive cleaning and intentionally “creating” holds when new routing, it is generally frowned upon to use a drill or glue to create or enhance holds.

Building New Routes and Trails

When developing any new infrastructure in the backcountry, including trails, guides should consult local land managers for permission and recommended best practices.

1.11 Participate in Restoration

Guides should adopt a mindset of giving back to the environment by contributing to restorative efforts, events, and advocacy. For example, volunteer time to help maintain trails or infrastructure or provide cleanup. Strive to leave a place in better shape than when the guided group arrived (pick up litter, knock down unnecessary stone structures or cairns, cleanup fire sites).

1.12 Report Observations

Guides can help land and park managers protect the public interest by forwarding observations on current conditions, wildlife, damage to infrastructure and trails, environmental degradation, negative user behaviours, and safety concerns. If a guide learns new information or notices issues that land managers or officials should be aware of, inform the appropriate authorities.

1.13 Reduce the Impact of Mechanized Use

As guides, be aware of the negative impacts and emissions caused by mechanized travel (planes, helicopters, and vehicles) and help reduce use if possible.

Examples:

Select objectives that require less mechanized travel. If there are two or more options that offer a similar experience and reward, choose the objective that involves less travel.
Choose more fuel-efficient vehicles, modes of transport or transportation providers. Specific examples include using smaller or more fuel-efficient vehicles, selecting a helicopter company or an airline that actively works to curb their carbon emissions, or taking public transit.
Reduce idling. Many jurisdictions have already implemented laws that discourage the unnecessary idling of vehicles. Make this a regular practice and possibly clients will observe and learn.
Research and purchase carbon offsets or contribute to carbon-offset projects.

Helicopters and Drones

The use of helicopters and drones can negatively affect the backcountry experience for users and stress wildlife. To reduce impact, guides should:

Choose flight paths that will minimize the effect of a helicopter on other users and wildlife. For example, fly directly to and from pick-up and drop-off points, eliminate extra sightseeing time, or alter flight paths to offer more space to wildlife so they are not stressed by the presence of the machine.
Do not assume that a pilot is aware of the best stewardship practices.
Only use drones in areas where they are permitted, and strictly adhere to Transport Canada drone regulations to minimize the dangers to other backcountry users. Never assume that a client is aware of the responsibilities of drone use.
Never approach or harass wildlife with drones. Research shows that many types of animals become highly stressed by the presence of drones.

1.14 Conclusion

These 12 principles form the best practices that guides should strive to promote and follow in order to reduce environmental impact and demonstrate the value of mountain guiding. By adhering as closely as possible to these practices, guides help safeguard the natural mountain experience for future generations and help protect land access.