Big changes are coming to Teapot Mountain.
One of the most popular spots for outdoor recreation in Prince George, Teapot Mountain is located just an hour north of the city and provides an engaging hike with Instagram-worthy views at the top.
Teapots on Teapot Mountain. (via Trip Advisor) The society is working on improvements for the trails and recreation facilities on Teapot Mountain and that includes the removal of the teapots.
The society says they are a hazard and for a variety of reasons are often found cracked or broken.
“More and more people are bringing them up, and with the snow, people and animals they start shifting around and moving down and they end up in areas that are really hard to clean up,” says Jackson.
“It’s not just that the rock climbers are getting hit in the head with teapots” laughs Jackson. “It’s that we need to rehabilitate this thing so it can be a Prince George staple for so many years to come.”
Rock Ed Backcountry Society, which Jackson helped formally establish on May 28, is working with Recreation Sites and Trails B.C. to rehabilitate Teapot Mountain, as well as a few other sites around Prince George.
“We know that Teapot Mountain has attracted more people than it was designed to attract. We see it on social media and we see it by the garbage left behind.”
As well as teapots, the society has found garbage throughout the mountain including everything from empty beer cans to McDonald's packaging.
Since the teapots were a neat thing for people see on the mountain, Jackson says originally the group tried to find a safe way to keep the teapots on the mountain without causing environmental harm and still do the intended restoration work, but it wasn’t approved by the province.
“In the eyes of the Ministry it’s littering,” says Jackson. “We want to get in there and develop some really cool things so it can keep being a piece of Prince George but we can’t do it with all of these teapots in the way.”
Rock Ed Backcountry Society hosted a members meeting last night (July 9) to provide more information about the society to potential new members as well as discuss projects at both Dougherty Campsite and Teapot Mountain.
For Teapot Mountain, Jackson says the society plans to restore the trail, upgrade the parking, upgrade the road, replace the outhouse, and hopefully replace the picnic table at the top of the mountain.
“It used to be designed as a strenuous hike,” says Jackson, adding that the trail rehabilitation is going to allow an easier way up to the top for those who want to hike to the top of Teapot Mountain, but currently can’t climb the steep slopes safely.
“Not that it isn’t a cool place to be already, but we want to clean it up and bring it up to today’s standards.”
Jackson says what the society wants to start doing, as well as site rehabilitation, is to develop programming to make backcountry activities like rock climbing or mountaineering more accessible to the younger generation.
“We want initiatives to start really engaging the younger generation in this idea of sustainable outdoor recreation and adventure tourism.”
To learn more about Rock Ed Backcountry Society and what they are up to, you can check out its website – which is where you can also become a member – or visit them on Facebook.
