These ladders leading to Alcove House are among the ones that will be replaced. Courtesy/NPS Photo
BANDELIER News:
For anyone who has ever wondered if the ladders leading up the cliffs in Bandelier National Monument are replaced regularly, the answer is yes. And the proof will be easily seen this fall, when the park maintenance and preservation crews will replace the long ladders leading up to Alcove House, as well as the shorter ones that provide access to the smaller caves in the cliffs. As might be expected, that means that the ladders will occasionally be closed during the work.
Materials for the ladders are obtained from a local supplier outside the park. The longest ladder at Alcove House requires rails that measure between 40-45 feet! The crews lay out and fit all the parts and then do the actual assembly where each ladder will be used. The long logs will be transported as far as possible by all-terrain vehicles on the trails, and then hoisted up on the workers’ shoulders and carried the rest of the way.
Before work begins, the staff will be trained in fall protection and during the work they will be tying off to permanent anchors.
Rehabilitation of the roof on the kiva inside the Alcove House is also scheduled to begin. This includes a partial replacement of the aging, earthen roof system that, due to safety concerns, has kept the kiva closed since about 2010. Park preservationists expect to open the kiva once again to the public sometime in the spring of 2018, when work is completed and National Park Service structural engineers provide their approval.
The large section of switchbacks on the Frey Trail, which leads from the mesa top Juniper Campground down the cliff side to the archaeological sites in Frijoles Canyon, is lined up for work as well. The Bandelier staff will be teaming up with trail crew members from other National Park Service sites in the area to repair damaged trail tread and re-establish water bars that divert runoff from the trail. Members of the park preservation crew will document and repair the historic stone retaining walls that support the trail in many places.
A helicopter will be used for two days to transport bags of soil to rebuild the trail. The trail will be closed during the helicopter work, but generally open during other parts of the project, which is expected to last into December.
All work is expected to begin in September and as work dates approach for each project, more detailed information will be available regarding any closures in Frijoles Canyon.
Funding for some of these projects comes directly from the entrance fee that is collected at Bandelier.
For more information on the projects, or Bandelier in general, contact the park Visitor Center at 505.672.3861 x 517. The park also has a Facebook page at BandelierNPS, and Twitter.
