{"id":9452,"date":"2014-02-18T17:58:02","date_gmt":"2014-02-19T00:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yellowstonegate.com\/?p=9452"},"modified":"2014-02-19T14:40:50","modified_gmt":"2014-02-19T21:40:50","slug":"climbers-spar-over-use-of-metal-tools-on-popular-routes-near-cody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yellowstonegate.com\/?p=9452","title":{"rendered":"Climbers spar over use of metal tools on popular routes near Cody"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A climber scales a rock wall in Shoshone Canyon on Saturday during the 16th Annual Cody Ice Climbing Festival in Cody, Wyo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CODY, WYO. \u2014 Problems with liability insurance and an impromptu decision to send ice climbing students using specialized gear into a favorite rock climbing area have prompted criticism for the organizer of the Cody Ice Climbing Festival, who says he was only trying to make the best of a bad situation.<\/p>\n

Some local rock climbers are unhappy that ice climbers were using ice axes and spiked footwear over the weekend during a hastily convened beginners climbing clinic held near the Buffalo Bill Dam west of Cody.<\/p>\n

While the dispute may strike outsiders as an esoteric turf war between overly specialized hobbyists<\/a>, it reflects some of the same friction seen in other overlapping uses of public lands, and echoes squabbles between climbers in other areas throughout the West.<\/p>\n

“What happened is not acceptable in climbing circles, and people get into fistfights over this kind of thing,” said rock climber Mike Snyder, author of The Cody Bouldering Guide.<\/p>\n

Snyder said he was upset to learn that ice climbers were using sharp metal hand and foot tools on rock faces where there was no snow or ice in an area of Shoshone\u00a0 Canyon known as The Island. The popular rock climbing spot straddles federal public lands managed by the Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Land Management. There are no agency restrictions on the types of climbing allowed.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/a>
Matt Burklow partcipates in a beginners clinic in Shoshone Canyon on Saturday during the 16th Annual Cody Ice Climbing Festival in Cody, Wyo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But using sharp, metal ice climbing gear on bare rock faces can scar and chip the rocks, changing the layout of established and popular routes used by dozens of rock climbers, Snyder said.<\/p>\n

Rock climbers at The Island typically use rubber-soled shoes and their bare hands, secured by a safety rope attached to an established anchor point bolted into the rock, Snyder said.<\/p>\n

Metal impact tools “are going to mar the surface of the rock, or worse, start snapping off critical holds on established rock climbing routes, changing them forever,” Snyder said.<\/p>\n