Update Dec. 2nd: Discussions with governmental officials regarding inter-village conflicts regarding actual rights to the crag are continuing and the area remains closed to climbers till further notice. We do not expect an announcement till early next week and any developments will be reported here.
Update Nov. 30: On Sunday Nov. 29th, climbers were prevented from climbing at White Mountain by villagers from the other side of the crag. Some bolt hangers may have been removed or damaged. We have contacted the village that is maintaining the toilets and they are working out a compromise with the other village. Updates expected tomorrow.
On November 28, we signed an agreement with the villagers near White Mountain for servicing the recently constructed toilets, including hauling up water and disposing of wastes, and keeping the base of the crag and the pathways clear of brush. As part of the agreement, all independent climbers will have free and unrestricted access to climbing at the crag. This represents our first step is formalizing climbers’ relationship with villagers who own the use-right to the land we pass through in order to climb.
The YAI supports using service contracts instead of charging climbers fees to climb. The initial term of the agreement is one-year and we will extend it for a longer term next year once we have gained experience in working together. As with other crags, we did not include commercial operators in this agreement who may, in future, need to work out a separate agreement if they use White Mountain for commercial guiding.
An important, although unwritten, understanding is that the climbing community will support villagers to open a store and eventually restaurants and even lodging for climbers near the crag. Villagers must make the first moves in asking us for help. When they do, I have agreed to place notices in town for any services they can provide and we will include this information in the next guidebook.
As the number of climbers coming to the area increases, we hope that villagers’ income from these services will be more important and significant than the initial service agreement. We need your continued support to maintain these agreements and secure continued access.
[...] Secondly, I can think about their needs and be mindful about our impact. Tourism should bring revenue to locals. Initially farmers did not mind climbers and they even opened their arms to welcome new visitors. Farmers are poor but they are usually nice and hospitable. Yangshuo is getting more popular and more recognized as a world-class climbing destination every single day, as a result, numerous climbers have rolled in and out. Farmers who live close to the crags possibly haven’t felt that they have benefited from the booming visit because climbers often come for the climb and leave right after the climb, and they find their accommodation in town, dine in town, and shop in town. Instead, farmers often have to deal with the drawbacks of fast-growing tourism, such as inconsiderate climbers leave waste and trash behind and walking through farmers’ clean cement yard with their muddy shoes just to cut a quick way out. Bob suggested a few options. He often reserves a rural-style stir-fry dinner from a farmer near the crag he will be climbing and enjoys a hearty dinner after an exhausting day. Buying drinks or snacks from them also helps. The 69-year-old lady who carries drinks up the steps to Moonhill happily told me, “Oh, they got tired and buy drinks from me. Oh, those climbers love beers.” YAI also has proposed assistance to farmers who are interested in providing lodging to climbers. [...]