The world of rock climbers in San Luis Obispo County is a tightly knit one. And this month, the climbing community has been alarmed by the news that one of their favorite climbing areas - Cerro Romualdo in San Luis Obispo - will be closed.

The ban on recreational climbing on the state-owned property went into effect Oct. 1, and it has several longtime climbers upset.

“There's not much climbing in the area, so when one (site) closes, it's a big deal,” said Arroyo Grande resident Ken Klis, who said he's climbed Cerro Romualdo 50 to 100 times since he moved to the area in the late 1980s.

Unlike other favorite climbing spots that have been closed because the private property owners don't want trespassers or by public officials who want to protect certain wildlife, the peak is being closed by Camp San Luis Obispo because the California National Guard wants to increase the amount of soldier training taking place there.

The state of California owns the portion of Cerro Romualdo adjacent to Highway 1 and uses it for National Guard training. Until this month, anyone attempting to ascend the peak had to go through Camp San Luis Obispo property, check in with officials and show them a valid driver's license and proof of insurance.

That policy had been in effect for the last 10 years after similar threats of closure prompted climbers to lobby for access. They say they heard most of the same reasons for limited access then as they do now, and they're still hoping to convince officials to change their minds.

Climbers have even received the support of the Access Fund, a national advocacy organization that represents more than 1.6 million climbers.

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“The Guard is prohibiting access to a public resource due to liability fears, a fear that is greatly exaggerated and completely unjustified based on the fact that the Guard has virtual immunity from lawsuits arising from accidents at Cerro Romualdo,” Shawn Tierney, the Fund's national access director, said in a recent statement.

But for now, no one - not even military personnel in their spare time - may access the peak unless it's an organized group on a special tour.

“It's not like our soldiers, who like to go up there in their off time, can go up there and climb,” said Maj. Paul Buechner, operations officer at Camp San Luis Obispo.

Buechner said he was advised by the National Guard's legal authority not to allow civilians into that area for a variety of reasons, especially as a security measure in the post-9/11 world.

Although the primary impetus for the move was the increase in training around the facility, Buechner said another reason was the fact that a Sheriff's Department firing range is located nearby.

Measures are in place to bar hikers and climbers from the area during a shooting practice, but there is no guarantee something wouldn't go wrong, said Buechner. And the Guard doesn't want that liability.

“We have no control over when they fire,” he said. “Even though they let us know when they're going ‘hot,' we have no control over when they do that. We can't tell them, ‘No, you can't go hot because we have climbers out there.'”

In addition, although Buechner said the sign-in policy worked well in theory, at least 50 percent of visitors who signed in never signed out, meaning Camp San Luis Obispo staff couldn't be sure of their whereabouts.

According to a letter sent to climbing advocates by sheriff's Sgt. Brian Hascall, senior rangemaster, his agency “has no objection to the public hiking on Cerro Romualdo Peak provided our range is not ‘live' (i.e., being used for shooting)” and the previous method of notification has been sufficient.

Climbers say the previous policy, which allowed them on the property with the proper paperwork, ensured everyone's safety. They were never concerned that bullets from the firing range would stray far enough to harm them, and signing in and showing proper identification were not much of a sacrifice compared to the good climbing that lay ahead of them.

“One of the big things is there have been so many closures and (there is) so much private property,” said Klis. “This is just one more area that's been closed to climbers and hikers.

“Bishop Peak and Cerro Cabrillo are the two places left for climbing, but Cabrillo is really not one of the better ones.”

October 28, 2005