I was very impressed with composting toilets right at the main wall crags in Smith Rock. Clean, no smell... if something like that is a possibility at Torrent, or in PMRP, I will be happy to contribute towards it, and to help is other ways, if I can. Of course, at Smith it seems absolutely necessary-- there is virtually no privacy, no trees, completely exposed steep cliffside between the main train where there are people walking, jogging and gawking all the time, and the base of the climbs. And no way to really dig/bury the waste in the rocky ground.Clevis Hitch wrote:Well how about a mulching toilet closer to the action.OZ wrote:Clevis - that very thing had been formerly tried. I didn't work so well. Nobody wanted to walk "all" the way down to the entrance to do their thing.
I remember there used to be a little wooden outhouse at Torrent before, when it was open for general access. It used to be closer to the left side of Torrent, somewhere in the amphitheater area. I only saw it once, years ago. Didn't have the need to look for one during either of the visits in the past couple years, so I don't know-- is it still there?
I think the lush green forrested terrain is actually our enemy, in terms of clueless people's pooping habbits, because people can literally just walk around the corner from where they are climbing, still be very much within the hearing (and smelling) distance of other climbers, and yet feel like they are already far enough for privacy, b/c the trees are blocking their view.
And maybe there is need, silly as it sounds, for an education campain in climbing gyms. Maybe gyms need to sell poop tubes and wastebags along with chalk balls. If you think about it, there are plenty of people who NEVER went camping in their life, never ever-- until they started going to the climbing gym, and went on their first ever trip. There are people who never ever had to consider exactly how they would conduct their bathroom business wen there isn't a toilet facility in sight. So maybe, next time someone posts a question on a forum, along the lines of:"this is my first trip, what should I bring?" the response shouldn't be about ropes and draws, but rather about trash bags and poop bags?