Pitkin County Open Space Bans Bolting

As reported by the Aspen Daily News, the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board has placed a temporary ban on bolting by rock climbers on county land. Rumor has it this is in response to some complaints about a climb located next to the Drool, a popular ice climb in Redstone.

From the article:

“The moratorium will stay in place until they can develop a ‘comprehensive climbing management plan,’ said open space ranger John Armstrong. ‘There has been a real influx in the amount of people climbing there,’ ranger Armstrong said, ‘and we don’t actually have any developed climbing policy.’

Violations of the code would result in a $100 fine for a first offense, $500 for a second and $1,000 for any infraction beyond that.

‘Really that’s what we’re trying to avoid,’ he said. ‘We will put up flyers in climbing shops and we’ll meet with climbers and the climbing community because right now this is more about education.’

Local climbers are meeting with the Open Space board this week to tour the climbs in question and see if a common understanding can be reached. Climbing is becoming more and more important to the economy of the town of Redstone, with visitors coming to the valley to check out both the rock and ice climbing opportunities there, and we can’t help but wonder if they will voice their opinion in the matter.

Climber’s have stayed under the radar for a long time with regards to fixed anchors, but as the sport continues to grow, it’s only a matter of time before these kinds of management plans become more common place, and yet another reason to be on our best behavior when it comes to bolts in high visibility areas.

As for this particular plan, no details were given for an approximate timeline of when it will be developed and put into place.