Rock climber shares photo of upsetting discovery at iconic boulder: 'We shouldn't normalize this'

A visitor at a Colorado national park found some unexpected graffiti and shared a photo with the community at r/climbing.

"Mirror reality in Rocky Mountain National Park seems to have been vandalized recently," wrote the original poster. "Does anyone have more info on this? Saw this tag next to the right hand start hold last night."

"It's just unnecessary." — Photo Credit: Reddit

The graffiti said "V2 in my gym," which refers to a 17-point scale used to measure climbing difficulty. Calling the Mirror Reality boulder a V2 is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying the previous visitor found it easy when it's rated as a V14. The phrase is a common meme to react to difficult climbs.

Many see leaving brightly colored marks like this on shared resources as a lack of respect for the community. Even if it's simply chalk that can wash away, it adds an onerous level of maintenance for park staff.

There is a degree of environmental damage that chalk runoff contributes to, as well. One study suggests that climbing chalk used on hands can have a negative effect on nearby moss and fern growth, for example. That said, renowned climbers like Alex Honnold have shown dedication to environmental causes and protecting the wilderness where they work.

The National Park Service advises that climbers in Rocky Mountain leave boulders as they were found, while providing a wealth of other guidance. It advises visitors to stick to paths, take back any waste, and respect sensitive areas of the park.

The Reddit community was certainly annoyed at this kind of graffiti being found in national parks.

"Yeah a bunch of people saying this is no big deal but this is exactly the ways we lose access to climbing areas," said one commenter. "It's just unnecessary, leave your s***** jokes to online forums."

"We shouldn't normalize this and this is wrong, but I'm wondering how we as a climbing community justify bolting routes, that seems way more invasive than putting chalk on rocks," said another.

Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty?

Definitely 👍