Yosemite Bolts Destroyed

Seriously this is fucked up!

Shawn Snyder strikes again.

2 conversations:

1. Climbing problems are and have always been best solved in-house. These kinds of actions threaten our access and the relationships that climbers have with land managers. Hopefully they see this as an individual and not the norm, because this is not an issue we can solve ourselves. We need to let the NPS, law enforcement and local land managers know about Shawn and what he does. 

2. Mental health issues are real and serious and I hope that Shawn gets the help he needs. 

At what point do you put blame on the individual harboring the illness?  Cause yes he has issues, serious ones. Does it mean he should not face any consequence for his actions? Its not like this is round 1 or something.

Mr Rogerswrote:

At what point do you put blame on the individual harboring the illness?  Cause yes he has issues, serious ones. Does it mean he should not face any consequence for his actions? Its not like this is round 1 or something.

I understand that in the good 'ol USA we really focus on punishment not treatment.
He can both be responsible and need help.

Can anybody confirm or give more information regarding Shawn being arrested for trying to harm Dean Potter?

I believe climber's coalitions in particular should stand up against this behavior. Individuals don't have the power to stop someone from acting like a spoiled brat, but the members of a climber's coalition, who have some weight behind their words, could actually make this behavior go away for good. Is it against the law to remove bolts? No. Could a local Coalition make it illegal for someone to ever return to their property? Yep. 

Parks like Yosemite definitely have some bigger issues at stake dealing with bolt destroyers. Feuds between climbers like this could mess up access for all climbers across the entire park. Anyone that would think destroying bolts could ever end well for anyone is so thoughtless. If these people had an actual concern, they could talk to the person that put the bolts in and come to an understanding, either why they should go, or why they need to stay. Hammering routes over is about as pathetic and childish of a move anyone could do. What a shame that it only takes 1/100 of the effort to destroy something than it does to make them happen in the first place.

Greg Daviswrote:

I understand that in the good 'ol USA we really focus on punishment not treatment.
He can both be responsible and need help.

Nobody is saying he shouldn’t be getting treatment. But when he’s running around destroying stuff, he’s not exactly getting therapy of the constructive kind.

what would you suggest then? Just let it keep happening and just say” I hope he gets help?”

You must not know the deep history this character has for being a danger to the community and causes actual destruction of our parks and destruction and theft of personal property. 

He is banned from smith for a good reason.

When it’s a fucking game to the mentally ill person what’s the solution? You gonna get him to take his meds? How many cases of vandalism, thefts, and threats is enough to warrant an actual response?

He can be punished and receive treatment. They are not mutually exclusive.

Is there actually proof that this is Shawn? Just wondering if someone caught him in the act or he copt to it or if its just speculation.

Its just a bunch of slack line bolts anyways right?  Yawns. Ship him off to florida where there's no climbing to ruin and give him a surfboard. 

Definitely Shawn. What he did was much more reprehensible than "chopping". He smashed century-quality, thoughtful, and sustainable glue-ins.

Here's a response from our friendly neighborhood climbing ranger in the Valley:

"Hi highline Yosemite friends. I’m sure we’re all aware of the Sean Schnyder bolting vandalism that’s happened in Yosemite. I had a talk with Jesse, the head Law Enforcement climbing rangers in Yosemite. He’s very much on our side with wanting to inhibit any ability for Sean to do further damage, and will be using the help of the rest of the LE’s in Yosemite as well. The destruction of the bolts by itself is not enough for a legal case against him since it is not NPS property. However, Jesse says that the more paper trails and statements the better. He asks that you send written statements with detailed observations with as much specificity regarding time/place/events as possible, as well as any threats of violence or related threats he may have said to anyone.
These statements making a paper trail of observations will be the most helpful for the legal case. You can send these directly to his email at Jesse_McGahey@nps.govLet me know if there’s anything anyone would like to add or I could help mediate with between the NPS and the highline/climbing community. Love you guys!"

Yeah sounds like shawn... its sad that the dude is crying out for help but won't let anyone help him. Hope he doesn't get hus way this time like he did with the rebar.

timinthehouse wrote:

How would you go about getting someone like this committed and have a proper psych evaluation done? I mean that seriously, it would be better for the community and the individual involved. Or do we have to wait for a fatality or someone to sustain a life altering serious injury as a result from this individual's psychotic episodes before something actually can be done? 

Not sure about CA but in most states he would have to be a threat to his own or someone else’s  life. It’s a real tragedy but it has to go that far. Even with a positive psyche evaluation it’s hard to force someone onto medication. 

Tradiban wrote:

They can't, because it's just another boogie man story. 

this post aged like milk.

Greg Rwrote:

Not sure about CA but in most states he would have to be a threat to his own or someone else’s  life. It’s a real tragedy but it has to go that far. Even with a positive psyche evaluation it’s hard to force someone onto medication. 

does he not say that directly say that in the screen shot posted above? Maybe that would be evidence to help get this guy some help.

Mr Rogerswrote:

this post just aged like milk.

Lol. I know, I confirmed the story. It certainly sounded like BS. The Tradiban regrets the error. 

It still doesn't mean everything out there is true about Shawn and I still think people need to cool off and approach this in a more positive way. I am personally working on it   

Tradibanwrote:

Lol. I know, I confirmed the story. It certainly sounded like BS. The Tradiban regrets the error. 

It still doesn't mean everything out there is true about Shawn and I still think people need to cool off and approach this in a more positive way. I am personally working on it   

Cheers to that brother.

Tradibanwrote:

It still doesn't mean everything out there is true about Shawn and I still think people need to cool off and approach this in a more positive way. 

So whats the positive way you propose?

Gumby Kingwrote:

So whats the positive way you propose?

More communication, less social media.

Mr Rogerswrote:

He can be punished and receive treatment. They are not mutually exclusive.

Right... I agree.... what is your point? I didn't say he shouldnt recieve punitive actions. I think sometimes individuals cause enough damage to transcend the 'solve this in-house' protocol the climbing community uses. The NPS should be involved and a plan should be in place to deal with not only Shawn but any individual that causes these liabilities. 

And... he's clearly unstable - whatever it is he needs, I hope he gets it.
Hope I've elaborated my point better this time...

Greg Rwrote:

Not sure about CA but in most states he would have to be a threat to his own or someone else’s  life. It’s a real tragedy but it has to go that far. Even with a positive psyche evaluation it’s hard to force someone onto medication. 

Damaging bolts is a serious threat to public safety. If he is tampering with bolts he could easily tamper in a way that makes it difficult to see with the naked eye, posing a grave danger to any climber or highliner.

A V wrote:

Idk, the last in person confrontation that I was around for with this dude didn’t go all that well - BUT at least a couple of the guys there kept him talking long enough - he ranted until he ran out of time to put in more rungs into the rebar ladder he has shown up to work on that day.

So that was a win I guess? That being said, it’s not like he stopped being a royal pain in the ass - so can’t say it helped to chit chat with him aside from that. 

I hate to say it, but this either ends when he does something so batshit crazy he goes to jail, or when he gets banned from everything and it gets enforced. It’s highly unlikely this dude will see the light and be cool all of a sudden. 

"Confrontation". That's the problem here. Don't confront, communicate.