#Delicate arch free#

Ĭontroversy ensued when photographs taken after Potter's climb appeared to show damage caused by a climbing technique called top roping. Slacklining and the placement of new fixed anchors on new climbs are also prohibited. The NPS has since closed the loophole by disallowing climbs on any named arch within the park year-round.

Climbing Delicate Arch was not explicitly forbidden under the rules in force at the time, which only stated that routes 'may be closed' on any named arch however, most climbers accepted that the named arch formations should not be climbed.

#Delicate arch free#

In May 2006, climber Dean Potter performed as many as six free solo ascents of the arch. Other arches in the park were formed the same way but, due to placement and less dramatic shape, are not as famous.ĭuring the summer, white-throated swifts ( Aeronautes saxatalis) nest in the top of the arch. The original sandstone fin was gradually worn away by weathering and erosion, leaving the arch. Geology ĭelicate Arch is formed of Entrada Sandstone. Fatali was placed on probation and fined $10,900 in restitution to the NPS for the cost of cleanup efforts. The fire discolored portions of the sandstone near the arch. Nature photographer Michael Fatali started a fire under the arch in September 2000 to demonstrate nighttime photography techniques to a group of amateur photographers. The idea was ultimately abandoned as impractical and contrary to NPS principles. In the 1950s, the NPS investigated the possibility of applying a clear plastic coating to the arch to protect it from further erosion and eventual destruction. This arch played no part in the original designation of the area as a national monument (Arches National Monument) in 1929 and was not included within the original boundaries it was added when the monument was enlarged in 1938. Although there is a rumor that the names of Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch were inadvertently exchanged due to a signage mixup by the National Park Service (NPS), this is false. The arch was given its current name by Frank Beckwith, leader of the Arches National Monument Scientific Expedition, who explored the area in the winter of 1933–1934. Many other names have been applied to this arch including 'Bloomers Arch', 'Marys Bloomers', 'Old Maids Bloomers', 'Pants Crotch', 'Salt Wash Arch', and 'School Marms Pants'. Delicate Arch and adjacent large panhole at sunset, February 2011īecause of its distinctive shape, the arch was known as 'the Chaps' and 'the Schoolmarm's Bloomers' by local cowboys.