The January 1991 bulletin (pp. 10-11) contained a spirited response from readers. Joe Firey, DeForest H. Eveland, and David Newberger write in support of Skoog's proposal. Ira Spring applauds the idea, but feels that it would be virtually impossible to turn back the clock and recreate the White Wilderness he knew when he started hiking and climbing in 1929. Allan Frees sympathizes, but prefers to leave the choice to climbers, perhaps by publishing the information in a separate, higher-priced guide. LaVerne Woods and Stephen Fry oppose the idea because it advocates censorship. Fry feels that a better way to protect the mountains would be to close major access roads. Phil Leatherman argues that rules are necessary to protect the wilderness and that the best strategy would be to keep the approaches rough and unmarked. While acknowledging that the idea is hardly practicable, John Warth questions the value of guidebooks: "Are such aids produced solely to help the 'explorer' to have an enjoyable trip? Could they not be, partially at least, a means of giving the producer an enjoyable ego trip?"

In the March 1991 bulletin (p. 13), Skoog responds to the letters, commenting on whether White Wilderness is practical and whether it implies no rules. The White Wilderness idea is an expression of the wilderness ethic of the 1960s, which has faded in recent years. "This ethic prizes wilderness not just for physical recreation, but for sprirtual rejuvenation. On this basis, the goal of bagging a peak is less important than the experience gained in trying. Every effort is made to ensure that one person's impact is not felt by the next person. [...] I propose White Wilderness--the idea of preserving not just the physical but also the mystical values of the land--as a way to fire young imaginations and bring that ethic to life."